Instrumental jazz quartet Schleigho will be playing at Broadway Joe's tonight, continuing an almost 10-year-old tradition of performing in the Buffalo area.
The quartet is made up of guitar, bass, keys and drums. Guitarist Suke Cerulo also plays flute on many of the band's songs. An incorporation of jazz, funk and Latin music, the group's sound is difficult to classify. Cerulo, though, said the band is easily identifiable.
"I would like to think that Schleigho comes across as appealing to musicians and music fans. We have a distinct and identifiable sound," said Cerulo. "We try to mix the worlds of musicality and appreciation together and not come across like jazz snobs or as a bunch of freaky stoners playing the same three chords."
This battle between listener-friendly music and true musicality is something the band has been dealing with for years. A repertoire of experimental jazz can often keep a band out of the spotlight, appreciated solely by a smaller, tightly knit audience.
Cerulo said the band's complex sound helps separate them from other groups.
"Listeners hear unconventional time signatures and chord patterns. We earn (fans) one at a time and once they are there they stay," he said.
This approach to building a following is not uncommon. Musicians like Medeski Martin and Wood, Soulive and even larger live acts like Phish, who take an unconventional approach to spreading their music, have earned their fans by extensive touring and word-of-mouth as opposed to mainstream radio or television.
Cerulo described the band's creative process as something of an analogy.
"It is hard for us, it is kind of like a magician tricking himself. We never know what people are going to think or hear from what we create. Parts that I might think are harder to listen to, there is always that one guy who comes up and says, 'I love that part.'"
This situation is very true for the kind of music that Schleigho makes. Many of the grooves the band gives its listeners require a certain amount of work to understand and enjoy. Cerulo described this as the difference between sitting down and watching a documentary that requires complete attention to watching a sit-com.
Schleigho's history dates back to 1992, when the band's members lived in Boston, Mass. It was at this time that friends of Jesse Gibbon (organ/piano) and Erik Egol (drums) gave the band the name Schleigho. Cerulo described the name as a fictitious word that has evolved to have many different meanings.
"Schleigho is a romantic love song between two Neanderthals," he said.
He is enthusiastic about coming back to Broadway Joe's.
"We played there for years, all throughout 1995 through 1999. We haven't played there in awhile though. It's always nice to come back to Broadway Joe's. It's like old times."
The show starts at 10:30 p.m. and tickets are $7 in advance and $8 at the door. Philly B Eats will open the show.
Photo: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki
