What is the Lee Pardini Trio, where are you located, and where do you play?

Lee: The Lee Pardini Trio is an instrumental jazz trio consisting of myself on Fender Rhodes, Joe Costantini on electric bass, and Kevin "Guch" Higuchi on drums. We are a San Jose based group, but more specifically our studio is located in Japantown. We play in and around the South Bay Area but we will be looking to do both east and west coast touring in support of our debut album which will hopefully be out by this summer.

How does it feel to be playing at SJ Jazz Showcase on the 24th, then at Left Coast Live with your band Whiskey Avengers, two very prominent music productions in San Jose?

Lee: Playing at both the Jazz Showcase and LCL is a great privilege. Both productions are fairly young, both being in their second year I believe, and it feels like we are in on the ground floor of something that could revitalize San Jose's live music scene. Last year the trio played both the Jazz Showcase and LCL and I think it's because people recognize that we are constantly pushing ourselves to give the best show possible. We work hard on the music but still want to entertain and keep an audience engaged.

What was one of your earliest memories of being influenced by jazz and becoming interested in the genre?

Lee: My first experience with jazz came pretty late in the game. It wasn't until I got to high school that I started becoming interested in playing jazz. Up until then, I was much more influenced by rock n roll, RnB, and soul. Someone finally introduced me to the music of Bill Evans and that's when my obsession with jazz really started.

How do you manage being in the Lee Pardini Trio and Whiskey Avengers, two bands that both seem to be pretty active in the Bay Area music scene?

Lee: Leading a trio as well as being in the Whiskey Avengers is only the beginning of what we all do as professional musicians. I also play in several groups based in New York as well as L.A. and between the three of us in the trio, we've toured all over with various different projects. Guch is a member of Insolence, we both are members of a brand new SJ punk band called Trash Kannon, not to mention all of the random freelance work we do to earn a living. Being involved in so many different things just takes a little bit of organizational skills, as well as a drive to be productive and keep putting out new and different music.

Can you tell me more about the decision to cover Michael Jackson and Chaka Khan? How did you guys add your style to their music and make it the Lee Pardini Trio's version

Lee: Covering Michael Jackson and Chaka Khan seemed pretty natural to us. The songs that we know as jazz standards we're popular songs at the time, so we are really just trying to continue the tradition of playing songs people recognize while giving it our own interpretation. As a trio, we are naturally drawn to cover songs that are funky and groove driven. We want to cover songs that are fun to play, while being relevant to where we came from as musicians. I grew up listening to Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, the Rolling Stones, as well as Chaka Khan and Michael Jackson, so we are really trying to give the audience an idea of who we are and who our influences are.

Listening to some clips on YouTube of Lee Pardini Trio, I definitely here the different styles of music you guys are influenced by. How would you describe or compare your sound to other jazz bands? It definitely has an original sound to it.

Lee: As for our original music, which we are in the process or recording, you can definitely hear our wide variety of influences. What makes us different from other groups is the way we have put it together. Joe, Guch, and I have been playing together for a long time and have developed a certain sound together. We have found a way to bring our individual sound to the group in such a way that it all fits together to create something truly unique. We are also a product of our environment. Growing up in San Jose, or California in general gives us a different perspective than most. We have been around diversity all our lives so it makes sense that that would work its way into our music. We all just love music, all genres (or most) genres included, and we strive to take the best aspects of many different styles and blend it all together in our own way.

Are there any big plans set for the rest of 2010 with Lee Pardini Trio? And where can folks reading this interview go and check out some of your music and upcoming show dates?

Lee: Plans for 2010 at this point are to finish recording our debut record. We have about half of it done so hopefully by this summer we can start to promote and tour in support of that release. Through our career so far, we have been all over the world with different projects and met a ton of really great musicians. Our goal now is to show people what this trio is capable of and hopefully bring them something they've never heard before. At this point we are still designing our website which will be finished alongside the record, but right now people can find us on Facebook under the Lee Pardini Trio. We will be giving away free a free EP at our show at City Lights Theater on the 24th, so people who come to the show will be able to get a taste of the new music we have been working on.

-Interview by Amalia Renteria, April 2010, for Left Coast Live

What: The Lee Pardini Trio
When: Saturday, April 24, 8pm-10pm
Where: City Lights Theater, 529 S. 2nd St., San Jose | MAP
Cost: $15 ($13 for San Jose Jazz & City Lights members)
Tickets: Buy online or call City Lights at 408-295-4200
 

For a taste of what's in store, check out this YouTube video.