Rhythm Of Reno - Thursday January 1, 1998

Erika Paul Trio

by Johnny Gunn


The voice is long and sensuous, with just barely a touch of nasal as it wraps itself around, first the melody, then the counter melody, then the counter melody, and then full features of a song written more than half a century before. Artie Shaw? Duke Ellington? It matters not, this is jazz, the way it was, the way it is, an American original, performed by one of Reno's premier jazz groups.
The jazz stylings of the Trio fill a room as Erika Paul, full voiced enchantress, jazz pianist, and leader of the band, presents bassist Paul Binnings, driving the rhythm, creating secondary moods, having the time of his life, and drummer Pete Spomer, delightfully melodizing his stretched skins.
"I like jazz from the swing era, music that tells a story, something that allows for phrasing. I like to mess with a song, not enough to change what the composer did, just enough to make it mine also". Erika Paul has greeted us at her home-cum-studio-cum-classroom, high on a hill east of Spanish Springs on a gloriously sunny morning. She had spent most of the previous night recording two new albums with Paul and Pete. Two!
Nobody records two complete albums in one sitting. Finishing one in a six-month period is more than most groups are up to.
"This gives us the feeling of a live performance. We do all the technical things, get set up for proper studio acoustics, and wail. We have the finest recording engineer on the West Coast setting us up. Tom Gordon from Sierra Sonics recording Mansion is absolutely the best." Sierra Sonics is in the old/new Victorian mansion that used to be Granny's House at Plumas and Mt. Rose Streets, and this isn't the first foray into recording for the group. "So, What Is This Thing Called Jazz?" is a collection of masterpieces spanning the decades, including some from the Gershwin Brothers, Johnny Mercer, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and Erika herself.
Erika was wearing a delightful set of earrings, a musical clef on one side, a quarter note on the other. "Aren't those just precious? One of my students, Natasha Maximoff, gave them to me. Her father, Raphael Maximoff is the guitarist with the group "The Doubting Thomas Band".
Currently, along with concert and festival appearances all over the west, and engagements in the Truckee Meadows, Carson Valley, and North and South Lake Tahoe, Erika is also a private teacher to 30 piano students and seven vocal students.
"I love teaching," she says. "I spent the first 15 years of my musical life in classical instruction, and then discovered jazz. When the kids hear jazz for the first time, they are absolutely amazed to find out a song may have been written back in the 1930's. By studying music, they are learning a lot of history, and by studying jazz, they are learning a combination of history and their own culture."
"Jazz is interpretation, creating a musical story with phrasing, and the most important part is the composer. Without a great song in the first place, there is nothing to interpret. Jazz has to be very musical." She mentions Ben Webster frequently. "I love how he tells a musical story".
Locally, The Erika Paul Trio can be heard and seen regularly at the Great Basin Brewing Company on Victorian Square in Sparks, at the Airport Plaza for the wonderful noontime "concerts in the Atrium", and in the warm months, the Trio takes part in the Concerts in the Park at Wingfield Park in downtown Reno.
"Those noontime concerts at the park are absolutely delightful. Different types of music each day, the finest professional musicians in the area giving their all, and hundreds of office and casino bound people enjoying a lunch break in one of the nicest parks in town." The Trio also performs during the night concerts in the park.
Erika is a nationally certified musical instructor having graduated, first from the College of San Mateo, and later at San Jose State University in music, and along with her teaching, she feels it is important for children to have an understanding of music. Because of this, she applied to the Nevada Council on the Arts, and was accepted, for an Artist in residence position. She takes her music to schools and other functions as live, hands-on teaching.
"I also do several recitals with my own students every year. One of the biggest is a Christmas Recital held at Maytans Music Center on Center Street in Reno. This year's program was dedicated to the memory of Steve Maytan, one of Reno's most vigorous supporters of music education, that was held on Sunday, December 14th to an overflow crowd.
"Maytan's has always been so supportive of me and my students. They help get keyboards for my kids, they search for sheet music, they even provide a grand piano for the recitals. If there are cookies or other goodies left over after a recital, they go to the staff at Maytans Music."
"Music is the driving force for me. For our trio, it's a religion, and I would love to see world peace and spirituality through music. There is such synergy". And we might add, Erika Paul energy...jg