Andrew Ouellette’s style influenced by jazz greats
MARY LOU MONTGOMERY
On Friday and Saturday evenings, Hannibal native Andrew Ouellette can be found at the Ambassador Hotel in downtown Kansas City, accompanying jazz great Lonnie McFadden in a series of stage favorites at Lonnie’s Reno Club. Audience members are likely to hear all-time favorites such as “Unforgettable,” “Moten Swing” and “Wonderful World” during the evening of fine dining and entertainment.
Ouellette, a classically trained pianist, is comfortable with the spotlight pointed on McFadden, the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Jazz Museum. “I don’t try to be spotlighted. I have mostly worked as a sideman in the music business. People know I can play well, so they will hire me.”
Ouellette and McFadden have worked together since 2009. “He’s a great guy and very talented, a great singer and tap dancer,” Ouellette said.
Ouellette, who obtained his early musical education in Hannibal, was drawn to Kansas City in 2008 by the prospect of studying under Bobby Watson, a world renowned saxophone player who taught for 20 years at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
And just a year later, as a sophomore at the university, Ouellette hooked up with McFadden.
“Watson, (a UMKC jazz studies professor, until his retirement in 2020) he’s the reason I came to Kansas City,” Ouellette said. “He had a huge influence on me. He’s retired from that position now, but I was fortunate to go to UMKC while he was there.”
Watson and McFadden, each legends in the KC jazz scene, helped lead Ouellette along the path he now follows, as an up-and-coming jazz pianist on the KC jazz circuit.
Also influencing Ouellette was Roger Wilder, who was Ouellette’s one-on-one jazz instructor while he was at UMKC. “Every time I hear him play I learn something new.”
Early years
Ouellette, the son of Drs. David Ouellette and Priscilla Long of Hannibal, began taking piano lessons - as many children do - around the age of 7.
“I had a bit of an inclination” for the piano, “but I didn’t always even like it that much,” he said.
That changed in late middle school, when he started taking lessons from Jason Dugger.
“He (Dugger) really helped me develop as a musician during those middle school and high school years,” Ouellette said.
“He was my biggest early influence throughout high school. I worked on a lot of classical music, which really helped me develop my love for jazz and improvising. Without his influence, I don’t know if I would be doing this today. He was such a positive influence on me during the time.”
Dugger’s death in 2009, at the age of 36, had a profound impact upon Ouellette. “That was a hard, tough time. At that point in my life, it was the first time someone I was close to unexpectedly passed away. That really shook me. I still think of Jason regularly, to this day, and wish he was still around.”
Once Ouellette located in Kansas City for college, there was no turning back. He likes being in the city surrounded by so many jazz musicians.
“Herbie Hancock, (American jazz musician and bandleader) Art Tatum (American jazz pianist) and Charlie Parker, (American saxophonist) who was born in Kansas City, were huge influences on my music sensibilities,” he said. “I try to emulate their style.”
The music he listens to: John Coltrane, American saxophonist and bandleader; and younger modern guys, such as Aaron Parks and Sullivan Fortner, American jazz pianists. “I really try to listen to everything; I like to think I’m a little bit influenced by everything I hear.”
While Kansas City is his home, he can’t forget his roots in Hannibal.
"I have great memories of growing up in Hannibal, great friends in high school. I look back on growing up in Hannibal fondly. It’s a pretty little town, downtown is so cute and all the bluffs, Riverview Park, I appreciate that more every time I go back.
In addition to his jazz performances, Ouellette plays regularly for a church in Kansas City, and gives private lessons.
He also writes music. “I like writing music, but I’m not a prolific writer. I try to force myself to do it. I’m a lifelong student of music. I absorb everything I possibly can.” He also works as an accompanist for the Kansas City Ballet.
“I wouldn’t be doing this if it weren't for my parents,” Ouellette said. “They are both great humans. I aspire to be as good of people as they are. Many parents, for good reason, will say: ‘How will you make a living doing that?’ It’s a risky career decision. They encouraged me to do what was interesting to me. I had such a great family support unit.
“Yes, I’m happy with my career choice. That feeling only gets stronger the older I get. Music is what I connect with. It has all the ways of thinking, you can think mathematically and systemically, with emotions, creatively, a wide range of ideas. There is nothing else I could see myself doing.”
One performance opportunity he remembers vividly: Playing at the Prairie Village Jazz Festival in Kansas City. “It is high profile. The year we did it, the weather was absolutely awful; I was actively being rained on. I will always think about that, playing on. I don’t see how the piano survived this gig.”
He has also had the opportunity to play at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, with different groups.
“I’ve gotten to record some albums, some career highlights for me.”
Ouellette also performed on (Hannibal native) Bennett Wood’s new album, “Space in Time” which released last week on Apple Music.
Ouellett’s wife, Taryn Ouellette, is principal of the South Campus of the Kansas City Ballet. “She’s a really great ballet teacher; she has her masters from NYU; she is very accomplished.”
