Grand Rapids’ SpeakEZ Lounge has kicked off regular jazz jams hosted by the saxophonist, with area musicians invited to join the fun. Learn more about Pancy and these sessions.
A New Era of Jazz Jams: Tommy Pancy will host the sessions at SpeakEZ Lounge. (Courtesy Photo)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Tommy Pancy’s new fusion band plays SpeakEZ Lounge at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday (Dec. 17). Details here.
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Tommy Pancy recalls being drawn to the saxophone as early as the fifth grade.
While attending Grand Haven Public Schools, he started out on clarinet, with the knowledge that he could make the transition to saxophone the following year.
“It brings me back a little bit,” Pancy says.
“That summer, my dad found someone in the newspaper selling a saxophone for 75 bucks. And we got that and I just kind of played around with it that whole summer. And I actually ended up using that saxophone up until two or three years ago, when I finally upgraded.”
He would go on to study jazz at Michigan State University, sharpening his skill set and evolving as a musician. Upon moving back to Grand Rapids on the heels of the pandemic, Pancy quickly became a fixture on the West Michigan music scene as a member of the bands Candid Antics and Geech.
Tommy Pancy (Photo/Eric Stoike)
Pancy — inspired by jazz greats Dexter Gordon, Charlie Parker and Lester Young — will host regular Sunday Jazz Jams at SpeakEZ Lounge, 600 Monroe Ave. NW, beginning Sunday (Sept. 14), an open invite jam centered around devotees of the influential musical genre. The evening of music begins at 6 p.m. with a 45-minute set from the house band. A signup sheet will be on hand with musicians interested in performing put in a queue. Jams are open to all skill levels, with jazz standards being the foundation.
Pancy describes jazz standards as “typical tunes you would hear on a lot of records that most musicians know,” songs that include “Take the A Train,” “Night and Day,” “All of Me” “Autumn Leaves” and “Fly Me to the Moon” and compositions by Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and other legendary artists.
Pancy, who lives in Grand Rapids, previously hosted the jazz jams at Turnstiles on the city’s West Side, until that venue closed at the end of July. (View the video stream from the final Turnstiles session below.) And drummer Randy Marsh staged Sunday jazz sessions at SpeakEZ for several years.
“We’re trying to run it similar to how these New York sessions work, but with a lot less of the pretentiousness and snootiness of it,” says Pancy.
“There’s no requirements on skill level or boundaries on how good you are or experienced you are. The only kind of rule that I like to keep is that it’s got to be within the jazz genre. I think if you don’t specifically preserve the jazz aspect of it, then it becomes a funk, singer-songwriter open-mic really quickly.”
Future Jazz Jams will take place Sept. 14, Sept. 21, Oct. 26, Nov. 2, Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Dec. 7 and Dec. 28. A special jazz show featuring Evidence Jazz will take place on Sunday, Oct. 19.
“It’s definitely not a growing and thriving art form. So it’s important to keep it going as best you can,” Pancy says.
“There’s a lot of people here in this area that still want to play it, who just want to have it around. And so if you don’t keep it preserved, that’s how these things go away.”
Sunday’s jam also will kick off separate fall concert series hosted by Local Spins at SpeakEZ Lounge, with vintage country’s The Bootstrap Boys launching the Local Spins Wednesdays series on Sept. 17, with Friday concerts (along one Saturday affair) continuing through December — all sponsored by Local Spins, SpeakEZ, Long Drink and Modelo Especial. View the complete SpeakEZ concert schedule below.
LOCAL SPINS FALL CONCERTS AT SPEAKEZ LOUNGE
VIDEO: Turnstiles Jazz Jam (7/6/25)
Copyright 2025, Spins on Music LLC
