It’s a jazz party that’s been going on for 56 years now and it should come as no surprise that it has brought in numerous world-renowned jazz players during the last half-century.
This year will be no different as drummer Kevin Kanner and bassist Charlie Silva will be among the many performers at this year’s West Texas Jazz Party.
For Silva, it will be his first time performing in Odessa.
Silva currently lives in Orlando, Florida.
“It’s good to hear that there’s this really great jazz party going on in Texas,” Silva said. “I was invited by Johnny Varro. I’m really excited.”
Varro is a pianist who has played at the West Texas Jazz Party for years and will be back this year.
Silva may reside in Florida, but he grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif., and started playing the bass in his early teens.
“I first picked up an electric bass from Sears,” Silva said. “I bought it myself. I saved the money. It was a cheap bass and amp. My first guitar, I took off the two high strings to make it look like a bass. I started plunking on an acoustic guitar like a bass.”
Silva’s played with many different musicians over the years. He attended Cabrillo College in Santa Cruz, Calif., where he studied with trumpet player Ray Brown.
“All the different musicians I’ve played with have influenced me,” Silva said. “I’ve been around some great players. Ray Brown is my main man. I do what Ray does and lay down the bass grooves.”
In his early years of playing, Silva said he would play by ear. He listened to Motown music.
“I played along with all the Motown tunes and soul music,” Silva said. “My sister was really into that kind of music. Listening to James Jamerson I think was the key for me because he’s the biggest innovator on electric bass. He was the influence of just about everybody. I just knew he was a great bass player. I think starting off by playing by ear really helped me because I have good ears. I rely on just listening and playing. Sometimes there are tunes that I won’t know but I’ll fake my way through because I can listen. That’s how I started.”
Silva talked about his excitement to get to play at the jazz party in Odessa.
“This is one of the bigger jazz gigs that I’ve gotten,” Silva said. “It’s prestigious. I haven’t been in the circuit for jazz for a long time. There are a lot of good jazz players on the circuit. On the side, I always play jazz. Jazz has always been the number one music that I’ve always played.”
Also playing at next week’s jazz party will be Californian Kanner.
Kanner currently lives in Los Angeles.
He’s amassed a large number of jazz credits including recordings with Paul Anka, Bill Holman, Gilbert Castellanos, Mellissa Morgan, Annie Seelic, Gail Wynters and Michael Buble just to name a few.
Kanner has toured and performed with many artists including John Pizzarelli.
“There are a number of jazz parties that these guys do and this was one that they talked about a lot. It’s awesome to connect with them at this party since it’s talked about a lot. Pizzarelli talked about this a lot. I was in his band for quite a few years. Having the chance to be a part of it is great.”
Kanner went to Hamilton High School and Music Academy in Los Angeles, graduating in 1997.
Ever since he was a kid, Kanner wanted to be a drummer.
“I would say high school was when I was pretty sure that I wanted to be a drummer,” Kanner said. “I would sell all of my CDs to buy jazz records. It was my freshman year when I was pretty sure about it.”
It all started when his parents bought him some music of jazz legends like Count Basie and Glenn Miller.
“Some of the interest was fostered from the fact that I went to a music school,” Kanner said. “I love the drums. I think it’s natural with the instrument like the drums to gravitate towards jazz. The technique of the instrument is on display a little bit more so you’re really wowed by the musicians playing the music. At that same age, I was studying with another student that went to my high school who’s a couple of years older than me. He started taking lessons from the drummer Jeff Hamilton. He introduced me to Jeff, musically, and that’s what sealed the deal. He became my mentor for quite a few years.”
Kanner has also toured with Maureen McGovern, The Gilbert Castellanos Quintet, The Bill Holman Band, The Gerald Clayton Trio, The Clayton Brothers and The Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.
“I was Bill Holman’s drummer for 10 years,” Kanner said. “At that time, he recorded only two records. He was like nearing 80 at that time so I don’t know if he’s recorded since then. I was in his band until 2011 and then I moved to New York in 2012. That was the gig I had for a very long time.”
Kanner stayed in New York for about five years before returning to California.
In addition to touring, he’s played in a bunch of clubs over the years, even outside of the country including Switzerland and France.
“Marians in Bern, Switzerland is always a blast,” Kanner said. “Bird Land was my favorite to play in New York. In LA, my favorite place to play was the Blue Whale. They closed that down during the pandemic and didn’t survive which was a huge blow to the LA community. Paris was another good place to play. I do love playing Night Town which is in Cleveland. That’s a really good place.”
Like Silva, Kanner is also excited to be able to play in Odessa.
“It’s a great honor,” Kanner said. “I’m a huge fan of all the other musicians that are there so I’m looking forward to connecting with them. It’s just good to be back out on the road.”
If you go
- What: West Texas Jazz Party.
- When: 7 p.m. June 2, 7 p.m. June 3, 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. June 4.
- Where: June 2 at Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, June 3 at Ector Theatre, June 4 at Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center.
