A "Dabble" of jazz

Written by Ava Ayotte '27

Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to Vieste. For 23-year-old local jazz musician Luke Bayne '24, nicknamed Chicken, the joke practically writes itself.

The former Salve Regina University music education student and his band, Dabble, play every third Friday night at Vieste, an Italian restaurant on Newport's famed Thames Street, helping the jazz scene stay alive in the city. 

Bayne played in the jazz band while attending Salve. This is where he met his bandmates and professors who inspired him. After playing trumpet for a few years, he decided to start student teaching.  

When he is not performing, Bayne teaches music at Tiverton High School. Here, he is able to introduce jazz to a younger audience and inspire them to pursue music. "When young people get to hear jazz, like good live jazz, that can be a life-changing thing," Bayne said. He encourages his students to immerse themselves in the jazz scene. As they are used to only hearing high school jazz bands, he teaches them that there is a whole community and different sounds to hear.  

We had a chance to ask him to share some thoughts on the genre.

Q: What are some of your biggest influences either musically or personally, and how do you think that has shaped your style?

A: Doug, who is one of my trumpet teachers, is an absolutely ripping trumpet player. He plays for Kenny Wayne Sheperd now. I got to see him perform every week one summer when I lived at Salve, and that was just absolutely huge. Because of him, I've gotten to do so many cool things and meet a lot of cool people. A handful of the songs that we play in Dabble are inspired by him.

Q: What role do you think local jazz scenes play in keeping the genre alive?

A: I hated jazz before I listened to it live. Jazz can be really hard to listen to. It can be really hard to get into if you don't know what's going on, and if you're just listening to it on a speaker, it's hard to feel the emotion in it, as with any music. Live music is 100% of the time better than a recording, and the same is true of jazz. It also helps that a lot of the times you see [jazz], you're in a bar, and people are a little bit drunk. They're having fun and listening to jazz. We play some songs here and there that they know, like "Dancing in the Moonlight." Everybody knows that song, but we do it in a jazzy way. We do a couple Beatles songs, things that help get people used to listening to instrumental music, and from there, you're pretty much at jazz already.

Q: What is the most rewarding part of teaching music to high schoolers?

A: Seeing them experience music in the way that I do is really cool. Being able to help foster those kinds of experiences that were so important to me in other people is the best feeling in the world.

Q: How do you get your students/audiences excited about jazz?  

A: When I have the opportunity to introduce somebody to jazz: to have them listen to it and have fun with it too. That goes with anything music-related, but you know, if they're not having fun, they're going to hate it.

Q: How do your experiences as a performer influence your teaching style?

A: My experiences as a performer are where a lot of my emotion comes from, and why I connect and resonate with things so deeply. Being honest with [audiences and students] is huge. Sharing these great experiences with them that I've had, I think it helps to show them that it's not as inaccessible as it might seem, and it can be really cool. I came into Salve and didn't know what I wanted to do. I switched majors three times. I didn't even want to do jazz band at first. I think sharing that with them is important. I hope it helps them to not stress.

Q: What advice would you give to anyone who wants to be in any sort of band or pursue music?

A: Just be a nice person and be fun and reliable to work with. Be a good person to work with, and that will take you far. You do not need to be the best player in the world. If you are the best player in the world, and you're a jerk, nobody's going to want to work with you. If you show up on time, you know what you're doing and you're just willing to work and willing to practice, that goes so far with people, and that's kind of the way you have to approach everything. You can't approach anything with an "I'm too good for this" mindset. Nobody wants to work with somebody like that.

Q: Where do you see yourself and Dabble in the next few years?

A: As individuals, we have creativity meters that we have to fill up, and playing with the band helps to fill that as a creative outlet. Over the next couple of years, I sincerely hope that we don't lose that. I don't think we will, because I think we all have that goal in mind. We're not trying to sell tickets. We're not trying to play to a certain crowd. We're trying to make the music that we like and do that as best as we can. And it seems that people like it.