Quintet setup means the sax man gets a gig, too

“The tenor sax is missing in the quartet,” Whitcomb said. “I usually don’t have the opportunity to play with a five-piece (band) in Santa Fe. In Santa Fe, it’s tough to pay five musicians.”

That’s why Whitcomb is excited about his ensemble’s concert Thursday, Nov. 8, at the Outpost Performance Space. He will be joined by tenor sax player Glenn Kostur plus guitarist Michael Anthony, drummer Arnaldo Acosta and Stu MacAskie on Hammond B3 organ.

“They’re kind of my Albuquerque band,” Whitcomb said.

He said the ensemble will probably be performing many of his original tunes from his 2011 CD “Airports” as well as some music that he’s never recorded.

Whitcomb returned to Santa Fe in 2010 after being away for 13 years, five of them at Oberlin in Ohio and eight working in China.

“I was in Shanghai. It was super-excellent. It was a really great opportunity to get my footing as a band leader. … It was a great experience because it’s a growing jazz scene,” he said.

	J.Q. Whitcomb & Five Below WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 8 WHERE: Outpost Performance Space, 210 Yale SE HOW MUCH: $15 general public, $10 students and Outpost members at the Outpost, by calling 268-0044 or at the door

“There are new clubs opening all the time, so there are always new opportunities to play and work with local and foreign musicians.”

His opportunities for playing grew also because he speaks Chinese, a language he studied in college. Since he’s been back in the United States, Whitcomb reunited with some Shanghai-based musicians who were playing several concerts in Los Angeles.

“They had lost their trumpet player at the last minute. He couldn’t go. I got to play three gigs with them in Los Angeles over a long weekend,” he said.

In Santa Fe, Whitcomb is using his knowledge of the language as a teacher of Chinese at the Fayette Street Academy, a small private school.