EyeShotJazz | Jazz Photography

November 1 the 2014 Earshot Jazz Festival presented the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey at the Royal Room.
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey is the acclaimed, road-sharpened trio of Brian Haas (piano/Fender Rhodes/bass Moog/synth), Chris Combs (electric guitar/lap steel guitar/synth), and Josh Raymer (drums). “It swings, it sways, but the jazz trio form in their hands has an almost primitive, inside-yourhead, idiosyncratic quality” (DownBeat). While navigating 20 years, 16 members, 25 albums, and countless tours around the world, JFJO has become an institution in modern music. Defined by evolution and change, the band has invented its own language, one which permeates JFJO’s sound regardless of configuration. Beginning in Tulsa, OK, in 1994 as a funky octet with MCs and horns, JFJO became an instrumental trio in 1999, a quartet in 2007, and expanded to a 9-piece ensemble for 2011’s acclaimed Race Riot Suite. Celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2014, this year finds the band returning to the trio setting with two new albums on the revered Brooklyn record label, Royal Potato Family. In October, JFJO drops Worker, a brand new collection of songs that defy expectation.