We are five friends with deep and diverse training who have gotten together to challenge ourselves in the making of music. We like playing a good groove or heart-wrenching melody as much as anyone, but we also crave the satisfaction of creating musical art that is challenging to mind and ear. We hope audiences will come hoping to be surprised, intrigued, and moved.
It's difficult to summarize our style because there are actually several. The foundation is jazz, so naturally solos and many details of each player's part are improvised. However, most of the outside-the-box textures, melodies, and harmonies are worked out in the composition and arranging, and many of our tunes are scored out precisely (see the banner above, e.g.). Traditional swing, funk, fusion, latin, and even prog rock are all influences in various tunes. The Yellowjackets, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Mike Stern, Frank Zappa, Michael Brecker, and the giants of traditional swing are all admired, among many others.
