WICN Artist of the Month, August 2023: The Verve Jazz Ensemble
Written by Doug Hall on August 1, 2023
Back when albums were the main source for collecting and listening to music for both jazz audiences and jazz artists alike, there was a limited range of record labels. However, one record label stood out as foundational for jazz in the past and is historically renowned today. Verve Records, established in 1956, has offered a range of critical recordings from the most essential jazz musicians, from decade to decade. VJE drummer and bandleader Josh Feldstein grew up listening to and appreciating this record label’s exceptional recordings and so named his band The Verve Jazz Ensemble.
In addition to the jazz Feldstein immersed himself with, including Verve recordings, he was also already finding his instrument of expression, taking drum instruction at 11, and then playing in the Queens All-Borough Orchestra during high school. As stated in his website biography, “I was a kinetic kid, bouncing off walls. I was cut out for drums.” He would later find exceptional mentorship with the legendary jazz drummer Joe Morello and the esteemed jazz drummer and educator John Riley.
After a musical journey and journeyman experiences, practicing and honing his skills as a drummer, sitting in with bands at nightclubs, Feldstein would eventually form a quartet – the first core of The Verve Jazz Ensemble, with saxophonist Jon Blanck, bassist Chris DeAngelis and pianist Matt Oestreicher.
His view of the bandleader is not that of a resume, but a specific calling that can’t be taught.
“Being a band leader – you either have the genes for it or you don’t. It’s not glamourous and it’s difficult as you’re dealing with the creative influences of artists – and it’s not always easy and I’ll leave it at that.” Though, with hard-earned, hands-on credentials in this role, the commitment and loyalty from exceptional professional musicians over the arc of the band, from the 2013 debut, It’s About Time to their latest album All In (released May 26, 2023) shows a remarkable stability.
He has now expanded the band’s size to a septet, with some of the original members still crucial to recording material and ongoing touring. Additional members of The Verve Jazz Ensemble include trumpeter Tatum Greenblatt, trombonist Willie Applewhite, saxophone and woodwind instrumentalist Alexa Tarantino, and bassist Elias Bailey. Including the core original members Blanck, DeAngelis, and Oestreicher, the resumes of these individual artists are outstanding; and, of course, more directly appreciated by listening to any of the recordings, which show off the professional chemistry between band members and the individual solo expertise of each musician.
The band’s range of jazz genres and recordings move from era to era effortlessly – channeling a Benny Goodman Big Band swing sound to Jazz Messenger-style hard-bop to post-bop to Latin jazz and softer ballads, and even a jazzy reinterpretation of the Odd Couple television theme song on All In (2023). In parallel to this rich variety of genres is an intention to broaden the audience’s engagement and listenership.
Recognition and reviews have reinforced their appeal to larger audiences, with several releases leading the way, including The Verve Jazz Ensemble’s 2015 recording East End Sojourn, which received JazzWeek’s ‘Top Albums of the Year’ status, and 2018’s Connect the Dots getting significant airplay, and now their latest release All In (2023) which they currently are touring behind, is also charting. A recent review by The Jazz World extends praise: “Across eight albums and counting – the latest entitled All In – ‘The VJE’ has been satisfying the cravings of critics and audiences alike, consistently placing near or at the very top of the JazzWeek radio chart for the past decade.”
Feldstein believes that part of the resistance to a larger audience in jazz is the result of some fatigue from over-soloing and that for many novice listeners, there is a limit to attentiveness. In a WICN interview, Feldstein shared his philosophy on economy and balance, “We have an understanding, amongst the musicians (The Verve Jazz Ensemble), that when it comes to soloing, we really try to get to the point. Many listeners do not have the background to appreciate chorus after chorus after chorus of soloing.” The Verve Jazz Ensemble has found an audience that is certainly reaffirming Feldstein’s musical convictions.
The Verve Jazz Ensemble will headline Jazz at Sunset on Friday, August 25 at 6 pm behind The Hanover Theatre, staged outdoors in the parking lot where the parking lot is transformed into a concert venue with general admission seating and a picnic-style setting, including food trucks and cash bars. Learn more and get tickets here.
