The genre-fluid ensemble has given ace drummer Nate Wood double duty as bassist in light of the (at least) temporary departure of Kaveh Rastegar to work on a solo project. Makes sense, as discs led by individual members Wood, Ben Wendel (sax), and Shane Endsley (trumpet) are as worthy as Kneebody’s voluminous catalog as a quintet. They’ve included guest vocalists on their latest, Chapters, so it will be interesting to see how that gets finessed live. Over the course of an evening, their virtuosic versatility finds the sweet spot for everyone in the audience at least once or twice.
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Last year, this bicoastal jazz quartet — some members live in Brooklyn, some in L.A. — released its eighth album, “Chapters,” its first since the departure of bassist Kaveh Rastegar. Once again, the ambitious music is hard to define succinctly because it melds jazz, funk, electronica and chamber sounds with odd meters and occasional guest vocalists including Becca Stevens and Michael Mayo. Kneebody packs a book’s worth of ideas into “Chapters.”
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Every band communicates in its own way. Kneebody has invented its own cueing system that allows each member to change the tempo, key or style in an instant. In other words, they might go from fierce, all-out improvisation to nuanced chamber ensemble before your eyes. The Grammy-nominated leaderless quartet – keyboardist Adam Benjamin, trumpeter Shane Endsley, saxophonist Ben Wendel and Nate Wood, who plays both drums and bass – are touring behind their latest, “Chapters.”
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Wed Jan 22 • 7PM + 9PM