Rudder at Kuumbwa Jazz Center

About

Keith Carlock (drums), Tim Lefebvre (bass), Henry Hey (keys) and Chris Cheek (saxophone) are about as far as one could get from the textbook definition of a jazz quartet. To be sure, Rudder’s self-professed “indie-jam-jazz” blend incorporates syncopated rhythms topped and plenty of improvisation, but they draw just a heavily on groove, rock and electronica. To a group with collective experience backing Bill Frisell, Charlie Haden, Roger Waters, Jeff Watts, James Taylor, John Mayer and Steely Dan, very little of the musical spectrum qualifies as unfamiliar territory. Nevertheless, Rudder has a knack for fusing it all together into a sound that’s new and unfamiliar indeed.