Jazz Is PHSH Kicks Off Winter Tour In Baltimore [Videos]

Jazz Is PHSH began an eight-date North American tour Thursday night at Union Craft Brewing in Baltimore, MD. The ensemble that reimagines Phish songs as jazz odysseys began its tour with a few added friends.

For the first two shows of the tour, the band is joined by Matthew Chase, the brother of drummer/bandleader Adam Chase, along with Jonathon Huber. The show appropriately began with a topical “Brother”, as the new additions joined in with the rest of the permanent band, Felix Pastorious, John Culbreth, and Yesseh Furaha-Ali. After “Brother”, the band set its sights on the goofy “Dinner And A Movie” before ripping into the fan-favorite “Ghost”. The ensemble moved into more difficult compositional territory as it tackled “Foam”, before moving into the jazzy instrumental “Cars Trucks Buses”, followed by Page McConnell‘s instrumental “Magilla” to close the first set.

The second set started off with “All Things Reconsidered”, which also lent itself to much jazz improvisation. This “Reconsidered” was incomplete, however, as the band flowed into the compositional wizardry of “Divided Sky”. Jazz Is PHSH then took the foot off the gas a bit in terms of compositional difficulty as they played “Gumbo” to bring the audience back down to Earth. The rest of the set was filled with prime jam vehicles, including “Maze”, “Bathtub Gin”, and “Stash”. After “Stash”, the Chase brothers harmonized “Happy Birthday” for their mother who was in attendance. Adam Chase even got out from behind his drum kit to sing with his brother, forcing Adam to pick a drummer out of the audience to fill in on the sticks. To close out the set, the band launched into an evil “Carini” to bring the house down before returning for a “46 Days” encore.

Check out a couple videos of “Stash” from Jazz Is PHSH in Baltimore, MD Thursday night.

Jazz Is PHSH – “Stash” – 1/30/20

[Video: JAZZ IS PHSH]

Jazz Is PHSH – “Stash” – 1/30/20

[Video: JAZZ IS PHSH]

Jazz Is PHSH tour continues on Friday night with a performance at Velvet Underground in Toronto, ON. The band returns to the States the following night for a show at Anthology in Rochester, NY. After that Jazz Is PHSH is off to Boston, MA for a show at City Winery February 4th. Then it’s a marathon run of City Winery in Philadelphia, PA (2/5), Brooklyn Bowl in New York (2/6), Bright Box Theater in Winchester, VA (2/7), and finally The Abbey Bar in Harrisburg, PA (2/8) to close the tour. For tickets, head to the band’s website.