Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2007

The Faces of Jazz

What do you get when you channel the many great faces of jazz through young up-and-coming spirits? The Jazz Faces.

Inspired by the likes of Oscar Peterson, John Coltrane, James Brown, and Wes Montgomery, the four-man band are busy composing their own pieces of contemporary jazz and funk.

Hoping to spread the sound of jazz to a wider audience as well as be taken seriously, The Jazz Faces bring an edge to their performances. Old souls inside young bodies, these cool cats are ready to reintroduce you to a sound you may have overlooked.

What is great about the pieces the group selects to perform is the fact that each of them gets their own time in the spotlight.

Jacob Auwen on the trombone is excellent. He is carefree on the horn, giving sass and flare. His style is nimble and he flows very well, demanding an audience at certain moments, then slightly shrinking back to highlight his band mates style.

Pianist Sam Hylton and local jazz guitarist/prodigy Gregg Belisle-Chi give the group a chillness, oftentimes keeping the pace amongst each other. The two work together perfectly, each experimenting with their own sound, yet always complimenting the other. Hylton could stand to be more assertive and work out some kinks, but he is still strong enough that it does not take away from the overall sound.

The most eloquent member of the group is bassist Noah Peller. The soft-spoken Peller spits out famous quotes from jazz musicians as if he were reciting his ABC's. Not one to play the "Indie card, snobbery" when it comes to jazz music, one can tell Peller truly appreciates all forms of music. Keeping the pace for everyone, Peller completes the group's sound and is clearly one of the backbones.

Granted, as great as the group sounds when accompanied by a drummer, the group fares well on their own, which is the true sign of a band that is in sync.

The Jazz Faces wowed audiences at Aaron Schroeder's album release, but otherwise sparsley have scheduled shows. Aside from Belisle-Chi, they don't live in the Tri-Cities and find it difficult to come together for practices. However, their love for jazz music and perfecting their band's sound is what drives their passion to stick together and make their schedules work.

Take some time to check these cool cats out - you may find yourself sharing in the urge to start scatting along.

Listen to their sound on MySpace.