Vibraphonist Joel Ross visits Helena Aug. 17 as part of an NEA-supported tour.
A limited NEA-supported tour brings jazz vibrophone great Joel Ross and his band, Good Vibes, to Montana for one concert only, Wednesday, Aug. 17 at The Myrna Loy in Helena.
DownBeat wrote of him: “Ross’s playing erupts through the layers of lush arrangements like consistent currents of electricity, high-powered and full of luminous energy.”
Love for the vibraphone took some time, admits Ross, who is getting rave reviews from critics for his mastery of the instrument.
Turns out his first passion was to be a secret agent. Then he fell in love with drums while playing them as a kid at the local Baptist church in Chicago. But the vibraphone is where the young musician is making his musical mark.
“The years Mr. Ross spent in childhood learning drums at church laid an important foundation,” wrote a New York Times music reviewer. “It tends to be what I’m reaching for,” Ross told The Times, “to put the audience into that space of reaching up, worship and praise.”
Just 26 years old, Ross has already recorded three critically-acclaimed albums with his bands.
“What I do love about the vibraphone and respect about it is that it is a mix of drums, which has always been my first love, and the piano, which is probably my other favorite instrument.” On the drums he can explore rhythms, while on the piano he can dive into harmony and theory.
“The vibraphone is the best mixture of these two worlds for me to express myself musically.”
It’s likely the Myrna crowd will hear some of the artist’s newest music.
“We’ve been learning and playing music that I plan to record soon,” he said in a phone interview from New York City.
The music he and his band are creating have taken them to some of the most prestigious jazz stages and venues across the globe, from the Jazz Gallery and the Village Vanguard in New York, to the Kennedy Center and celebrated venues in Italy, Netherlands, Paris, Germany and London.
Ross topped the DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star category for vibraphone, and in 2017 he became one of the youngest artists to receive a coveted Residency Commission from The Jazz Gallery. This NEA-supported album tour takes him to all the top jazz festivals and houses – and of course, to The Myrna Loy.
The Myrna show begins at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17. Tickets are $24 and available at the box office at 15 N. Ewing St. or online. For more information, call 406-443-0287.