Article and Photographs by Todd Matthews

Serendipity.

Talent.

Intelligence.

These words come to mind upon meeting the promising young saxophonist Kareem Kandi.

Serendipity? As a teenager undecided about pursuing jazz professionally, Kandi took a job as the doorman at a popular jazz club in Tacoma. When he refused to let jazz legend Bill Ramsey in the door without paying a cover charge, Ramsey hired Kandi to work the door at his club—subsequently influencing the young man's interest in jazz (to Kandi's credit, he did not know what Ramsey looked like, and thought the jazz venerable was just someone too cheap to pay a cover charge).

Talent? After Bud Shank's jazz camp awarded Kandi a scholarship, the aspiring saxophonist met the head of Cornish College's jazz department, Chuck Deardorf, and was encouraged to apply for a scholarship. He formed a band and auditioned at the school. Kandi earned a full scholarship.

Intelligence? Kandi is as much a businessman as he is a musician: studying at school, earning money as an instructor, and headlining three Thursday nights per month at the Hopvine Pub on Capitol Hill—a gig he has had since January 2001.

Kareem Kandi (photograph by Todd Matthews)

"The whole jazz thing started for me in middle school," said Kandi, a Tacoma native. "Tacoma was like a jazz wasteland. There was nothing happening musically in Tacoma." Fortunately, Kandi's music instructor was legendary Tracy Knoop—a musician who worked with the Tommy Dorsey Big Band, and described by Kandi as the jazz driving force of jazz music in Tacoma. The more that Kandi studied with Knoop, the more he found different jazz recordings turned him on. His interest was piqued, but Kandi remained focused on weightlifting and sports.

Still, jazz was a recurring theme in Kandi's life. He worked as a doorman at Drake's Pub in Tacoma during his junior year of high school. It was at Drake's that he saw some of the finest area jazz musicians perform each week. When jazz legend Ramsey hired Kandi to work the door at his own club, the young saxophonist witnessed still more professional talent. "I was hearing really top notch stuff at an early age in high school," Kandi told me. "It was really nice, and inspired me to keep practicing and pursuing music as a career. "

Kandi was a Running Start student in high school, and by his senior year had only one class per quarter before graduating. That meant he had extra time to practice the saxophone. After graduating, he went to Olympic College in Bremerton, and enrolled in the school's music program. He participated in jazz festivals and earned the Bud Shank scholarship. In 1998, he recorded a demo CD. Two years ago, Ramsey invited Kandi to play in the horn section behind The Temptations and The Four Tops. After a performance with Ramsey and Deardorf, Kandi earned the Cornish scholarship. He will graduate in the spring. "There are a lot of great players at Cornish," said Kandi. "When I decided to go to Cornish, I thought, 'Do I want to go to the east coast to really be in the environment with all the competitive students? Or do I want to hang out here.' I decided to stay here because my family is here. Cornish has so many heavyweights on the faculty. I can pick their brains in a small classroom setting. That's what is so cool about Cornish."

Kandi's days are spent in school. However, Thursday evenings (except the first Thursday of each month), audiences can find Kandi and his trio on the small stage at the Hopvine. An hour before one of his performances last month, Kandi agreed to meet with me to discuss his music career and passion for jazz. As we talked, the bar was quickly filling with patrons. Kandi's music is quite popular, and by the time he took the stage, an impressive crowd had gathered to watch his band perform.

"The Hopvine is a nice place to play because it's so close to school," said Kandi, who commutes every day between Tacoma and Seattle. "I can bring other guys from school to the Hopvine and we can work on stuff and try out ideas here. We get a chance to play regularly, and aren't confined to a classroom situation. It's a lot of fun."

Kandi first started performing at the Hopvine nearly a year go. Local drummer Julian MacDonough, Kandi's friend, knew the owner of the Hopvine, and approached him about a weekly gig. Will Blair on bass rounded out the trio. MacDonough left the trio when he found steady work performing on cruise ships; Blair still sits in with the band occasionally, but is often busy with other gigs. That said, Kandi has found a gifted pair of musicians to fill the trio's original slots: Jacques Willis on drums; Jeff Harper on bass.

Kareem Kandi and his trio performing live at the Hopvine Pub (photograph by Todd Matthews)

In addition to studying and gigging, Kandi also works as a private teacher for many music young music enthusiasts in Tacoma. When he started school, his student load was around two-dozen pupils; but he reduced that number to better manage his time. Teaching, Kandi explained, is a great way to remain immersed in jazz music while studying and learning the art form himself. "When you teach somebody, you are reinforcing the knowledge that you already know," said Kandi. "You are learning it better yourself. It's a challenge. You may play something to one student a certain way, and it won't work for the next student. You have to figure out an entirely different way to explain it. That means you have to think of other ways yourself, which makes you learn the material better." Teaching people about jazz, Kandi added, helps better music as a whole—and raises the awareness of jazz.

Whether it is performing, studying, or teaching, Kandi's approach to jazz is professional and disciplined. Yes, he is talented. However, he is not impatient. He is aware there is more learning and studying to do, and is not looking to put his career on fast-forward. "The majority of my time is spent at school," said Kandi. "If I have gigs coming up, I try and learn my music and be prepared. But I'm not making a focus on going out and getting many gigs right now. I'm just trying to finish school and do well at that. I want to get as much out of school as I can while I am there."

Moreover, he is passionate about improving his musicianship, something that a lot of others fail to do. "I am constantly working on new stuff," said Kandi. "Everyone's doing that. If you are a musician, you are always trying to improve. I make a distinction between 'weekend warriors,' who just play and don't really work on their music, and those musicians who take it seriously—always studying, constantly trying to improve and learn about music and make it better. As far as other musicians around town, I'm at the bottom of the heap. I understand that, and that's fine with me. But I'm trying to learn more and getter better, and improve."

Until he graduates next year, Kandi will continue to gig at the Hopvine. The pub is defined musically, somewhat, by his regular presence. Simply put, when people think of jazz at the Hopvine, they think of Kandi's band. The venue is a win-win situation for both customer and performer. Customers can stop by to hear some great music, and Kandi can continue performing live, trying out new material, and cutting his teeth in a live club atmosphere. In many ways, performing at the Hopvine is an extension of his formal education. "I'm always trying to work on different tunes from school," Kandi told me. "I'm always trying to incorporate the music I'm learning. I'm usually trying to think about what I have been learning in school, how I can perform better. Right now, I'm just working more as a band and a team. I'm trying to make the band sound better. That's the main thing I'm learning currently in school. The band is a whole team. It's always a group effort. Like a basketball team: if you have an all-star, that's great but they're not going to win. Right now, I think that's what we're all working on here at the Hopvine."

Kandi has found a balance with his music—studying, teaching, and performing—and it is refreshing to see someone approach a career with such a degree of level-headedness, hard work, and confidence. "I want to keep teaching and playing," he said, looking forward to graduating. "I will probably take up a few more students, get some house gigs, and promote my music."

This article originally appeared, in slightly different form, in Jazz Steps.