EUGE GROOVE
I popped the disc into my CD player and with baited breath, I waited
with growing anticipation of what I knew was sure to come. I waited
as the instrumentalist moved into his groove. He expertly bobbed and
weaved through the melodies and harmonies of each song like a Gisele,
and so did I. I didn’t miss a beat. And, when the tempo flipped
as the momentum began to build within the compositions, I was on it.
This dude was on fire and I was riding out with him. Oh yeah, he’s
in the zone. And, with each track, the licks came; those musical phrasings
that turn pretty groove music into jazz. Born 2 Groove
got my attention and compelled me to say things like: “Oooo-we-baby,
did you hear that?” and “Baa-by, that was sweet!”
Born 2 Groove, the title of Euge Groove’s
new Narada Jazz recording and his fifth release in seven years, is
more than simply a clever twist on the popular saxophonist’s
funky name. My belief is that album titles have meaning. They tell
us something about the album and the artist at the time the project
was conceived and/or completed. So, what does the album title Born
2 Groove tell us about Euge Groove and this project? “Born
2 Groove. Wow, you know, after I got this record finished
it had this spiritual kind of vibe, I think from the on set. It was
kind of a play off the name Groove; I was born into the name Grove.
But, it was more about, you know, that I think God bestows things
upon us all of the time. It was kind of a spiritual thing. And, I
think I was meant to do this.”
Born and raised in Hagerstown, Maryland, Eugene Grove began playing
the piano at seven and the saxophone at nine. Groove developed an
ear for the R&B heard on the radio. However, his musical studies
were strictly classical. He developed a wider appreciation for jazz
while attending the University of Miami School of Music, but credits
hearing solos by David Sanborn as the inspiration to pursue playing
pop music.
This thing about taking the music to church, what’s up with
that Euge? “It was just a different approach; the way the players
came in and especially the piano player. His voicing brought it into
that church language. It’s still me playing the sax. It’s
still the same kind of writing. It just has that flavor put into it.”
It is very uplifting.
My understanding is that the core band for this record was comprised
of musicians from pop, soul, jazz, and gospel. Is there a difference
in how musicians from other musical genres process music? Apparently…
check this out. “Yes, there is definitely a different language
spoken (musically). These guys (gospel musicians) have a different
way of doing things, especially in the keyboard/piano chair. The voicing
is different. [For example, we may be playing] an E major cord, but
the notes they use to compose an E major cord is a different language,
a different dialect.” I thought a note was the same no matter
what genre of music you played. Obviously, not. “It’s
interesting, but it’s nothing new. If you want to get more specific
with this, the east coast church language is a lot different from
the west coast language.” And, I bet it sounds a lot different
in the South. “Oh absolutely. And there are little dialects
within that.” Now bye-bye. “I don’t want to give
the impression, you’ve heard it, that this is a gospel recording
by any stretch of the imagination. For me, it was very inspiring to
play. And like you said, it does have a real positive and uplifting
vibe to it.”
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