History

In the early summer of 1994- guitar player Rik Wright was co-writing alterna-pop music with writer/painter Nicole Friedman, (Nico7). In an effort to transform this songwriting duo into the band Spindle- Rick and Nico found drummer/producer Simon Grant. The three worked together writing and auditioning bass players. It was in this period when the trio came across bassist Tannar Brewer. Tannar didn’t really fit what Spindle was looking for- but his playing style touched a nerve in Rik and Simon that rekindled a past subject of discussion- Jazz/Rock fusion.

Eventually Spindle discovered that their musical styles and artistic goals were very hard to combine, and they disbanded.

Simon continued to work with and record Nico7, while he separately continued to work with Rik Wright and new friend/bassist Tannar Brewer under the guise of “Psychovamp”. This new threesome began working on a hard rock – jazz fusion; the goal being to combine elements of exploratory jazz composition and rhythm with hard-edged, heavy chord progressions and high energy. Many variations of Psychovamp were tested with two resultant, (and rare), self-released cassettes as a test product- VW Starship, and Atomic Jazz for the 90’s.

Response to this new material was very positive, but Psychovamp began to find that they weren’t easily able to schedule performances. As many fusion artists have found throughout history- classic jazz purists have little tolerance for too much fusion, while many rock enthusiasts tend to cling to their genre’ of choice rather dutifully as well- thus booking agents couldn’t make the space for this “too-new/too-much” fusion. It was time for a reengineering of Psychovamp’s musical approach.

The new sound was much closer to standard jazz, but the compositions were based primarily in swing rhythms to achieve that sought-for drive rather than the trendier exploratory be-bop rhythms. Instrumentation also contributed to the fusion as Rik played a hard body Stratocaster-style guitar vice the jazz standard hollow body guitar. This guitar sound had a harder edge and far more bite. The same approach was applied by Tannar with his electric bass; eliminating that standard ambient, acoustic sound of the big resonant upright basses usually found in classic jazz.

The compositional approach was simple- play the head, let someone take 24 or 32 measures for a solo, then bridge into a head out. Songs were to be no longer than six minutes. The goal was also simple- “get people who normally listened to rock-n-roll to discover the beauty of jazz exploration”. By creating compositions with almost formula-defined heads, time limited solo explorations, and overall rhythm limits- the trio had created a style that attracted listeners who possessed attention spans normally limited to four minute rock songs. By building this bridge, many rock enthusiasts discovered artists they’d never heard of like Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Thelonius Monk.

So it was with this redesigned sound, and a full schedule of performances that the trio branded themselves: The Jackhammer Trio.

The Jackhammer Trio performed extensively from February through September of 1995. After a knockout performance at the Northwest’s renowned Bumbershoot Music Festival- the trio took a three year vacation. The band regrouped in 1998 and they performed in small tours and club dates through 2003. Each time they re-surfaced their sound had morphed into something new and updated; a sound that hinted what the players had been up to in their many other musical collaborations.

Since 2003, Jackhammer Trio has been on indefinite hiatus.

Press

Sonarchy & Synergy

Tourdates.com, July 2000

Originally recorded in August, 1999 for KCMU’s (90.3FM) Sonarchy Radio Program, the Jackhammer Trio’s Sonarchy and Synergy was later remixed and remastered. The result is a flawlessly produced album engendered in the true spirit of jazz: live and improvised.

Released on Seattle’s HipSync Records, Sonarchy and Synergy is the album to deliver experimental jazz from its perpetual misunderstanding. Traditional jazz elements merge with instruments of standard rock, creating a sound that is at once innovative and classic.

The Jackhammer Trio (Rik Wright, guitar; Tannar Brewer, bass; Simon Grant, drums) took shape in 1994. Their more mainstream-influenced music soon transformed into what they describe as “beat-oriented free jazz.” With the distortion and echo of digital technology, the guitar functions with all the rhythm of a horn section, from wail to jam. The subtle intricacies – high-hats and rim shots – of the drums are unmistakably jazz. And the bass mimics an R&B groove, a disco funk and the playfulness of an upright. The emotion stays true to the fundamental principles of jazz, something often missing in the contemporary scene.

‘Crying for Momma’ leads the album. The group gets warmed, tunes and connects with one another, and surges into an impressive five-minute set opener. Variations in speed and digital delays are the building blocks of ‘Deconstructing the Panther,’ injecting a new smoothness into Henry Mancini’s Pink Panther Theme. And in the same vein, ‘Perimeter Man’ sounds exactly like the theme music for, well, a Perimeter Man. Other standouts include ‘Legacy Flashback’ and an interesting rendition of ‘Well You Needn’t’ by Thelonius Monk, the penultimate track.

HipSync was formed in 1998 by musicians who saw a need for experimental jazz in Seattle. The website offers RealAudio samples and HipSync Radio, with which visitors can listen to streaming MP3s of the artists’ songs. Sonarchy and Synergy and some of Wright’s solo material can be purchased on the site. Along with saxophonist Dan Blunck, Wright and Grant are now in the band Disjunkt.