{"id":1317902,"date":"2020-01-25T21:32:02","date_gmt":"2020-01-26T04:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.postindependent.com\/sunday-profile-jones-journey-led-him-to-the-riviera\/"},"modified":"2020-01-26T09:34:30","modified_gmt":"2020-01-26T16:34:30","slug":"sunday-profile-jones-journey-led-him-to-the-riviera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/local-news\/sunday-profile-jones-journey-led-him-to-the-riviera\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday profile: Jones\u2019 journey led him to the Riviera"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kyle Jones\u2019 mom saw it early on \u2014 the spark that would become a lifelong passion for music \u2014 when as a 4 year old, Jones would run to the front of the family\u2019s church during the Sunday service postlude and hover at the edge of the organist\u2019s keyboard.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom was like \u2018we\u2019ve got to get this kid in lessons,\u2019\u201d Jones said. \u201cSo I did some group lessons, and then I auditioned for a piano teacher, (Ainsley Doherty) who I was so fortunate to come across. She was a phenomenal player, but she charged next to nothing for lessons. She did it for the love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones, who recently assumed the musical director position at the Riviera Supper Club following the departure of Jonathan Gorst, was further inspired by family outings to see musical theater in the Denver area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would go to the Arvada Center every Christmas when they would do \u2018Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,\u2019\u201d Jones said. \u201cAnd I really liked Les Miserables. That was what drew me in the most \u2014 the drama and the music and the story. As a kid, that music was way out of my reach, but being so excited about the music drove me to work at it. It was pretty challenging and technical, so it helped spur my musical progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Classical training and mapping his own journey<\/p>\n

After high school, Jones enrolled in the University of Northern Colorado\u2019s music school, an experience he now describes at \u201cchallenging\u201d \u2014 not only because of the high-level curriculum, but because his own interests in musical theater and electronic music didn\u2019t align with the school\u2019s emphasis on classical music.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to play music that moves people, and I didn\u2019t feel like the classical music was moving people the way I wanted to,\u201d Jones said. \u201cBut I stand by that education. The musical theory knowledge they gave me is invaluable. A lot of my ability to improvise I credit with the rigorous training UNC gave me.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a unique set of goals in mind, Jones decided to create his own journey, one that would combine his passions not only for musical theater, but for skiing and hiking in the mountains as well. So, he moved to the Roaring Fork Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always joke with the crowd after my set (at the Riviera) that they make it possible for me to be a professional musician, and ski world class resorts, living the dream,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 We have this amazing musical culture up and down the valley.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones spent 3 years teaching music at Rifle High School before moving on to Aspen High School where he started Colorado\u2019s first full digital music production lab for students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI taught those kids how to DJ \u2026 and the kids were producing their own music,\u201d Jones said. \u201cSome kids were doing rock \u2019n\u2019 roll and rap, others were doing techno and dubstep, a little bit of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones said he tried to make his classroom a refuge where kids could come and spend time making and enjoying music.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou hear this whole trope of \u2018music class is the only reason these kids come to school,\u2019 but for some of those kids, that was the reality,\u201d he said. \u201cThese kids came to school because they had digital music that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it was a great learning experience for me too because it was tough, it made me a better musician. That\u2019s the best thing about teaching \u2014 the kids will challenge you, and you challenge them back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Community theater \u2013 and a chance meeting<\/p>\n

Since moving here, Jones has immersed himself in the valley\u2019s community theater scene as a pianist in such productions as \u2018Les Miserables,\u2019 \u2018Mamma Mia,\u2019 \u2018Beauty and the Beast\u2019 and \u2018Sweeney Todd,\u2019 and as musical director in productions with Aspen Community Theater, Vail Valley Theater Company, and Defiance Community Theater.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy best experience was with Defiance Community Theater \u2014 my first time being music director for a musical when they did \u2018Les Miserables,\u2019\u201d Jones said. \u201cIt was like a dream come true; it meant so much to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Jones\u2019 best career opportunity so far \u2014 that of being the musical director at the Riviera \u2014 came about through a chance meeting with Gorst, co-owner and former musical director at the supper club.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was walking by (the Riviera) and heard him playing, so I came in and asked him \u2018do you get paid for this?\u2019 and he said \u2018yeah I do, I\u2019m Jonathan Gorst\u2019 and I said \u2018I\u2019ve heard of you, I\u2019m Kyle Jones\u2019 and he said \u2018I\u2019ve heard of you,\u2019\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

The two discovered they\u2019d grown up near each other on the Colorado\u2019s Front Range, had graduated from UNC music school, and had been taught by the same professor there.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Jonathan) started having me play here, and we collaborated on a few things, like \u2018Sweeney Todd\u2019 at the Vaudeville,\u201d Jones said. \u201cAs he started making plans to leave the valley, he started giving me the reins (at the Riviera).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talked about the mission of the Riviera and his vision for it, and I talked about what I was thinking about doing with it, and he loved it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones said that what he loves most about the Riviera is that they feature music not normally heard in the Roaring Fork Valley.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can go to a bar and see some rock cover band anywhere,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can see someone with a guitar perform anywhere. But here you get to see someone performing jazz standards, musical theater, Frank Sinatra \u2026 it\u2019s so exciting to have a venue that values that, and has an audience who comes specifically for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Jones said his favorite musical event at the Riviera is its Broadway series that has had them performing such classics as \u201cPhantom of the Opera,\u201d \u201cThe Sound of Music,\u201d \u201cOklahoma!,\u201d and on this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, \u201cMoulin Rouge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor \u2018Moulin Rouge\u2019 we\u2019ll have a six-course meal paired with six different scenes,\u201d he said. \u201cOur actors are performing right in front of you. There\u2019s something really powerful about being that close to the emotion they\u2019re putting into their part. It\u2019s like watching a movie, but you\u2019re right there in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones said he loves working with other musicians who are as excited about creating a great show as he is.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what it\u2019s about for our customers as well,\u201d he said \u201cWe\u2019re giving them something that\u2019s not only professional and a good experience, but is personal, honest and a legitimate human connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite often, music says something that we can\u2019t say with words.\u201d<\/p>\n

jbear@postindependent.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

via:: Post Independent<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kyle Jones\u2019 mom saw it early on \u2014 the spark that would become a lifelong passion for music \u2014 when as a 4 year old, Jones would run to the front of the family\u2019s church during the Sunday service postlude and hover at the edge of the organist\u2019s keyboard. \u201cMy mom was like \u2018we\u2019ve got […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1317902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-06 03:50:25","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSKE Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317902"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1317907,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317902\/revisions\/1317907"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kske\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}