Black Dog Studios
The J. Ryan Trio is a delightful oddity among Milwaukee bands. Even the mathematically challenged can count four members on stage much of the time. And then it gets really confusing: Aside from pianist and namesake Ryan Janscha, they usually aren’t the same four members. The Trio numbers nine participants in a rotating lazy susan of musical talent.
Even the group’s name can be a puzzle. J. Ryan Trio says jazz, but if jazz is the frame, what’s inside comes in many colors. Finally, the Trio refuses to be paid for their music. Stop, scroll back and read again: They refuse to be paid. Every penny they earn goes straight to charity. Not just proceeds, Janscha insists, but every cent.
“Lots of groups have to make a viable business plan. We’re free of that model,” says the always-ebullient Janscha. “It’s liberating to be part of a charity model.” All nine members of the Trio have day jobs, and let’s face it: The economic reality of music nowadays works against the notion of playing gigs even as a part-time job. “We’re all blessed to be able to do this,” Janscha continues. “The joy I derive from sharing time with these guys, playing the music I love, is more than I can ask for. I made the decision never to take a penny from music.”
Currently, all of those pennies go to Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit group that provides food for needy kids in nearly 70 nations.
As for the music, jazz is the format but the repertoire spans soul and blues (with an occasional rock number thrown in). “Route 66,” an R&B standard popularized by Nat King Cole, is played as blues within the fluid, in-the-moment unpredictability of jazz. Janscha sings standards such as “These Foolish Things” in a Mose Allison murmur, but the stage lights up when one of the star vocalists, Kristi Lontok or Alissa Weber, takes the microphone. Weber brings soulful style to a variety of songs, including “Teach Me Tonight,” “Fever” and “Angel from Montgomery,” associated with Etta James, Peggy Lee and John Prine. The heat of her voice contrasts nicely with the Trio’s cool-as-autumn delivery.
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“I grew up on Etta James,” Weber says. “My grandma introduced me to all the greats—Etta, Patsy Cline. And the Trio introduced me to Susan Tedeschi, who I was not aware of. She’s amazing! The soul in her voice!”
Janscha describes the “breadth” of the Trio’s sound: “We can play a quiet set under dinner,” describing their gigs at Kasana or Mozzaluna, “or shake the plaster loose at Bugsy’s. I like the variety. The only things we stay away from are pop, country, rap and rock. Well, we rock sometimes. Someone once requested Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher.” We came back with a song with a similar message, “Teach Me Tonight.”
The J. Ryan Trio performs from 6-9 p.m., Jan. 17 at Mozzaluna, 17700 W. Capitol Drive.
