THE EARCHOW QUINTET
Interview and Player Bios


l-r: Steve Lambert (t), Adrian Cohen (p), Danny Whelchel (d), Mike DelPrete (b), Brian Patneaude (ts)

The Earchow Quintet: A Driving New Force In Upstate Jazz
by Benjamin Steward 8/03

The Earchow Quintet, formed in 2003, consists of five talented young musicians from Upstate NY who are striving to incorporate traditional jazz thinking within the framework of more contemporary compositional forms. Hailing from very diverse backgrounds, the members of the Quintet have brought their unique talents and experiences together to create a very dynamic ensemble that, in it's infancy, is already showing great promise of things to come. I caught their set on a Friday night at a tiny but elegant club in Saratoga Springs NY, where I was spending the last weekend of the horse racing season with friends. Upon entering the venue I was at once taken by the sound and the look of this group. I'm not used to hearing music of this calliber Upstate, and I was so impressed that I later called up the group's de facto spokesperson (he's the only one I had a chance to talk with at the club!), Adrian Cohen, and spoke with him about what this young group is all about, and where they are heading.

Although rooted in classic and modern jazz, the Earchow Quintet is intent on reaching beyond traditional jazz boundaries to come up with a consistently fresh approach to improvisational music. They don't seem as concerned about what styles of music they play as much as they are concerned with the level of musicianship they achieve on a consistent basis, and even more so with the connection they feel with their fellow bandmates and the audience. "It's all about the vibe, and the material, and being open", says Cohen. "We want to make sure that we approach our material, whether it be an original, a cover tune, or an adaptation of some sort, with a certain intensity and integrity that will communicate something, or open up people to certain feelings they might not be able to express on their own. I definitely want to create a mood that encourages people to open themselves up to different thoughts and feelings, different sounds and images. I also really want to make sure people are entertained by the programming of our sets and, of course, the compositions themselves. I'm a bit of a stickler in rehearsals about this metaphysical stuff, but the guys really try to work with me on what i'm going for, and even though they might want to kill me at times (laughs), there are some really interesting things that are starting to happen. It's very heartening."

And though Cohen is expressing some lofty goals in terms of reaching his audience, it seems doable with the crew he's lined up. "It's really an honor to play with these guys, and I'm very much looking forward to working with them. It's really great that everyone in the group writes, and everyone has their own unique compositional and improvisational voice. I'm pretty confidant that over time we'll be able to cover a huge amount of musical ground because of the diversity." He cites various qualities in each player that make them ideal for the Quintet.

"Brian (Patneaude- Tenor Sax) is coming from a modern jazz sound most defined by people like Michael Brecker and Chris Potter. He is a serious tenor player, and musician in general, who spends the majority of his time either playing or listening to music. He is one of the most professional guys i've ever worked with period. He and I work a lot on the overall concept of the group, as well as helping each other out with working on promoting our individual and joint musical ventures. He's also got a great talent for making good suggestions when someone is stuck for arrangement ideas. Brian's Quartet (www.brianpatneaude.com) is great, you should check them out sometime! Steve (Lambert - Trumpet) is someone I'm just getting to know, and he's just a super cool guy and a very talented trumpeter. Although he is very strongly rooted in Bebop, he also has this more angular, kind of searching side that is very honest and unpretentious. I'm curious to see where that takes us. He's also a really great writer! His tune "Life" is one of my favorites in our current repertoire."

"Danny (Whelchel - Drums) is one of the most musical people, let alone drummers, that i've ever come across. He plays a ton of instruments including accordian and piano, and listens to everything from Peter Gabriel to The Dirty Dozen Brass Band to Radiohead to Gary Burton. While he's also a great writer, Danny's real strength is in bringing out the subtleties in a tune." Indeed with the combination of Whelchel's excellent technique, and his sensitive yet assertive style of playing, he certainly does keep things interesting! Cohen continues, "Mike DelPrete (Del-preh-tee) is the youngest member of the Quintet and he's just basically ready to play at all times. He's got fantastic technique and he has impeccable time! Mike's pretty hillarious, actually. He wears these funky sunglasses sometimes so we'll call him the 'Del-inator'. Speaking of nicknames, the staff at Justin's (a local Albany NY venue where Cohen has a weekly gig with his trio in which DelPrete plays) has taken to calling him, based on his boyish good looks, Michael Del-Pretty."

The Earchow Quintet seem to be part of a growing multi-genre grassroots effort to give a much needed shot in the arm to the Upstate music scene. With their very open sense of musical direction, dedication to excellent musicianship, and a very focused approach to promoting their performances, the Quintet is intent on creating a name for themselves and their similarly minded musical comrades in the Upstate region. Imperative to this effort is expanding their audience but unfortunately one of the main obstacles to achieving their goal is the shrinking market for live jazz/improvisational performance in the U.S..

In discussing their upcoming debut performance on September 18th at Northeast Public Radio's WAMC Performing Arts Studio, Adrian summed up his realistic yet optimistic thoughts on his future with this group, and as a musician in general. "Within the year I'd like to put out a CD with the Quintet and start playing more throughout the Northeast in hopes of expanding our audience and thus the possibilities for live performance in the region. Hopefully we'll be able to achieve this in the next year or two. It's really a tough time for musicians, and everyone actually, with all the insanity in the political/economic world, and there are fewer places to play now than there were say ten or even five years ago. But even though it's really competitive, and playing at major festivals and clubs as an unknown act is pretty unlikely right now, I'm still very confidant that if we work hard and keep our focus on making good music, no matter what group we're with, we'll all be doing what we love to do for the forseeable future, and for the rest of our lives."

Well, I can say that I very much hope to hear more from this excellent ensemble, and especially, in these difficult times when people are divided more than ever on ideological and cultural fronts, that we see more of this kind of healing and communal energy coming from younger musicians and artists. You can find out more about the Earchow Quintet at Cohen's website www.adriancohen.com.
© BSPress 2003

The Earchow Quintet Player Bios


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Want to know a bit more about the group? Click on member names to link to their websites

ADRIAN COHEN (piano):  Adrian Cohen has been voted Best Pianist by Upstate New York's Metroland Magazine two years consecutively (2000-2001), and The Adrian Cohen Quartet was voted Best Jazz Ensemble by the same magazine in summer of 2002. He is currently holding down weekly residencies at Justin's in Albany, NY (Thursdays 9pm with the Adrian Cohen Trio), and at the Van Dyck in Schenectady, NY (Tuesdays 8pm with the Patneaude/Cohen Quartet), and has just released his trio's debut CD "Standardized". As well as performing with over 20 groups in as many years, Cohen has run a successful nightclub, composed scores for upstate NY's WMHT (PBS television) and WAMC (NPR radio), and can be heard on the soundtrack for the Miramax film "The Castle". Adrian's theater credits include two productions of "Always...Patsy Cline" for Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany NY, and a stint as musical director/pianist/conductor for the same show at the historic Lyceum Theater in Arrowrock, Missouri. Cohen has also been pianist for productions of "Forever Plaid" and "The Song Of Singapore" (pianist/conductor), both also at Capital Repertory Theater. He currently teaches over 30 students weekly, performs regularly with his jazz group The Adrian Cohen Trio, and works as a freelance composer/arranger/producer in upstate New York.


STEVE LAMBERT (trumpet):  Steve Lambert recently returned to the capital district after 4 years in New York City. After earning a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University, he worked in the office of Second Floor Music for two years as assistant to world renowned jazz trumpet player/arranger/producer Don Sickler. While on staff at Second Floor, he interacted with such legends as Jim Hall, Renee Rosnes, Charli Persip, Ray Bryant, and Rudy Van Gelder, and worked on many SFM publications including "The Thelonious Monk Fake Book", "Sing Jazz!", and Charli Persipi's "How Not To Play Drums." Steve also freelanced around Manhattan, working at such jazz clubs as Kavehaz, Louis, and The Garage, and honed his chops while frequenting many jazz jams around the city including those at Smoke, The Lenox Lounge, Smalls, and Cleopatra's Needle.


BRIAN PATNEAUDE (saxophone):  A ubiquitous presence on the Capital District music scene, saxophonist Brian Patneaude divides his time between his own working Quartet (which released it's debut CD "Variations" (WEPA) earlier this year), Latin favorites Alex Torres y Los Reyes Latinos, a weekly jam session at Schenectady's historic Van Dyck with the Patneaude/Cohen Quartet, and a spot in the reed section of the Empire Jazz Orchestra. While not performing, Patneaude maintains www.albanyjazz.com, an online guide to the local jazz community. Visit www.brianpatneaude.com for more information.


MIKE DELPRETE (acoustic bass):  Mike DelPrete is a 23-year-old bass player currently living in Saratoga Springs. He graduated from Skidmore College in 2002 with a degree in music. While at Skidmore, he studied jazz with John Nazarenko, Mark Vinci and Rich Syracuse and won a Downbeat Magazine Student Award for "Outstanding Group Peformance." DelPrete met Adrian Cohen at an audition for the Capital Repertory Theater's production of "Song of Singapore" and they have been performing together ever since. DelPrete has also performed and/or recorded with many musicians in the Capital Region including Sonny and Perley, George Muscatello, Brian Patneaude, Joe Barna, Ed Mann, Leo Russo and Rob Cohen.


DANNY WHELCHEL (drums):  Drummer Danny Whelchel spent the majority of his life in Lafayette, Louisiana before moving to upstate New York in the fall of 1997. Since that time he has performed with a slew of the area's top talent including George Muscatello, Brian Patneaude, Carl Landa, Amy Abdou, Jeff Gonzales, Bob Warren, Michael Jerling, Jocamo, Pangaea, Out Of Control and the Refrigerators among others. Danny is currently dance accompanist with the Ellen Sinopoli Company and the Emma Wilard School.


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