"San Antonio's #1 Jazz Band!" (SA News) "Cool Jazz Sounds" that "Captivate Us All!" (Current) "Cool and Hip Jazz" ... "Finger-Snapping Fun!" (Express-News)   ······· For all you Harry Potter fans out there, here's a song from our Potter tribute show: the main theme from the movies, composed by John Williams, and interpreted by your favorite jazz trio. Hedwig's Theme. ······· Check out some recent Protagonists Jazz Parties! They're archived on krtu.org, but only for a week after we've done them, so ya gotta hurry. Or just download them from here! Drum Night, with special guest drummers Jay Burrid Mitthauer and Steve Glaeser. Some really fun stuff here, with nice interplay between the drummers, who are panned across the stereo field. Sax Night, with special guest saxophonists Pierre Poiree and David Villanueva. These guys had actually never gigged with each other and were excited to play together. They both turned in soulful, superb performances. Party With Marty, our tribute to the great arranger Marty Paich, with an impressive dektet composed of San Antonio's best players. Paich, who wrote for Ella Fitzgerald, Art Pepper, Sammy Davis Jr, and Mel Torme, among others, was known for his offbeat, agile brass charts. In particular, he quoted liberally and cleverly from bop masterpieces and pop culture, as well as throwing in obscure in-crowd references. Protag arranger Barry Brake had some fun with our original Protagonists numbers, "Protag Blues" and "50-50," giving the dektet crazy quotes from Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck, Styx, Rush, Deep Purple, Guy Lombardo, and more. We had tons of fun. Here's the lineup: Mike Palermo, trumpet Logan Keese, trumpet Mark Lumley, French horn Dave Deering, trombone Ron Wilkins, tuba Morgan King, tenor sax George Briscoe, bari sax Gabe Herrera, aux percussion Ken Slavin, vocals Darren, Greg, and Barry protagonists Harry Potter Night, recorded at the outset of Harry Potter Miracle Month, with songs inspired by the series, including originals, standards like "Old Devil Moon" (dedicated to a certain R. Lupin), and a couple of stunning re-imaginings of stuff from the movies. Don't miss it. Two Bass Hit, with our special guest the Downbeat-award-winning string bassist Adam Booker. A Cartful of Horace, our tribute to Horace Silver, with special guests: Ron Wilkins, trombone; Logan Keese, trumpet; Heinz Frohmeyer, piano; and Brandon Rivas, bass. 80s Night. We love the 80s! For the August Protag Jazz Party on krtu 91.7 FM, we did a little thing called 80s night, with music by Wham, Michael Jackson, Sade, and a beautiful ballad from the movie "An American Tail" that caused Greg to say "Man, that takes me back to when I was young and still believed in mice." 70s Night. Do you like Pina Colada? Barbra Streisand's afro? Oh my goodness: it's 70s night! For June 27th Protag Jazz Party on krtu 91.7 FM, we took a trip to the 1970s, and did songs like "Figure Eight," from Schoolhouse Rock, the theme song from "The Jeffersons" as a New Orleans-style march, and — our favorite for the evening — a ten-minute journey through "Evergreen." And don't miss the zippy samba version of the Carpenters' "Close To You." Oh, what a night. Fiesta Night. Fiesta, baby. The April 25th Protag Jazz Party on krtu 91.7 FM was an all-Fiesta-music program. We weren't sure, going into it, what that would mean, but as it turned out we kicked off with Tito Puente's immortal party tune "Oye Como Va," then went on to play some swingy Willie Nelson and some original Protagonists salsa, plus "I'm an Old Cowhand," a moody take on "They Call The Wind Mariah," and a Latino "San Antonio Rose." ······· In 2005 we celebrated our fifteenth anniversary. The Express-News named us "Top Ticket" for the week and gave us lots and lots of great coverage. Read on (and click the links to complete articles): JAZZ PROTAGONISTS 15TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY "Sticking around for 15 years in any genre is an accomplishment. The Protagonists ... fly high the flag of hip and cool jazz." 11-11-05 TOP TICKET: Jazz Protagonists "Welcome to the wonderful world of the Jazz Protagonists ... where the music is hot and cool, ... where art and fun coexist.... Its "Protagonists Jazz Party" radio show [is] near-essential listening." 11-13-05 JAZZ PROTAGONISTS ARE MARKING 15 YEARS IN THE BIZ "...both irreverence and a style of music that recalls the glory days of '50s/'60s jazz hipness.... There will be some finger-snapping fun at Luna." 11-16-05 Our thanks to Jim Beal and the Express-News for their kind words over the years. ······· Last summer we played a concert as part of KRTU's "Jazz at the Witte" series. We had guest artists Ron Wilkins and Rob Hart with us, playing trombone/bass trumpet and sax, respectively. Fortunately, we also had recording mikes on! Check out our impromptu version of Miles Davis's classic "So What." You can hear the birds twittering in the trees, and the guys laughing when Ron opens up with a direct quote from Miles's original solo. ······· another clip from our luna gig. this one's an original called "st catchpole": in mp3 or real audio. and check out the whole set on the protagonists jazz party on krtu 91.7 and krtu.org. ······· we recently played a fabulous live set at luna. check out this clip from it: in mp3 or real audio. and check out the whole set on the protagonists jazz party on krtu 91.7 and krtu.org. ······· SIGN UP TO BE ON OUR MAILING LIST! (we promise we won't spam you.)   ······· hey! every tuesday at 9, listen to the protagonists jazz party on krtu 91.7 and krtu.org!