Imagine a dash of jazz, a smidgen of rock, a teaspoon of klezmer, a dusting of ska, a pinch of latin along with a dollop of fusion and a heaping tablespoon of funk served up by a stellar cast of local musicians who make up this jazzy combo.

Composed by Dave Wayne, the music is not really jazz, and it is not really rock — it’s somewhere in between the two, while still being apart from both. Wayne is hugely influenced by Frank Zappa, The Meters, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, and various types of ethnic music (African, Eastern European, etc.). When Wayne composes he builds the music around bass lines, rhythm, and melody and he leaves the harmony aspects up to the players’ discretion. He looks at the musical score as a sort of ‘serving suggestion’ not so much to be followed note-for-note, but as a guideline towards a final result that works for everyone in the band (and hopefully for the listener). Wayne likes music that is fast, complicated and busy, but he also likes strong melodies and funky grooves. Paul Bossert, Ross Hamlin, and Sean Buckley have also composed pieces for the set.

The Things That Are Heard are: Dave Wayne (percussion), Paul Bossert (trombone), Elliot Ryan (conga), Dan Pearlman (coronet), Ross Hamlin (guitar), Sean Buckley (guitar), Casey Anderson (bass)