Sci-Fi Jazz
Sci-fi Jazz is the MusicAL genre fusing elements of electronic music, jazz, trip-hop, Nu-Jazz and an eclectic conglomeration of other influences. Sci-Fi Jazz was birthed by one of the founding fathers of electronic music, Jay Ellington Lee and his band the P-38s in 2008. Sci-Fi Jazz relies heavily on what is often described as psychedelic bass and drum tracks, merging synthesizer and computer generated sounds with traditional drums, guitar, horns and other instrument arrangements. Also characteristic to this genre are often satirical observations, hidden audio tricks and the unexpected live ambient recordings and sound clips from the mundane to the surreal. Sci-Fi Jazz involves the layering of multiple sounds and mediums onto one another creating what is often referred to as a sound collage, while maintaining a thematic beat with repeated ostinatos and/or cannons.
History
The first sci-fi jazz album, The p-38s’ Funk Zone is laden with riddling sounds, references and effects throughout the album. In the cut entitled, “Home”, a repeated tone dialing sound is heard. It was discovered by a handful of early listeners that this dialing tone was an interactive piece to this composition and that upon placing a telephone up to the speaker, the phone completes a call to Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, a mystery still not fully explained.
Sci-Fi Jazz was a natural departure for founder Jay Ellington Lee, known for his avante garde compositions and his early pioneer engineering and use of the synthesizer. Sci-Fi Jazz, the self-created genre, afforded a medium to integrate his composition and arrangement skills, building on his early work in electronic music; while creating warmth through the use of traditional instruments and jazz improvisations.
Origins
Jay Ellington Lee is known for his “out-of-this-world” musical compositions. Prior to his current invention of Sci-fi Jazz, he worked alongside legendary producer Shadow Morton and recording artist, Tom Pacheco on the 1976 album “The Outsider”. The album was rife with references to Area 51, UFOs and other unexplained extraterrestrial events, which featured some of the most renown country western studio musicians of the time, including Kris Kristofferson's back-up band, plus other stars like Doug Dillard. John Hartford, and famed pedal steel guitarist, Red Rhodes. Left without a genre to file the album under, he dubbed it “Science Fiction Alternative Country”.
Sci-Fi Jazz continues to evolve incorporating new and emerging musical elements as well as the resurrection of long-forgotten standards.