It might be easy, calling the Sophisticates a ska band, but the label doesn't fit. But listening to the Sophisticates' demo, you can see it's not so. Echoes of ska, maybe. Reggae with a strong dose of pop is more on the mark. One thing that's not especially audible on the surface, but makes itself felt nonetheless, are the jazz influences brought by Flodeen, Knaflic and keyboardist Scott McCormick.
Jazz brings in dissonance and minor chords-a different way of making music.
A lot of the old ska came from great jazz musicians in Jamaica. It's kind of old school and it changes the way we approach things. Anchoring it all are the assured rhythms of Carpenter, guitarist Tim Pierce and bassist Jeff Villwock, laying the foundations for a rapidly accumulating batch of original songs. The diehards persist, the trendies jump to rap metal and the creative simply keep expanding, soaking up concentric rings of influences, reminding us that the richness of Jamaica's contributions to world music isn't confined to a single genre. The Sophisticates play with Recycled Future on Friday, Jan. 26 at Milwaukee Ale House.