Dan Bruce鈥檚 modern jazz group, , has taken on a new identity since it was initially conceived in 2015.
Bruce, born in Dayton but living in Chicago for more than a decade, relocated to Cleveland and reformed his musical collective to include notable Northeast Ohio jazz instrumentalists and performers.
The all-new :beta collective debuted at the in February and will release an album called 鈥淭ime to Mind the Mystics鈥� April 29.
Bruce was a staple in the Chicago jazz scene and began blending his musical colleagues in the original :beta collective with Cleveland artists he met upon his return to Ohio.
The current :beta collective lineup features Chris Anderson on trombone, Chris Coles on alto and tenor sax and vocoder, Brad Wagner on soprano and tenor sax and bass clarinet, Will Wedmedyk on vibraphone, Aidan Plank on bass and Anthony Taddeo on drums and percussion.
The group is noted for its energetic, highly improvised performances, paired with all original compositions.
The collective鈥檚 new album will capture the magic of the group鈥檚 concerts with an added element of new technology and electronic sounds that Bruce began exploring during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Forming the Midwest jazz collective
Bruce was born in Dayton and attended graduate school in Texas. He and his wife later moved to Chicago, and Bruce, a trained guitarist, became very involved in teaching and performing in the city鈥檚 jazz community.
He put together :beta collective as a six-piece jazz ensemble, and in 2018, the group went on tour in support of their debut album, 鈥�.鈥�
That same year, Bruce and his family decided to move to Cleveland, where the cost of living wasn鈥檛 as expensive.
As he transitioned from one Midwest city to the next, he began inviting Cleveland musicians to support :beta collective during their tour.
鈥淥n parts of that tour was Theron Brown [and] Chris Coles from around here. But then also, you know, trumpet was Chad McCullough from Chicago. There were a few other Chicago people from there and just a lot of Chicago-Cleveland connections there. So, it became a nice stepping stone into then when I was here full time,鈥� Bruce said.
When he moved to Cleveland, there were already several musicians who had played the collective鈥檚 music, so he was able to fill in and expand the group.
鈥淲e're kind of walking a fine line between very highly composed music, where all the details are kind of right there for you, and free improvisation."Dan Bruce
鈥淚'm trying to get as many sounds as possible out of the people I have without having a 20-piece group because that's ridiculous,鈥� he said. 鈥淥r, you know, very hard to manage, I guess.鈥�
Bruce composes the pieces for :beta collective, but the group鈥檚 sound is known to be highly improvised in the spirit of jazz tradition.
鈥淲e're kind of walking a fine line between very highly composed music, where all the details are kind of right there for you, and free improvisation,鈥� he said.
The musicians work to pair those two ways of playing in their songs, mixing something worked out in advance with places that are a mystery as to what will happen next.
鈥淭o me, that's the most exciting thing as a performer,鈥� Bruce said. 鈥淎s I've gotten older and older, it's like I realize I also just want people to like the music without having to understand it.鈥�
Bruce wants the collective鈥檚 music to be 鈥渞hythmically relatable,鈥� where the pulse of the song isn鈥檛 hidden, while what鈥檚 happening above it may be sonically complex.
鈥淢y hope, and I think what I found is, is it makes it a lot more easily accessible if you can kind of tap your foot, or kind of at least keep in line with the pulse that we're feeling on stage,鈥� he said.
Visualizing to compose colorful works
Bruce composes songs for :beta collective with each player鈥檚 unique musical identity in mind.
He said the performers bring a level of risk and spontaneity that adds flavor to what he has written on the page.
The blend of free improvisation and thoroughly composed music set to a distinct groove is what makes the jazz group鈥檚 sound unmistakable and easily identifiable.
Bruce debuted the Cleveland collective鈥檚 lineup earlier this year to a packed house and introduced four new works during the event.
As a composer and performer, Bruce said he loves that his group can morph and have different 鈥渃olors鈥� that come out when the artists play.
These colors differ vastly from piece to piece, he said, which creates elements of surprise for the listener.
鈥淚'm listening more for colors at least initially, like broad swaths of color than even really the details of the music when I'm hearing music for the first time,鈥� Bruce said.
Often, the songs Bruce composes will begin with a story. Sometimes he will think of a scene or a setting, as if he鈥檚 composing a score for a film.
He鈥檒l match that visualization with a certain feeling.
鈥淚 can sit down at home and kind of visualize, or in my own head I can hear so many different textures that it's just very inspiring when I'm when I'm trying to write,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, it's been really fun to try and just think kind of like soundscapes.鈥�
Recently, Bruce has begun experimenting with effects in post-production to add new layers and textures to the collective鈥檚 songs.
鈥淚 love being able to change my sound from song to song and to have something that can I think maybe better go along with the vibe of the song that we're about to play,鈥� Bruce said.
The group went into the studio in the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic to record an album.
The recording was put on account of widespread lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders.
The musicians had played the music a decent amount prior to the recording sessions, so they sat on the material for a while.
This gave Bruce an opportunity to reimagine the songs.
鈥淢y joke to some people was it became my 鈥楶et Sounds鈥� to some degree because I started thinking, 鈥榃ell, I could add this, or I could add this, or what about this?鈥� So, in some ways, it became a little more like a rock album where I did think about some things we could layer in post-production,鈥� Bruce said.
He got into electronic music during the pandemic and began programming in Ableton Live.
In post-production, he layered in some electronic elements over the acoustic instrumentation to create a new, rich sound.
A cornerstone of the collective is that after they鈥檝e played their songs for a while, certain parts will develop into something new and different.
鈥淲e'd been playing this music for a long time, and I'm very glad for that because I think when I write, my writing is a starting point,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then I put that in front of these musicians, and the reason I like to play with these musicians is because every time we play the song, it just it grows a little and maybe the boundaries get pushed a little.鈥�
Releasing an album with rich themes and textures
The collective鈥檚 new album, 鈥淭ime to Mind the Mystics,鈥� revolves around Bruce鈥檚 interest in technology.
The idea of looking forward, in terms of technological advancement, paired with holding onto one鈥檚 past became a prevalent theme in his songwriting.
He said technology can be wonderful and scary at the same time, and this inspired much of the thought that went into the album.
鈥淚 think that for everything that we embrace, it should be in support of our humanity,鈥� Bruce said.
While there鈥檚 a lot of technology utilized on the album, some aspects of technological progression can be concerning, he said, especially as he thinks about future generations.
Bruce said he doesn鈥檛 want virtual reality to replace in-person experiences, like seeing a poetry reading or experiencing live music.
鈥淔or me, the ideal is at least musically, we're using this technology in hopes that if you come and see us live,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 talk about this a lot in the shows, you're actually sharing your humanity with us. And by humanity, I mean, like the expression of what we have that no other species on Earth has.鈥�
Technology should support us being human together, he said.
While the eight-track album is instrumental, Bruce said listeners can pick up on the inspiration and themes he had in mind by reading the liner notes.
"The reason I like to play with these musicians is because every time we play the song, it just it grows a little and maybe the boundaries get pushed a little.鈥�Dan Bruce
The album鈥檚 title track expresses Bruce鈥檚 excitement for being alive and experiencing the magic of music.
鈥淎nd that tune, it's got synths on it. I'm playing through a ring modulator, which ends up sounding like a robot half the time,鈥� he said.
To juxtapose, there鈥檚 a song on the album called 鈥淪lant鈥� that was developed in 2016 as Bruce reflected on the presidential election.
鈥淭he idea became, everybody kind of has a different slant on things or a different take on things, and we're starting to hold on to those so much that we can't interact with each other,鈥� Bruce said.
Bruce took the song and set it in a 鈥渘ot-too-distant鈥� future. There is a character of a therapist in the song, who ends up being an algorithm.
鈥淭o me, it's just kind of the dark humor of somebody going to speak with an algorithm about how to better connect to humans. But I could see us not being that far from that,鈥� he said.
Performing new works with the Cleveland collective
Audiences will have the opportunity to experience human connection and see :beta collective perform live at an for 鈥淭ime to Mind the Mystics鈥� at 7 p.m. April 28.
The performance will take place at , located in the second-floor warehouse of 1541 E. 38th St. in Cleveland.
The show is free, and copies of :beta collective鈥檚 album will be for sale at the event using a 鈥減ay what you want鈥� model.
The album release show will feature Cleveland vocalist .
Bruce said the collective will feature rotating vocalists at upcoming shows, and the next phase of the band with vocal arrangements will be called beta plus.
The group will also perform at the in September.
Preorder :beta collective鈥檚 album on and visit for more upcoming performance dates.
