Minutes into the opening set of a June '99 performance by The Onus at New York City's Soul Cafe, pianist Orrin Evans -- who, along with drummer Nasheet Waits, had trekked from the City of Brotherly Love to check out the ensemble -- was moved to smile and exclaim, "Now they sound like a band!"

Not lost on Evans, first runner-up in the 1999 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, was that, in The Onus, bandleader and clarinetist Darryl Harper had achieved something somewhat rare in the contemporary world of modern jazz; namely, create a distinctive, sophisticated and engaging group sound. In the context of a jazz marketplace in which individual virtuosity often overshadows cumulative aesthetic value, Evans' remark, mundane on its face, conveyed a deep admiration for Harper's subtle, but heady, achievement.

Subtlety and brashness are, in fact, characteristics native to the soft-spoken, high-minded and mildly contrarian Harper, who began playing clarinet, as a six-year-old, at Philadelphia's Settlement Music School. Prior to obtaining a master's degree in jazz performance at Rutgers University, Harper had led bands both throughout high school and while attending Amherst College where he earned a Phi Beta Kappa key and summa cum laude honors in music. Animated by a love and admiration for the great working-bands (especially the ground-breaking Miles Davis quintet of the 60's) that achieved and sustained an exceptional level of musicality through empathetic communication, Harper, in the summer of 1996, set out to form an ensemble in the truest sense. The Onus -- Latin for "responsibility" -- is the irresistable result.

Fronted by Harper and fellow Rutgers jazz alumnus, guitarist Jeff Ray, The Onus achieves its singularly seductive sound in part through its marriage of "throwback" instrumentation, recalling the legendary Benny Goodman-Charlie Christian pairing, and a decidedly modern rhythmic and harmonic concept. Adding to the eclectic mix, an extensive and ever-expanding repertoire of original compositions, re-worked standards, and arrangements of "imported standards" (eg., Stevie Wonder's "Too High") provides fresh fodder for soulful improvisation, while exploiting the unusual tonal and textural possibilities supplied by the band's five instrumental voices. Just as critical to the aesthetic result is the degree of dynamic interaction within the ensemble. This "openness" is enabled both by Harper's imaginative writing and arranging and by the genuine musical camaraderie that exists among Harper, Ray and a dynamic rhythm section consisting, since 1997, of pianist Kyle Koehler, bassist Matthew Parrish and the venerable Philadelphia jazz/funk drummer Harry "Butch" Reed.

Fortunately for those of us privileged to hear the results, Harper has created, in this band of gifted and genuinely artful musicians, a communal context that is conducive to expressing, in sincere artistic conversation, his own sophisticated and captivating voice. Much more than that, he has brought forth one of the most readily-identifiable and appealing group sounds on today's modern jazz scene.

For more about The Onus, visit the band's web site, at www.theonus.com.

"The Onus isn't a classic jazz quintet like a '55 Chevy is a classic car -- a vintage model preserved in its pristine original state. The Onus is classic jazz like a classic suit -- full of classic lines and principles that always work no matter when it was cut or what the fashion of the day. Led by Baltimorean Darryl Harper, the band sports a clarinet-guitar front line right out of the old Benny Goodman small groups, but its dynamic group improvisation and songbook (Stevie Wonder, anyone?) are right now."

-- Lee Gardner, Music Editor, Baltimore City Paper, June 28, 2000


"The Onus . . . is an unusual jazz quintet in that it features neither saxophones nor trumpets. Instead, clarinetist-leader Darryl Harper and guitarist Jeff Ray are backed by the rhythm section of pianist Kyle Koehler, bassist Matthew Parrish and drummer Butch Reed. This is the same instrumentation as the famous quintet led by Benny Goodman and Charlie Christian, but [T]he Onus is more attuned to the post-bop modal sound of Miles Davis and Bill Evans. This territory has been mined many times, but the unusual pairing of clarinet and guitar gives [T]he Onus a fresh approach. The mellow sound of Harper's woodwind and Ray's hollow-body guitar shift the emphasis from brassy or honking horn solos to more impressionistic harmonies. Fortunately, Harper's writing is so richly melodic and so refreshingly inventive that it provides rich raw materials for such harmonic development. The Onus' new album, "Reoccurring Dream" (HiPNOTIC), is an impressive step forward from the quintet's 1997 debut release, "The Onus." Harper explores the lower range of his clarinet with sensual results; Ray pushes the rhythm along more forcefully, and new pianist Kyle Koehler proves more assertive and percussive than his predecessor. The results mark [T]he Onus as one of the most interesting jazz combos in the mid-Atlantic region."

-- The Jeffersonian, Towson, MD, June 29, 2000


"Reoccurring Dream"

"The Onus"