The art of using one’s voice as an instrument is the emphasis of a jazz group called Groove for Thought — a six-piece a cappella group.
Kelly Kunz was teaching choir at Pierce College in Washington in 2000 when he formed Groove for Thought as a six-piece vocal arrangement with some of his male students. Fourteen years and several lineup changes later, the group is still going strong.
“We started out strictly a cappella,” Kunz said.
The group will host a workshop on vocal jazz arrangements and writing today at 1 p.m. at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Center.
Since its inception, the group’s style has evolved from an all-male vocal group to a co-ed group and even includes a band for instrumental support — from time to time. Every new member of the group that has joined since it began either attended Pierce College or Central Washington University, Kunz said.
With the addition of female vocalists, Groove for Thought became a more dynamic group. Amanda Kunz joined Groove for Thought five years ago and is now the group’s lead soprano.
Various members being capable of playing different instruments also helped the growth of the group as a whole, she said.
“Everyone functions at a high level in terms of musicianship,” Amanda said.
Kelly said Groove for Thought performs their own versions of other songs in genres including jazz, pop and gospel.
“A lot of what we do is based upon our own version of arranging and writing the music that we sing,” Kelly said.
Amanda is also a songwriter on her own and has written several original pieces that Groove for Thought has performed over the years.
Staying in performance shape takes a lot of hard work and practice, Kelly said. The group meets at least once a week for rehearsals, with each person spending plenty of time on their own practicing their individual parts, Kelly said.
Groove for Thought does everything from touring the country, to playing shows at schools, to performing at music festivals. The group is no stranger to the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival.
“Vocal jazz education is a pretty big thing for most of us, so having an opportunity to do festivals like Lionel Hampton is a pretty exciting opportunity for us,” Amanda said.
With it still early in 2014, the members of Groove for Thought are hoping to have an eventful year ahead of them.
“We are in the very baby, baby stages of planning on doing a jazz EP,” Amanda said.
The group hopes to release the EP sometime early in the summer and then embark on a few tours shortly after that.
Jared Jonas can be reached at [email protected]