Fascinatin’ rhythm
Jovon does jazz
by Christopher Key
With my usual impeccable sense of timing, I started to dig jazz back in the early 1960s, just before British Invasion rock ‘n roll took over the world. I admit I got a bit distracted for a while, especially since I was a Top 40 radio disk jockey for a few years. But I was always more comfortable listening to live music in intimate jazz clubs than I was in the massive mobs at rock concerts. So while my peers were freaking out in the stadiums, I was groovin’ in the smoky jazz clubs of San Francisco. The fact that the jazz clubs were smoky gives away my age. It wasn’t always tobacco smoke, either.
During those years, it was a tough gig being a jazz musician. There were a lot of young players who either gave it up or sold out to rock ‘n roll. Fortunately, the music that America invented has made a stunning comeback and jazz may be stronger today than it ever was. Witness a group called the Jovon Miller Rhythmic Jazz Ensemble.
I caught their act at the Chuckanut Ridge Winery on State Street Saturday night and they took me back to those smoky jazz clubs in a way few groups have done recently. The word that describes the best jazz groups is “tight.” I expect that from players who have been together for a long time, but these kids have only been together two months. And they’re tight. Unbelievably tight.
The influences range from Bird to Ornette Coleman to Hugh Masekela with a lot of others thrown in. But the sound is very much their own and simply astonishing for a group this young. They are all students or grads of Western Washington University and their talent speaks volumes about the quality of that institution’s jazz programs.
So let’s break it down. The operative word in their name is “rhythmic.” That’s based on Jovon Miller’s amazing riffs as a tap dancer. I can’t think of any jazz combos that feature tap dancing and that’s just one of the things that sets them apart. Miller’s sensational duos with drummer Karl Olson made my hair stand on end. Oh, yeah. He also plays tenor sax, flute and clarinet while tap dancing. Unreal!
As a semi-retired drummer, I have a particular fondness for that instrument and have seen some of the best, from Krupa to Rich to Jones. Olson has the potential to be right up there with them and has an indescribable style that made me sit up and take notice. But he is also rock-solid when he is not soloing.
Guitarist Aidrien Wilkens is perhaps the least flashy of the players in his stage presence, but brings a distinctive sound reminiscent of 1970s funk. He contributes more to the rhythmic theme than is immediately obvious unless you listen closely.
I freely admit that I prefer acoustic bass to electric when it comes to jazz and I suspect bassist Kyle Grimm may lean that way, too. He plays both acoustic and electric, but he seems to come alive much more when he is playing the upright. Either way, he’s got it down.
If you suspect I’m succumbing to hyperbole, just check out this group for yourself. They are playing regular gigs at the Wood’s Coffee House in Boulevard Park on Thursdays and hope to become regulars at the Chuckanut Ridge Winery on Fridays. If the winery is wise, they’ll book them now.
There’s a CD in the works, so stay tuned and I’ll clue you in when it’s released.
Smokin’!
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