Call It What You Will; the Monterey Jazz Festival's New Grooves Party Showcases Expansive Ideas About What Jazz Means.

Summary

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It's unlikely that many of the attendees at this year's Monterey Jazz Festival include the band Banyan on their list of jazz favorites. And it's even less likely that any of the band's recordings can be found in the jazz section of their local record store. However, an honest listen to Banyan's intuitive improvisation, superlative playing, and melodic-yet-daring experimentations shows that this band is clearly expanding the definition of jazz.

"Banyan is all about personality," explains [Stephen Perkins]. "It's all improv and it's all about letting our audience know who we are and what we're about. When we get on stage together, we're all pushing the envelope as far as we can as a band, and still letting our own individual styles come through.

"The beats were around before the samples, but it's very 21st century," he says. "It's all a kind of dance music and it's all supposed to groove."

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Call It What You Will; the Monterey Jazz Festival's New Grooves Party Showcases Expansive Ideas About What Jazz Means.

It's unlikely that many of the attendees at this year's Monterey Jazz Festival include the band Banyan on their list of jazz favorites. And it's even less likely that any of the band's recordings can be found in the jazz section of their local record store. However, an hon...

See the full content of this document

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