Distinctly Montana Magazine

David Morgenroth Trevor Krieger Though his primary occupation is as a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Billings, Krieger said he remains open for acts passing through town in need of his skills on a fiddle. He takes on students including his own young children, teaches at summer fiddle camps, directs his church choir and praise teams, is developing a small home studio, and performs with Cody, Wyoming-based National Guitar Flatpicking Champion Jeff Troxel around Montana and Wyo- ming. The two musicians' "Spirit of Our Time," a collection of Americana and folk tunes, was released last year. "I gauge success by enjoyment and I'm having a hell of a time," he said of his varied projects. A student of the Suzuki method, Krieger said he doesn't have a lot of formal training, but learns as he goes, adding the keyboard and mandolin to his repertoire in a style he said bends the traditional fiddle forms. "People think violin is classical or country, Charlie Daniels or Bach," he said. "There's a whole other world out there." PIANO APPRECIATION Pianist David Morgenroth made his way in the world as a musician for years, playing weddings and bar mitzvahs that didn't speak to the soul of the musician. Though he has performed on stages around the world both solo and with greats such as Bill Watros and Toots Thielmans, as a jazz and classical pianist living in Montana such gigs are few and far between. Morgenroth, who has the resumé to back a sparkling career, holds graduate degrees in classical piano and jazz studies from the University of North Texas. He is the pia- nist and musical director for vocalist Eden Atwood's album DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL Watch Jack Gladstone's "Buffalo Café" with native icons. Go to: www.distinctlymontana.com/gladstone131 www.distinctlymontana.com 37 "Turn Me Loose." He released his first solo album in 2010, his interpretation of 13 Duke Ellington standards includ- ing "It Don't Mean a Thing (If it Ain't Got That Swing)" and "Love You Madly." Montana musicians often have to struggle and compro- mise to make a living, or find another job to pay the bills. It means playing music that doesn't speak to their indi- vidual artistry. Plus, the work that is there is spread across the state's vast landscape, often requiring hours of travel. "The life of a working musician," Morgenroth explained, "requires making adjustments and sacrifices." So Morgen- roth chose a different route, not surrendering his art, but taking a day job as an investment advisor in Missoula. The trick, he said, is to find a balance with a "job that doesn't take the stuffing out of you," and leaves you something to give to the music at the end of the workday. Then, he is able to share his artistry on the keys with those that appreciate it, wherever they happen to be. "It can be a couple in a living room to 5,000 people in a park," he said. SOUL FOR JAZZ M.J. Williams' father may have been a jazz musician, but the vocalist and trombone player didn't settle into the genre before testing the waters elsewhere. "I did some folk. I did some blues," she said. Neither genre grabbed her the way performing jazz music has. "I found jazz such a huge, interesting, rich world," she said. In the music, she has found the history of music in America, bringing a richness to a sound that also has a deep respect for innovation. Jazz encompasses the standards as well as improvisation and both have allowed

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