Album Notes

Hardcoretet performs music inspired by the desire of its members to write compositions with enough depth to satisfy the musically obsessed and a groove everyone can nod their head to. With years of formal jazz study and performance combined with a set of diverse influences from Robert Glasper to Soundgarden to Hermeto Pascoal, the band has built a singular sound reminiscent of early Return to Forever, Chris Potter Underground and Dave Douglas and Keystone, focused more on group vibe and concept than on individual flash and fireworks.

Recorded at Seattle’s London Bridge Studios, Hardcoretet’s debut album “Experiments in Vibe” hit the streets in October of '09. From the bittersweet feel of “Apple Blossom” to the frantic mood of “Goodbye Wesley,” each of the record’s nine tracks is a group exercise in dedication to a specific aesthetic. The band celebrated the release with a West Coast tour and a performance at the Earshot Jazz Festival, the biggest festival of its kind in the northwest. Experiments in Vibe was then nominated Mixed Genre Jazz Album of the Year at the 2009 Lucid I/O Awards in Seattle.

The intent of the band was formed out of a collective frustration with the static state of jazz. Though the community is rich with talented players, there is a vacuum of tight and dedicated bands that try to push the music forward. Rather than join the ranks of loose collections of soloist playing fifty year old standards, Hardcoretet aims to write and perform original modern jazz with playing that serves the music. As saxophonist Art Brown put it, “The idea is to musically reach our destination together rather than be led there by one member.”

The members of Hardcoretet are all active musicians in the Seattle music scene and beyond. As individuals, the members of Hardcoretet have performed with Mike Stern, Cuong Vu and Wynton Marsalis and have opened for the Bill Frisell, Marco Benevento and Charlie Hunter.

From the October Issue of Earshot Jazz:
"“Hardcoretet focuses on the groove. They play funky, driving tunes that are intensely precise and warm with electricity, both literally and figuratively (their use of effects pedals allows alto saxophonist Art Brown’s gleaming tone to morph into a wavering murmur, while Tarik Abouzied’s thriving acoustic drum beats simply buzz). There is no lead instrument; the band’s voices weave in and out of each other in a swirling mix that is balanced without sounding controlled.

Here is music that flies in many different directions, but constantly pulsates around the groove, which moves in a straight line. Tim Carey pours out strong, fluid bass lines that smoothly coast over Tarik Abouzied’s dense, ecstatic carpet of percussion. Aaron Othelm’s whirling keyboard dances its way into the rhythm sometimes as acutely placed block chords, other times in wandering single notes that fall like drops of water. Art Brown spins a smooth tone into commanding, varied phrases that gently float above his fellow band mates’ playing. The band plays as a true team; the only member who might be the leader is the fifth one, the nameless one. If there is a leader, the leader is the groove.” – Nathan Bluford