Saxophonist Joseph Pushes the Limits of Campus Music Scene

Author: Lucie Greene

For anyone who has been at Middlebury College for a while, it would be very unusual not to have at some stage encountered a performance by Ari Joseph '05. A polite, unassuming guy, Joseph has--since his arrival at Middlebury College in September 2001--amassed a large individual following and much respect. In addition, he has been central to the creation of the increasingly famous "Shari Poons and the Funk Brigade," along with the new and rising "Audio Ergo Sum," an experimental group which fuses Latino, acid jazz and "drum and bass" influences. So often, it seems, it's easy to look to celebrities and guest performers to give reverence and following. Every now and again, however, it's important to survey the enormous amount of talent this college possesses within its student body. Playing the saxophone and clarinet with an almost ridiculous level of skill, Joseph has become central to the jazz community on site. The Middlebury Campus decided to catch up with him to ask a few soul searching questions -- how many pieces of underwear on average get thrown at him on stage per performance, how many groupies he has, how many time he's trashed the Center for the Arts rehearsal rooms, etc. The important stuff -- you know the sort of thing!

The Campus: So Ari, how long have you been playing for?
Ari Joseph: I've been playing sax (soprano, baritone and tenor) for five years, and I played clarinet for five before that.
The Campus: How did you get interested in Jazz music?
A.J.: Well, my family's pretty musical, but I was never really into it when I was a kid. I sort of always wanted to play jazz though and was lucky because I got out of this piano class, and the only other thing they offered was jazz improv, so I started that freshman year of high school.
The Campus: Ok, so you're from Brooklyn right?
A.J.: Right.
The Campus: Do you think having that urban upbringing gave you more opportunities and access to jazz?
A.J.: There's definitely a cultural background of jazz in Brooklyn, although Brooklyn itself has never been a major ground for jazz improv, mostly it was Manhattan and Harlem. You get so much opportunity to see so many amazing shows in the city. One problem with New York City is that it's so expensive, so you can't go out and see too much. There's a great artist playing every week, so you sort of have to go and catch what you really, really want to see.
The Campus: As well as actually playing the instruments themselves, how did you acquire such a great awareness of jazz history, culture and theory?
A.J.: I had a jazz teacher in school that was really awesome. The guy's been so influential on me as a whole. He's an ex-professional tuba player. He just got us all to listen to lots of music and learn stuff that way, because jazz has never really been formal in terms of how it's been passed on. It's always been a learn-by-experience type thing. Another thing that made it easier was that all my friends were musicians. We've all been huge influences on each other. We'll go and listen to something, bring it in, and be like "Check this record, let's do this," so that's been a help.
The Campus: How did you get in to the jazz scene here, because you seem quite central to a lot that goes on campus?
A.J.: Yeah, I was a little worried when I got here, because I didn't know what the music scene would be like. I hadn't heard much about it. It didn't seem like the music department was too "into" fostering a jazz community. Then I learned later that Cyrus Chestnut taught a J-term course. He's a really big jazz musician -- plays piano for the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. It was great to have him come and do that.
The Campus: And did that help you meet the other people that perform here as well?
A.J.: Yeah, I met Pete (Newell '03) who's the bass player in the Shari poons. I pretty much met a lot of people I play with now.
The Campus: So how many groups are you actually in?
A.J.: Shari Poons and the Funk Brigade and Audio Ergo Sum ('I hear therefore I am' in Turkish after Yigit Irde '05 the drummer in the group).
The Campus: How do the groups differ?
A.J.: I really have a lot of fun with both groups. I think with the Shari Poons it's way more about being a section player. It's a real collective. I feel like with the other band, it's more experimental, just in terms of our strengths and taking direction and seeing where it goes. It's a lot of fun. It's definitely way more of a jazz group, or at least jazz influenced. I think we all bring a lot of different influences, whereas with the Shari Poons we all listen to similar sorts of stuff. Shari Poons developed out of a soul-review night we played last year. It went through several incarnations, and we finally came up with a pretty big band. It was just a really great time. That night was probably one of the best nights of my life performing. It got us thinking about funk and soul and how fun it was to play. I think we just wanted to get to that point again, and so put a band together. Audio Ergo Sum came more out of a real love not just for jazz, but drum and bass, acid jazz and Latino music.
The Campus: Where do you want to take all this now?
A.J.: I'd really like both bands to get more serious. The next stop with the Shari Poons would be to write our own music, and I think we're at the perfect point now. We're developing a following on- and off-campus, we have a great time with our friends, the audience, you know -- a really good energy. With the other band it's different. I mean I love playing with those guys and it's almost more fulfilling. I feel like it's a real equality of parts, and each individual is integral to the whole band.
The Campus: You're going to Cuba for your semester abroad. Do you plan on pursuing music when you're there?
A.J.: Yeah, I'm trying to go to Cuba and Brazil -- both mainly for the music. They're two styles of music that have been so influential on my career.
The Campus: When you leave Middlebury College, do you see yourself headed into the jazz world?
A.J.: I had a conversation with my friends about this recently -- I don't know. The jazz world has become really unstable recently, and it's very hard to say. It's become very group based, with less individuals emerging, so I kind of see myself headed in that direction.
The Campus: Thanks very much. Good luck with everything.
A.J.: Thanks.

Shari Poons and the Funk Brigade and Audio Ergo Sum both play regularly on campus. Events are advertised on notice boards, or on the Middlebury College weekly planners. Keep your eyes open!