Arts, Dining & Entertainment

Contemporary jazz fusion band Eight 02 returns to Brandon Music

Saturday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. — BRANDON — Brandon Music welcomes back the popular jazz fusion band Eight 02 on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. Eight 02 describes itself as a “post-Bop contemporary jazz fusion group with a particular knack for improvisational risk-taking.” This band is a collaboration between founding members of Picture This and current members of the critically acclaimed Kilimanjaro. Their sound has been described as a mix of contemporary jazz with a decidedly fresh fusion flavor. With an emphasis on melodic architecture that is balanced by raw-spirited improvisation, Lou D’Antonio (Jazz Spectrum 104.7, WCNS The Point) said it best: “Beyond category, beautiful; tremendously accessible and exciting.”

Band members include guitarist Jerome Monachino whose style has been heavily influenced by the melodic nuances of Pat Metheny to the edginess of Al Dimeola. Monachino’s music has been refined through his work with guitar greats John Stowell and Bucky Pizzarrelli. In addition to the guitar, Monachino plays guitar synth, bass and does vocals.

Keyboardist, Peter Engisch, believes that Eight 02 combines the crafts of melody and groove while building a musical story start to finish. “We are what we grew up on.” For Engisch that includes Bill Evans, Steely Dan, Pat Metheny and Joe Sample, to name a few.

Luke Adler, drummer for the Vermont-based jazz band, Kilimanjaro, joined Eight 02 in the summer of 2011 for Burlington’s Discover Jazz Festival. That gig signaled the beginning of Eight 02 and its rapid rise to prominence in the “accessible fusion’’ arena. Adler has played and recorded with some of the industry’s finest musicians including percussionist Lenny Castro, Hammond B3 organist Joey DeFrancesco and bassist Scott Ambush.

Christopher Peterman, a truly gifted musician and Connecticut native, plays tenor and soprano saxophones as well as the EWI wind synthesizer. Peterman graduated from the Berklee College of Music and is a fellow band-mate of Luke Adler in Kilimanjaro. On the national scene he has shared the stage with artists such as The Neville Brothers, Phish, Joe Henderson, John Scofield and Dave Brubeck. Eight 02 bills Peterman as “the finest sax player in Vermont.”

Tickets for the concert are $15. Reservations are recommended, at 802-247-4295 or info@brandon-music.net. Brandon Music is located at 62 Country Club Rd., Brandon.

Photo submitted

EIGHT 02

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