Music Box: Jackson Hole Music Experience brings Brother Ali

By Aaron Davis (for JHWeekly.com)Jackson Hole, Wyo. - Walk into a high school classroom in Jackson and take a survey of what is jamming on students’ iPods. There’s a solid chance that hip-hop is the flavor of choice, and Brother Ali is one of the more popular hip-hop artists among the local teen demographic.“I can’t pretend that I know what high school students are listening to, so we asked around, and Brother Ali is what we got,” said Andy Calder, Rock Camp director for Jackson Hole Music Experience.On the surface, it may seem a mismatch to have a hip-hop artist as the featured concert for a rock camp. But when you take a closer look at the elements that make up Brother Ali’s music, you get jazz, rock, funk, R&B and beyond. Then you take a peak at turntablist DJ Logic – the other hip-hop based guest clinician at this year’s Rock Camp – and his list of collaborations include Widespread Panic, John Popper, Jack Johnson, and Warren Haynes. And now take a deeper look at guitarist and Grammy-winning clinician Leo Nocentelli. The music he made with The (Funky) Meters is some of the most heavily sampled hip-hop loops of all-time.While these crossover connections are nothing brand new, the realization that all of these artists are being brought to Jackson to teach, collaborate and perform is rather monumental. And that’s just scratching the surface of faculty talent. Other top-notch players include Berklee College of Music faculty member and guitarist Jon Finn, two-time Grammy nominated bassist Dave LaRue, as well as returning bassists Ariane Cap and Calder, guitarists Cameron Morgan and Jeff Eidemiller, drummer Ed Domer, and new to the staff is local vocalist Jeff Bratz.“We’ve done [Rock Camp] shows in the past, but never an event of this caliber,” Calder said. “We wanted to bring an act that would draw a great crowd, and give younger fans a chance to experience a concert as an audience member in that environment.”Brother Ali will release his fourth studio album, Mourning In America and Dreaming In Color on Aug. 21. Fully recharged and inspired by his eye-opening first trip to Mecca (the 2011 uprisings in the Middle East) and the worldwide Occupy movement, Ali teamed up with seasoned producer Jake One (50 Cent, De La Soul, Snoop Dogg) after a prolific, two-month writing exile in Seattle. The subject matter offers critiques of America while simultaneously presenting a hopeful outlook of the country’s possibilities.“This is not just a new album, but a new chapter,” says Ali of the new release. “There’s a kind of democratic reawakening in people at this point in time. I was really looking to take these topics and really hit them hard; to try to open ears and hearts and invite people to take some action and feel empowered.”Ali showed his dedication to just causes on June 21, when he was arrested during an Occupy event in his hometown of Minneapolis for trespassing. The protest was staged at a family’s house that had allegedly been foreclosed. Opening this show will be a cast of guest clinicians, jamming together in an open format.Jackson Hole Music Experience presents Brother Ali and Rock Camp special guests at 8 p.m., Thursday, at the Pink Garter Theatre. All-ages. $20 advance or $23 day-of-show, and available at PinkGarterTheatre.com. 733-1500. For more on Rock Camp, visit JHME.org.