Leonard Feather once wrote of Elvin Jones: "His main achievement was the creation of what might be called a circle of sound, a continuum in which no beat of the bar was necessarily indicated by any specific accent, yet the overall feeling became a tremendously dynamic and rhythmically important part of the whole group. Jones moved away from the old concept of swinging toward a newer freedom..."
It was freedom, a freedom a fresh generation of drummers coming up in the 70s and 80s were seeking. Consequently, Mary O'Keefe, in the context of exploring new musical terrain, experienced revolutionary changes in her playing and in the process became one of the Midwest's most creative and innovative touch stones.
Born and raised in a musical family in Omaha, Nebraska, Mary is the oldest of 5 children. Her mother started both Mary and her sister Patti out on drums while they were in grade school, purchasing a practice pad and sticks for both girls. Her brother Jim played trumpet, and brother Tom played clarinet. Baby sister Liz played flute. A 1958 black Gretsch drumset came to the girls through a generous gift from "Aunt Pat", Mary's mother's sister. Both girls played in junior high rock bands, the first was "Blue Tempest" with Duane Hanus and Tom Miratsky. The O'Keefe kids played in The Parochial School Marching Band, (under director Gene Paul George) as well as Norris Junior High School's band, orchestra and jazz band.
The children performed with Union Pacific's Drum and Bugle Corps throughout the 70's. Mary's parents, Jim and Karen O'Keefe chaperoned train trips with the Corps traveling to Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas. When Mary was 14, she was practicing 4-7 hours a day. She credits a love for diverse styles and a drive to know more about music as a primary force in her development. Although money was tight, Mary's mother found a way to pay for private lessons for her children.
Mary started playing professionally at age 14 with singer-guitarist Gracie Lee. It was around that time Mary met Steve Thornburg, who along with a number of young musicians also played in "The Happy Knights." Lee's group played schools and small bars and clubs. Great musicians were working around Omaha at that time, people like Sonny Firmature, Nuncio Pomidoro, The Eddy Haddad Orchestra with Joe Genovesi, Preston Love, Luigi Waites, Bourbon Street, Bittersweet and Allspice. The scene in Omaha was as active as any outside New York. The young musicians would sneak into jam sessions and performances.
Mary married Steve Thornburg while still in college, and a musical marriage was born as well. The early Steve Thornburg Quartet included pianist Steve Kuzela and bassist Clark Ewalt. Exploring bop and standards, as well as the limits of an Midwestern audience, the STQ was in demand throughout the 80s. It was a tremendously creative period.
During this time, Mary also joined the indie rock band, "Trip Akimbo." This Creighton University based original band was a hit, playing sold out shows at the Lift Ticket, Howard Street, Crazy Duck and Kilgores. Singer-songwriter Mark S. Sullivan, (Osh Kosh, NE) keys, singer R J Holmberg, (San Diego, CA) bass, and Pierre "Peter" Debs, (Brooklyn, NY) on guitar, along with Mary, were among a few bands in the late 80's that are now considered among the first on Omaha's indie scene.
In 1990, Mary was featured on a "Women in the Arts' program on NPR radio, KIOS. Through that program she was offered an air shift on KVNO. After 3 years of programming jazz radio for KVNO, and doing both classical and jazz air shifts, Mary was offered a radio show with friend Lynn Hinderaker aka "Lou Myles" on KFAB. Together they did "Weekend Wakeup", an entertainment program which featured musical guests, restaurant reviews and pop culture editorial. Mary joined the KFAB staff in 1993 on Drive Time Omaha with Gary Sadlemyer, followed by a morning show on KTNP, (The Point) "Mary, Tony, and Brian" , and "Mary in the Morning" on KRCK. (K-Rock)
Mary joined her radio partner, Charlie Stone, in the fall of 1996 with "Drive Time Omaha" on KFAB. In the spring of 2000 she joined Carson-Feltz Broadcast Group and did an evening national satellite rock show. "Retro Rock" was heard nation wide. Through her show on 'Retro Rock', Mary was contacted by XM Satellite Radio, and scouted to program/talk on one of their stations. She traveled to Washington, DC to meet with XM executives. Fate playing a part, the week she came back from DC, Charlie Stone contacted her to join him again.
In 1998 Mary began a professional association with her friend, singer Karrin Allyson. Between radio programming and traveling with Karrin, Mary made musical friends throughout the world, booking clubs from Yoshis in Oakland, CA. to Birdland in NYC, to Blue Note in Japan. Mary is credited as visual consultant and artist management on Karrin's Grammy nominated album, "Ballads-Remembering John Coltrane" and visual consultant and stylist for her "In Blue". She has worked with singer Curtis Stigers, drummer T.S. Monk, guitarist Russell Malone, the late tenor sax master Bob Berg among many others.
As a performer, Mary has appeared at The Downbeat Club/NYC, Blue Note/NYC, DC's One Step Down, The Conga Room in LA, and The Kansas City Jazz and Blues festival, among others. She has written reviews for magazines, newspapers and on line music sources.
In the summer of 2002 "Soldiers of Soul" debuted. Along with Steve on alto sax and Mary on drums is their daughter, vocal powerhouse Noelle, and their son, an up and coming artist, Chase, on percussion and drums.
