On the third Sunday of every month until October, The Ryan Bills Trio will bring jazz to the Beverly Park Pavilion. The Ryan Bills Trio is a group of young professional musicians who feature one older and established musician at Java and Jazz.
By: Mary Genson | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published May 2, 2023
BEVERLY HILLS — Free coffee, breakfast snacks and live jazz will be available at Java and Jazz at the Beverly Park Pavilion 9 a.m.-noon on the third Sundays of the month starting May 21.
“It’s a really cool thing to do on a Sunday morning,” Village Clerk and Assistant Village Manager Kristin Rutkowski said. “Enjoy live music, grab a coffee, and talk with your neighbors.”
Each morning of Java and Jazz, the Ryan Bills Trio will feature talented musicians who play various jazz instruments. This is the third season Ryan Bills Trio will be involved with Java and Jazz.
After graduating from Wayne State University with a music degree, Ryan Bills approached the Beverly Hills Parks and Recreation Department to perform during the summer of 2021.
“Right away I approached it with the idea of ‘let’s get a young band of young professional musicians and let’s set it up as a featured artist series to feature an older, more established artist in the Detroit area,’ and that is what we have done,” Bills said. “Every concert has been a band of young people in their early 20s and one older, well-respected musician.”
In the jazz world, Bills explained that musicians are trained individually to be well-rounded enough to be able to operate on a pickup setup. Bills said they “speak a common language of the music,” so they are able to play a high-quality performance with musicians they have never met before.
Last year the featured artists included a range of musicians such as horn players, a pianist and an organist.
Prior to beginning the series, Bills had his eye on the Beverly Park Pavilion, which he thought would be a great place to hold a concert series. Since he has family who live near the park, he is familiar with the area.
What he especially likes about the location of the event is the protection provided by the pavilion, allowing for concerts to still occur when it is raining.
Bills said it has been really exciting to be a part of an established event in the community each summer. He said they have had a very engaged audience in the past and hope to have a similar experience this summer.
“The audience is as much a part of the band as the musicians sometimes. The energy and the love that we get from the community and the people that attend this concert series is as much a part of why it is so rewarding for us to do it,” Bills said.
At Java and Jazz, the band performs two sets that are about an hour and 15 minutes long each, with a short break in the middle.
Audience members are welcome to stay for the whole concert or drop by when they are available.
Dates of Java and Jazz are May 21, June 18, July 16, Aug. 20, Sept. 17 and Oct. 15.