Something Blue

DJ Hairy Larry Presents NJHB Playing Circular Logic
From The Archives Of Something Blue – 2025-02-09

NJHB – Circular Logic

Thanks Marty, today we’ll hear a band of students play the title track from their first album.

When I came up with the idea of doing the New Jazz In Jonesboro concerts at TheArts@311 I was a jazz student at ASU. So it stood to reason that I would recruit the New Jazz House Band, known as NJHB, from my fellow students.

We had our first session at the HairyLarryLand studio in Jonesboro at the very end of 2012. We recorded four songs, all original compositions. I was the only one who had played any of them before so it was kind of like jumping off into the deep end. No rehearsals, just put the music up on the stand, talk for a minute, and record it.

I took what we recorded and released our first album, “Circular Logic”.

All of what came to be known as the NJHB sound, improvising the arrangements, leaving the chord change, group improvisation, and unusual instrumentation, was on display on that first album. As always, this was the only album with this exact lineup.

Playing at the session were

Mike Lovell – guitar
Garrett Tyler – drums
Matt Jackson – bass
Hairy Larry – piano
Cody Ballard – tenor sax
and
Joseph Curtis – trumpet and flugelhorn

Garrett, Cody, Joseph, and myself were in the ASU jazz program at the time. Mike and Matt attended ASU earlier. We all lived in Northeast Arkansas except for Matt who lives in southeast Missouri.

I’ve got to tell you these guys all played good. The one thing that makes NJHB work is talented musicians.

We generally played arrangements from 15 to 20 minutes long. Not exactly radio friendly. I did a new mix of “Circular Logic” keeping it all there but choosing the best choruses for this podcast. Go to the Something Blue website at sbblues.com for a link to the whole album including 12 plus minutes of this song as originally released.

Ok now, going back to the very beginning, recorded on December 29, 2012, here’s NJHB playing my song, “Circular Logic”.

NJHB-Circular Logic
Something Blue Archives
archive.org/details/hl2012-12-29

Something Blue Archives – List Of Concerts
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