Jazz The Ripper

He lost everything in a fire, including all of his saxophones, and Bobby needs our help. Participating in the event will be professional musicians playing along with a youthful Asheville band, Jazz The Ripper. - www.downtownasheville.com

The show, "Pick Up the Pieces: A Benefit for the Bobby Sax/Tony Heath Relief Fund," will feature the youth jazz group Jazz The Ripper, and local players Frank Southecorvo, Steve Davidowski, Jeff Rudolph, and Andy John. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and on sale at the Pack Place box office, 257-4530 - Asheville Citizen-Times

Anyone who missed the Bobby Sax Benefit Concert at Diana Wortham probably missed the concert of the year. Vice Mayor Jan Davis noted Bobby Sax made Asheville unique, his kind of street sax found only in larger cities such as Atlanta or New York.

Bobby was brought on stage and sat in with two local performing groups, one composed of local jazz musicians while the other featured an amazing teen group named Jazz the Ripper. While Bobby was sitting in with the teens, his solo performance of “Somewhere over the Rainbow” amazed the audience.

Bobby then advised the boys, “Your hardest job will be to stay together, so get along with each other!”

After they played F Blues with Bobby, the teen alto player volunteered to the audience, “When I was 10 years old, I walked up with new sax in hand and asked Bobby on the street, ‘How do I play this?’” Bobby’s answer must have been prophetic, proven by this 16-year-old’s performance at Diane Wortham last night.

So when you see Bobby playing around Asheville, drop the man a $10 or $20 spot. You can spare it, because playing the sax for Asheville is Bobby’s full-time job.

Gary Kallback, Weaverville

- Asheville Citizen-Times: Letter to the Editor

With influences from great jazz artists and funks bands like Earth, Wind and Fire, Galactic, Herbie Hancock, and James Brown and many more, these 5 young men are ready, if not already, to make their mark on the jazz scene.

http://reviews.theurbanmusicscene.com/2008/10/06/jazz-the-ripper--funky--fresh-2.aspx - The Urban Music Scene

December 25, 2009
Jazz the Ripper promises a funkier and fresher reunion show Saturday at the White Horse in Black Mountain. The band, on hiatus for a bit while three of its members attend college, became well-known locally and regionally for it's high-octane approach to funk, blues and jazz, and made a name as one of the youngest bands out there packing clubs and dance floors.

Members range in age from 14-18 and include Joe Hamilton on tenor and baritone sax, Julian Samahl on tenor and alto sax, Will Newman on keys, James Hamilton on guitar, Ted Marks on bass and Jordan Arnold on drums.

The band's youth notwithstanding, Jazz the Ripper demonstrates a collective musical sensibility that belies their tender years. Take5 spoke with Joe Hamilton and Jordan Arnold recently.

Question:
How have you changed as a band since the last show you did in the area, back in the summer?

Hamilton:
We've gotten a whole lot funkier and moved more toward New Orleans-based funk, a little bit of fusion and some fresh ideas. All of us have listened to a whole lot more music since we made our first record (“Funky and Fresh,” 2008). Our newer stuff is a lot more mature compositionally.

Arnold:
We're bringing a couple of new covers to the table that people haven't heard us do, yet. And the plan is, we'd like to get together over this winter break and write a new song or two, hopefully.

Q:
How has your being involved in a collegiate music program affected your approach toward what you do with the band?

Hamilton:
The program (at UNC Greensboro School of Music) is really, really hard. It's intense with really high expectations expected and a lot of hard work, and this is a good thing, especially in the field of jazz (Hamilton is majoring in jazz studies). I also get a lot of great opportunities to perform with different combos, in different settings. All of us have really been learning a lot. I've gotten better at understanding composition, better at listening, better at writing.
Arnold:
I'm having a great time (at Northwestern University School of Music) and learning an incredible amount. I get to practice a good eight to 10 hours a day, which is obviously pretty mandatory, but I have a great time doing it.

Q:
How did Jazz the Ripper originally get started?

Arnold:
(Several of us) were in marching band together in ninth grade. I was really into funk and wanted to get together with people and just start jamming together. Me and Joe and Ted got together and started playing; it was really fun, but we weren't that good (laughs). Joe kept telling us that we ought to have Julian come over, so one day we finally did, and I was blown away. We really had a lot of fun (playing together) and whatever success we've had as a band can be attributed to that.

Hamilton:
Our ability to get gigs, as well as our No. 1 point of feedback from audiences has been our age. We've got a couple of band members still in high school; one of them is just starting as a freshman. We definitely bring a lot of energy to our shows, and as we've gotten older, we've been able to expand our music to a more professional, mature level.

Q:
If someone had never been to a Jazz the Ripper performance, how would you describe it to them?

Arnold:
I would like to think that people are having as much fun as we are. It's a lot of upbeat, funky, dance-type music. I'd have a great time (if I was in the crowd) at one of our shows.

Laura Blackley writes about music for take5. E-mail her at laurablackleyband@yahoo.com. - Asheville Citizen Times

Age isn't always a make-or-break factor in a musical group as the young, Asheville band Jazz the Ripper has shown. Drawing on the influence of their influence their heroes James Brown and Earth Wind and Fire, Jazz the Ripper are setting out on a musical voyage to create their own style. Get more info about Jazz The Ripper at http://www.sonicbids.com/JazzTheRipper
Sunday, July 27, 1:45pm - Haywood Street Stagehttp://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=EVENTS0202 - Asheville Citezen-Times

Six top local acts perform at The Quality Forward Earth Day concert at 7 p.m.-midnight at The Orange Peel, 101 Biltmore Ave. The show includes Jazz the Ripper, Brushfire Stankgrass, Chris Cates and the Master Plan, Aaron La Falce, Snake Oil Medicine Show and Ruby Slippers. Admission is $10.

On the Net: www.theorangepeel.net - Asheville Citizen-Times Take5online

You smoked it. Great job. Everyone was astounded at your level of musicianship. It was a pleasure to have you on the campaign. Thanks so much for your talents and effort. - Comment by:Earth Day Asheville/Myspace

Five Musicians-whose combined age is less than that of many jazz artists with whom most of us are familiar-are making a big name for themselves in the local music scene. Jazz The Ripper (JTR) is a band comprised entirely of teenagers: Jordan Arnold on drums, Joseph Hamilton on tenor and baritone saxophone, and Julian Samal on alto and soprano saxophone, are each 16 years old and juniors at AC Reynolds High School. James Hamilton, 15, on bass and guitar, is a freshman at AC Reynolds. Will Newman, on keyboard, is home schooled. "Big" Will is only 13...the full article can be seen in the May Issue of the Asheville Laurel Magazine.
http://www.thelaurelofasheville.com/0508/page.php?id=078 - The Laurel of Asheville-May 2008

Jazz the Ripper
Go see this band as soon as possible, because four of its members just graduated from high school and are leaving for college to study music. Though the group has only been together for about three years, they’ve mastered the jazz-jam style of national touring acts like Galactic. Their instrumental songs fuse layers of drum, bass, and guitar-based funk while synthesizer, dueling tenor, and baritone saxophones do all the singing. All the members perform with a talent beyond their years, making it more disappointing to know that this is possibly their last summer playing in WNC. - WNC Magazine - July 2009