Jazz combo likely to shake up your expectations

“Our approach is that we propel tunes through a metaphor we call a rhythm grinder. (In other words,) playing tunes in radically different and unexpected styles,” said Robb Janov, who plays electric violin and sings in the ensemble.

Janov compared the desired effect of that approach to “a baseball pitcher who wants to keep the batter on his toes, wondering what the next pitch would be.”

The band’s plan is intriguing and seems to be working. He gave a few examples of how the quartet might play tunes.

“We’ll take tunes like the Beatles’ ‘Hello, Goodbye’ or … (Johannes) Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No. 5 … and we’ll play them in a Gypsy jazz style or swing style,” Janov said.

“So the audience will recognize the words and melodies, but the rhythm is completely different than what they are used to hearing them sound like. Or it could shift from jazz and end up in a funk-jazz or rock jazz fusion.”

Perhaps a more accurate food metaphor, he said, would be to mixing salad ingredients in a bowl.

The other members of the Django Rhythm Meat Grinders are guitarist Dimi DiSanti, bassist Dan Spanogle and drummer Rick Compton.

The band will play one set Thursday, July 7, at the Outpost Performance Space.

In the other set another Albuquerque band, the trio Room Two 27, will perform. It brings together free jazz, Latin jazz and spoken word.

“For this set maybe Peter (Napoleon Barbeau) will solo or we’ll have duets among us. And some tunes will be as a trio. Since there’s no bass, it’s more challenging for guitar. So I can walk the bass line on guitar,” said guitarist Reed Easterwood.

Barbeau plays sax and percussion. Arnold Acosta is on drum set and percussion.

For this concert, Easterwood said there will be at least one song with spoken word.