Thursday, September 22, 2022: Genre-hopping in Juneau: Simply Three’s cross-over blend of classics and pop. Cellist Zuill Bailey on Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival. After 25 years, Officer Jim Quinto retires from the Juneau Police Department. 

Zack Clark, Glen McDaniel and Nick Villalobos say the key to making crossover music work is in the arrangements (Photo courtesy of Simply Three).

The string trio, Simply Three, is perhaps one of the best-known performers at the Juneau Jazz and Classics fall festival.

They’re a crossover group that’s become a YouTube sensation, mixing classics, pop and rock and roll.

On  this Thursday’s Juneau Afternoon, the trio will talk about their genre-hopping style.

Also on this program,

  • Cellist Zuill Bailey, the artistic director for the Juneau Jazz and Classics, will pull back the curtain to reveal the thinking behind this year’s festival.
  • And after 25 years Officer Jim Quinto retires from the Juneau Police Department. What he loved most about his job.

Rhonda McBride hosts this Thursday’s program.  You can catch Juneau Afternoon, Tuesday through Friday, live at 3:00 p.m. on KTOO Juneau 104.3.  The rebroadcast airs at 7:00 p.m. on KTOO. You can also listen online at ktoo.org.

For more information about Juneau Afternoon or to schedule time on the show, email juneauafternoon@ktoo.org. Please schedule early. The show is often booked one to two weeks in advance.

 

Part 1: Simply Three string trio transcends traditional music boundaries.

Guests: Zack Clark, cellist. Nick Villalobos, bassist. Glen McDaniel, violinist.
Zack Clark, the cellist for Simply Three, said he first met Zuill Bailey years ago, when Bailey was a judge in a cello competition.  Clark wondered if Zuill Bailey would remember being his jurist. But he says he never forgot Bailey, whose clean, crisp technique inspired him to try harder.

 

Nick Villalobos pushes the boundaries of traditional bass playing.

Simply Three makes it all sound simple, but the string trio’s music is a sophisticated blend of genres.

Zack Clark says technical virtuosity is key to the group’s sound but also a sense of adventure from crossing over from classics to other genres.

Zack Clark and Nick Villalobos, who co-founded the group,  say the secret sauce is to use the bass as both a solo and percussion instrument.

In a conversation with Rhonda McBride, the group talks about how their sound continues to evolve as they add original compositions to their repertoire.

Glen McDaniel is the newest member of the group. He enjoys the trio’s process of collaboration.

Part 2: Zuill Bailey: Fusion of Jazz and Classics growing exponentially.

Zuill Bailey outside KTOO Studios carrying his cello on his back (Photo by Sheli DeLaney).
Guests: Zuill Bailey, Juneau Jazz and Classics Artistic Director.
Zuill Bailey discusses upcoming performances with the Simply Three trio (Photo by Rhonda McBride).

Zuill Bailey, the artistic director of the Juneau Jazz and Classics Festival, says he excited by the performers at this year’s festival, because they’re pushing classical music in new directions. Bailey says groups like Simply Three are showing that the techniques for playing classical instruments like the bass, cello and violin “literally have no bounds.”

In this conversation with Rhonda McBride, Bailey talks about his friendship with two of the festival’s performers, Shelly Watson and Matt Herskowitz, who he met when they were students at Juilliard.

Part 3: Juneau Police Officer Jim Quinto bids farewell after 25 years on the job.

Guests: Officer Jim Quinto and Chief Ed Mercer
 

Officer Jim Quinto’s retirement ceremony (Photo courtesy of the Juneau Police Department).

Officer Jim Quinto was not your typical police officer. He spent most of his 25 years on the Juneau Police Department on patrol duty. And although he had a chance to work in drug enforcement and other areas of the department, he says he liked patrolling the streets best of all — because it gave him an opportunity to build relationships with people, so they could feel comfortable turning to him for help.

Chief Ed Mercer congratulates Officer Jim Quinto on his retirement after 25 years of service (Photo by the Juneau Police Department).

Quinto and his boss, Chief Ed Mercer, have a lot in common. Both are Alaska Natives and started work in the Juneau Police Department at about the same time. The two sat down with Rhonda McBride to reflect on the changes they have seen over the years and why Quinto’s job, patrolling downtown Juneau, could be a tough assignment.

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