The Puzzlebox Experiment

jazz

"I aspire to surprise myself," says bassist Keith DeStefano of The Puzzlebox Experiment.
His approach to composing for the group involves "combining or juxtaposing musical ideas to create
new, and hopefully interesting, wholes. Except, unlike a regular puzzle, there's an infinite number of
possible solutions." Of course, any puzzle falls apart without the right pieces, and DeStefano is quick
to credit his bandmates as being integral parts of a whole rather than merely sidemen. The leader's
witty, Mingus-like charts provide enough room for the airy, note-wringing solos of guitarist Matt Davis
to co-exist with Kimbal Brown's edgier hard-bop trumpet excursions , or for Dan Peterson to lock his
tenor into a Trane-inspired groove with pianist Anam Owili-Eger and drummer Peter Gaudioso. The
sextet, supplemented by vibraphonist Luke Sidler, is celebrating the release of its first CD,
Just When I Thought, which exemplifies how well the different facets of Philly's "new jazz" scene can fit
together.

Wed., July 27, 9 p.m., $5, Chris' Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom St., 215-568-3131, www.chrisjazzcafe.com.

—Shaun Brady