When is the last time someone suggested a jazz musician or a jazz song for you to check out? Yeah, I don’t have much jazz in my life either, but on Monday night I found myself bopping my head and tapping my toes in Columbia City. I was at The Royal Room enjoying jazz quartet, Ryan Keberle Catharsis. Since the show, I haven’t been able to get jazz out of my head. What is this genre that is rarely featured in main stream music? Is jazz for ‘old people’? Why have I not been listening to more jazz? Experiencing Ryan Keberle Catharsis inspired me to explore these curiosities; to consider jazz elements across the spectrum of music I’ve heard over the past thirty years.
Ryan Keberle Catharsis is a piano-less quartet based in New York City and is comprised of: Spokane-raised Ryan Keberle: trombone, melodica; Chilean vocalist Camila Meza, Mike Rodriguez: trumpet, pandeiro (Scott Robinson subbed for Mike at the show: alto-saxophone, trumpet); Jorge Roeder: acoustic bass, electric bass, bass FX; Eric Doob: drums. Their latest album, Azul Infinito, pays homage to South American music and the impact it has had on Keberle as a musician and as a person. What makes Catharsis unique is the group’s lack of chordal instruments (e.g. guitar, piano). Their sound is more sonically sparse without chordal instruments to anchor the music. Catharsis combines instrumental sounds to fill in the spaces while allowing enough room for each instrument to be featured.
Unlike the more effervescent, kick-off-your-shoes-and-dance-with-the-band kind of jazz music we may typically think of, Catharsis plays more intrinsically and reserved without losing the bouncy fun of jazz. The intimacy between musicians and instruments is apparent. Doob gingerly clops the drums and taps the symbols; at times softly drumming his fingertips on the snare drum. As Roeder plucks the upright bass, he gently leans over the wood body as if trying to hear its heartbeat. Keberle seamlessly switches between the smooth slide-and-pull of trombone and the press-and-blow of the melodica. Reynolds also juggles two instruments; at one point he shoves the trumpet under his arm while lifting an alto-saxophone to his lips. I was most impressed by Meza, who uses her voice as an instrument and effortlessly harmonizes with the brass instruments. Her sweet, toffee-pulling smooth voice reminds me of Brazilian vocalist Bebel Gilberto.
After the show, I had an impromptu conversation with drummer Eric Doob at the bar. We talked about jazz and how it doesn’t hold much musical real estate in mainstream media. It doesn’t seem as accessible to a younger demographic, but why? We agreed that, as with any genre, jazz music spans a wide spectrum. It can be slow and swanky or percussive and bebop-y. Regardless, Ken Burns states in the first episode of his documentary series, Ken Burns: Jazz, “[Jazz] rewards individual expression but demands selfless collaboration.” At their show, Ryan Keberle Catharsis embodied this balance of soulful self-expression with a collective vulnerability to speak and listen to one another in the language of music.
My exposure to jazz began with hearing my dad snapping his soft sausage-y fingers to George Benson’s dance-groovy tune, “On Broadway,” and the sexy, sentimental swing of Shug Avery shimmying and singing “Ms. Celia’s Blues (Sister)” in one of my favorite movies, The Color Purple. I wondered what Eric Doob listened to as a child. What music made an impression on him? He responded with blushed cheeks, “”The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News, anything by Bonnie Raitt, and Whitney Houston’s performance of “Star Spangled Banner” at Super Bowl XXV. I suppose I was expecting this professional jazz player to rattle off names of early Jazz musicians. I asked what jazz album he recommends as a starter for non-jazz listeners. “The Oscar Peterson Trio + 1 album,” he said , “I had never heard jazz like that before.” (To get a taste, check out the song, “Blues for Smedley.”)
It’s no wonder that jazz has a feel-good sound that pulls at your groove strings and has you dancing in your chair. Jazz flourished after WWII, when America’s economy was strengthening, consumerism was growing, and people were in a celebratory mood. Early American jazz drummer and hard bop icon Arthur “Art” Blakely said, “Jazz washes away the dust of every day life.” Ryan Keberle’s Catharsis does this by exploring innovative soundscapes and instrumental collaborations, and thanks to them, my re-introduction to jazz has washed away dust from my ‘musical’ life.
Amid this week’s exploration of jazz, I recognized a few things:
- There is more jazz in the music I have listened to than I realized (e.g. Zero 7, Bonobo, Koop, James Hardway, Herbaliser). Perhaps it is the same for you?
- I need more jazz in my life.
- We all need more jazz in our lives.
For upcoming Ryan Keberle Catharsis shows, go to ryankeberle.com/music/catharsis/.
For upcoming jazz shows in Seattle, go to www.seattle.com/jazz.
