Elephant Room
For 35 years and counting, the Elephant Room has been the paragon for bringing jazz to the Central Texas masses. In part that’s due to the club’s focus on local talent – familiar names like Ephraim Owens, John Mills, Mitch Watkins, Jon Blondell, Elias Haslanger, and Sarah Sharp have been staples on the calendar for years, even decades, joined now by Michael Malone, John Fremgen, Marco Antonio Santos, the Boss Street Brass Band, and other stalwarts. The big boss of them all was Tony Campise, whose remains overlook the stage to this day. Elephant booker Michael Mordecai leads his big band once again, with club co-owner Kris Kimura in the late saxophonist’s alto chair. – Michael Toland
