Jazz, funk, pop, soul conclude Homestead’s Music on the Mountain

By Ross Boissoneau

Sun contributor

The last of the season’s outdoor music shows are upon us. Music on the Mountain at The Homestead concludes its season with East Bay Drive and special guest Miriam Pico on Sept. 18, while Leelanau Uncaged in Northport takes place Sept. 27.

East Bay Drive is a quintet of music veterans from the Traverse City area who bring together varying interests in soul, jazz and funk. Think the Rippingtons, the Crusaders, Fourplay and others of that ilk. The core quartet of David Chown (keyboards), Rick Kiehle (guitar), John Paul (bass) and Alex Wyant (drums) has been joined by new official member Ryan Critchfield (saxophone), formerly a regular guest.

“We first formed five years ago during the throes of the pandemic,” says Chown. “Rick and I did some gigs as a duo and found we shared a love of Bob James, David Sanborn, Steely Dan, Fourplay, and liked updated versions of pop classics.”

For this show, the group is bringing along special guest Miriam Pico. The popular songstress and Chown were regular collaborators for years, and still play together occasionally. “I worked with her for 20 years,” says Chown. She now frequently performs with her husband Ryan Younce as well as guesting with other groups, including a sold-out show this past spring with the Northwestern Michigan College jazz bands.

Kiehle labels East Bay Drive’s music contemporary cool jazz, and that’s as good a description as any. Not only do they play imaginative arrangements of material by George Duke, Jeff Beck, Michael Franks, Pat Metheny and more, but they also perform originals. Five of them appear on the band’s debut EP, and with the addition of some additional tunes the group will be releasing a full LP/CD.

Kiehle says the musicians all have different interests and bring different styles to the band. “For me, it’s interesting to hear what the other people bring. Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Steve Lukather and Chuck Loeb are my heroes. Those are the cats I listen to non-stop, with a little Wes Montgomery and George Benson sprinkled in.”

Chown has been a solo lounge piano player and led a variety band, Paul plays solo gigs and backs country/blues/roots rocker Drew Hale, and Wyant produces alternative rock/metal music out of his home studio. Add a fulltime saxophonist to all that and the music can go most any direction.

For his part, Critchfield is thrilled to be a full member of the group. “I fell in love with music and never fell out of love with it,” he says. “What’s cool is there aren’t any egos.”

Chown says Critchfield brings a lot to the band. “Ryan plays with a ton of emotion. He brings it,” he says.

The group is working on its set list for the show, which Chown says will likely include music familiar to fans of smooth jazz and pop, as well as some tunes tailored to Pico. “We’ll do some Latin-tinged numbers, some funkier things like Alicia Keys,” he says.

That’s in keeping with the band’s versatility. “East Bay Drive can back anybody. We can go in different directions,” says Chown. Indeed, the band has played classic pop and straightahead acoustic jazz, as well as backing a Sinatra-style crooner and a Jimmy Buffet tribute.

This is the final show of the year atop Bay Mountain at The Homestead. The Music on the Mountain series was revived this year after several years of dormancy. The shows have varied from Luke Winslow-King’s rootsy blues, the chamber Americana of Crispin Campbell and sunny reggae and bluegrass by the Sundogs to Joe Taylor’s twangy, tasty jazz, Jabo Bihlman’s bluesy rock (set for Sept. 11) and now East Bay Drive’s cool jazzy funk.

In deference to the shorter days, this show will begin promptly at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available at TicketTailor.com, or just go to tinyurl.com/EBD-w-Miriam.