What is Jazz Code?

--By Patrick Byrne Translated by Michael Ho

I wanted to find out the answer to that question, so I went to check them out at their weekly Thursday night gig at Taichung's Oldies. There was no code to be deciphered, no mystery to be unraveled-just straight-ahead jazz music being played with enthusiasm by a group of young musicians born and bred right here in Taiwan. This regular Thursday-night gig often includes various other musicians sitting in to jam with the band and you will often see three or four extra horn players crammed up on stage waiting for their chance to play a head or blow a solo with the band.

I caught Jazz Code again at Grooveyard, appearing without any jam players. It was nice to see the band pared down to their regular four members and to have an opportunity to hear them perform what they practice as a tight unit. I was not disappointed!

What was really impressive was what they were doing with their arrangements of old jazz standards that are often overplayed, like Autumn Leaves, Satin Doll and Blue Bossa. These guys added some funk, fusion and some syncopation to the old charts, which made them exciting to listen to again.

Jazz Code is: Curly on drums, Eric on trumpet, Uno on keyboard and James on bass. They are a very decent jazz combo with some very talented young players, and are well worth checking out if you are into a really enjoyable evening of live jazz.