Playin' the Toll Booth Blues

Doing the same things every day can make even the most exciting job seem mundane.

To jazz life up, Lee Redfield brings his saxophone to work.

When passing the UW tollbooths, there is usually nothing that noticeable [HTML_REMOVED] except when Redfield works. These are the days when the staccato, bluesy notes of the saxophone can be heard above the typical city hum.

"[It's a] laid-back job, [with] generally a lot of time to do music and practice and study," he said. "I enjoy working there. I like all my coworkers; [they're a] very eclectic group, very interesting people."

Redfield is a professional performer and music educator, so customers pulling up usually have a positive response to his playing.

"I've never had a customer give me a hard time," he said. "I think it's because they have a little insight into my humanity. It shows I have other ambitions than working in a booth."

Besides working at the UW, Redfield also teaches students at Interlake High School in Bellevue. His most rewarding moment there was conducting a concert for junior high students.

"Kids would come up and say how influential I was in front of all these kids and parents," the saxophonist said. "[One boy said] 'Thank you Mr. Redfield for all you've done to us.'"

But he wasn't always referred to as "Mr. Redfield."

While living in Puyallup, Wash., he began playing instruments in the seventh grade. He was encouraged by his grandmother Lois, who brought him to a music store to buy his first instrument. When the man behind the counter asked Redfield what he wanted to play, he showed him the trumpet and the sax. Redfield picked the sax.

Thanks to his grandmother, Redfield was able to get his first instrument, as well as graduate from the UW in 2006 with a B.A. in general music and a B.M. in education. As Lois now suffers from dementia, Redfield helps her with buying groceries, doing chores around the house and other errands.

He also plays the clarinet, bass clarinet, piano, keyboard and the guitar. But his favorite is definitely his saxophone, he said.

"If I could really learn how to play the saxophone, I would be happy," he said. "Music, I decided a long time ago, is my primary artistic outlet."

One of Redfield's most influential professors at the UW was Don Immel, a trombone teacher. Immel encouraged Redfield and others to start a rock band and brought them to concerts.

"[I was in] rock bands all through high school," said Redfield. "[I] probably played in 15 to 20 bands of that type before getting into jazz," he said.

While playing for rock bands like Helter Skipper and the Gilligan Mansons, Redfield was given opportunities to meet several influential people in music.

"I played for a lot of people when I was doing the rock band thing," he said. "There was a college station, Green River; we were on regular rotation there."

Pearl Jam's Dave Abbruzzese also took an interest in their music.

"I walked in, and there he was, didn't know who he was," Redfield said. "Couple weeks later, he was dropping some serious dough on us."

But the break didn't work out.

"One of the guys split," he said. "I continued working with them for a short time [but it] became apparent to me that it wasn't a healthy creative environment for me to work in, so I bailed."

Other big names Redfield has worked or studied with include MxPx, Sweetwater, Marcus Miller, Michael Brockman, Don Lanphere, and Sherik, a popular rock-saxophone player.

While at the UW, Redfield discovered his passion for jazz music through trumpet player and assistant professor of jazz and American studies, Vern Sielert.

"[I] felt like he was the one that really helped me figure out jazz because when I got here, I was mainly rock and blues," said Redfield. "But he was the most patient with me and explained things in a way that my ego could take."

Redfield's musical style is heavily influenced by a variety of rock, jazz and blues.

"Music that I like the best is music that I feel creates [HTML_REMOVED] makes an artistic statement," he said. "An artist that makes art instead of a commercially viable music. You feel their humanity through the music."

The musician also records his own electronic music, which can be heard on his Myspace page (www.myspace.com/leeredfield).

"I do [electronic music] for me," he said. "I'll eventually put a CD together."

Redfield also plays every Thursday at the District Lounge on 45th Street Northeast and Brooklyn Avenue from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Last Thursday, Redfield played with Dave Bush and Aaron Otheim, and received as positive a reaction as he receives playing in his booth [HTML_REMOVED] albeit from a larger crowd.

"I like [jazz] a lot. My wife doesn't, so it's rare that we get to listen to jazz. It was a pleasant surprise," audience member Gabe Izraelevitz said.

Others also praised Redfield's musical talents.

"He's a very good sax player, very entertaining, creative in his music," said Claire Scarbeary, a junior at UW Bothell. "He's a good, passionate musician, that's for sure."

Workers at the District Lounge were similarly enthusiastic about the performance and the performer himself.

"It's awesome, Lee's a great guy," said Jon Groot, a bartender at the District Lounge. "When the show's over, he sits at the bar and starts up conversations with customers and talks to them about all kinds of things. He's a very personable guy, you know."

Redfield looks forward to playing in the future.

"Hopefully I'll be teaching and gigging, getting bigger and better gigs, more high- paying jobs," he said.

For now, though, he'll continue his serenades from the booth.

Reach contributing writer Doris Wu at features@thedaily.washington.edu.