The Motet with Special Guest The Nth Power

In a sense, although they’ve been in existence for more than a decade, The Motet has only recently begun to realize their full potential as a band. Throughout most of their career, the Colorado-based progressive funk outfit has operated with a loosely based revolving cast of players, its liquid membership largely serving to flesh out the vision of the band’s founder, drummer Dave Watts. That all changed with The Motet, the group’s seventh album, released in February 2014. This time, a concerted effort was made to involve each of the seven current members—Watts, vocalist Jans Ingber, guitarist Ryan Jalbert, bassist Garrett Sayers, keyboardist Joey Porter and horn men Matt Pitts (saxophone) and Gabe Mervine (trumpet)—in the creative process equally.

“This album was 100 percent created by the band, with each member writing his own parts and having input on the mix and arrangement,” says Watts. The result of this new democratization of the music-making has been a palpable expansion of The Motet’s range. “We are definitely able to go deeper,” says Watts. “The material is stronger because we all had a hand in writing it. Because we have spent so much time playing together, our improvisation is more natural and intuitive and our groove is more effortless.”

Adds Ingber, “We went into this album with the idea that we were going to make a fully collaborative record. We put aside four or five days for songwriting, each of us bringing in unfinished ideas that we could explore and complete as a group. The idea behind that was that the band as a whole would be so much greater creatively.”

The method paid off. The Motet, self-produced by the band and cut on analog recording equipment to capture the instruments’ rich, natural sound, debuted at #2 on the Relix Magazine radio chart and garnered the septet some of its most effusive reviews to date. Colorado’s Boulder Weekly raved about the album’s “utterly flawless production…not a throwaway in the bunch… ambitious, airtight and built to travel,” while Upstate Live said that The Motet’s “55 glorious minutes showcase their growth as individuals and as an unstoppable funk machine.”

From its start in 1998, The Motet has aimed to corral the soulful grooves that permeate the work of such legends as Parliament-Funkadelic, Earth, Wind & Fire, Tower of Power, James Brown and the Nigerian legend Fela Kuti and to redefine their brand of dancefloor grooving for contemporary audiences. “Funk spanning the late ’60s to early ’80s is the perfect music for guys who have been brought up on jazz but love to play dance music,” Watts says. “There is the potential in that style for the perfect blend of improvisation and song. People love to see musicians onstage playing real instruments and creating music in the moment, and at the same time keeping a powerful dance groove.”

In 1999, The Motet released their debut album, Breathe. The followup albums—Play (2001), Live (2002), Music for Life (2004), Instrumental Dissent (2006) and Dig Deep (2009)—each showcased a band continually refining its approach and seeking its definitive voice, seamlessly welding its funk roots with elements from disco, jazz, soul, Afrobeat, Latin, reggae and electronic music.

But for all of the solid danceability found on The Motet’s recordings, their live gigs have always brought out the best they have to offer, giving the band ample opportunities to expand their musical boundaries. “We enjoy the challenge of learning different styles and we like to mix those styles up,” says Watts. “It’s all dance music that has space for improvisation, and making audiences dance has always been the goal.”

Honing their skills on countless stages, at first exclusively in local Colorado venues and in more recent years all across the United States—including sellout shows at Portland’s Wonderland Ballroom, New York’s Brooklyn Bowl, Denver’s Fillmore Auditorium, Atlanta’s Terminal West, Boston’s Brighton Music Hall and huge festivals such as Wakarusa, Summer Camp, Oregon County Fair and Arise Music Festival, among others—The Motet has built a reputation as one of the most reliable dance party bands around.

And no party anywhere, at any time, can even come close to The Motet’s annual Halloween shows along Colorado’s Front Range, wherein the band performs the music of one of its favorite funk influences. To date, Halloween shows have focused on the canons of such iconic artists as Stevie Wonder, P-Funk, Jamiroquai, Herbie Hancock’s Headhunters, Prince, Tower of Power and others. The gigs are joyous, full of surprises and legendarily raucous, and have served not only to pay back the band’s fans for their loyalty but also to enhance The Motet’s understanding of who they are. Says Watts, “We feel that it’s crucial to know the roots of any style of music so that you can speak the language.”

For each Halloween show, The Motet has studied the intricacies of the chosen band they planned to cover and worked out every minute detail, often bringing in additional musicians and vocalists so that they could fully embody the subject’s music. But now, says Ingber, “More energy is being put toward writing original music. That’s the difference between The Motet four years ago and The Motet now. What we really want is to bring some of the energy of the live band to record—for us the energy part is really important. That’s why a lot of the tunes sound so big! And we want to highlight the musicianship of these players who have put in years and years studying their craft.”

“The fact that we were able to create an album with such a collaborative effort is a testament to that,” says Watts in conclusion. “Making this record was a fresh start for us and represents the sound and style that we want to focus on for the next chapter in The Motet’s history.”


Proving that soul music can be exponentially greater than the sum of its parts, The Nth Power will inspire you to dance, groove, make love or just stand there with goose bumps.

Proving that soul music can be exponentially greater than the sum of its parts, The Nth Power is on a mission to share the light. Formed during an impromptu late-night jam at Jazz Fest 2012 in New Orleans, the relentlessly funky and soulful band believes in music as a higher power—tapping into an energy that is simultaneously sexy and spiritual, with songs that will inspire audiences to dance, groove, make love or just stand there with goose bumps.

The quintet hails from diverse musical backgrounds, races and creeds. Female powerhouse Nikki Glaspie was Beyonce’s world-touring drummer for five years before she joined Ivan Neville’s New Orleans funk outfit, Dumpstaphunk. Bassist Nate Edgar of Groovechild and John Brown’s Body perfectly compliments Singer and Guitarist Nick Cassarino who came from the Jennifer Hartswick Band and toured with Big Daddy Kane. Next add West African Master-Percussionist, Weedie Braimah to the mix with his insurmountable world beat rhythms. Finally rounding off the ensemble is the newest and youngest member, Courtney J’Mell Smith who brings his soulful vocals and keyboard abilities to the table.

“Just know that when you hear this music, you’re going to feel something—you’re going to connect with something higher than yourself,” explains Braimah.

The Nth Power’s 2013 independent EP, Basic Minimum Skills Test, showcases a first glimpse of the spark shared among the group, delivering gospel-style vocals with soul, jazz, funk and world-beat riffs in nearly mathematical fashion.

“It’s my dream team,” said Glaspie. “Each one of us is a songwriter, so when we get together, everything becomes that much stronger.” Beyond raw skill, however, Glaspie cites a deep spiritual connection as the glue that binds them together. “Music is what brought us together, but it’s the spiritual bond that makes us play so in touch with each other,” she explained.

And at the core of their vibe is a deviously simple concept—the healing power of love.

Following The Nth Power’s 2013 debut, their inspirational sets floored audiences at music festivals like Electric Forest, Bear Creek, Catskill Chill and North Coast Music Festival. In just the last six months, the group has performed more than 50 shows in 21 states across the US, and made their second international appearance at Australia’s Caloundra Music Festival on their 2014 “Fall In Love Tour.”

Although the band members are based across the East Coast, they maintain New Orleans as their “spiritual home,” and the celebratory essence of that city’s music culture is audible in each performance.

Simply put, there is something pretty magical happening in this band, and they’re only just getting started. “We’re going as far as you can go on the planet Earth and playing music,” explains Glaspie. “I don’t know how many times we’ve said it — we are so blessed.”

Together, The Nth Power wants to change lives through a message of musical love and understanding. “Just know that when you hear this music, you’re going to feel something—you’re going to connect with something higher than yourself,” Braimah explained.

In September 2015, The Nth Power will release their first full-length studio album, Abundance. The studio version of the album’s lead single “Only Love” will debut in June 2015 and promises a soul-surrendering groove steeped in fellowship among all who hear it. They have a live recording of this song already in regular rotation on Sirius XM Radio’s “Jam On” station.