Prolific vocalist MJ Williams headlines Squire House dinner & jazz show

Downtown Bozeman’s Squire House, located within the Element hotel, will host a unique and geographically diverse quartet of Montana jazz musicians on Tuesday, November 20th. The performance will feature vocalist MJ Williams, bassist Bob Bowman, guitarist Jeremy Quick, and Alex Platt on drums. Seating for concert and dinner begins at 6pm, November 20th, with music to follow at 7pm. Will-call tickets are $25 and available at www.eventbrite.com. Advance tickets are also available at the venue, located at 25 E Mendenhall in Bozeman.
MJ Williams is a vocalist and trombonist who lives in Basin, Montana, but has traveled the world to learn about music in its many forms. Williams has performed in the Bozeman area with Kelly Roberti, Ann Tappan, among many others, over the last three-plus decades. She’s been involved in many recording projects including an album recorded in France entitled The MJ Williams Paris Project. Early in her career she performed at the Universal Jazz Coalition in New York City, as well as the Bellevue Jazz Festival near Seattle. In 2013, Williams wrote a score for Mary Ellen Strom’s two channel video installation at the Longhouse Projects Gallery in New York. She performed at the Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, with pianist Bob Packwood in 2015. And in 2016 she was a recipient of the Montana Governors’ Award to Artists.
Bob Bowman, a native Kansan, has performed with numerous artists including the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Frank Mantooth, Carmen McRae, Pat Coil, Freddie Hubbard, Bud Shank, Karrin Allyson, Dan Haerle, Steve Houghton, Steve Allee, Bill Mays, Clay Jenkins, Danny Embrey, Todd Strait, Loren Stillman, Bob Sheppard, Matt Otto, Rod Fleeman, John Stowell, Jerry Hahn, Bobby Watson and others. Bowman has toured around the world and is featured on many recordings that have won or been nominated for Grammy awards. While performing with these artists, he works with his own bands including the legendary Kansas City group, Interstring and Bowdog. He’s also dedicated himself to jazz education. Bowman now resides in Montana, continuing to play in and influence the music scene.
Skilled musician and composer Jeremy Quick has been studying and enjoying music since he was a young child. From Whitefish, he’s been performing domestically and internationally since 2003, both solo and with groups. While he enjoys playing guitar for a myriad of bands, Quick also finds time to compose and tour with his original project, The JQTrio. In 2011, the group recorded an album, Live and Uncut. His first solo studio album, Sketches of America, was released in 2016. When not performing, composing, writing, or learning about music, Quick teaches music. In Fall 2015, Quick was Artistic Associate for The Banff Centre’s Artists-In-Residence (Banff, AB, Canada). His 2014 original song, “Superhero” (available on iTunes) was an American Songwriting Award Nominee.
Alex Platt began playing the drums at the age of 10 and began gigging professionally at the age of 13. Alongside his prodigious younger brother, Adam Platt (piano), his career began early in life with opening sets at jazz festival shows for international stars like Ahmad Jamal, Diana Krall, and many others. He went on to study with drum legends Joe LaBarbara, Mike Clark, Tootie Heath, Rick Latham, Dave Elitch, and Jeff Hamilton, also receiving his performance degree in Jazz and African American Music from the California Institute of the Arts in 2001. He has performed and/or recorded with jazz artists such as Alice Coltrane, Jack Walrath, Oranyon Coltrane, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Brad Rabuchin; as well as country artist Stephanie Quayle, soul/funk impresario Big Joe Hurt, Persian legends Bahram Bajelan and Mehrdad Arabi, Jake Faulkner and Zac Sokolow of The Americans, and many more. Platt has also been a part of the rotating faculty at the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He currently resides in Bozeman, where he performs, teaches and records.