Paramitcha being introduced by Director Hayley Richardson.

On Friday, June 24th we celebrated the start of summer with the fifteenth installment of our Fresh Jazz & Crisp Vinyl Series at Dikeou Pop-Up: Colfax. Isaac Linder warmed us up with a DJ set comprised of tracks from our extensive vinyl archive, and Paramitcha, a local quartet of young musicians, played a stellar live performance that highlighted the incredible diversity of the jazz genre. Over 60 people gathered at the pop-up, and they whooped, stomped, whistled, danced and clapped through the summer heat, matching the tone and beat of the vibrant rhythms.

The Fresh Jazz and Crisp Vinyl Series focuses on jazz musicians living and working today, whose names are not yet embossed into history, but whose energy, wisdom, well worn instruments, and presence in the jazz scene are further defining our admiration for the life form, Jazz music. Selections from the vinyl archive will thus serve as a remembrance to all the jazz greats who came before the jazz musicians invited to play at this bi-monthly series.

DJ Isaac Linder in action.

Isaac Linder is an artist, designer, guest curator at Dateline Gallery & contributing editor at *continent. His DJ set included a lot of technologically avant-garde jazz musicians and served as a nice precursor to Paramitcha, which experiments with mixing various jazz genres like gypsy swing and bluegrass. Through the music played from the vinyl archive and performed by the band, people can see and understand how jazz crosses all kinds of boundaries and expectations. The spontaneity of jazz and the urge to feel your way through a melody and a dance rhythm is special to the experimentation and trusting of one’s instinct, going away from the tight guidelines of most other genres.

Paramitcha and crowd.

“Paramitcha began in 2010 as an offshoot of the University of Colorado Denver’s longstanding traditional/Dixieland jazz ensemble, The Claimjumpers. Members of the band became infatuated with the music of Django Reinhardt and decided to start a side project to honor this timeless music. What began in the classroom, quickly spread to local venues. The band was even able participate in the Jazz en Vercors Festival in Villard de Lans, France in 2010. 2016 has seen a reemergence of the group, swinging harder than ever after years spent honing their individual skills. Their high energy, rhythmically driven set is sure to get the crowd out of their seat and, while rooted in tradition, appeals to music lovers of all generations. The ensemble includes Armando Lopez on saxophone and clarinet, Colin Clark on guitar/vox, Brant Williams on guitar, and Zach Antonio playing bass/vox.”1

Paramitcha and crowd.

During Paramitcha’s set, Armando Lopez would switch with ease between clarinet and saxophone. Guitarists Colin Clark and Brant Williams gave the band a multi-faceted strumming, drum-like beat and bassist Zach Antonio had an amazing bass solo in which the crowd couldn’t help but dance.

Watch a clip of Paramitcha’s performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I97JBqhEm48&t=2s

 -Madeliene Kattman