29
Nov
2005
It's ironic that a band that can't choose a name can develop a sophisticated, comprehensive system of musical cues that allows every member to change (or merely anticipate) what's happening on stage, from tempo to key. One cue tells a certain band member to stop or join back in. Another sets in motion a loop. And another initiates a call-and-response sequence.
Yet in spite of a relatively stable lineup, the fiery Los Angeles-based jazz group now known as Kneebody has operated under at least three different names in its four years, releasing three CDs under different band monikers. "At one point we almost sounded like a law firm," said Ben Wendel, who plays sax, flute, and bassoon in the collective. (He was so embarrassed that he asked me to not repeat that corporate-sounding name.)
The fact is that this instrumental ensemble seems to have trouble with words. You want confusion? Try to unravel this nugget from Wendel: "With each year, it's easier to find the sound we're actually trying to look for." (Do this quote and the ever-changing band name remind anybody else of Spinal Tap?)
But if (to adapt a phrase from Teen Talk Barbie) words are hard, the music is another matter entirely - sparkling and articulate. Although Kneebody works in the jazz idiom, it's highly accessible (but by no means watered-down) music, with the deeply felt grooves of soul and the propulsive forward energy of rock. Hip hip and electronica are also represented in the margins, and Wendel called the band's sound "hybrid music," informed by and encompassing aesthetics from chamber to aggressive.
The quintet will perform on Saturday at the Rocket Theatre in support of its first proper recording under the Kneebody name, a self-titled disc on the new label of well-regarded jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas.
The online magazine All About Jazz called Kneebody's sound "soul-jazz on steroids" and described the album with obvious excitement: "The tight time-changing arrangement on 'Break Me' veers between giddy tropical and runaway train, with concise solos spicing the thrill-ride charts. 'Never Remember' openly bids on Summertime Hit status with a bright rollicking horn arrangement and a face-busting bass line right out of the Move's 'Feel Too Good.'"
A reviewer for Tuscon Weekly added: "This is some of the freshest, most innovative, category-defying music that I've heard in a long time."
The band - Wendel, keyboardist Adam Benjamin, trumpeter Shane Endsley, bassist Kaveh Rastegar, and drummer Nate Wood - is unusual in that it has no leader. The group shares compositional duties, and in a live setting, any member can alter the direction of the music at any time through a series of musical cues. "The role of leader is constantly shifting," Wendel said. "There's a great deal of trust in the band."
This allows for endless improvisation, even though it might sound calculated and rehearsed. "It'll sound like things are hyper-arranged," Wendel explained. That's because the cues allow every band member to know what's coming, instead of trying to develop a groove through trial-and-error. "The [musical] phrase itself is a heads-up," Wendel said. He might play a series of notes that tells the other members that he'd like to change the key, followed by a note that tells them to what he'd like to change it.
The system started simply enough. Endsley wrote a tune that included a signal for the entire band to stop playing, and "we started to use that cue in other songs," Wendel said. And that led to new cues, which eventually covered virtually every element of performance.
Of course, cues have been around for ages, from a leader's hand gestures to musical phrases telling the ensemble to end a tune. What's different in this situation is that because Kneebody is a leaderless group, the system needs to be expansive.
"We can literally affect anything," Wendel said. "It allows for a conversation to happen between five people where everyone can speak and everyone can be heard."
Certainly, there are times when the members overuse cues - particularly new ones - "like some bad circus trick," Wendel said. And when two members are trying to accomplish different things at the same time, "there are definitely some train wrecks."
But overall, the system results in amazingly in-sync performances that are created on the spot. "It makes everybody listen equally," Wendel said. It leads to a "very strong group synergy," with the effect of making it seem as if "the entire band breathes as one."
Kneebody will perform on Saturday, December 3, at the Rocket Theatre in downtown Rock Island. The 9 p.m. show will also feature The Transport Diagram and Randall Hall. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased online at (http://www.rockettheater.com). For more information on Kneebody, visit (http://www.kneebody.com).
Yet in spite of a relatively stable lineup, the fiery Los Angeles-based jazz group now known as Kneebody has operated under at least three different names in its four years, releasing three CDs under different band monikers. "At one point we almost sounded like a law firm," said Ben Wendel, who plays sax, flute, and bassoon in the collective. (He was so embarrassed that he asked me to not repeat that corporate-sounding name.)
The fact is that this instrumental ensemble seems to have trouble with words. You want confusion? Try to unravel this nugget from Wendel: "With each year, it's easier to find the sound we're actually trying to look for." (Do this quote and the ever-changing band name remind anybody else of Spinal Tap?)
But if (to adapt a phrase from Teen Talk Barbie) words are hard, the music is another matter entirely - sparkling and articulate. Although Kneebody works in the jazz idiom, it's highly accessible (but by no means watered-down) music, with the deeply felt grooves of soul and the propulsive forward energy of rock. Hip hip and electronica are also represented in the margins, and Wendel called the band's sound "hybrid music," informed by and encompassing aesthetics from chamber to aggressive.
The quintet will perform on Saturday at the Rocket Theatre in support of its first proper recording under the Kneebody name, a self-titled disc on the new label of well-regarded jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas.
The online magazine All About Jazz called Kneebody's sound "soul-jazz on steroids" and described the album with obvious excitement: "The tight time-changing arrangement on 'Break Me' veers between giddy tropical and runaway train, with concise solos spicing the thrill-ride charts. 'Never Remember' openly bids on Summertime Hit status with a bright rollicking horn arrangement and a face-busting bass line right out of the Move's 'Feel Too Good.'"
A reviewer for Tuscon Weekly added: "This is some of the freshest, most innovative, category-defying music that I've heard in a long time."
The band - Wendel, keyboardist Adam Benjamin, trumpeter Shane Endsley, bassist Kaveh Rastegar, and drummer Nate Wood - is unusual in that it has no leader. The group shares compositional duties, and in a live setting, any member can alter the direction of the music at any time through a series of musical cues. "The role of leader is constantly shifting," Wendel said. "There's a great deal of trust in the band."
This allows for endless improvisation, even though it might sound calculated and rehearsed. "It'll sound like things are hyper-arranged," Wendel explained. That's because the cues allow every band member to know what's coming, instead of trying to develop a groove through trial-and-error. "The [musical] phrase itself is a heads-up," Wendel said. He might play a series of notes that tells the other members that he'd like to change the key, followed by a note that tells them to what he'd like to change it.
The system started simply enough. Endsley wrote a tune that included a signal for the entire band to stop playing, and "we started to use that cue in other songs," Wendel said. And that led to new cues, which eventually covered virtually every element of performance.
Of course, cues have been around for ages, from a leader's hand gestures to musical phrases telling the ensemble to end a tune. What's different in this situation is that because Kneebody is a leaderless group, the system needs to be expansive.
"We can literally affect anything," Wendel said. "It allows for a conversation to happen between five people where everyone can speak and everyone can be heard."
Certainly, there are times when the members overuse cues - particularly new ones - "like some bad circus trick," Wendel said. And when two members are trying to accomplish different things at the same time, "there are definitely some train wrecks."
But overall, the system results in amazingly in-sync performances that are created on the spot. "It makes everybody listen equally," Wendel said. It leads to a "very strong group synergy," with the effect of making it seem as if "the entire band breathes as one."
Kneebody will perform on Saturday, December 3, at the Rocket Theatre in downtown Rock Island. The 9 p.m. show will also feature The Transport Diagram and Randall Hall. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased online at (http://www.rockettheater.com). For more information on Kneebody, visit (http://www.kneebody.com).
