Giving a breath of life to ‘dying art form’
Gabby Horlick’s 7th Street Big Band plays Tabard this weekend
Leading a big band is not for the faint of heart.
For San Jose drummer Gabby Horlick, there’s simply no musical experience that equals the high of driving an orchestra, but only her dogged determination has enabled her to maintain a steady supply of brass.
As the founder and leader of the 7th Street Big Band, she’s continued to wrangle an impressive cast of young players since the 17-piece orchestra’s inaugural 2014 performance at City Lights Theater in San Jose. In February the band released a hard-charging debut album, “Off Cinderella Lane,” a project that showcases a diverse array of grooves far beyond the foundational jazz pulse known as swing.
For an engagement this weekend at the Tabard Theatre in San Jose, the 7th Street Big Band is changing up more than the rhythms. Presented by Tabard Events, the concerts showcase some of the South Bay’s most exciting vocalists, with Amy Dabalos, Ren Geisick and Joy Hackett featured on original material written for the ensemble. They’ll also provide backup vocals for powerhouse singer Juanita Harris, a founding member of the band.
While Horlick is thrilled that 7th Street is thriving, she notes that there have been some setbacks while pursuing her jazz orchestra dreams.
“This is actually the fourth time I tried to start a big band,” said Horlick, 29. “It usually fell apart because of scheduling conflicts.”
Horlick spoke while taking a brief, Netflix-covered break from her day job as a nanny for two children, ages 2 and 4. Taking care of toddlers, it turns out, provides relevant experience for running a jazz orchestra (tip: provide snacks). In fact, many of the 7th Streeters couldn’t buy a beer when they joined the band.
“We are a lot younger than most of the big bands around,” Horlick said. “It’s kind of a dying art form, an old man’s game. But when we started we had a lot of San Jose State sophomores and freshmen. I’m the second oldest one in the group.”
Age isn’t the only thing that sets 7th Street apart from other jazz orchestras. Since she first caught the big-band bug at Overfelt High School, Horlick has often been the only female instrumentalist in an ensemble, give or take a pianist or two, an experience that has left her with thick skin. She’s found many male comrades, but also noted that “they can be ruthless.”
She’s made a point of keeping an eye out for female players when a 7th Street chair opens up, “And if they’re at the same level as the guys who are available, they’ll get the gig. As many big bands as I’ve played in, this is the first time I’ve been in a band with a woman in every single section.”
She’s created a strong team within the band, with pianist Nichole Boaz tailoring many of the 7th Street arrangements and bass trombonist Veronica Christie handling the ensemble’s social media profile. A key piece of the puzzle was lining up a showstopping singer, and Horlick knew the ideal candidate.
She first met Juanita Harris about a decade ago when the veteran jazz vocalist performed as guest artist with a band at West Valley College, where Horlick studied for several semesters. They hit it off immediately and Harris started hiring Horlick for small-group gigs. (She and several 7th Street players are part of Harris’ new all-woman sextet, Bitches Brewin’.)
A versatile performer who luxuriates in ballads and romps through blues, Harris can deliver a Joe Williams/Count Basie number with authority and then turn around and put her stamp on contemporary funk and R&B by Snarky Puppy and Jill Scott.
Harris loves the intimacy of a trio, but “There’s nothing like a big band,” she says. “You have the richness of these really deep, lush chords behind you. Singing in front of a bunch of horns strikes something in me so deep. It’s euphoria.”
While Harris is the soulful face of the band, 7th Street’s musical identity is built on a book of wellcrafted arrangements. One of the big hurdles in launching a big band is the time and expense required to generate new charts. In a previous big band that she started Horlick relied on sheet music gleaned from Overfelt High, but 7th Street’s dedicated cast of players wasn’t going to hit the studio with widely circulated Stan Kenton charts.
“I wanted to showcase that we’re a young group, and eight musicians contributed new pieces to the album,” Horlick said. “Almost everything we play is an original piece or arrangement.”