Since 2011, Bucer’s Coffeehouse and Pub has featured live jazz music every Thursday night, led by local performer Erik Bowen.
This tradition began when Bowen ran into a friend on the street. The friend suggested that the two of them perform somewhere that evening, so Bowen called up Pat Greenfield, the owner of Bucer’s, and asked her if the duo could play at her restaurant that evening.
That first night was a hit and Greenfield was excited about the prospect of turning their jazz show into a regular event.
“For all the people that love jazz, for all the costumers that love jazz, that’s a great idea,” Greenfield said. “They (customers) will know that on Thursday nights, if you love jazz this is where you are.”
Since they began five years ago, Bowen has turned their weekly jam sessions into a staple of the community.
Sam Balas | Argonaut
Eric Brown plays jazz music at Bucers Coffeehouse and Pub Thursday night with UI students as part of a five-year Moscow tradition.
“I always take an up-and-coming student, usually a freshman or a sophomore, somebody who is going to be here for a prolonged time. We use the jam as another way of teaching,” Bowen said. “You learn stuff in school, but you learn the book stuff. You don’t learn the street smarts until you are actually on the gig.”
Greenfield shared this sentiment. She said she often notices the music majors at the university sometimes struggle with the stress of assignments and deadlines associated with their major.
“When it’s an open jazz jam and they like jazz, they get to come down and cut loose,” she said. “Nobody is grading them, they’re not completing a project. I think for them, it’s a night to be expressive.”
The connection between Bowen’s jam nights and the university is so strong that some music professors make rotation in the group a requirement said Bowen.
Having students perform with Bowen serves a dual purpose. It allows the student to gain real-world experience, and it ensures that the jam sessions have been able to continue almost entirely unabated for the last five years.
“It’s kind of unbelievable,” Bowen said. “I’m amazed that little Moscow, Idaho, can host a Thursday night jam that’s year round.”
The jam session, besides helping music students through their education, attracts non-music students who enjoy studying or socializing while listening to music. The steady weekly event brings a similar crowd of people every week.
“There’s always a consistent Thursday night crowd,” said Alex Doyle, a barista and manager at Bucer’s. “There’s a solid sense of community. Everyone’s coming here to listen to some good jazz, take a beat and hang out with their friends.”
This atmosphere has improved Bucer’s reputation according to Greenfield, who said she constantly hears people in the community express gratitude to her for providing a venue for live jazz.
“I think it’s really nice to know that I’m not just putting music out there that necessarily sells,” she said. “But that I’m really giving jazz an opportunity to thrive and to be appreciated, maybe even learn to be appreciated by students who have never been exposed to it before they came here.”
Sam Balas can be reached at [email protected]