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"…is simply elegant. It's clear that these musicians take their music seriously. But to also see such light- heartedness and fire all at the same time… there's such passion. It's unreal." HOLLY RIKER RAPID CITY, SD |
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Rapid City Journal, Weekend Friday, January 21, 2005. Less is more Jeni Fleming Trio's 'stripped down' acoustic style a draw for music lovers By Lynn Taylor Rick, Journal Staff Writer Jake Fleming still remembers the first person he heard playing a tenor saxophone. Well actually, it wasn't a person. "There was a cartoon presenting all the band instruments," he says of his sixth-grade introduction to band class. When it was the sax's turn, a cartoon character stepped forward, blew into an animated sax and changed Fleming's life forever. "I thought, 'That's the sound I want to make,'" Fleming said. "To this day, 20 years later, I still have that same sound in my head. I'm still shooting for that sound." The Jeni Fleming Trio, featuring Fleming, his wife Jeni and Chad Langford, will bring that "sound" to Rapid City on Sunday, Jan. 23. The group is releasing its third and latest CD, "Once Around the Sun." A graduate of Rapid City Central High School, Fleming grew up in the musical Fleming family. "At my dad's house, there was always music going on, music and art," he says of his father, Bill Fleming. After his decision to play sax, Fleming worked hard to hone his skills, sometimes struggling with the formal training. "I almost quit that first year, just because it was difficult for many reasons, but I didn't quit." By ninth grade, he had dropped out of most sports and turned his entire focus to music. It was then that he realized that music would probably be his livelihood. "The only thing I had a love for ... was something in music." When he arrived at Montana State University in Bozeman to study music, he very quickly knew his decision had been the right one. "When I did go to school for music, it was kind of like going home." At MSU, he also met Jeni. The two were performing in their church when they discovered affection for both each other and music. From there, the Jeni Fleming Trio was eventually born. "We started to cultivate dual functioning relationships," he says. "The music paralleled it the whole time. One was just as strong as the other the whole time." Jake returned to Rapid City after college to teach at Dakota Middle School and South Middle School in 1999 and 2000. But eventually, the pull of both Jeni and the trio drew him back to Bozeman. "I love teaching, love it, love it, love it," he says. "But I was not yet ready to stop songwriting and performing. That dream had not been fully realized, and I wasn't about to give it up. I put the teaching on hold." The trio has cultivated a hometown following in Bozeman, as well as a regional one. They play as far east as Ohio and are currently planning tours in Oregon, Washington and California. Led by Jeni, herself a concert pianist, the trio performs classic jazz tunes and originals, mostly written by Jake. They also dip into both their sacred and secular repertoire as each venue requires. But whatever music they play, one of their greatest strengths is always Jeni's voice, Fleming says. "She has a natural gift to open your ears and your heart," he says. "You don't have to try to listen to her." Fleming said he is so drawn to his wife's voice that sometimes he forgets to play his instrument. "I'm a big fan of her singing as well as being her husband." She uses that voice to special effect on several of the more "stripped-down" songs on "Once Around the Sun," Fleming says. Such classics as "Bring in the Clowns" and "Lush Life" are perfect examples of taking the music to the simplest level while allowing Jeni to tell the story with her voice. "We like to think of ourselves as three musicians who are stripping away a lot of things that you could put into music," Fleming says. "Sometimes, there's a fourth member of our group; that fourth member is silence." When they perform those stripped-down songs, that fourth member is often the audience, Fleming says. "We have a few numbers that really go in that direction." With the release of "Once Around the Sun," the trio has high hopes for more radio play. They've hired a New York firm to pitch their new CD to jazz stations. Fleming believes the title track, "Once Around the Sun" could be a commercial success. "It's got a Latin feel," he says. With more radio play, the trio hopes to continue its regional spread, but at their own pace. "Our goals don't include having a manager right now," Fleming says. "We like the exploration of both the music and the music business right now." "I think we're just in the right place."
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