The Ron Brooks Trio

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star, Quincy Jones, and accompanied such luminaries as Sarah Vaughan at Notre Dame and Eric Dolphy at the long defunct Golden Falcon club in Ann Arbor. During the late 1960s, after James left town, the group morphed into the Ron Brooks Trio.

Over the years many highly individual pianists have worked with the Trio, including Stanley Cowell, Eddie Russ, and Rick Roe. Drummers such as George Davidson have also left their imprint on the sound of the group. Few groups anywhere have the luxury of playing a few nights a week for years on end, but these three musicians, as the house band of the Bird, have had the opportunity to develop an uncanny musical cohesion. In addition to their weekly gigs, every few months or so they work with visiting soloists of the highest caliber. Many of us still remember the magic nights when the late Emily Remler played some of the finest jazz guitar anywhere, expertly propelled by the Brooks Trio. And late in the last century, the veteran alto saxophonist Frank Morgan came to town, and once again the trio found an astounding sense of rapport with an exceptional soloist. Morgan comes back every year, and each time he and the trio find the same magic.