BY PAGE H. GIFFORD
CORRESPONDENT
Robert Jospe and his jazz band will be performing on March 22, at 7 p.m. at Carysbrook Performing Arts Center. It has been 12 years since Robert Jospe played at Carysbrook and he said he is thrilled to be coming back.
“I love the intimate aspect of the theater as well as the acoustics. I’ve always loved playing there. And I have a fantastic quartet, one the best bands I’ve ever played with. Playing with these guys is amazing and I know the audience will love them too. They are so good.” He added that they will offer a great repertoire of originals and covers, “some of which the audience will recognize. And I will be focusing on original jazz compositions.”
Born in New York City, Jospé was first inspired by his Belgian parents love of music. “My father was an avid, jazz and classical music listener. He taught me to appreciate music as a great art form. We listen to music together all the time” he said. “My mother loved popular music and was an excellent dancer.”
When he was 10 years old, his best friend’s father had a drum set.
“We both played on it listening to records and playing along. The Beatles had a big influence on me as well in 1964. When I got my own set in 1966 I never looked back. I was playing whenever I had time.” Though Jospe was exposed to music at an early age he remembers this was the first time he felt deeply connected to music differently. “I was blown away by it and I wanted one.” He later began playing the drums at age 14 and had his first professional performance at age 16 in France.
“My first influence in rock was Ringo Starr. But around the same time, I was very influenced by jazz that my father was listening to. I became a big fan of Joe Morello, who was playing with the Dave Brubeck Quartet. I heard him twice when I was 16 and 17. And we talked after a concert one night. When I was 18, I went to Berkeley School of Music for the summer and studied with renowned drum teacher Alan Dawson,” he said. “When I moved to New York, to attend New York University, I was incredibly fortunate to study for six months with Tony Williams, former drummer with Miles Davis and one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.” He credits Davis with changing the direction of jazz.
Over a decade, Jospé performed actively in the New York City music scene, becoming a co-leader of the fusion band Cosmology with Dawn Thompson and John D’earth. He performed with acts like Dave Liebman, John Scofield, and John Abercrombie.
In 1989 Jospé joined the University of Virginia music department faculty. He teaches jazz drumming and a rhythmic fluency course he titled “Learn to Groove”. He performs with the UVA faculty jazz ensemble The Free Bridge Quintet. Jospé contributed to the online educational component of Jazz by UVA with fellow instructor Scott DeVeaux and jazz writer Gary Giddins.
In 1990, Jospe formed Inner Rhythm. In addition to his many public appearances, Jospé and his group have played numerous private events and house concerts, including a performance with Tony Bennett in Germany in 2004. The Robert Jospé Express formed in 2012 when the former keyboard player for the Dave Matthews Band, Butch Taylor, began playing gigs at Fellini’s in Charlottesville. Bassist Dane Alderson joined the band a few months later.
Jospe talked about the evolution of his style from intense study to inner expression.
“My present style developed during the 1970s combining rock funk swing Latin into modern-day fusion. Like any artist developing one’s voice comes from years of practice, imitating masters, and studying the music that you love,” he said. “My voice as a drummer has developed without a conscious effort. It’s more like coming out of years of playing and practicing and listening over and over again to the great drummers who influence me like Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Billy Cobham, and many other great jazz and rock drummers.”
Jospe described his drumming style as if it had its own personality — joyful, happy, serious about the music, but not too serious about himself.
“Playing the drum set is about groove, but it’s also about colors. I like to think of myself as a painter on the drums coloring the music and shaping the feel,” he said. “Hopefully my style comes across as an organic style, combining the different genres of jazz with a groove that makes you wanna listen, move, and feel happy.”
Thinking back to when he could sit in with any jazz group from any era, who would he choose? He returned to the 60s when jazz was wild, hot, yet sleek.
“The Miles Davis Quintet or the John Coltrane Quartet anytime in the 1960s.”
Jospe’s performances are numerous and some more memorable than others. “I’ve played so many fantastic gigs it’s hard to say. It’s always special and so much fun playing concerts for listening audiences. I would say that one of the most memorable settings was opening up for Natalie Cole at the Ferguson Center to a sold-out theater for the 10th annual Ella Fitzgerald festival in Newport News. Also playing with Bobby McFerrin at the Forbes Center in Harrisonburg as a guest with the JMU big band. During that concert, Bobby had everyone drop out and it was just him and me going at it, playing off each other. That was amazing.”
For tickets, visit carysbrook.org.
