While Jazz Is Phsh may seem like the wackiest name in music right now, it is actually a band worth noting this summer. Pulling inspiration from genres such as jazz, funk and rock music, this band is constantly experimenting, not afraid to dangle in the uncertainty of switching its sound.
Formed in September of 2015, lead singer Adam Chase and his brother assembled their band to work on what became their first album, “He Only Spoke A Word,” serving as an homage to the band Phish. Now, the band’s current members are the same as they were all those years ago, including drummer Dennis Chambers and saxophonist Jeff Coffin.
Released two years after their start, Chase said, “The music of Phish had a huge impact on my brother and I as musicians. While our palette for music has changed, the appreciation for the unique compositions of Trey Anastasio and the fellow members of Phish has been something that we wanted to celebrate.”
Since then, Jazz Is Phsh has consistently cycled through musicians, playing alongside artists such as Felix Patorius, DOMi Degalle, Jonathan Huber, Justin Stanton and Cody Wright. Currently, the band also has help from others like Chris Bullock of Snarky Puppy and Michael Ray of SunRa Arkestra.
Like the unpredictability of who may or may not play with the band during certain tours, Jazz Is Phsh is also a group that never lets its audience know what they’ll do next. Beyond its members, the band likes to invent fun arrangements, keeping fans on their toes by creating mashups of their own songs.
Jass Is Phsh also enjoys making mashups of their original works with famous ones. For example, the band has blended their own melodies with the likes of passages from Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Sun Ra, Jaco Pastorius and Wayne Shorter in the past. By combining these decades of music, the band’s fans have found a newfound appreciation for jazz music unlike before.
Chase says that seeing this among the fanbase is what reminds him of how he got into jazz music as a teenager.
“As a teenager, it was the first music I heard that was outside of the box and not radio friendly pop music,” Chase said. “The long form compositions that were steeped in jazz and classical music but presented in a rock and roll format was a revelation for me as a musician.”
Now that Jazz Is Phsh has evolved over the last eight years, Chase also says it’s nice to come back to the genre that is gaining popularity once again.
“Now that we have evolved as musicians, it is nice to come back to the music that was so influential to us and present it in a way that can bring in jazz fans and musicians that normally wouldn’t give Phish a chance,” Chase said. “It’s also fun to introduce Phish fans to the aspects we love the most about jazz music.”
Currently, the group is touring all over the United States from May 31 to June 11. Stopping in cities such as Cleveland, Ohio, Toronto, Ontario, and Manchester, CT, Jazz Is Phsh is ready to play for old and new fans.
Tickets can be found here for purchase if you’re looking for an eccentric and funky jazz act to see live this summer.
