To trumpeter Benn Hodgkin, jazz is about an era. A specific style. And a record label. When Hodgkin formed his band the Backlash Jazz Quintet in 2002, it was to pay homage to the hard bop records that Blue Note released in the '50s and '60s. Artists such as Cannonball Adderley, Art Blakey, and Freddie Hubbard helped pioneer the genre, which brought a funky element to jazz inherited from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and the blues.
On the Backlash Jazz Quintet's latest album, Through the Rubble, the cage-rattling energy of hard bop is resurrected for a new generation of listeners. Leading the charge is Hodgkin himself, whose fiery, soaring trumpet playing on “Blueberry Pancakes" alone can wake up the neighborhood.
Growing up in Perth, Australia, Hodgkin honed his skills through government-sponsored musical education. “I was offered a choice of trumpet or clarinet," Hodgkin recalled. “Because my sister already played clarinet, I went for the trumpet." Whether it was fate or luck, Hodgkin ended up in the presence of some of the city's finest young musical talents. “My local high school was also one of the two specialist music programs in Perth so by going there I was mixing with some of the best music students in my age group and had opportunities to play in well-balanced, high-quality ensembles as well as participating in sizeable music tours," Hodgkin explained. “While I was there, a couple of friends introduced me to jazz, and we started our own jazz combo."
Since then, not only did Hodgkin eventually create the Backlash Jazz Quintet but continues to further his own creative development. “The more that time goes on, the more interested I am in music that is in any way different from what I see as being straightforward," Hodgkin revealed. “The first time I heard hard bop, I heard sounds and styles that were completely new, so I was hooked. Now I have listened to those albums over and over, I am more interested to hear or play something that I haven't heard before. In particular, I like to hear music that crosses or blends two styles without sounding like a combination of two styles. It's a big challenge to do that in such as way that doesn't sound forced and actually creates a style of its own."
On the Backlash Jazz Quintet's latest album, Through the Rubble, the cage-rattling energy of hard bop is resurrected for a new generation of listeners. Leading the charge is Hodgkin himself, whose fiery, soaring trumpet playing on “Blueberry Pancakes" alone can wake up the neighborhood.
Growing up in Perth, Australia, Hodgkin honed his skills through government-sponsored musical education. “I was offered a choice of trumpet or clarinet," Hodgkin recalled. “Because my sister already played clarinet, I went for the trumpet." Whether it was fate or luck, Hodgkin ended up in the presence of some of the city's finest young musical talents. “My local high school was also one of the two specialist music programs in Perth so by going there I was mixing with some of the best music students in my age group and had opportunities to play in well-balanced, high-quality ensembles as well as participating in sizeable music tours," Hodgkin explained. “While I was there, a couple of friends introduced me to jazz, and we started our own jazz combo."
Since then, not only did Hodgkin eventually create the Backlash Jazz Quintet but continues to further his own creative development. “The more that time goes on, the more interested I am in music that is in any way different from what I see as being straightforward," Hodgkin revealed. “The first time I heard hard bop, I heard sounds and styles that were completely new, so I was hooked. Now I have listened to those albums over and over, I am more interested to hear or play something that I haven't heard before. In particular, I like to hear music that crosses or blends two styles without sounding like a combination of two styles. It's a big challenge to do that in such as way that doesn't sound forced and actually creates a style of its own."
