A Change Of Pace

Jeni Fleming Acoustic Trio Travels To Arkansas

Last updated Thursday, March 27, 2008 9:49 PM CDT in Entertainment

By Sara Sullivan
The Morning News

They also spend time running a music-related nonprofit organization (that they founded) called Hand Me Down Some Silver, which aims to provide young musicians with opportunities to explore and develop their talents. "It keeps us hoppin'," Fleming says.

So the rigors of a touring schedule, with its isolating car rides, offer a nice break. The group is now running a two-month tour through Live On Stage, and will be making an unhurried stop on April 6 at the Arend Arts Center in Bentonville.

Fleming says she feels extra lucky to be traveling with her husband, who plays saxophone and guitar in the band. "It's a really fun life in that respect."

The trio is rounded out by bass player Craig Hall, a "jazz staple" in Bozeman, and the three have been playing together on and off with different ensembles for 15 years, she says.

The 50-year-old Hall ("Although Craig is SO not mature enough to be 50.") is a good complement and companion to the Flemings, who are both 34 and have been married for 7 1/2 years. "I think he giggles at us every once in a while" if the couple gets into any tiffs in the car. "He's got 10 years on us" in his marriage with his wife, she says. "It's good for us; it keeps us in perspective."

So the friends drive, find a hotel, get to the load-in/sound check by 2 p.m., and perform around 7:30 p.m., which is only about three hours of music-making per day, Fleming says. "The rest of the time, you're just hanging out. And learning Portuguese." (She and the others - who all share a rabid love of the Bossa Nova music style, which originates from Portuguese-speaking Brazil - are trying to learn the "beautiful language" in the car together.)

So, with all the close-quarter QT, it's a good thing that the three get along so well and have such similar interests. "We always try to take in the local color" wherever they traverse. "When we're out on the road, we try to see as much music as possible."

Music For Life

"Sometimes it strikes us as kinda funny that we are musicians for a living," Fleming says. "We just feel like, this is the life."

The 34-year-old grew up in a very music-oriented family and started playing the piano at age 6. "I'm the daughter a Lutheran pastor, so my very early music training was obviously in the church."

Despite her love of and talent for music, Fleming started college as an architecture major. "I was trying really hard not to be a starving artist," she says warmly. "It didn't work."

She knew it just wasn't what she was supposed to do, and eventually got a degree in music with an emphasis in classical piano. "I always tell people that's the thing I know something about," she says. "But singing is the thing that I feel something about."

It was at Montana State University in Bozeman where she met Jake and their 13-year-old dog, Javier. "Jake came with the dog when I met him," she says. The beloved mutt, who stays with Fleming's sister the 40 or so weekends a year they're out of town, "has been super mellow his entire life. But then, you meet Jake and you kind of understand why."

Jazz musicians in general are easy-going and approachable, and if Fleming's personable style is any indication, this group is no exception.

After their 2 p.m. performance on April 6, the trio will be visiting with listeners during a Dining With The Stars event through Live On Stage in NWA at the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center in Bentonville. They also are looking forward to a stop at the Northwest Arkansas Academy of Fine Arts in Rogers on April 7. "One of the long-term goals of our nonprofit is a music conservatory," so they're especially excited to learn more about the school, she says. "There are talented young musicians everywhere you go."

Magical Musicality

The Jeni Fleming Acoustic Trio is getting comfortable and taking a more relaxed approach to their songs, Fleming says. "We're getting to the point where things are clicking a little easier onstage," which opens up doors for other magical things to happen. "I love being able to offer that to the audience."

The trio's two-hour show runs the gamut of genres, Fleming says. "It's definitely a crossover mix," but all three musicians come from a jazz tradition that influences everything. They also enjoy performing and interpreting cover songs, so don't be surprised to hear The Grateful Dead or Cyndi Lauper. "We just totally deconstruct and rearrange them," she says. "What are you going to do to make it your own?" So familiar folk songs, original works and Paul Simon might get a loving makeover.

Fleming says she's still working on the guys to convince them to do a Michael Jackson cover. "That's the one bad thing about being the only girl: you get outvoted."

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