On Saturday night one of the most adventurous, forward-thinking groups to emerge in the last twenty years makes their first appearance at Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro. For fans of Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey, this is a chance to hear them in one of the best sounding rooms in the city.
The gig is in advance of the release of Worker, their 26th (!) album, which arrives via Royal Potato Family next Tuesday (10/14).
It’s a major shift in focus for the band, which recently dropped its horn section and recorded as a trio—Brian Haas (keyboards and founding member), Chris Combs (guitar, lap steel), and Josh Raymer (drums).
Fascinatingly, Combs and Raymer began listening to the long-running band when they were still in middle school. Haas had this to say about the band’s music and the new members, “To them, it’s a language they grew up with and they want to push it forward.”
With Worker, they have certainly achieved that goal. Despite the band name (and their appearance at the premier jazz club in the city), they no longer regard themselves as a jazz band. Haas said, “It’s influenced by jazz, but it’s not jazz.”
The young members have made their mark on the group’s compositions. The songs are shorter and are influenced by 21st century sounds including hip-hop and indie rock. The band is reimagined based on sounds from other genres including music created on computers. Haas and his bandmates asked themselves, “Are we good enough to do it with our instruments?”
Head over the Snug Harbor on Saturday night and pick up your copy of Worker on Tuesday to find out.
