44 | AUGUST 5 • 2021 

A

lthough reunions are generally 
geared toward looking back 
and catching up, that hasn’t 
been so for the Lunar Octet, a Latin jazz 
group formed in 1983 by students at the 
University of Michigan.
A performance reunion of the octet, 
after some 12 years of changing mem-
berships and almost 20 years of being 
disbanded, is moving the group forward 
with a recording now receiving interna-
tional acclaim as it is played on many 
radio stations.
Convergence, holding 14 tracks of 
original Lunar Octet compositions, was 
released by Summit Records in May. It is 
topping the jazz charts and drawing per-
formance invitations from venues across 
three continents.
To celebrate their accelerating success, 

members are returning to Ann Arbor for 
a performance of the tracks and perhaps 
numbers written since. They will appear 
Wednesday evening, Aug. 11, at the Blue 
Llama Jazz Club.
Aron Kaufman, a composer-percus-
sionist in the original group and still liv-
ing in Ann Arbor, composed five of the 
numbers with each one having a story 
behind it as does the title of the album. 
Kaufman’s commitment to the Lunar 
Octet style continues as he teaches Jewish 
studies at Hillel Day School and Adat 
Shalom Synagogue, both in Farmington 
Hills, and performs with other groups.
“Jon Krosnick, our drummer who lives 
in California, got people motivated to 
perform again,” Kaufman said. “We did 
a show and were encouraged to record 
the numbers. We came up with the title 
Convergence because of the way we had 
to coordinate rehearsals of the mostly 
instrumental tracks. It involved trav-
el from both the Eastern and Western 
United States so everyone could converge 
in Ann Arbor.
“Convergence is also a convergence of 
musical styles that bring together a jazz 
matrix with world flavors from the con-
tinent of Africa as well as countries that 
include Cuba and Brazil. There are sound 
variations that you wouldn’t normally 
find on one recording as we highlight our 

individual musical expressions that have 
many world influences.” 

CONGA CREATIVITY
The members’ original musical intent 
was captured in the group’s first name, 
Lunar Glee Club, which was to suggest 
singing through instruments, not vocal-
izing. In that vein, the first song on the 
album, “Norm’s Nambo,” was written by 
Kaufman with a mambo beat in tribute 
to a former mentor.
“When I first began playing conga 
drums, I studied with Norm Shobey,” 
Kaufman explained. “He had performed 
on Broadway and played briefly with the 
5th Dimension music group. Norm was 
an incredibly creative conga player who 
would take different rhythms and com-
bine them creatively. That inspired me to 
think about music creatively.”
Another number by Kaufman is “Heart 
of Congatar,” based on a pattern he 
played using four conga drums. After a 
fellow musician commented that the four 
drums in combination sounded like a 
tune, Kaufman realized that composing 
was something that could be done using 
congas instead of the usual piano or gui-
tar. The title is a wordplay that associates 
the conga and guitar.
Other Kaufman songs on the record-
ing, sometimes explained in live per-

ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Details
The Lunar Octet will appear start-
ing at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 
11, at the Blue Llama Jazz Club, 
314 S. Main, Ann Arbor. Three 
45-minute sets. $10. (734) 372-
3200. bluellamaclub.com.

Decades-old Ann Arbor jazz band 
reunites to fi
 nd fame and success.

Decades-old Ann Arbor jazz band 
Top of the Charts!

Members of the Lunar 
Octet about to appear in 
Ann Arbor are (from left) 
Paul VornHagen (tenor 
saxophone, flute, alto clari-
net), Keaton Royer (piano), 
Brandon Cooper (trumpet, 
flugelhorn), Sam Clark 
(guitar), Steve Hiltner (alto 
saxophone, clarinet), Jeff 
Dalton (acoustic and elec-
tric basses), Jon Krosnick 
(drums) and Aron Kaufman 
(congas, percussions).

CHUCK ANDERSEN 

Aron Kaufman 
on the congas

