It’s the lack of a particular instrument that makes Up Jumped Three different from other jazz trios in Asheville. The project of Bryan White (bass), Frank Southecorvo (saxophones) and Tim Winter (guitar) goes against the norm. “The fact that we don’t have a drummer as part of our key sound is one of the main things up front that sets us apart,” White says. “Our compositions are geared toward trying to bring out each individual voice of the bass, the saxophone and the guitar. The overall sound is very open and it places a responsibility on everyone to be rhythmic and very solid in the playing of their parts to make up for the fact that we don’t have a drummer.”
These three long-standing jazz musicians joined together two years ago and will play their first headlining show at Isis Restaurant and Music Hall Friday, Oct. 9. Only 50 tickets will be sold for this show in the upstairs lounge. The performance will be an intimate showcase for the group’s self-proclaimed “chamber jazz” sound, White says, as they won’t need to use much amplification. “It will be a cool way to feature the sound we are going for in a pure form,” he adds.
On several occasions, the trio has played at Isis as part of the venue’s Sunday Jazz Showcase. In those cases, White, Southecorvo and Winter have added a drummer to the mix. “For us to be able to bring this core group into a featured spot at Isis is a big deal,” says White, who played with local jazz-bluegrass outfit Brushfire Stankgrass for several years. “A lot of our friends and fellow scene-mates play there on a regular basis. We’ve had a little bit of a hard time breaking in and being able to do this, so for us, this is a cool opportunity.”
White and Southecorvo were in another jazz band, Done For the Evening, which toured for five years before ending in 2011. When the two musicians began playing again together, they invited White to the new group. They’ve yet to release an album but have one in the works.
After playing together as a trio, the members of Up Jumped Three realized it fit, even if the lineup was a bit out of the norm. “You have to find a way to differentiate yourself from others [who play jazz in the area],” White says. “It’s definitely a challenge to do something different but it has been beneficial and fruitful so far.”
WHO: Up Jumped Three
WHERE: Isis Restaurant & Music Hall
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 9, 7 p.m. $8
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