Submitted photo

Gary Billups’ “Winter Nocturnes” CD cover.

slideshow

By RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY

PDT Staff Writer

Gary Billups of Wheelersburg just returned from teaching music in China to release his third studio album, “Winter Nocturnes,” with 9 Lives Records of Ashland, Ky.

Billups holds music degrees from Morehead State and Marshall University. He is a jazz tenor saxophonist, president of the Southern Ohio Jazz Society, and adjunct faculty at Shawnee State University. During his music career, Billups has performed with Lee Castle’s Jimmy Dorsey Band, Gene Krupa, Four Lads, Bob Newhart, Rita Moreno, Bobby Vinton, Frankie Vallie, Rich Little and Myron Floren.

He learned to play piano as a child, and then later he picked up the saxophone also.

“I started playing quite a bit. We had some really great musicians in Portsmouth at that time. We had a big lounge band that we started. We were just kids, and we started playing in Columbus my sophomore year in high school. We played the summers, of course. Six nights a week. Then we played the summers after that in Cleveland and in Michigan and Indiana,” he said.

His first album was released in the 1990s, then his second album followed in 2006 with his longtime friend and Portsmouth-area native Dr. Rob Taylor. Billups’ newest album, “Winter Nocturnes,” is a collection of jazz and blues music, with new songs written by Billups and a few of his close friends. The album also features tracks covering A.C. Jobim’s “The Girl From Ipanema” and Carlos Santana’s “Europa.”

The album is an homage to Billups and Taylor’s previous album, “Summer Nocturnes.” It also features stylings of Frank Oddis, Lou Lausche, Thomas Stephens and Sheung-Ping Lai.

“We’ve got some really good people on this one,” he said. “It took us a while. We started working on it about last February. We were kind of slow doing it, I suppose. But the music is not real easy to play, either. You might have 10 or 12 different chords in the same song.”

Billups recently hosted a Lunchtime Concert Series workshop at the Hong Kong Institute of Education in China. The workshop was originally started by his friend, Dr. Taylor but he became ill last year and could not host the workshop so he asked Billups to fill-in for him.

“Jazz is America’s classical music. Jazz is as difficult, or more difficult than the European classical. It’s as difficult, or more difficult than Bach or Mozart, and it’s our music,” Billups said. “The kids like it because of the rhythm, but the harmony is also a challenge for them like classical music. It’s not like country music or rock n roll, where you have two chords and banging around.”

While Billups was hosting the workshop in China last year, Taylor died and Billups escorted his friend’s remains home to Portsmouth. In Taylor’s memory, Billups has dedicated this new album, and he continues to host Taylor’s workshop in Hong Kong.

The album was released about two weeks ago, and it is available to order online at 9 Lives Records, www.9livesrecords.com.

RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY can be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 235, or rottney@heartlandpublications.com.