- Video Recorded May 22nd 2010

Mike and I arrived at Jardine’s at 10:45. We were late and missed a table so we settled for a bar stool. The music was already swinging inside the dark, personal venue, lit only by candles and stage lights. Jardine’s was packed and the crowd seemed to be enjoying (or at least pretending to enjoy) every note played by the Project H. This restaurant is a place for hipsters where wealthy Johnson County folk meet inner-city jazz fanatics. Most of the patrons appreciate jazz for its artistic beauty and adventurous spontaneity. If you go to a weekend late show at Jardine’s you will find yourself under a sonic assault of serious musical talent.

The Project H was no exception. Under the leadership of Ryan Heinlein, the band featured Matt Leifer on drums, Clint Ashlock on trumpet, TJ Martley on keys, Bret Jackson on tenor saxophone, and Zach Beeson on electric bass. Ryan was on trombone and did all of the composition and arranging for the concert. I didn’t hear standards; all of the music was original. When we walked in, the band was playing a moderately fast Latin tune that was great to bop heads to. Jardine’s has a very limited stage for a six piece ensemble, but that didn’t seem to bother the musicians.

I appreciated the fact that Ryan recorded ‘Welcome to April’ with a group from Wichita and put together a new ensemble for the gig in Kansas City. He did this to build a Kansas City network and give the local talent some much needed work. For a measly three dollar cover, the patrons got a steal. It’s difficult to pay a six piece ensemble working for a three dollar cover in a venue that holds less than a hundred people. But as an artist knows, he’s not playing for the check at the end of the night; he’s playing for immortality, to be remembered by the patrons.

The band played a pleasant mixture of funk, Latin, reggae, jazz, and pop. I believed Ryan when he said that The Project H music might be “too poppy for the jazz clubs but too jazzy for the pop clubs,” although the Jardine’s crowd focused on the jazz. The first thing I noticed was the amazing soloing of Clint Ashlock. I heard him play some Bobby Watson licks but most of his style was completely original and non-repetitive. He showed great control of his trumpet with dynamics and wide note bends. Clint can bend a note just as well as any horn player, but on trumpet, that is a difficult feat to master.

TJ Martley was really interesting to watch. I sat at the table next to him to see if I could decipher some of his chord progressions but could only see his right hand. His touch of the keys was light and he had a good concept of building up solos. He would start with playful introductions and work towards more complexity in the middle, ending with similar playful concepts through the last chorus. His keyboard comping was appropriate for the band, using a minimal approach and letting his skill speak through solos.

Bret Jackson is a good tenor saxophone player. He has an expansive vocabulary and artistic approach to saxophone. His tone is controlled and he seems to have plenty of performing experience. He can obviously read well, and is an all around great musician. I thought he could have projected his sound more and played more of the microphone. His soft tone was really pleasing but his phrase peaks could have been a bit louder. Rhythmically, he’s really creative.

The rhythm section of Matt Lefier and Zach Beeson were like clockwork. Matt has a really good feel for jazz and funk drumming while Zach was holding it down on electric bass. I don’t think the band could really fit a stand up bass on the stage, but the two worked with TJ in a manner that kept the jazz interesting. Instead of playing straight swing or bop, they would mix up some funk or reggae on certain choruses. They played some good rock concepts as well, keeping the music lively throughout the show. Zach is also another young musician, which excites me because Ryan Heinlein is giving young talent some serious stage time.

As for Ryan Heinlein’s playing, the man is down right funky. He uses really clean accents, keeps the bone in tune, and plays like a musician. I really like to see somebody with fast technique on trombone because, honestly, I don’t know how it’s possible. I understand how saxophone or trumpet players tear up their scales, but on trombone, that takes serious work. I am also a Radiohead fan and really enjoyed Ryan’s arrangement of Thom Yorke’s "Atoms for Peace,” which featured Heinlein and his rhythm section for a nice ballad to break up the second set.

All in all, I felt that the show was really well done. My favorite tunes of the night from the entire band were “Xenophobia,” which uses swinging offbeat harmony from the horns in a bebop fashion and “Smokescreens,” which is a lot funkier and trades a single melody line between horn players with funk comping during solo sections. If you haven’t grabbed a copy of “Welcome to April,” you can buy one on CD Baby. Ryan has posted some live recordings from the show on www.myspace.com/theprojecth so be sure to check those out and hear them for yourself.

Published Sunday, 30th May 2010 - Written by Alex Tate