We are Bare Creek Jazz, a combo with up to six players: vocals, piano, bass, drums, guitar, and saxophones.
Our group performs classic jazz standards and contemporary pieces, bringing the smooth sounds of jazz to audiences throughout the region.
Vocals
Sara has enjoyed singing in a variety of musical styles and ensembles, ranging from baroque, classical, Renaissance and contemporary repertoire, in touring choirs and eight-voice a cappella groups. Her foray into jazz began with Bare Creek, where she loves to explore the American songbook and the intricate melodies of Brazilian masters such as Antonio Carlos Jobim.
Piano
Bruce began playing piano as a child, and veered into improvisation when he decided he liked the sound of his mistakes rather than correcting them. He and Scott founded Bare Creek after meeting at their kids' school, Bear Creek Elementary. Bruce has studied with Colorado greats Ron Jolly, Art Lande, and Keith Waters, whose last names anagram to Wells Notedly Ajar, or Atolls And Jewelry, either one of which might make a good band name.
Guitar
Guitarist Michael O'Neill has been playing in mostly improvisatory contexts in the Boulder/Denver area since moving there in 1987. The contexts range from free improvisation on one end of the spectrum, to soundscapes, avant rock, modern jazz and jazz standards on the other. Seeing Ron Miles (with whom he was fortunate to share a stage a few times) play a Keith Jarrett tune at Round Midnight was the final push he needed to do a deep dive into standards. Bare Creek has been a wonderful laboratory for that dive!
Saxophones
Casey caught the jazz bug at 13, courtesy of a New Orleans record shop and a trip that probably should've included more museums. Back home in Toledo, OH, he logged countless late nights at Rusty's Jazz Cafe — hearing everything from local cats to touring legends, staying till 2am on school nights he'd rather not discuss. His saxophone origin story is less romantic: he found his older brother's high school horn abandoned in a closet and never gave it back.
Bass
Scott Rudge got stuck playing bass as a sophomore in high school when he lied about his ability to do so in order to get into the pit band. Two years later, he was playing with the All-State jazz band and touring Europe, with two dates playing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in the summer of 1980 (look it up). It's been all downhill since, although he did direct jazz bands as a student at Purdue and play at the Detroit Jazz Festival with another band. He's also played (briefly) with Gary Burton and Winton Marsallis, which were thrills. Now he spends most of his time telling banjo jokes and playing with Bare Creek Jazz, both of which bring great joy.
Drums
Brooklyn native Barry caught the drumming bug in 1964 at age 12 after seeing Ringo on The Ed Sullivan Show—much to the dismay of his parents, who suffered through his paradiddles on phone books and coffee cans. He eventually negotiated for a real drum kit, jammed his way through neighborhood garage bands, played in his high school jazz band and orchestra, and took pride in getting listed in the NYC Musicians Union Local 802 directory. His college years were spent freelancing club dates, playing jazz, rock, and summer Catskill hotel gigs, plus a summer tour with a Sesame Street roadshow. Today, after a rewarding life and career as a psychotherapist, Barry spends his experiment with semi-retirement hiking around Boulder and drumming as much as possible with many music projects. This includes keeping time for the Bear Creek Jazz Sextet, knowing that drumming is the best kind of therapy—it simply can’t be “beat” (or can it?).