Before you start searching for aesthetic parameters, you should know we’re referring to an ensemble of bright young musicians from the Philadelphia scene. The group recently stopped by WRTI to perform in our studio and talk with Nicole Sweeney for Philly Made.
The New Philly Sound is a collective sponsored by The Heart of Jazz, a nonprofit that supports jazz education and provides resources for musicians in the Philadelphia area. “The concept is, we're merging innovation and tradition together,” Enoch Smith, Jr., a Vice President of the organization, tells Sweeney. “What we’re really trying to do is provide performance opportunities for these emerging musicians. We want them to have as much professional experience and connection to professionals as possible before they have their feet all the way out of the door.”
The emerging musicians who comprised The New Philly Sound during this studio visit were: trumpeter Ace Yuji Williams, saxophonist Aidan McKeon, pianist Justin Griggs, bassist Ry Miller, and drummers Justin Bowden and Mekhi Boone. Most are in their 20s and are still studying music as undergraduates. And every member of the group has his own testimony as a Philly jazz musician, as several of them shared with Nicole.
For a few of them, jazz is a birthright: Ace Williams, for instance, is the son of tenor saxophonist Willie Williams, a local stalwart who recorded for Philadelphia International Records, in Broadway pit bands, and with legends like Art Blakey and Arthur Taylor. “I think I learn different things about him the older I get,” Ace reflects.
McKeon has his own family story to tell. “Iwas inspired first to pick up the saxophone actually from my grandfather, who played all around South Jersey and Philly in a limited capacity,” he says. “I always loved to see him play at jams and stuff. So he introduced me, and then through him, I met this organ player, Rich Budesa, who would play at Geets Diner in Williamstown, which is this historic jazz spot.”
Budesa was affiliated with the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz & Performing Arts, McKeon adds, “and that’s where I started meeting everyone. Then of course Lovett Hines is the director there, so he’s been the biggest mentor to me for almost 10 years. And Larry McKenna actually wasn’t at the Clef Club, but he kind of taught me everything I know — all my fundamentals and foundations, Larry McKenna's the source.”