By Jack Skidmore

Oregon-based musician Henry Ivie-Gardner crafted his style from the sounds that surrounded him. This led him to develop a creative direction focused on jazz performances and production. Recently, Ivie-Gardner has grown his skill to deliver awe-inspiring shows equipped with a multitude of improvisations. 

Reflecting on his musical background, Ivie-Gardner said, “I started playing music when I was really young. I was about four or five when I started playing the guitar because of my dad.” Even after playing brass instruments in high school, Ivie-Gardner has consistently gravitated towards guitar. Practicing this instrument and the influences within his high school band provided a trajectory for Ivie-Gardner. He is now enrolled in the University of Oregon’s jazz music program. “Friends that I had in high school were interested in jazz and they showed me a lot of music that I wouldn't have been exposed to and got super into it,” said Ivie-Gardner. 

Much of Ivie-Gardner’s admiration for jazz music is centered around its community. “The tunes you play with other people are jazz standards, and it's a pretty common list of them. So there's a good chance that if you know a lot of tunes, you could meet up with someone you've never met or played with before, and then you could find a tune to play together. It's kind of this common jam language with others, which I think is really cool,” said Ivie-Gardner. 

A key appeal of jazz shows comes from the integration of improvisations within a song performance. “I think improvised music definitely just naturally has a lot of highs and lows because you're kind of walking on the edge of things being cohesive and free,” said Ivie-Gardner. In October, Ivie-Gardner played with a quartet at the Jazz Station in downtown Eugene. It incorporated other UO jazz students, Luke Turner (saxophone), Robert Lassila (bass), and Nik Barber (drums), accompanied by Ivie-Gardner on guitar. On stage, the group delivered call-and-response style improvisation. These were paired with songs produced by members of the band as well as popular jazz songs. 

Moreover, a piece of Ivie-Gardner’s creativity manifests in his self-produced music. “A lot of the stuff I produce on my own still has a lot of room for improvisation,” said Ivie-Gardner. Many of his biggest influences are jazz and hip-hop fusion artists such as Thundercat, Robert Glasper, and Daniel Caesar. Even as a guitar player, Ivie-Gardner pulls a lot of influence from jazz saxophonists above other instruments. “I really like to listen to a lot of saxophone players for my sound, just because I think they're often really expressive. I think I kind of resonate with that a little bit more than like jazz guitar sometimes, which is usually more like mellow and contained,” he said. 

Besides jazz music, Ivie-Gardner has a variety of pursuits. He has been diversifying his style with the creation of a house-show-focused band. “The band is called Greenhouse, and we're playing a lot of funk, hip-hop, R&B stuff with a bit of improvisation, and we're just hoping to play a bunch of house shows around the Eugene area,” he said. Outside of music, Ivie-Gardner is passionate about mindfulness. He often practices yoga and spends a lot of his free time outdoors.

With upcoming shows booked at The Jazz Station this fall, as well as traveling to Corvallis each month to perform at Bombs Away Cafe, Ivie-Gardner maintains momentum in his live shows. Also, just this summer, he released his first single on Spotify called “Sun Rinse.” It is exciting to watch his musical career continue to progress to new heights.