They tried again and again and again. Fifteen times and still no name for their band.
“Wait ... I got it,” said IU senior Benny Gershman, who said he suggested the name Jip Jop because it’s an onomatopoeia and not an English word, but a sound.
And thus the band had a name.
Now, two and a half years later, it promises its show will be “intimate” and “full of antics.”
Jip Jop is a band founded locally by a group of Jacobs School of Music students.
The group has created its own genre – an eclectic blend of hip-hop, jazz, reggae and funk – and will play a mix of covers and original music at their upcoming concert.
Group member Gershman said he became friends with Davis Jones his freshman year and met the other band members in his Jazz Listeners class.
“We wanted to form an uncategorized genre, something different and distinctive,” Gershman said. “The goal was just to play live music wherever we could.”
Jip Jop is an all-male group and consists of six students – Gershman on vocals, Jones on saxophone, Ryan Imboden on trumpet, Ben Bolasny on piano, Bobby Wooten on bass and Matt Margeson on drums.
Gershman said although the band was founded in Bloomington, it doesn’t want to be recognized as “local.” Instead, they want to be recognized for their live music, original tunes and talents.
“When you have players who know exactly every nook and cranny of their instrument, you can use your musicians,” Gershman said. “We like to show them off.”
He added that in terms of artists, the band sounds like a mix of The Roots, DeAngelo and Charles Mingus.
Jones said the band has a unique style that doesn’t allow for people to just stand still when watching their live show.
“I think overall when you’re watching a band play live, the band needs to be consistently exuding this feeling of innovation,” Jones said. “You want the listener to be captivated by what you’re playing.”
Jones said the group is in the process of completing a 10-track EP, which is a CD that is about half of the length of a full album, and it will be released by spring 2010.
Jones said the band has already recorded a live album at DePauw University.
But Jones said the band is not interested in making money – it’s interested in building a strong fan base.
“Come if you’re done just standing watching bands play. It’s going to be a wild show,” Gershman said.
Professor of jazz studies Patrick Harbison, who taught members of Jip Jop in his classes, said the group is taking a risk by mixing hip-hop and jazz, but it’s necessary for jazz artists to take these kinds of risks.
“I think that’s what every generation has done,” Harbison said. “Take what their elders handed to them, and then you bring in the influences of the creative ideas of your generation. It’s a way to freshen jazz. They bring jazzy elements to people who like hip-hop. It’s not just their grandparents’ music.”
Harbison said what makes true jazz music is improvisation and not having every song and note planned out.
“There’s going to be this sort of spontaneity every time you hear a band like Jip Jop,” Harbison said. “You’re playing off of the other musicians, and the audience is giving you energy.”
Jip Jop’s hip-hop, jazz rock crowds
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