Ryan Murakami and Jerome James of NYHI Collective jam at Indigo's Opium Den.
Groovin’
Two musicians aim to broaden
the horizons of local jazz fans
with their distinctive styles
Whether their art is described as "Esoteric Groove Art" or "Groove Improv Artists," Jerome James and DeShannon Higa are basically aiming for the same thing: to expand the minds of Honolulu jazz fans.
In the last three weeks, both young men have debuted their projects in the intimate surroundings of the Indigo restaurant's Opium Den downtown or the funky and spacious Studio 6 of the Musicians Association building on Kapiolani Boulevard.
The different settings made for an interesting comparison of contrasting approaches, with James and Higa striving to create the appropriate vibe from the start.
James chose to make a dramatic entrance into the Opium Den -- literally. Wrapped in a robe that made him look like some nomadic desert wanderer, he entered the room like a walking prayer, bell anklets ringing with every purposeful step, and occasionally striking an angular, dancelike pose while hitting a cymbal suspended from his hand.
The son of longtime local jazz drummer and teacher Chuck James took a seat behind his own simply set kit and joined his fellow musical travelers: Higa on trumpet, Ryan Murakami (Ooklah the Moc, Jake Shimabukuro) on bass, Randy Wheeler on saxophone and Stephen Fox on keyboards.
DeShannon Higa.
Higa, on the other hand, added only some minor decorations to the weathered musicians' studio, placing some small candle bowls around the drummer's kick drum and setting up a borrowed light machine for back-wall projections. The ever-changing colors provided a visual metaphor for the music, as the sounds from Higa, Fox, reed man Tim Tsukiyama (Honolulu Jazz Quartet), trombonist Charles Hopkins, pianist Aaron Aranita and the "Wonder Twins" of the rhythm section, Shawn Conley and Abe Lagrimas Jr., effortlessly ebbed and flowed.Three years ago, the Hilo-born Higa had the genesis of "Groove Improv Artists" with a project called "Utopia," a series of concerts that debuted at Studio 6, ending with his move to New York.
BOTH projects are off to solid starts, which is not surprising, considering their backgrounds in the New York City jazz scene -- James still lives there, while Higa and his wife, singer Rocky Brown, have moved back here -- and the quality of musicianship they've surrounded themselves with back home.
James admits that he's still trying to "hip the kids" to his music.
"I'm just trying to be fresh with jazz music and come from a nonstandard place. For me, I'm doing the same thing as DeShannon, but I'm also putting out the ethereal, esoteric side to it, as that is what I'm about and what I'm going through."
With his demonstrative and expressive demeanor, and easy and infectious laugh, James is Mr. Positive Spin on Life.
Drummer Jerome James' NYHI Collective in action at Indigo's Opium Den: from left, Stephen Fox, DeShannon Higa, Ryan Murakami, James and Randy Wheeler.
"I'm blessed to be in this space, presenting to you this esoteric, new art," he said at the opening night at Indigo, while thanking fellow musicians "for helping create my vision."It was evident that he and Murakami had an easy rapport: Murakami's electric bass emitted a steady throb, while James' arms and hands danced over his drum kit. Higa and Wheeler occasionally chimed in with solid horn work.
Fox offered up sympathetic splashes of aural colors from his synth keyboard (which he does as well in Higa's band). One highlight of the evening's first set was Fox's gamelan loop piece that he composed for the PBS Hawaii program "First Light." There was an extended moment of musical bliss as everyone hit a common spiritual chord.
Jerome James: Performs at the Jazz Loft on Wednesdays and Indigo on Thursdays
Higa offered up his chart of his hero Freddie Hubbard's "Sunflower," which was reprised at his Studio 6 project debut.
"The whole thing is about improvising," Higa said. "Until recently we've been in kind of a cultural drought. So many people have come up to tell me that they want to hear something new. This is a project I've been dreaming about doing for years here, but the timing wasn't right. Now, the ingredients are all in place.
"In a way, I'm still not sure how things will turn out ... but when the chemistry happens, we'll know it and the audience will know it, too. When it's more intuitive, that's when the fun happens."
PERFORMING BEFORE a regular Studio 6 crowd that has gathered weekly for Rich Crandall's concerts (the pianist was away on business in Japan last Tuesday), Higa's first set started on a quiet, contemplative "note" as Higa, Tsukiyama and Hopkins simply blew air through their instruments while Conley bowed his bass.
That free-form opening settled into an easy, sublime groove that would morph into expansive moments of Afro-Cuban, the aforementioned "Sunflower," a little bit of funk and some minimalist hip-hop throughout the lengthy first number.
During the music, Higa would approach each of his guys to quietly alert them of what would transpire next.
Only accomplished musicians like Higa and company could've pulled off that performance with one rehearsal. Unison horn lines would drop out to allow other instruments to be heard in stark relief. Each horn soloist gave a fine account of their talents, particularly Higa, whose use of note smears and single-note runs was judiciously placed.
And Conley and Lagrimas, who had already proved themselves as teenagers, have become accomplished musicians with room to grow more. Both have a refreshing approach to their instruments, inquisitive without resorting to clichéd licks or showboating.
AFTER THE first set, Higa already had a look of contentment on his face, knowing that what he described earlier in the evening was coming to fruition.
"The framework has a single musical motif," he had said. "It's about working from either a bass line, drum groove or a trumpet melody. The other guys pick it up, and we see where the idea goes. The music's not meant to be static.
"I assemble the musicians around my vision, but by no means do I dictate how the music will be played. I'm more the musical architect."
Higa said his move to New York was meant to be temporary, as a means of testing himself with some of the best musicians in the world, to gauge his status as a musician.
"I mean, here, it's easier to be a big fish in a small pond, and I always intended to come back home with what I learned while I was there."
James showed up about halfway through Higa's gig, and while, as a newly minted raw-foodist, he noshed on some leftover lettuce leaves that were part of the dwindling buffet, he started another animated conversation about his music.
"The whole idea is to build up the energy above what you hear in schlocky jazz. When I play with my one version of the NYHI Collective on Wednesday, it's more jazz-flavored. Thursday is more of a esoteric, ethereal groove.
"That's something I want to do in presenting my music," James said. "I hate jazz concerts where it stops and starts between tunes. I want to make it flow. I'm going for the whole, big story.
"I hear a lot of electronic dance music chords, so I'm starting like that, letting them seep in, use it and recycle in a new way in my music. I want to infuse that element, as well as a spiritual space element, in it. I want it to be moving music, though I'm still working through its formulation."
While James will continue to shape his music when he returns to New York in August, Higa is here for the long haul and will bide his time.
"What I'm trying to accomplish here in Honolulu is to create a spark among other local pioneers and trailblazers here, and collectively start a trend toward an awareness of good, if not daring, art," Higa said. "Hopefully, in a year or two, we will have the cultural renaissance I've been dreaming of here."
BACK TO TOP |
The nü-jazz in Honolulu
Jerome James and the NYHI Collective
Where: The Jazz Loft, 226 Lewers St., next to the Red Lion, and the Opium Den, Indigo, 1121 Nuuanu Ave.
When: 9 p.m. to midnight Wednesdays (Jazz Loft) and 8:45 p.m. to midnight Thursdays (Indigo)
Admission: Free
Info: jeromejames.net or honolulujazzscene.net
DeShannon Higa and Groove Improv Artists
Get on Higa's e-mail list at deshannon@mac.com for information on this month's next gig.
The Gilbert Batangan Trio
Featuring Abe Lagrimas and Shawn Conley, before the respective Waipahu and Punahou graduates return to Boston's Berklee School of Music and Rice UniversityWhere: The Jazz Loft, 226 Lewers St.
When: 9 p.m. to midnight Thursdays
Admission: Free
Call: 922-5715
Click for online
calendars and events.
