Jim Hession

The day Jim and Martha Hession met legendary pianist-composer Eubie Blake was one of the most fortunate of their career. But their 15-year association with the pioneering jazz pianist, who died in 1983 at age 100, also has its down-side. "When people hear you worked with Eubie Blake, they think that you're going to sound like a turn-of-the-century ragtime band," vocalist Martha said in a three-way phone conversation with her pianist husband from their Glendale home.

Although Jim and Martha Hession are booked at Jax in Glendale under their own names, they prefer to be known simply as members of the band they call the American Jazz Quintet. The name has both democratic and musical implications. "Jim and I feel that every one of the five members is as important as anybody else," said Martha Hession, who possesses a vibrant, pure-toned mezzo-soprano voice.

Although Jim and Martha Hession are booked at Jax in Glendale under their own names, they prefer to be known simply as members of the band they call the American Jazz Quintet. The name has both democratic and musical implications. "Jim and I feel that every one of the five members is as important as anybody else," said Martha Hession, who possesses a vibrant, pure-toned mezzo-soprano voice.

The day Jim and Martha Hession met legendary pianist-composer Eubie Blake was one of the most fortunate of their career. But their 15-year association with the pioneering jazz pianist, who died in 1983 at age 100, also has its down-side. "When people hear you worked with Eubie Blake, they think that you're going to sound like a turn-of-the-century ragtime band," vocalist Martha said in a three-way phone conversation with her pianist husband from their Glendale home.

It's not unusual for the audience not to know what a jazz band might do next, but with Jim and Martha Hession's American Jazz Quin tet, the same goes for the musicians. "We set the tone for each individual piece right there on the spot," says Jim Hession, the group's pianist. "We don't have set arrangements. We like to see how a number will develop."

Tim Emmons started his musical life as a guitarist, but he didn't click with the instrument. "Look at these mitts," he said, holding up his small hands with thick digits. "My fingers are too fat for the guitar." Bass, to which Emmons switched at age 16, was better. First he played electric, then, at 18, when the West Hollywood native began studying music at UC Santa Barbara, upright bass. The latter felt grand.

That's Mouse Johnson in the corner booth, happily crowded behind his drum kit on the same makeshift stage he's on every Monday night about this time. And it's as intimate as a living room here at Skoby's in Chatsworth, with the small crowd around the bar drinking, smoking and clapping just inches away from Johnson's quintet and its passionate rumble of jazz, blues and pop.