Jalbatross is the musical alias of veteran guitarist Ryan Jalbert, the longtime funky strummer for Denver based funk group, The Motet. For his debut album, the guitarist recruited his bandmate Joey Porter (keys), brother Colin Jalbert (drums) and longtime friend Tim Philpott (bass) for a batch of instrumental tunes displaying Jalbert’s original composition and production.
For Jalbert’s first album he leaned into the funky side that he is known for while also exploring his love for roots dub, indie and psychedelia. The leading singles “Chomper” and “Pity Party'' demonstrate the quartet’s versatility with a minimalist charm that allows plenty of both sonic space and raw chemistry. While the record features some tasty solos and creative interplay, the album’s emphasis on composition and melody over soloing separates it from your traditional “guitar album”. The 6 song collection is tonally cohesive while each tune has its own personality to create a complete musical storyline arch for the album.
About Jalbatross
Originally hailing from western Massachusetts, Ryan Jalbert began studying guitar at age 12 drawing early inspiration from radio, MTV and his Dad's record collection. Into his teen years the guitarist fell in love with the burgeoning New England jam scene of the late 90’s and early 00’s. After attaining a degree in Jazz Guitar he moved out to Colorado and was recruited to join acclaimed funk/jam outfit The Motet where he has served as the band's guitarist ever since 2005. As a versatile and adaptable ringer, Jalbert has honed his chops as a full-time professional musician for his entire adult life splitting his time freelancing with various artists and tours while also writing, recording and touring full time with The Motet.
When the pandemic shut down the entire music industry, the road-dog guitarist finally got a break from the road with plenty of time to write music just for fun with no particular project or purpose in mind. As the lockdown was coming to an end, Jalbert found himself with a batch of original material with some gems that seemed ripe for an original release. In July 2021 Ryan booked a studio session and tracked 6 songs in 2 days with the help of his brother Colin Jalbert (drums), lifelong friend Tim Philpott (bass) and Motet’s keyboard funk-master Joey Porter (keys). The Jalbatross EP captures the sound of 4 friends playing Ryan’s all original compositions in a room together and recording the old school way - analog gear, vintage tones, all vibe and all heart.
