B Sharp Jazz Quartet has a mission to save jazz from being a museum piece. The creation of a world in which the energy and daring to creative improvisation can share stage (and listeners record collections) with all forms of hip hop and alternative rock. It’s a challenge even for a band that has been called one of the best in acoustic music. After three years of measuring and mixing the ingredients that make up its winning straight-ahead formula for music, B Sharp has reached new heights of artistry as well as popular appeal. Tha Go ‘Round, their fourth album, marks the culmination of a long gestation period that saw them perform in iron man-like performances for several years. Herb Graham, Jr., drummer, composer, and founder of the band, said that it is a snapshot in time. The picture is clear. Graham states that the playing is more polished and that the members are willing to express themselves better. He also says that the band is speaking in the same voice they’ve used over the years. B Sharp Jazz Quartet has been able to do a difficult feat since its inception: fusing straight-ahead jazz and the energy and accessibility that contemporary funk and soul brings, all while keeping its commitment to the Miles and Trane lineage. Graham says that most people first heard jazz at a wedding where they were playing “Satin Doll”. People don’t associate the energy and interaction of a Rage Against the Machine, A Tribe Called Quest or a jazz band with the energy and interaction of a Rage Against the Machine. You can still hear the great jazz recordings. Charlie Parker wouldn’t try to recreate the music he played 40 years ago if he were alive today. We are musicians, not curators of museums. It’s okay if that bothers people. After years of hard work in the studio and on the road cultivating a diverse audience (from rockers to hard-core jazz fans to young modern rockers), B Sharp is now mainstream. The band’s first European tour included Holland’s world-famous North Sea Jazz Festival and the Molde Jazz Festival in Norway. It also featured the International Istanbul Jazz Festival and the Umbria, Pescara, and Pescara Jazz Fests in Italy. The dates are coming at a time when the band is also being booked into major jazz festivals in the country, including the Monterey Jazz Festival (San Jose Jazz Festival), and the Detroit Montreux Jazz Festival. However, it was not an easy task. B Sharp has been a successful indie-rock band over the years, with a busy road schedule that includes playing at jazz clubs, rock clubs and colleges. Graham declares with more pride than any other that “This band is working.” We’ve made an effort to get out on the road. Sometimes it’s playing to jazz audiences, sometimes it’s playing to guys with orange hair and ring in their eyebrows – but honestly, I like both. Others include Charlie Hunter and Medeski Mart
