Paper Jays

While their name may conjure images of avian origami, rolled cannabis, or cut-up 10th letters, Paper Jays are an instrumental music body from Rhode Island that became fully formed during the session for their forthcoming eponymous release on ESP-disk. Prior, Jesse Cohen and Justin Hubbard’s guitar duo (a trio, only if counting the unmanned feedback drone of a hollow-bodied Gibson) had been contentedly performing and apartment taping for a solid five years. But after witnessing drummer and percussionist Matt Crane back Linda Sharrock at the local House of Pizza their vision for Paper Jays widened. The ensuing recording date with Crane yielded results that greatly pleased all three gentlemen, and a new Paper Jays began.

When playing, Jesse and Justin bend, abstract, and honor world and domestic string traditions through their amplified guitars. Matt brings tight (and loose) syncopated rhythms with occasional freer excursions on his array of percussion instruments from varied folkloric sources. Overall, their output travels from intentional, pleasant figures merged with staggered but controlled phrasing to more extemporaneous, unsystematic, and liberated expressions.