On Tuesday, April 28, I took a trip to Smugtown Mushrooms, a local Rochester mushroom factory and music venue, after I heard that the UR/Eastman band Homeless would be hosting an open jam at the venue. I didn’t know exactly what I would be getting into with Homeless or Smugtown Mushrooms–my expectations were fuzzy as anyone else’s would’ve been had they been told they were going to a mushroom factory to see free jazz. As it turned out, I left Smugtown having experienced some of the best live music I’ve ever seen in Rochester at one of the hippest places I’ve ever been to off campus.
I could go on about Smugtown, but that belongs in the features section of this paper. So, instead, I’m going to talk about Homeless. Homeless is improvisational jazz trio. The group consists of Take Five Scholar Philippe Lewalle on keyboards, Eastman sophomore Ryder Eaton on upright bass and local musician Gary Crocker on drums. Right before the group kicked off the jam, an antsy guy in the audience asked “So what’s happening here?” Crocker immediately responded, “Don’t ask that question, let the people contextualize for themselves!”
The response fit the vibe of the night so well you might consider it the opening phrase to the 10 minutes of improv that followed. Throughout its jazz odyssey of a jam, Homeless delivered an incredible amount of energy, emotion and dynamics—but most of all, they listened to one another. Eaton’s bass playing was incredibly expressive—one moment he would be repeating over and over again a semitone on the low register of his bass, the next he was playing on the other side of the bridge with his bow. Add to this Lewalle’s beautiful chord voicings and Crocker’s rambunctuous drumming style, and you have a group which reminded me of the reason I love Mahavishnu Orchestra: rawness.
Homeless isn’t on social media, but if you stop by Smugtown Mushrooms on a Tuesday you just might find them there. If not, you’re still in for an adventure at Smugtown, where you can munch on the free hemp seeds, check out art, take a peek at some growing mushrooms and meet cool people.
Howard is a member of the class of 2017.
