THE KELLY JAY BAND

BLUES & JAZZ · Tags:

Since late 2006, the Kelly Jay Band has been the Michiana’s only practitioner of Jump/Swing, a style most associated with groups such as the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Kelly Jay himself compares his band to Chicago’s Mighty Blue Kings with the exception that his repertoire is more diverse than the MBK’s jump blues stylings. As a matter of fact, having song selections that choose equally from the jump blues idiom (as performed by such artists as Louis Jordan, T-Bone Walker and Big Joe Turner) and the Great American Songbook (with representatives such as Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington and Nat King Cole) allows the Kelly Jay Band the luxury of performing at an extreme variety of venues ranging from nightclubs to summer park concert series to private occasions such as wedding receptions. Depending upon the occasion and the atmosphere of the audience, the Kelly Jay Band can tailor their setlist to meet any demand.

Everything about the Kelly Jay Band sets them apart from every other musical aggregation in the Michiana area. Their instrumentation is a classic line-up replicating a small early-fifties combo with trumpet, saxophone, guitar, acoustic bass and drums. The arrangements are tight, sophisticated and intricate yet fun and exciting. The band primarily plays vocal numbers with a healthy selection of instrumentals for variety. They also vary tempos from slow ballads to barn-burners approaching 250 beats-per-minute and vary grooves between blues shuffles, ultra-fast or easy, relaxing swing grooves with the occasional latin or rock-n-roll beat thrown into the mix. One thing that the Kelly Jay Band never does is play two songs in a row with the same groove and tempo.

While a comparison to the Kelly Jay Band with other area musical outfits is difficult, it should be noted that they are more engaging, entertaining and energetic than a small jazz combo yet more diverse, urbane and sophisticated than all of Michiana’s local blues bands all the while playing with an enthusiasm and intensity that even makes young people take notice. The songlist, of course, is designed to accommodate audiences of all ages, including older people who miss hearing the old standards that no one else seems to play anymore. This formula has proven successful wherever the Kelly Jay Band has performed, whether it is their series of monthly engagements last year at The Livery in Benton Harbor or their yearly appearance at the Niles Summer Concert Series.

Assisting vocalist/guitarist Kelly Jay in the Kelly Jay Band is drummer/vocalist Bobby Smelser, acoustic bassist Bobby Perry, trumpeter Rob Johnson and saxophonist Don Smith. These seasoned musicians have a deep understanding of the styles that they perform as well as a great love of performing and a desire to please whatever audience that they happen to find facing them. They look forward to any engagement and are pleased to see their calendar become more filled with each passing month.