Wilbur Rehmann Quintet to Perform at ‘Jazz Afternoon in the Park’

Down below blanket edges and the legs of chairs press down into the grass as people settle themselves about the hillside.

A faint breeze rolls up and over the audience making its way toward the group of musicians standing in front.

With eyes closed, Wilbur Rehmann tilts back the bronze neck of his saxophone and breaths out one long, steady note.

On the afternoon of Aug. 25, let the smooth jazz rhythms of the Wilbur Rehmann Quintet with special guest MJ Williams on vocals and trombone carry you away during their “Jazz Afternoon in the Park” concert. Sponsored by the Lewis & Clark Library, the free event will be held at 3 p.m. in Anchor Park.

“I like the improvisation where you get to make up the melody in the song as you’re playing it,” said Rehmann, renowned Montana jazz artist and saxophone player, of jazz music. “Every time you play a song, it’s different. That’s an especially creative thing for me. It’s all coming up out of the imagination and the experience of the musician.”

Rehmann, who grew up in Iowa, credits his mother – who raised him as single parent – with opening his eyes to the beauty and possibilities of music.

“My mother always loved music, and she wanted me to try out a musical instrument,” Rehmann said.

In fifth grade he picked up a saxophone for the first time and was immediately hooked. After he started playing, he recalled his mother taking him to see traveling big band concerts in their hometown during the 1950s.

“I’d go and listen to the saxophone sections especially,” Rehmann said.

Throughout middle school and high school, Rehmann continued to hone his skills on the saxophone. He even started a quartet in high school that played for school dances, local country clubs, Christmas parties, and other various functions that people were willing to hire them for.

“All of that was a great foundation and it kept me interested,” Rehmann said of his early musical endeavors.

When it came time for Rehmann to go to college, he didn’t choose to pursue a degree in music, but his admiration for jazz never wavered. One of the highlights of his college years was getting to see Dave Brubek, American jazz pianist and composer, perform with a quartet.

“Getting to see him and hear him was a big inspiration,” Rehmann said.

After college, Rehmann later moved to Montana for a job with the state of Montana and quickly started connecting with other local musicians. MJ Williams, Montana native and jazz vocalist and trombonist, was one of the first he encountered.

Like Rehmann, Williams fell in love with jazz music early on.