Album Notes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - People who've seen them perform say the emerging new band "Bixby Lane" is reminiscent of old school Chicago and Steely Dan. Others think of Red Hot Chili Peppers or Herbie Hancock funk. The band is flattered by the comparisons, but they insist their sound is their own - and the best way to define it is to hear it firsthand.
Make no mistake, there's nothing lightweight about these guys. They're serious about music - music that challenges the listener and brings the art to a new level. And why not? Wirt, Willoughby, and Watson have studied with internationally acclaimed saxophonist Bobby Watson, director of Jazz Studies, at the University of Missouri-Kansas City's Conservatory of Music, and Willoughby and Wirt play in his top jazz band at UMKC. (A bit of trivia, the band's name - Bixby Lane -- comes from the street that runs alongside the university's Performing Arts Center.)
Bobby Watson teaches his young students not just instrumental dexterity, but also a deep, abiding respect for jazz and music of substance, as well as the art of an enthralling performance. There's no question, Bixby Lane is learning well at the foot of the master.
"Our culture's standards for music are like anything else," says trumpet man Wirt, "For music to move forward requires study and discipline. It's like having an appetite for a really fine meal. You don't want to settle for fast food."
"A lot of today's so-called pop music is horribly cliché and lacks any artistic substance. We enjoy experimenting with the music. To bring the audience along with us, we play 'modern rock' and then incorporate elements of jazz and funk, and use a lot of improvisation, so the audience is hearing a really new sound -- something with a little more variety and depth than usual." says Watson.
The band looks forward to creating a legacy all their own. The future is never certain. It rests completely on the shoulders of those of us who truly love music: young aspiring musicians like them, accomplished musicians like Bobby Watson, but mostly on the tastes and support of the communities and all the fans.
- Michelle Hopkins (UMKC Press, November 2002)