Reptet written up in The Stranger (Seattle's alt weekly)

[Johnny E]

May 14, 2009

The Score

Reptet

by Christopher DeLaurenti

I'm a block away when I hear Reptet rehearsing "Swanni" from their upcoming disc, Chicken or Beef? (Monktail). Even from the middle of the street, the sextet—just back from playing a dozen shows on the East Coast—sounds tight. Trumpeter Samantha Boshnack pipes high above a churning Balkan-influenced riff; depending on how you count the beat, you hear an accelerated waltz or a pulsing four-on-the-floor groove.

Inside, the tiny living room is packed with all six musicians. Drummer John Ewing sits to my left and I watch him place a pot lid on his floor tom during "Do This!"—the title track from the group's first album. Despite the standard jazz-band frontline of trumpet, trombone, and saxophones, every Reptet song has something unusual, from group chants and polyrhythmic hand-clap intros to unusual instruments including flute, tuba, and bass clarinet.

During a break, I peer around the room, spotting some decades-out-of-print Impulse! LPs on the shelf along with Paul de Barros's classic book on Seattle jazz, Jackson Street After Hours. The back of a vintage magazine touts the "Piano Publications" of one forgotten "Marvin Kahn." I also spy a torn poster of David Bowie in his mid-1970s quasi-fascist Station to Station phase, and a set of 10-inch trio sides by Nat King Cole, who, before he found fame as a crooner, was a leading pianist.

All that stuff seems to suit Reptet, who make new music by merrily hopping around the history of jazz. A stereotypical, finger-snapping walking bass lick can smartly mingle with a dissonant free-jazz freak-out, a moody, minor-key TV-cop-show melody, or an Anthony Braxton–inspired lamination of simultaneous layers. Best of all, Reptet make jazz fun.

Catch Reptet Sun May 18, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Volunteer Park, 1400 E Prospect St, 654-3100, 2 pm, free.

Source

Edited May 16, 2008 by Johnny E

[randissimo]

Very cool... I sure enjoyed the Traverse City show!

[Guest Bill Barton]

I'm looking forward to it... See y'all there!

And that's a cool plug from Chris too. It's nice to see a mention of creative music in The Stranger. A fairly recent post on the Seattle Jazz Scene blog referred to them as "mainstream media." I really got a kick out of that one!

Edited May 17, 2008 by Bill Barton