Coming together as one, is the name of the game for local Jazz band The Unit.

The Unit, which consists of experienced musicians, John Lee, Lionel Edwards, Andwelle Simons and Dennis Fox, were formerly known as Jazz 4+1. The one thing that came across during the interview at The Royal Gazette was not only their love for all types of music, but their love of Jazz. The Unit is one of the acts that will play during the Bermuda Breeze 2008 Smooth Jazz Concert Series tomorrow night at the Fairmont Hamilton.

Their aim is to be as versatile as they can, explained Mr. Lee.

"We have a love for Jazz and improvisation, but our roots are also in R&B and Reggae, and so we like to be able to cover all those bases to keep in touch with our roots" he said.

"We love to accompany people, so we are trying to develop a product that is self-contained, yet entertaining and versatile.

"So we are calling ourselves The Unit, just to try and get away from the Jazz bag that people put us in so that we can appeal to a broader audience. Our focus going forward for The Unit is smooth jazz, but on a broader perspective encompassing several other genres as well."

Saxophonist Mr. Edwards spoke about the change of name.

"The name before was Jazz 4+1, but The Unit allows us to add more than four," he said.

"We anticipate being able to add a vocalist and a percussionist — so the name The Unit allows us to encompass additions. "We are looking forward to keeping the improvisation, but also being able to accommodate other genres at the same time. So we'll be looking to produce a CD, get some product out in the short term. Our goals are ambitious."

Mr. Lee's experience has passed our shores on more than one occasion, he said.

"I've been a bass player for about 100 years and I've had experience both locally and internationally," he said.

"I've played in just about every room or hall in Bermuda and I've played with just about every musician. Some of the notables were my mentor (the late) Al Davis, Norman Astwood, Ghandi Burgess, Gene Steede, Milt Robinson, there has just been a slew of musicians who have helped me develop."

But unlike some kids who are forced to play an instrument, Mr. Lee's pathway to music is interesting.

"It was a neighbourhood band, in Crawl Hill, and a bunch of guys said, 'let's put a band on'.

"Those days there was a Battle of the Groups, so we decided that we would take a year out and learn an instrument.

"I was the youngest so when it came to me, rather than choosing an instrument, they told me that I was going to be playing bass.

"And the ironic thing is that we never did get the band together, half the guys never did their homework, and I am the only one of that group that is playing today and the only one that has played professionally."

Mr. Simons, who is the percussionist, says that he has been playing drums for as long as he can remember.

"I come from quite a musical heritage, Rudy Ford is my grandfather as well as Merry Mice," he said. "Then my father played in a band called Dread Information, and as far as he tells me I have been playing drums since I was about two or three.

"Something like a prodigy, self taught for the most part."

Of being a part of The Unit, Mr. Simons said it all began as a friendship.

"I had been playing by myself for the most part, just shedding and trying to get better, then the opportunity came to play with these guys on a regular," he said.

"So we stopped talking about it and finally did it and it has turned out great.

Mr. Lee spoke of Mr. Fox, who was not present for the interview. "He has played for 30-plus years, and I think it is more like 40," he explained of his band mate. "His musical heritage is pretty much the same, his father played bass and his grandmother played piano professionally. He has played with a lot of people both locally and internationally. These include Gene Steede and Happening BDA to name a few.

"But we were the founding members of Legacy, the nucleus, Lionel, John and Dennis, which is currently on the scene today. But we have moved on from that project, so it is not like the chemistry is just two years old — the chemistry actually goes back quite a number of years, so we knew we had a product that kind of worked. "So adding Andwelle to fill the drum chair was a great piece to that puzzle, he has tremendous talent and he brings a lot of energy to the group.

"He brings fresh ideas and the danger in Bermuda is that you become jaded and it is not the cut throat competition that is on the mainland where you have to constantly keep fresh, but it is easy to stagnate in Bermuda.

"If you are getting into a scene where you are playing 'Yellow Bird' and 'Bermuda Is Another World' with no energy at all, but Ande keeps us honest."

When explaining how he got into playing the saxophone, Mr. Edwards said: "When I was in high school, where my teacher was Kenneth Dill, I actually played the flute.

"When I left Berkeley at 16, I stopped playing the flute, but I always wanted to play the saxophone, but there were no saxophones left. So at about 23, I decided that I wanted to play music again and John had an old saxophone in his house. I got it padded, got some tips from people like Mr. Dill, Ghandi Burgess and Al Davis before he died.

"They gave me tips on how to position my mouth and the fingering is similar to the flute, so all I did was practise a lot and listen a lot. Then I was fortunate enough to be allowed to join the band Legacy.

"I joined about six months later, but it was John, Dennis Fox, Kevin Maybury and (the late) Winston DeGraff. I learned a lot from all of them, particularly from Winston and John.

"I had to come up to speed quickly, because they were al seasoned musicians — I was just learning the saxophone then, but it all came together with years of practising and here I am today — enjoying music."

Mr. Simons says that he has not heard any saxophonists on the Island with Mr. Edwards' particular kind of magic.

"He is just crazy!" he said. "I think we all have that factor in the band, we all pull things out and think, 'what in the world was that?' The one thing that I love about this band is that it is never the same thing, not unless we are backing an artist, but as The Unit, you will never hear the same song played the same way twice. We are definitely chameleons, we adapt to moods and how the crowd is.

"Where Lionel his is basically the front man and he definitely influences how the band progresses and then John Lee on the bass, he is a monster. Sometimes I would like to sit back and chill out, but he brings stuff out of me — he is definitely a perfect big brother when it comes to bass and drums. They say I drive them, but it is what they bring out of me."

Asked whether they have written their own music, Mr. Edwards said that their upcoming album would be a mix of both originals and covers. "We enjoy taking other peoples songs and putting our own touch to it," he said. "As Ande said, as a rule, we don't like to play it the way people play it and that is reflected in our own compositions as well."

Mr. Lee said that he had hoped that Bermuda would embrace the ongoing Bermuda Breeze 2008 Smooth Jazz Concert Series.

"Because when I was learning there were bands everywhere, there were bands at birthday parties, and if you didn't have a band then it wasn't a party.

"A couple of years later, Disco hit, and it was all downhill from there, but before then every hotel had a band every night, now it is hard to find a hotel with a band one night.

"So my pet peeve is that the opportunities for young person coming up with musical talent — music has a way of developing the brain — so the ability to think abstractly, your ability to think outside the box is enhanced by music. "So if you are a good musician, you tend to be good in other things and in Bermuda there are opportunities and for a young person coming up, they ask, 'should I become a musician or a charted accountant or an actuary, nine times out of ten, they take the latter.

"And so what we are seeing today is a dearth of younger musicians and that is a concern of mine. "When I was a kid, I could just go somewhere and watch people play and just come home and practise and that inspired me, but today there is not that opportunity, so we need to turn it around somehow.

"It has certainly benefited me and has taken me places where I would have never gone — it is the international language and is a basis for friendship."