{"id":25474,"date":"2015-06-29T12:46:38","date_gmt":"2015-06-29T17:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=25474"},"modified":"2015-07-07T12:02:15","modified_gmt":"2015-07-07T17:02:15","slug":"enigma-jazz-project-reunites-live-at-proud-larrys-july-2nd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/enigma-jazz-project-reunites-live-at-proud-larrys-july-2nd\/","title":{"rendered":"Enigma Jazz Project Reunites Live at Proud Larry\u2019s July 2nd"},"content":{"rendered":"

The mid-1990s was a special time to be a lover of live music in Oxford. It was the heyday of 30 or 40 local bands\u2014arguably the most prolific musical period in Oxford so far.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"EnigmaHokaLateNigte\"<\/a>The Hoka<\/strong> was still going strong. Prohibition Jazz Band<\/strong> (PJB) was playing regularly at City Grocery<\/strong>, Forrester\u2019s<\/strong> on West Jackson hosted bands, Opal\u2019s farther West on Jackson had a lot of live music\u2014the place was later known as Shotgun Willy\u2019s <\/strong>(the building was a brothel in the 50s), and Blind Jim\u2019s<\/strong> (where Burgundy Room<\/strong> now lives) was a popular venue as well. And, of course, there was Proud Larry\u2019s<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

We all know that Bill Perry, Jr. <\/strong>(also known as \u201cB,\u201d \u201cLittle Bill,\u201d \u201cMysteryo\u201d) has been a fixture of the Oxford music scene for a while\u2014he\u2019s been in over 20 bands in this city, but the first band he started in Oxford, when he was 23 years old, was Enigma Jazz Trio<\/strong>, arguably the best of Oxford\u2019s jazz and hip hop efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"EnigmaPhoto_ca97_pshop\"<\/a>
Enigma Jazz Project, circa 1997 – photo courtesy Ted Gainey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1996, Perry was playing off and on with Wobbity<\/strong> (Ted Gainey<\/strong>, Tom Queyja<\/strong>, Brian Walker<\/strong>), and making his own instrumental hip-hop tapes, which he was just calling Enigma Jazz<\/strong>. During a short stint when Lois Lovelady<\/strong> was running The Hoka (rather than Ron Shapiro<\/strong>, The Hoka\u2019s longtime curator), Bill was hanging out on the front porch playing some of his instrumentals. Lois came out and heard his music, and told him he should get a band together and come play at The Hoka. Perry recalls this as the moment the idea for Enigma Jazz Trio was born: \u201cWhen Lois told me I should have a live band to have in her venue to perform, that influenced me to make a live band project out of it,\u201d says Bill Perry. And shortly after, Enigma Jazz Trio was born\u2014Perry contacted bassist Slade Lewis<\/strong> and drummer Ted Gainey, who were both agreeable. Perry had met Gainey at a local studio called Nightwalk Entertainment<\/strong> where Gainey and Tom Queyja were employed as engineers. \u201cMusicianship-wise,\u201d says Perry, \u201cTed in his 20s was a beast. There wasn\u2019t even an argument, he was the best f**king drummer in town, no one argued that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"EnigmaOldASB\"<\/a>
Old EJP flyer by Anne Scott Barrett<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next year, in 1997, Enigma Jazz Project (EJP)<\/strong> was born when they added Brandon \u201cThe Kid\u201d Lewis<\/strong> (Slade\u2019s brother) on trumpet\u2014he was phenomenal. And Andrew \u201cDJ Ginsu\u201d Boston<\/strong> joined the band on turntables from the Memphis rave scene (this was before local DJs like Nick B<\/strong> and DJ Hush<\/strong>). \u201cThere was a time that Jeff Colburn<\/strong> played drums with us,\u201d recalls Perry. But he says, \u201cTed\u2019s the drummer on both albums. And he was the person who was featured when we were on B.E.T. And he was the drummer I tapped for the reunion in 2002.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the Oxford bands popular at the time Enigma started was Jeff Callaway<\/strong>\u2019s Prohibition Jazz Band. Callaway is one of the only honorary members of Enigma, and Perry respects him immensely as a musician, always has. But Enigma added a hip-hop element to Oxford\u2019s jazz scene that just wasn\u2019t there.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I asked Perry how his 12 years spent growing up in L.A. influenced Enigma\u2019s sound, he said, \u201cThe only thing that L.A. played a part in influencing Enigma would be the hip-hop element. The hip-hop kid in me that was determined to make hip-hop a viable thing in a live band, when it wasn\u2019t conceptually developed like that on a broad basis yet.\u201d We talked about that for a while, and he mentioned prominent getups like Medeski, Martin, & Wood<\/strong> who he says \u201cwere doing these backbeat hip-hop grooves but with these jazz elements that were reminiscent of the 70s\u2014they were the one band I was hearing that got everything except a couple of elements that I\u2019d like to add, which was a DJ and a rapper.\u201d When I pressed Perry to list his influences at the time, he said, \u201cPete Rock<\/strong>, Seal Smooth<\/strong>, Gangstarr<\/strong>, Digable Planets<\/strong>, Tribe Called Quest<\/strong>. All the bands that were essentially doing that hip-hop\/jazz blend before there was The Roots<\/strong>. These were guys that were, like, sampling Herbie Hancock<\/strong>, borrowing old jazz songs and sampling 4\u20138 seconds of it and developing backbeats to them. These particular types of artists were doing that, and that\u2019s what I was influenced by.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"EnigmaDefinition_TLV\"<\/a>Enigma Jazz Project spanned from 1996 to about 2000\u2014it was a short run, but remembered favorably by locals. They had a Monday residency at Proud Larry\u2019s, known then as \u201cMostly Monday,\u201d which ran \u201cfrom March through damn near September,\u201d says Perry\u2014one of the longest-running residencies ever at Larry\u2019s.<\/span><\/p>\n

And EJP shows became a party scene. DJ Ginsu would bring folks down from Memphis, and there was a dance crowd. John \u201cJoJo\u201d Hermann<\/strong> (of Widespread Panic<\/strong> fame) was a fan and helped solidify EJP\u2019s late-night gigs at The Hoka. Bill fondly remembers performing there while Fantasia<\/em> or some kung-fu video was playing behind them. Enigma was featured on BET\u2019s Jazz Discovery Showcase<\/em> on a national platform in 1999, and that piece was run in syndication until 2001. They never went on tour, though they did perform some shows out of town.<\/span><\/p>\n

Enigma Jazz Project was an Oxford staple in their time. They had a youthful sound and were the first band to introduce hip-hop in a way that people were able to take in hip-hop without it being \u201ctheir thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"EnigmaPosterPshop_ASB-600\"<\/a>
Flyer by Anne Scott Barrett for July 2 reunion<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Since EJP broke up in 2000, I asked Perry if he was considering this their fifteen year reunion show, and he said, \u201cYeah. Damn, saying it aloud like that, yeah. As a matter of fact, we started in \u201996, I mean, our band is as old as the freshmen class of Ole Miss, or even older.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As far as the lineup you can expect for the show, it will just be the original core trio. Perry says, \u201cMe and Slade Lewis had a little conversation about maybe just taking this back to the grass roots. We were a trio for quite some time before we added other pieces. We did a reunion back in 2002 at Larry\u2019s, and that was two years after we broke up. We were like a four-piece then, but we felt like if we ever did a reunion again we\u2019d want to take it back to grass roots. Because we did maybe six or eight months of gigs as a trio before we added anyone else.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I asked Perry if we could expect the same raucousness from him on stage he exhibited in the 90s\u2014the CD that\u2019s going to be given away at the show contains this line: \u201cWe\u2019re from Oxford. Not New York, Not Chicago, not New Orleans, but Oxford Missi-Motherf**kin-Sippi. The South baby, recognize.\u201d<\/em> And they\u2019ve all matured in the many years since. <\/span><\/p>\n

But Bill\u2019s answer to the expectation of raucousness was, \u201cIndeed. I played a character back then on stage and I anticipate playing that character again. With a lot more maturity under my belt. And the ideas that I wanted to reach for then that I was not educated or privy to know, I am now able to reach into that realm and grab ideas that I was not able to, you know, grab back then. And so musically, it will make for a better show, in my opinion… It\u2019s going to be interesting\u2014there are no predictions outside of assuming that we got a lot more to offer a show now than we did back then. We\u2019re looking at twenty years later kind of thing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What else can we expect at the reunion? \u201cExpect surprises<\/strong>,\u201d says Perry. Expect a free CD giveaway<\/strong>, as long as supplies last, just for showing up. Copies of Live Vol. 2: Shades of Hip Hop Jazz<\/em> will be given away until they\u2019re all gone. <\/span>\"The<\/a>
\n<\/u><\/p>\n

\u2013<\/p>\n

This article was printed in The Local Voice <\/em>#232 (published June 25, 2015).<\/span>
\n To download the PDF of this issue, click here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

The EJP reunion is the feature on the cover of issue #232 – check it out:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"TLV-Cover-232-650\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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