May Magazines 2018 89128 | Page 55

his bio is vast and impressive; he’s worked with Blood, Sweat & Tears, Tito Puente and Leslie Uggams, just to name a few. He now teaches music at the Nevada School of the Arts, where he’ll soon set up a grant program for the students, as well as UNLV. There, he’s been instrumental (pun intended!) at reviving the university’s award-winning Latin Jazz Ensemble and initiating and overseeing music lectures and concert series. You can see everything he’s got going on at Ulimusic.com. For the past six years, starting around 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, Uli and his band perform on The Dispensary stage with various guest vocalists personally picked by Uli. During my visits I enjoyed seeing Amanda King, a talented new arrival to Las Vegas, and Gary Fowler, an understudy of Uli’s at UNLV. The first Wednesday night of the month there’s more magic happening with The Uli Geissendoerfer Trio Jam Session–an evening when patrons can bring their own instruments and jam with the band onstage–as long as what you play is jazz infused! Whether you visit on the weekend to watch a show or pop in on a Wednesday night to play with the band, be sure to arrive early as the place tends to fill up quickly. I suggest grabbing a bite to eat; the steak burger I had was excellent. Visit TheDispensaryLounge.com online for more information. There you have it. Three awesome music venues and we didn’t even step one foot inside a hotel property! All three places had close, convenient and free parking, very reasonable drink and food prices and best of all, great ambiance and even better music! ◆