The Odd Dogs dig deep into a melting pot of jazz, progressive rock, world music, and funk - delivering it all with a healthy dose of improvisational sensibility. They navigate a rich tapestry of changing meters and surprising harmonic textures, and thread a musical line that skillfully weaves through their diverse set of musical influences; from Yes through to Weather Report, Jeff Beck, The Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, and Thelonious Monk. It’s all done with a sense of focus that is a product of their collective experience.
Bassist Steve Billman can sit on a simple grooving bass figure or launch into a more complex contrapuntal line, keeping it all in the pocket no matter what. He’s also a dynamic soloist who can lift the band up with him when he takes off on one of his solo flights. As a first-call bassist on the L.A. scene for many years - he has a long and robust performing and recording history, including work with Tak Matsumoto, Frank Gambale, Daniel Ho, Billy Cobham, Continuum, Makoto Ozone, Liza Minelli, and Alex Acuna.
Guitarist Jeff Miley exhibits an innate sense of melody in his playing, complimented by a wicked sense of rhythm. He thoroughly enjoys exploring different permutations of a given time signature when in the midst of his improvisations. He’s been a constant force for producing forward-looking music, from his early days when he was recognized by Guitar Player Magazine in their Spotlight Column, to his current status as a longtime veteran of the L.A. music scene with scores of albums under his belt. On the live front, he has performed with Ron Miles, Tim Ries, Jon Anderson (Yes), Ernie Watts, Inga Swearingen, Bob Sheppard, Bobby Shew, Andy Martin, Josh Roseman, Bob Reynolds, Wayne Bergeron, Adam Benjamin, and many others.
Drummer Ralph Humphrey understands time and rhythm so well and has such a natural feel when playing. Everything always sounds and feels good no matter how simple or complex it may be, and the energy he generates on the bandstand continually takes the music to new heights. He made a name for himself early on as the drummer in the bands of Don Ellis and then later Frank Zappa. Consequently he went on to work with many other notable music luminaries including Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau, Manhattan Transfer, Natalie Cole, Joe Farrell, Barbara Streisand, Jose Feliciano, and Rita Coolidge. His recording credits in TV and Film are much to numerous to even begin to mention here.
Saxophonist and Keyboardist Andy Suzuki has such great instincts, and can weave his way melodically through any set of chord changes. He always plays with a sense of command and openness, finding the perfect thing to play time and time again. Andy has toured all over the world and has performed with Trilok Gurtu, Christopher Cross, Jan Garbarek, Larry Carlton, Marcus Miller, Al Jarreau, Larry Coryell....the list goes on and on.
Percussionist Billy Hulting is one who always knows just what to play and when to play it. He creates grooving soundscapes that lock with Ralph’s drumming - and the two of them lay down a rhythmic tapestry that is to die for. Billy has toured with Maynard Ferguson, Natalie Cole, Lou Rawls, and, in an interesting twist, he gives us another Zappa connection as he spent many years touring with Zappa Plays Zappa, the band led by Frank’s son Dweezil.
So that’s a little about the 5 of us. We exist in a universe filled with deep grooves, shifting timescales, metric modulations, and multiple-layered melodies. Pushing the boundaries of time - Welcome to the world of The Odd Dogs.
