DJ Hairy Larry Presents NJHB Playing The Hop Skip Jump
From The Archives Of Something Blue – 2025-08-10
NJHB 2025-08-02
Thanks Marty, today we’ll hear the premier recording of a new song I wrote recorded at KASU New Jazz In Jonesboro.
NJHB recorded their first album at HairyLarryLand on December 29, 2012. In 2013 we released 8 1/2 albums counting “Bop Soup” as half an album. We were back in 2018 and 2019, recording an album at every show. After the pandemic we recorded an album outside of the Round Room on November 5, 2023, and then, last week, we recorded “The Hop Skip Jump”.
We are a different kind of jazz band featuring group improvisation. On November 30, 2019, when we recorded our “Checking For Traps” album, I said, “Then we’re gonna do like NJHB does, we’re gonna not just improvise the solos, we’re gonna improvise the arrangement, we’ll go outside, do whatever we want, have a good time.”
So to explain some of this I’m going to do an analysis of the excerpt of “The Hop Skip Jump” we’re about to hear. I will post a link to the whole album at sbblues.com.
This is a radio edit so it starts in the middle with the rhythm section playing and I’m soloing on my Fender Rhodes. After a bit I go outside which means I play in a scale that’s different than the key. The song is in F major which has one flat. I played in Eb minor pentatonic which has all the flats or black keys on the piano. If you listen carefully you will notice when I go outside.
Then I splash around, up and down, which means I play random chords and note clusters with jazz rhythm and tonal direction.
Then the horns, Neale Bartee on trombone and Eliecer Tamez on trumpet, improvise a duet while I solo underneath them.
This is followed by Matt Jackson playing a bass solo. I join Matt playing the head or melody of the tune. The rest of the rhythm section joins in making it up as they go.
I call for the horns and they continue their duet.
We then improvise a tight ending with Craig Collison on vibes and Alex Washam on drums following me playing a jazz trope or cliche.
Playing with NJHB on August 2, 2025 were
Eliecer Tamez – trumpet
Neale Bartee – trombone
Matt Jackson – bass
Alex Washam – drums
Craig Collison – vibraphone
David Shade – guitar
Chris Kjorlaug – percussion
Evan Tucker – percussion
Shane Chastain – piano and organ
and
Hairy Larry – Fender Rhodes and vocals
Ten musicians is ambitious, even for NJHB. I say we’re Sun Ra Light or maybe Free Snarky Puppy.
So now, recorded at KASU New Jazz In Jonesboro here’s NJHB playing my song, “The Hop Skip Jump”.
Something Blue Archives Featured Concert
NJHB – The Hop Skip Jump
archive.org/details/hl2025-08-02-album
Something Blue Archives – List Of Concerts
archive.org/details/somethingbluearchives?sort=-publicdate
NJHB Live at HairyLarryLand on 2012-12-29
archive.org/details/hl2012-12-29
Hairy Larry Live at Fine Arts Recital Hall on 2013-11-08
archive.org/details/hl2013-11-08
music
And that’s NJHB playing “The Hop Skip Jump” at KASU New Jazz In Jonesboro. Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00, for more NJHB, ADHD, and Jerry Joseph and the Jackmormans.
NJHB – The Hop Skip Jump
Upon Furthur Analysis (An off air expansion of the analysis from the podcast.)
This is a radio edit so it starts in the middle with the rhythm section playing and I’m soloing on my Fender Rhodes. After a bit I play a chromatic run meaning all the notes which obscures the key. Then I go outside which means I play in a scale that’s different than the key. The song is in F major which has one flat. I played in Eb minor pentatonic which has all the flats or black keys on the piano. If you listen carefully you will notice when I go outside. The reason this works is because by playing the Eb minor pentatonic I’m playing notes from the C altered dominant and C is the dominant chord in the key of F.
Then I splash around, up and down, which means I play random chords and note clusters with jazz rhythm and tonal direction.
Then the horns, Neale Bartee on trombone and Eliecer Tamez on trumpet, improvise a duet while I solo underneath them.
This is followed by Matt Jackson playing a bass solo with Shain Chastain comping lightly which means he plays chords at a low volume. Craig Collison adds florishes on the vibraphone filling in the high end. I join Matt, playing the head or melody of the tune, while Alex Washam on drums plays a fill after every phrase. Then the rest of the rhythm section joins in making it up as they go along.
I call for the horns and they continue their duet.
We then improvise a tight ending with Craig Collison on vibes and Alex Washam on drums following me playing a jazz trope or cliche.
None of this was planned in advance. It’s all the product of group improvisation which means listening to others improvise while you improvise back at them. And it’s so much fun.
ADHD 7
DJ Hairy Larry With NJHB Playing Cookin’ For Piper
Something Blue – Radio – 29 second spot
This is Hairy Larry inviting you to enjoy Something Blue every Saturday night at ten. This week we’re featuring Jerry Joseph, ADHD, and NJHB. For more about the show visit the Something Blue website at sbblues.com.
Don’t miss Something Blue, Saturday night at 10:00 PM Central, at kasu.org.
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