On the first Thursday of every month, music lovers — jazz and hip-hop heads alike — squeeze into the “pews” of a small Brazilian coffeehouse-restaurant-bar, Buteco, in Grant Park for their version of “church.”
The monthly service is known as “The Jam,” and the music ministers, who go by the name Biological Misfits, take the crowd on a soulful journey through space and time. The genre-fluid collective delivers a mix of soul, funk, hip-hop and acid jazz. Its avant-garde improvisational offerings feed the spirits of voracious parishioners as they dance and shout in unscripted moments.
Credit: (Courtesy of Craig M. Garrett)
Credit: (Courtesy of Craig M. Garrett)
Initially known as We Got the Jazz, the band formed around the time of the COVID pandemic and had to postpone its aural outreach until December 2021.
Band members credit Craig Garrett of music promotion firm Next Level Events with the vision to recreate A Tribe Called Quest’s eclectic and positive energy that permeated a fun-loving nostalgic period of hip-hop history from the late ‘80s to the mid-1990s. But instead of a straightforward Tribe Called Quest tribute show, emcee and trumpeter Dashill Smith pointed out that We Got the Jazz also blended in “the originals from which (A Tribe Called Quest) sampled.”
We Got the Jazz went on to perform its Jazz of a Tribe Called Quest show in cities throughout the South and Northeast.
Its metamorphosis into Biological Misfits came after We Got the Jazz played at a birthday party for Garrett at Buteco in May 2023. The group didn’t have a specific set planned, so it improvised. The energy was so intoxicating the audience, band members and Buteco owner Rafa Pereira all agreed the Biological Misfits should start appearing there on a regular basis.
“I ended up coming up with Biological Misfits for the name because ‘Biological’ to me means family,” Smith said. “But we (band members) all come from so many different sides of music, we don’t necessarily fit into any category. So that’s why I came up with ‘Misfits.’ We all just bring all of our influences, and this kind of cauldron of sound mixes together and it just works.”
Over its almost two-year run, the Biological Misfits have attracted celebrity audience members, including DJ Ed Lover, singer Joi, and actors Danny Glover, Felix Solis and T.C. Carson.
Many in the crowd return regularly to get reimmersed in the vibe.
“The joy generated in ‘The Jam’ at Buteco … is like watching new life being born,” frequent patron Omi Gayden said. “What I enjoy about the music is how perfectly in sync the band is without any rehearsals or practice.”
Credit: (Courtesy of Dwayne Goins)
Credit: (Courtesy of Dwayne Goins)
One of the best-known musicians moving the crowd is bassist Malcolm-Jamal Warner, the actor famed for playing Theo on “The Cosby Show.”
His path to music was seemingly serendipitous.
“I started playing bass in ‘96. It was the first season of ‘Malcolm and Eddie,’” Warner recalled. “I felt like, (with) the stress of that show, I needed a hobby. I needed to pick up something that would not become a career. So, acting started out as a hobby, became a career. Directing started out as a hobby, became a career. And I figured if I picked up an instrument, I would never record a CD. I would never start a band. It could be something that would just stay as a hobby. And, clearly, I don’t know how to do hobbies because it became another career ultimately.”
When Warner, a 2015 Grammy winner for Best Traditional R&B Performance, found out about the A Tribe Called Quest tribute, he reached out to Dashill, whom he knew casually, to ask if he could jam with the band. After that successful performance, he was invited to become an official group member.
“I think the comradery, the vibe, the energy, the connection that we have, it’s almost palpable,” Warner said. “And the vibe that we have is based on not just the music but how we interact with each other, how we respect each other, how much fun we have together.”
In addition to their first Thursday jams at Buteco (the next one is June 5), the Biological Misfits will be the ensemble playing behind Warner at the Capital Jazz Fest in Columbia, Maryland, on June 8 and the Church Street Jazz Series in Norfolk, Virginia, on June 14. Also, the Misfits will celebrate their two-year anniversary July 3 at Buteco.
Meanwhile, Dashill has aspirations for the band to get its music farther out in the world.
Although the Biological Misfits haven’t formally recorded any music yet, he said, “I hope we get together and put out something real good for the people that just really mixes the ‘collectiveness’ of the band … that would hopefully at least somewhat capture what we do live.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly credited the A Tribe Called Quest tribute show to the Biological Misfits. The show was instead performed by We Got the Jazz, the band that was later renamed Biological Misfits.
Credit: (Courtesy of Craig M. Garrett)
Credit: (Courtesy of Craig M. Garrett)
Meet the Biological Misfits
- David Whild, guitarist and vocalist: a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and producer: has performed and recorded with OutKast, Goodie Mob, Joi and many others.
- Rodney Edge Sr., keyboardist: has performed and toured with After 7, Anita Baker and India Arie.
- Landon “Big Pee-Wee” Anderson, drummer: has performed, recorded and toured with numerous gospel, jazz, soul and R&B artists.
- Khari Cabral Simmons, bassist: India Arie’s longtime music director.
- LaVerio “DJ LV” Barnes, turntablist: an accomplished musician and renowned DJ.
- Dashill “Dash” Smith, emcee, vocalist and trumpeter: a multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and producer who has performed with Roy Ayers, Fred Wesley and Clyde Stubblefield.
- Malcolm-Jamal Warner, bassist: the TV and film actor who’s also a spoken word poet.
IF YOU GO
“The Jam” featuring Biological Misfits
7:30 p.m. Thursdays, June 5 and July 3 at Buteco, 1039 Grant St. SE, Suite C10, Atlanta. General admission tickets, $19.44 ($25.24 day of show), at thejam.eventbrite.com. Free livestream tickets: volume.com/nextlevel.
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