Category: Wedding

We had the pleasure of sharing Joseph Bizar’s Bar Mitzvah with Joe and the family this Saturday. We have a great time playing at bar mitzvahs, and this one was no different. The thing that always strikes me is how into the band and the music the kids always are. Especially the younger ones who sit, with the mouth’s agape, watching Josh Rawlings tear it up on a solo, or Adam Kessler work the brushes, or Nate Omdal hold down the bottom end. There was one particular boy who basically plopped himself down in Josh’s lap and played the piano just about anytime he felt like it! That’s when the need for music education is never more apparent, and the absence of it never more acutely felt. If you want to do your part to bring music and arts education as a whole to kids who have been deprived of it through their schools, please visit The Right Brain Center for the Arts to see how you can help.

Joseph’s mother’s family arrived early to set up the room at McCormick& Schmick’s Harborside. The traditional colors blue and white were featured prominently, as was the stunning view of Lake Union. When the bulk of the guests arrived we were already in full swing. This particular rhythm section is also Josh’s regular trio, and they have been playing together for years. I love playing with them and getting to experience their connection and chemistry from the inside. When I let Josh take over for a trio feature, he picked his composition, “Today or Tomorrow”, which is featured on both of our latest CDs in differnt versions. Click here to hear the JPQ’s version, and here for the JR3’s.

We had a couple of family members sit in when we played “Heiveinu Shalom Aleichem”, one on flute and one on drums. That brought the house down, as usual. We also got to break out “Hava Nagila” and “If I Were a Rich Man”, which was a request by the father of the bar mitzvah. Nate and I had just recorded our own hybrid versions of two of those tunes for my newest project Clave Nagila, which pairs traditional Jewish melodies with latin rhythms.

Bar Mitzvahs are a joyous occasion, and I have fond memories of mine. My goal at that time was to play in the Stanford Marching Band. At the reception, my father, who worked at Stanford at the time, pulled out my trumpet, and in came the band, and I got to play with them! My dad had set the whole thing up long ago, even bringing home sheet music from one of his advisee’s who was in the band a year earlier! It was one of the coolest moments of this band geek’s childhood! And the only time I ever got to play with the band mind you…by the time I applied for college, Stanford wouldn’t have anything to do with me…

I received this nice note from Dave Bizar:

“Everyone had a great time. The entire day went well and was a very happy day for the family. The music was excellent and I heard many compliments from my guests regarding you and the group.

All the best,
Dave”

The event, including this photo, was shot by photographer Peter Kearns. He takes beautiful photos, and I hope to have a few more to post here soon.

Sometimes couples tell me about their “non-traditional” ideas for their wedding, and I have to roll my eyes, either because they are so far out that I can’t even picture it, or they are just not that far off the beaten path. However, when I met with Bea & Nate last fall, and they told me their wedding was going to be “baseball themed”, I couldn’t wait! My only fear was that they wouldn’t commit to the theme fully.

Those fears were unfounded! This was truly one of the most fun and unique weddings I’ve seen, and I’ve seen lots over the last 7 years. Bea and Nate went all the way, from tables named after famous ballparks, to snowglobes of those parks marking each table, to a baseball bat for people to sign as their guest book. It was all there! Ironically, the Seahawks playoff game was on in one of the side rooms, but we’ll forgive them that mixed metaphor, especially because of the personalized bobble head dolls!

The reception took place at Tibbetts Creek Manor in Issaquah, which is a beautiful country home on 3 acres of parkland. Bea looked absolutely gorgeous in a red-trimmed strapless dress, and her daughter had a matching dress as well. Nate was very dapper in a black tux with red vest and tie to match his bride.

Joining me on the band were my longtime partners in crime Josh Rawlings on piano and Donovan Pfeifer on drums, and the bassist from my new CD, Evan Flory-Barnes. The boys played great, and stepped up to play inspired versions of the Father/Daughter/Mother/Son dance “Sunrise, Sunset”, and the best first dance we’ve ever been asked to play, “Take Me Out To the Ball Game”. Yes, Bea & Nate went the extra mile for their theme!

I have to make special mention of the fabulous band Mariachi Fiesta Mexicana that kicked off the reception in style. These guys are old-school, traditional Mariachi music at its finest, and we were thrilled to meet them and a little apprehensive having to follow them! They set the tone for the whole evening, and I highly recommend them if you are ever in need of Mariachi music.

Thanks also go out to Kelly and Kristen of Sweet Pea Events, who coordinated the whole afternoon. The event ran smoothly, on time and seamlessly thanks to all their hard work and planning. It was a pleasure to work with them for the first time, and I hope we’ll get to do so again.

I received this nice email from Bea:

“Hi Jason!

OMG you guys are wonderful! I had a blast and everyone couldn’t stop talking about you and the Marachi band! I’ve already passed your contact information to a few relatives and friends who asked about you. SO yay!!! I just wish someone was there to record our first dance because honestly..it was the best version of Take me out to the ballgame ever!! Opening day will never be the same for us!

Take care!
Bea and Nate Hoover”

And Kelly from Sweet Pea Events had this to say:

“The fabulous Jason Parker Quartet played an awesome jazz rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” for Bea and Nate’s first dance! This was a surprise to everyone and guests got such a kick out of it, as did Bea and Nate as they had so much fun dancing to one of their favorite tunes! Jason and his fellow musicians are extremely talented, very personable, and love what they do – if you haven’t heard them yet, be sure to check our their website and find out where you can hear them playing next in Seattle!”

Carrie and Chris got married on Bastille Day, but there were no battles. It was a glorious event at The Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland. We were there to provide music for the cocktail hour only, so we were in and out pretty quickly. But it was beautiful playing while looking across Lake Washington back toward Seattle.

I also got to meet Blair DeLaubenfels from Postitive Light Photograhy, who is also one of the principals at Junebug Weddings. It’s always cool to put a face to a name.

The Edgewater Hotel is famous for a lot of things…it’s proximity to the Seattle Waterfront and Pike Place Market, it’s stunning views, and it’s history with The Beatles, who stayed there during their 1964 tour of America. It is now also famous for hosting the JPQ at Stephanie and Jeffrey’s wedding!

We played to a background of the Puget Sound, and after dinner it really became a party! The toasts, however, were the highpoint of the evening. Both fathers made great speaches that were at once touching and hilarious. The bridesmaids cried through theirs, and the best man gave us all sorts of juicy tidbits from Jeffrey’s life. But it was Jeffrey’s own speach that had everyone in stitches. I don’t remember a groom actually toasting at his own wedding before, but he did a fantastic job.

We were joined by the wonderful Ty Bailie on piano, who is one of the funkiest and friendliest guys I know. It’s always a treat to play with Ty!

And as a special bonus, my good friend Jeff LaPlante was the photographer for the evening. I met Jeff at a wedding show last year and we became fast friends. He is an amazing photographer and a super nice guy, and it was cool to run into him again. Check his blog for some gorgeous photos of the event.

The whole crowd was appreciative all night, and I got this from Jeff the day after: “Everyone has been commenting about what a wonderful job you and your band did. Thank you very much for the wonderful performance. If you ever need a reference or anything, please do not hesitate to contact us. Great work!!”

Somehow I had never been to Kiana Lodge near Poulsbo before, but I’m sure glad I had the chance! Blair & Casey’s wedding was absolutely gorgeous. Aside from the location, the best thing about this wedding was that even though everyone was dressed to the nine’s and looked fabulous, there was a very informal air to the proceedings. We were set up too far away from the ceremony to hear what was going on, but there was a lot of laughing and joking and carrying on. It truly had the air of a fun celebration.

I had the pleasure of playing with guitarist George Stone, who I don’t get to play with enough these days. George is a wonderful 7-string guitarist and a super nice guy. We got caught up on the ride over. Also joining us was the legendary Frank Clayton on bass, who has played with everyone from Jay Clayton to Charles Mingus to Barry Harris and Jovino Santos Neto. It was a thrill to have such a Jazz veteran on the gig with us.

Blair was kind enough to send me this note after the big day: “Thanks for your kind note and for your great music on Saturday. People said wonderful things about your music. Too bad we were off doing pictures and couldn’t enjoy – so we’ll just have to come see you perform another time. Thanks again – and best wishes.”