Even without Phish, Anastasio swims upstream July 5, 2001 - The San Diego Union-Tribune by George Varga Trey Anastasio is confident he has plenty of new lures to hook his listeners -- with or without Phish, the eclectic Vermont jam-band he helped make into one of rock music's top concert attractions of the past decade. Even before Phish announced an indefinite hiatus from touring and recording last fall, Anastasio was performing with a trio he launched in early 1999 to pursue different musical directions. Now, two tours later, the bearded guitarist's trio has been transformed into a brassy, eight-piece band that is mixing rock, folk and funk with the Nigerian juju music and Afro-pop of King Sunny Ade and Fela Kuti, along with touches of modern jazz and a groove-happy dance style inspired by -- but different from -- the classic big bands of the 1930s. "This whole group is an experiment, something I had in the back of my mind for years," said Anastasio, who on Wednesday kicks off a national tour with his octet at San Diego State University's Open Air Theatre. "The most important philosophy in putting the group together was this Duke Ellington approach of writing for the people in the band," he continued. "I got to know the members, and their personalities, and I've used that information to get my musical ideas across. I want everybody to be in their element, and it seems to be really working. They all are so excited about the music that you get this huge energy." Anastasio is quick to acknowledge that he is not a jazz artist, although he has long been a fan of America's most resourceful homegrown music. "I'm looking for a group sound, and it is jazz-like. But I hesitate to claim I'm playing jazz, because I have such a high respect for the art form," he said, speaking last week from his Vermont rehearsal studio. Even so, the adventuresome spirit of jazz should be readily apparent during Anastasio's impending tour, which will prominently feature music he's written for his still unnamed new band. His nightly goals include setting up specific yet constantly shifting parameters for improvisation, and writing arrangements that capitalize on the fact that four of his band members double on a variety of brass and wind instruments. "Voicing-wise, I tried to steal a page from the book of (big-band arranger) Eddie Sauter, where he would have lines doubled on flute and tuba. And I'm encouraging the horns in this band to spontaneously come up with parts," explained Anastasio, 37. "As they came up with stuff (in rehearsals), if something really great happened -- where we'd fall into a natural pattern -- we'd mark that down. We might end up with six of those patterns, per song. And they are each indicated in the arrangements, so the horn players can use that during the improv sections and drop in these things." Such an approach encourages musical surprises, as Anastasio is quick to acknowledge. "With Phish, because we knew a lot of people came to more than one show on our tours, we mixed (the repertoire) up every night. This won't be possible with this band, because it's one short tour and we don't have that much material. But it'll be interesting to see how the pieces develop each night. "Because of what happened with Phish, I have a pretty good handle on how to pace a show. This is an extension of what I've been doing musically (with Phish) for 17 years. And I'm much more interested in group interplay than hiring hot soloists." Anastasio's current band is anchored by bassist Tony Markellis and drummer Russ Lawton, who were both were in his previous trio. The group expanded in February, adding trumpeter Jennifer Hartswick, saxophonist Dave Grippo and trombonist Andy Moroz. The latest arrivals are keyboardist Ray Paczkowski and saxophonist Russell Remington. Some of the inspiration for Anastasio's band came when he got together with seven percussionists from Guinea to try out new music he'd written on piano. The result was an exploration of African grooves and cross-rhythms, the results of which he used to write his horn charts. "Harmonically, I'm borrowing from jazz, but rhythmically it's 100 percent dance-oriented, in the sense that big bands were danceable and had great melodies, and the art was inside of that," Anastasio said. Constantly active, he has an album due in the fall with Oysterhead, an ad-hoc trio that teams him with Primus bassist Les Claypool and ex-Police drummer Stewart Copeland. But Anastasio's emphasis will be his eight-piece band, which will complete its debut album after its summer tour. "I do see this band being long term, and I'm very excited," he said. "I'm not exactly sure how it will develop, but this isn't the final (lineup of) personnel. "The members of Phish are very happy (to be on hiatus). This is a very welcome thing for us. And there are no bad feelings; there's nothing but good feelings. So I wouldn't hold my breath (for Phish to reunite soon). We're all enjoying this period."