The acclaimed Doug Roche Trio returned to Arvada for the first time in two years on April 26, performing the music of Richard Rogers in an intimate set at La Dolce Vita in Olde Town. The event was attended by 30 people and marked the first time Roche has played in Arvada since the closure of Living Water Unity Church, which used to host Roche’s Jazz at the Creek series.

Jazz at the Creek was a popular monthly series that began almost a decade ago and featured intimate, living room style jam sessions with Roche and his trio. The church closed shortly before the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, and Jazz at the Creek went by the wayside with it. 

Local musician and music fan Warren Rubin approached Roche about the prospect of playing at La Dolce Vita, seeking to fill what he felt was an absence of jazz in Olde Town.

“The minster about eight or nine years ago suggested we do a concert once a month. My drummer was in the church band, so we brough in our bass player and did Jazz at the Creek, since the church was near a creek. Apparently, Warren is one of our fans, he talked to us about doing a show at La Dolce Vita since there doesn’t seem to be much jazz down there,” Roche said.

Rubin said he was pleased with how the event went and added that he was hopeful about the prospect of making Olde Town into more of a music destination.

“It was glorious. The music was glorious, the turnout was excellent. I just want to see musicians come to Olde Town and I want to see them paid for their trouble. I think we were successful,” Rubin said.

Roche played with longtime bassist Ron Bland and drummer Jill Fredericksen, who he’s been playing with for over 20 years. The trio played the music of Richard Rogers and conversed with the audience between songs, much like the Jazz at the Creek shows.

Roche said the band wanted to play Rogers because of the timelessness of the songs.

“The reason some of these tunes have hung on for a hundred years now is the harmonies and the melodies are beautiful. It allows a jazz musician to have a nice template to improvise over. They stood the test of time,” Roche said.

Roche added that he enjoys playing relaxed shows where he can engage in the audience and let them in on how the music making goes down.

“When it was called Jazz at the Creek, we would kind of make it like a living room concert in the sense that we would talk about our approach to each tune in front of the audience, let them in on our process. I’ll talk about song form, what it is that we’re doing when we play jazz. People love that because all of a sudden, it gives them an understanding of where we’re coming from,” Roche said.

Rubin said that he hoped this show would begat future performances from Roche and musicians of his caliber, a prospect that both Roche and La Dolce Vita Owner Debbie Hansen were open to.

“What I would like to see is for this to be more than just a continuing feature at LDV, I’d like it to be a seed in Olde Town that shows we can support a music scene that supports musicians and rewards audiences,” Rubin said.

“Warren and I talked — he’s really helping us out for this first night. If it’s well supported, once a month might be a nice thing to do like we did before,” Roche said.

Hansen added that she supports the idea of doing an ongoing series and was happy to provide live music to folks in the community.

“I think that it’s very important that people who are fighting their demons or with families have a place to go listen to some great music. We’ll still have the free shows on  Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, but we’d like to have some more intimate concerts too. We’re working on making it a recurring event. Maybe doing a couple different events a month,” Hansen said.

“I’m happy to start up the Jazz at the Creek tradition again,” Roche said.