Asheville-based trio Sugar Bomb is a new group of seasoned players, whose soulful jazz music has more in common with groups like The Mattson 2 or BadBadNotGood. While all instrumental, their new debut EP Sweet overlaps with other, more popular genres and sounds like psychedelia and soul, informed by their backgrounds as gigging musicians — bassist Eli Kahn worked on beats for rappers while keyboardist Jacob Bruner is a touring horn player for funk ensemble Empire Strikes Brass.
Bassist Eli engineered Sweet, drummer Joe Enright mixed it, and the band enlisted Ed Brooks (Minus the Bear, Russian Circles) to master it. Tracks like the recent single “IDK” featured saxophonist Dylan Hannah, using the expressive instrument in the place of a vocalist. Music blog V13 wrote of the new single “IDK” that it shows a “dreamier side to the instrumental ensemble as they begin to demonstrate the range of their musical abilities.”
While they’re a jazz-based outfit, Eli says “they’re not your grandpa’s kind of jazz.” Saxophonist Dylan Hannah, for instance, says he was inspired by Kendrick Lamar on the last single “IDK.” While they studied and respect the classics, their music has been more inspired by artists like Thundercat or Kamasi Washington, as well as Tortoise, Robert Glasper, and The Bad Plus as key influences,, who also serve as examples to the band of straddling other genres within the world of jazz while still pushing the envelope.
Their new EP coincides with a tour across the East Coast and Midwest, including supporting Rebekah Todd, vocalist of Dumpstaphunk. Their upcoming shows can be found here. The EP will be followed by a second EP, Explosive, later this summer, which will ultimately combine with Sweet as the a-side and the next EP as the b-side on an upcoming full-length on streaming and vinyl (vinyl preorders can be found here).
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