Correction: In the original version of this article, Julian Le was misquoted.
The Le J Trio plays a smooth blend of contemporary jazz, fusion and hip-hop ““ and just as a team might celebrate a game well-played, the trio celebrates a show with a taco tradition.
“Street tacos, that’s kind of our thing ““ the Chato truck on La Brea and Olympic,” said third-year jazz studies student Julian Le.
After visiting the Chato truck, however, the trio returns to the studio to keep refining its musical style and technique.
Today at 6 p.m., the Le J Trio will perform original compositions at the Fowler Out Loud concert. On Wednesday night, it also opened for J. Cole at the Hip Hop Explosion in Ackerman Grand Ballroom. The trio is comprised of Le; Owen Clapp, a second-year jazz studies student; and Jake Jamieson, a UCLA alumnus. Le formed the group last spring.
“I finally found a group that I like playing with a lot, and not only do I like them as musicians, they’re just good people too ““ that’s a very important factor for me,” Le said. “Our styles mingle very well, so I decided to just focus on this trio and do all my compositions through them.”
Clapp, who began his music education with the cello in third grade, plays double bass and electric bass in the band. Jamieson, the trio’s percussionist, graduated from UCLA last spring after completing a five-year program in which he received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ethnomusicology. Le is the main composer for the trio’s music and said that he draws influence from a variety of genres.
“I listen to everything ““ and I know a lot of people say they listen to everything ““ but when I say I listen to everything, I actually listen to everything,” Le said.
Though he has played classical piano since he was 3, Le said that jazz piano offered a different vibe.
“I had the technique, but the hardest part about learning jazz is that you (need) to learn the feel of it and the theory behind it, … learning what notes (to play) and finding your own style,” Le said.
“With classical you have music written in front of you, but with jazz everything’s coming up on whatever’s in your head.”
The Le J Trio started as a jazz group but branched off in other directions ““ especially hip-hop ““ as more people began to hear about it. The group usually rehearses at least once a week and recently recorded a five-song EP, “Lost and Found,” in a studio at Melnitz Hall. The EP release show is set for March 3 at Angel’s Piano Bar in Santa Monica.
The trio frequently collaborates with Mic Holden, a professional percussionist and rapper who performs in Los Angeles and is also featured on the EP’s track “Stay in Love.”
Though the trio has previously played at the Fowler as a backing band, this is the first time the band will take the stage in a solo performance.
“I’m excited because we haven’t done a show with just the Trio itself for a while because we’ve been so busy with all this hip-hop stuff, so it’ll be nice to kind of go back to what we were doing at first,” Le said. “The style we play really lets us improvise a lot, and there’s a lot of interaction, room for making stuff up on the spot.”
During the past year, the Le J Trio has performed at various L.A. venues, including the Crustacean, Maggiano’s and Catalina Bar & Grill, as well as UCLA’s own Kerckhoff Coffeehouse.
“For the Fowler, we’re probably going to keep it more mellow because I don’t think we’re allowed to be that loud, so we’ll just keep it intimate,” Le said.
In addition to the Fowler Out Loud concert, the Le J Trio will also perform in Spring Sing alongside 12 other musicians such as the Note Factory.
“We’re basically trying to get all of our friends, all of the best musicians in the jazz studies department together to create a pop band,” Clapp said. “And I think we’re all going to have a really good time with it, … we’ve been really happy with the results so far, working with all those people.”
The group will play music by Le and by Miles Freeman, a third-year jazz studies student who plays the tenor saxophone.
“I’m just really excited because basically everyone from the jazz department (is) good friends and … an awesome musician,” Freeman said. “I’ve known (members of the Le J Trio) since our freshman year. … It’s always a pleasure to play with them.”