32 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {punchline} way that man tickled the ivories. “He just blew me away … After a couple songs, I ran downstairs and got my boyfriend. I’m like, ‘You’ve got to get up here!’” At 85, Pete took his final bow. “For some weird reason, we thought my dad would live forever,” Barbara reflects. Taking up that mantle was no easy feat. “It’s not like my dad ever taught us anything about the business,” notes the director. That said, she was up for the challenge. “The booking came naturally to me,” she shares. “I was exposed to it my whole life. I know all the local jazz musicians.” Thanks to her background as a CFO, businesssavvy Barbara also gave the Bach much-needed structure, a ticketing system and a membership program. “My dad … that was not his thing,” she chuckles. FOR A SONG What is it about jazz that wins us over? For Barbara, a big part of it is the improvisation. “You really never know what’s gonna happen … It just moves me.” There’s also a riveting dialogue that happens between the instruments. “The musicians work together,” Barbara describes. “You kind of learn how they all trade off.” Of all the subgenres, her soft spot is “post-bop and instrumental jazz such as John Coltrane.” Wryly, Barbara notes, “A lot of people might call it headache jazz. I love it when you’ve got a sax player and they just solo for five minutes. It’s heaven to me.” The show has ended. The muall that jazz bachddsoc.org sicians and audience have gone. And only the director remains. A hush has fallen over the auditorium. But the Bach is just catching its breath—biding its time before again raising its voice in another joyful performance. “One of the greatest things my dad gave me is the exposure to different people and musicians and all the patrons who came here,” Barbara reflects in this quiet moment. “My dad taught us how to listen to the music.” PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTSEY OF JIM BOURNE / BACH DYNAMITE & DANCING SOCIETY / MUSICIAN PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN MCMILLEN ABOVE: (right) The Betty Carter Trio jams at the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society.
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