After Hours House Concerts 2012, 2014, and 2015 By Jonathan Hogan

Three years at Harry and Linda House Concerts have been great to look back at. I have grown so much as a person and as a musician the past 4 years. After Hours has been a prevalent jazz group in Evansville, Indiana for the past 30 years. The members of After Hours are Manager/Bass: Michael Gray, Vocals: Cary Gray, Guitar: Matt Kincaid, Drums: Gregg Martin, Tenor Sax/Flute/Clarinet: Jonathan Hogan. I am so grateful for having been adopted into this group back in the beginning of 2012. Through the past 4 years I have learned much from these fellow band mates; sometimes it has not been directly but indirectly through their actions. It also helps that not only are they great musicians, but they are also amazing people

After Hours House Concert 2012

    Beginning the journey with After Hours in February 2012 was scary, I guess. The first performance I did with them was a house concert where the bell of my saxophone was a couple inches from the person sitting in front of me. Harry George always mentions how timid I played during the first tune at that concert. Well I was feeling quite timid, but after I got into just making music with great musicians, I forgot how timid I was.

       Remembering back at preparing for this first performance with After Hours was just getting used to the way they did things. Learning special arrangements of tunes and vocal tunes unique to After Hours just took a little time. From the interesting double time feel of Angel Eyes to the refreshing arrangement of Wichita Lineman.

After Hours Concert 2014

   After two years of countless performances throughout the Evansville area we started to become a cohesive group. We began to reinvent many Beatles tunes and pop tunes that people know. The unique thing about After Hours is we all take part in leading the group. We approached this concert in 2014 in that manner. Each of us had a feature tune that we discussed with the audience and performed. It turned out to be a great concert where we brought lots of diversity to all of our music selections.

After Hours Concert 2015

The most recent concert was a huge success. As a group we did not have much time to prepare because of many life events. I think this lack of preparation gave us a fresh and unique approach. Greg Martin, our drummer, mentioned to me prior to the concert that most of the tunes we did were new. Looking back a good amount was added in the last four years. This concert really did click and we made great music for a great audience.

       After Hours is very much alive. We continue to bring music alive for public and private events throughout Evansville, Indiana and beyond. Although we are considered a jazz group, we continue to reinvent many selections in different styles. This leads us to be much more than just a jazz group but a unique ensemble able to bring any tune to life in any style required at the moment. I am proud to be a member of such an exceptional ensemble that continues to challenge itself in the current age.

                                                       Written by Jonathan Hogan 4.5.2015