Contributed Photo -- Col. Bruce Hampton has never served in the armed forces. “The Colonel” has been a family nickname since childhood.

Col. Bruce Hampson Q&A

Col. Bruce Hampton has been playing music longer than Dave Matthews has been alive, but he still feels like he’s just getting started, which is precisely why he’s been able to keep it up so long.

“I feel that there’s still mystery to it every day and every time I play,” he said. “I could play the same song every night, but there’s always something new in it for me.

“Music is the only thing on the planet I find interesting every day. I’m 61 today (April 30), and I feel like I’m just starting to understand it a little bit.”

Over the years, the colonel has helped found a number of bands fusing jazz or blues with rock, including The Late Bronze Age, The Aquarium Rescue Unit and The Codetalkers.

In 2006, he started his latest project, The Quark Alliance a blues/rock-fusion band, which he will join onstage Saturday at Midtown Music Hall.

This latest band includes Perry Osborn (guitar), Kris Dale (bass) and Mark Letalien (drums) — all musicians willing to play for the right reasons.

“I always try to find somebody who’s a solid citizen with no issues and is able and willing to work and puts the music first without any of the neurosis about making it,” Hampton said. “I love the chemistry of our band because they’re all gentlemen, they’re all pros, and they’re all married, so I know they’re coming to play.”