BRATTLEBORO-The Vermont Jazz Center is thrilled to present Huntertones - a sextet comprised of Dan White (saxophones), Jon Lampley (trumpet, sousaphone), Chris Ott (trombone, beatbox), Josh Hill (guitar), Adam DeAscentis (bass), and John Hubbell (drums) - on Saturday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m.
These musicians have traveled to more than 25 countries. They have collaborated with musicians from South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe as part of a U.S. State Department program initiated in 1956 by President Dwight Eisenhower "to improve the public image of the United States in the light of criticism [...] around racial inequality and racial tension," according to Wikipedia. These original "jazz ambassadors" of the 1950s and 1960s included such legends as Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Dave Brubeck, and Louis Armstrong.
Huntertones began their first of four State Department tours in 2016. The sextet has also toured the world on their own, performing at SFJazz Center; the Blue Note clubs in Milan, Tokyo, and Shanghai; and numerous festivals, including the Newport Jazz Festival.
The musicians have performed with Jon Batiste, the former bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Steven Colbert, and their three-member frontline horn section has toured with Lake Street Dive, Ricky Martin, Cory Wong and Snarky Puppy. The entire band frequently collaborates with guest artists such as Lionel Loueke, Rachel Price, and Akie Bermiss.
The six members, who have been touring and recording together for almost 15 years, met while attending the jazz studies program at Ohio State University. They formed as a group outside of the general curriculum and quickly became the house band for a series of parties they held at their apartment on Hunter Avenue (hence the name - Huntertones).
* * *
It's significant that Ohio music aficionados proudly consider their state to be "the Mecca of Funk." The members of Huntertones grew up immersed in the sounds of seminal funk groups like Ohio Players, Slave, The Isley Brothers, and Zapp. Huntertones' tight rhythm section takes this lineage seriously, but the group also looks to the danceable grooves of Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, and Prince as major inspirations.
The pitch-perfect sound of their three-horn front line is reminiscent of super-groups Chicago and Steely Dan. But when Lampley switches from trumpet over to the sousaphone, their funk ventures in the direction of New Orleans street music. Maybe that's why Batiste loves them so much, calling their music "honest, genuine, skillfully executed, [and] uplifting."
Despite the clear influences of funk in this band's sound, it's still easy to perceive Huntertones' deep connection to the jazz legacy. Elements of the sextet's compositions can be traced back to Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, and gospel legend James Cleveland. The varied sets embrace funk, gospel, hard bop, and straight-ahead jazz, but Huntertones also enjoys cleverly arranged mashups of surprising pop tunes from the songbooks of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Queen.
Members of Huntertones often speak of the inspiration they received during their tours with the State Department. They feel privileged to have shared meals and created music with people from around the world.
They thrive on incorporating the rhythms, timbres, and musicians' voices that they have encountered on the road. This is most evident in their album, Passport, which features Zimbabwean mbira player Hope Masike and Irish fiddler Fergal Scahill.
When asked for an example of one of their most moving experiences touring, saxophonist White recalled a 10-day tour to Togo, West Africa. He said the band was transformed through the experience of witnessing the inseparable connection between music and dance in African culture.
"We would jam together every day, sharing ideas with each other, playing over the traditional Agbadjah rhythm," White said, "but the biggest thing [we experienced] was the humanity of making music together. Music was our lifeline and the way that we connected with other people."
Lampley summarizes Huntertones music as "high energy, horn-driven, danceable, and up-tempo."
"We are a band that very much thrives on playing live," he said. "You can't really replace the energy of the six of us playing in a room reacting with each other."
Lionel Loueke, guitarist with Herbie Hancock, sums up their vibe well: "Soulful, tasty, and groovy. I dare you not to dance or be in a good mood during and after listening to this beautiful music."
* * *
The front line of Huntertones consists of tenor saxophone, trumpet (doubles on sousaphone), and trombone (doubles on beatbox). In the initial phase of the band, known as the Dan White Group, Jon Lampley joined up with White (tenor sax) and Chris Ott (trombone).
After the band moved to New York City, Lampley met with Batiste, who asked him to join Stay Human, the original house band for Colbert's Late Show. Lampley is also a member of Cory Wong's Wongnotes, has toured with the platinum-selling rock band O.A.R., and has joined with artists such as Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon. His discography includes recordings with Batiste, O.A.R., Lake Street Dive, and Jacob Collier.
Trombonist and beatboxer Chris Ott has toured or recorded with artists such as Ricky Martin, Kurt Elling, and Lake Street Dive. His recording credits include work with Jacob Collier, the Jonas Brothers, Lawrence, and Allen Stone.
Saxophonist Dan White has performed with musicians Vulfpeck, Kurt Elling, and Charlie Hunter, among others. His work has been recognized by DownBeat magazine and NPR Music, and it has been featured on NPR and the Huffington Post. White has written more than 200 arrangements for various ensembles, including brass bands, big bands, marching bands, and orchestras.
While visiting Nigeria, the Huntertones musicians were interviewed on national TV. A quote from Lampley during their conversation sums up their exciting journey.
"Music is something that equalizes all of us," he said. "Just like food or sports or environmentalism, music is something that we all share and reminds us of our humanity and our equality. I think music is something that's beautiful that brings us together to celebrate our differences and similarities."
* * *
Tickets for Huntertones at the Vermont Jazz Center, 72 Cotton Mill Hill #222, Brattleboro, start at $25 for general admission (contact VJC about educational discounts); available at vtjazz.org, or by email at sarah@vtjazz.org.
Tickets and information for those needing mobility access can be attained by calling the VJC ticket line, 802-254-9088, ext. 1.
Eugene Uman is director of the Vermont Jazz Center. The Commons' Deeper Dive column gives artists, arts organizations, and other nonprofits elbow room to write in first person and/or be unabashedly opinionated, passionate, and analytical about their own creative work and events.
This Arts column was submitted to The Commons.