Arts, Etc.Music

Claremont welcomes depot jazz series

The Boys Howdy was one of the bands that performed at the Claremont Train Station for the Depot Jazz Series Friday. Lead singer Andy Furgeson, fiddle player William Trevor and drummer Adam Campbell-Strauss are three of the six members who all attend Pomona College. The band has been playing together for three years. The series is a first held at Claremont’s train depot. / photo by Jenna Campbell
The Boys Howdy was one of the bands that performed at the Claremont Train Station for the Depot Jazz Series Friday. Lead singer Andy Furgeson, fiddle player William Trevor and drummer Adam Campbell-Strauss are three of the six members who all attend Pomona College. The band has been playing together for three years. The series is a first held at Claremont’s train depot. / photo by Jenna Campbell

Tom Anderson
Staff Writer

Sept. 17 was opening night for the seventh season of Claremont’s immensely popular Depot Jazz Series. The concerts are held in front of the city’s historic train depot.

In 1927, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad designed and built a handsome new depot along their line in the city of Claremont, replacing the town’s original wooden depot.

Few, if any of the people involved with the project could have predicted the long, strange journey that the building would take over the next 77 years, going from transit hub, to victim of the near-extinction of American rail travel, then back to transit hub and, in 1998, transit hub and concert venue.

“We wanted to create something to welcome back the college students,” said Alison Martinez, special events coordinator for the City of Claremont, on how the depot jazz idea was born.

With concept in hand, Martinez and her colleagues sought approval from Metrolink, the commuter rail service that serves the depot.

Not only did Metrolink give their consent to the idea, they also became the series’ strongest supporter from both moral and marketing standpoints.

The series’ first concert of 2004 featured an extended schedule with two bands comprised of local students.

The Boys Howdy, a group of Pomona College students that combine genres of jazz, bluegrass and folk rock were first on the slate.

They have a sound that has been generating a tremendous amount of well-deserved hype.

“The response we get across the Claremont Colleges is very fulfilling,” said Jonathan Singer, bass player for The Boys Howdy.

During their time on stage, The Boys Howdy provided non-stop doses of toe-tapping, hand-clapping bliss.

However, there was a second group of musicians that took to the stage that evening.

The second group was Nick Nack Jazz, a talented quartet of young men from Claremont High School.

The group itself has existed for about a year and a half, while the newest member, bassist Nick Maury, has been with the band about a year.

On this particular evening, the boys treated the crowd to a healthy mix of original jazz compositions and covers, the latter including a rousing rendition of “Georgia on My Mind” by Ray Charles.

Even though these two groups of young musicians love the support of the crowd and the money they get from paying gigs and CD sales, they still seem to have managed to keep their heads out of the clouds.

“The music itself is a reward,” said Adam Campbell-Strauss. “Railroad tracks and music go together so well.”

Most people seemed fond of attending a concert at a train station.

“I like jazz, the concerts are free, and they’re convenient,” said a local jazz enthusiast.

Great music and community get-togethers is good enough to spend a Friday night at the Claremont Depot.

Tom Anderson can be reached at tanderson1@ulv.edu.

Jenna Campbell
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