Clint Breeze and The Groove

This week we are diving into calmer waters through the music of Indiana bands Hex Mundi, Joshua Powell And The Great Train Robbery, and Clint Breeze And The Groove. Join us as we listen to quieter sounds from the genres of indie, folk, experimental, and hip hop music.

Produced by Sebastian Giraldo. - Indiana Public Radio

As a drummer who's also a hip-hop producer, Carrington Clinton said he didn't want to find himself onstage with only a laptop to transmit his songs.

So the Lawrence North High School and Ball State University alum started Clint Breeze & the Groove, a head-turning band that fuses hip-hop and jazz.

"A lot of hip-hop, especially the ‘boom bap’ era, is sampling jazz music," Clinton said. "I think the perfect combination for a live experience when it comes to hip-hop is having a band."

The seven-member group performed Jan. 15 as the featured guest on "Dogfish Head Brewery presents IndyStar Sessions at Square Cat Vinyl," a new weekly series for showcasing musicians.

Shortly after forming in 2016, Clint Breeze & the Groove won that year's 13-night "Battle Royale" band competition at Birdy's nightclub. Breeze's "Nappy Head" album included the first studio recordings by the Groove.

Clinton said his all-star band thrives despite the challenge of finding time to get together amid the musicians' busy schedules.

"I think the music that we’re playing is pretty fun," Clinton said during the "IndyStar Sessions" broadcast. "Two, we’re all friends. Part of the reason this band even came to fruition is that I knew a lot of these guys in the scene."

Premium Blend), guitarist Joel Tucker and bass player Nick Tucker (founders of Tucker Brothers Group), trumpet player Jay Higginson, keyboard player Chris Pitts and rapper Theon Lee. For the debut episode of "Dogfish Head Brewery presents IndyStar Sessions at Square Cat Vinyl," accomplished saxophone player Rob Dixon subbed for Thompson.

Clinton and Lee met when they were invited to participate in a United State of Indiana photo shoot.

"Once I discovered Theon was a dope rapper, we kept collaborating," Clinton said.

The band performed yet-to-be-released songs "Crosswalks," "The Bounce" and "Lavender" for "IndyStar Sessions."


Clinton said members of the Groove are increasingly involved in songwriting, in contrast to past instances in which the drummer presented fully formed compositions to the band.

Lee said his lyrics are the final element of a song.

"I let them do what it is they do," Lee said of his band mates. "After they get a groove going, I start looking for cadences, matching the cadences with words and whatever pops out pops out."

"The Bounce," focused on the story of a one-night stand, is a timely examination of relationship ethics.

“This just might be the start of another situation," Lee rapped. " He can imagine it perfect, it’s a magical purpose. But on the actual surface it’s a practical circus.”

Clint Breeze will perform Feb. 1 at Fountain Square's Pioneer venue, followed by a Feb. 13 Fat Tuesday show at the Jazz Kitchen.

The next episode of "Dogfish Head Brewery presents IndyStar Sessions at Square Cat Vinyl" will star Cyrus Youngman & the Kingfishers at 6 p.m. Jan. 23. The event at Square Cat Vinyl, 1054 Virginia Ave., is free and open to all ages. - IndyStar - USA Today Network

The only good thing about Donald Trump is that he has made time slow down. As we get older, every year seems to pass more quickly than the last in the rush toward death. But the Trump regime has slowed all of that down and the year since that dark night when he was elected has felt as long as any since high school.

As in high school, this slow-moving but insanely intense sense of time has seemed to heighten the emotional impact of music. When a song rings right and seems to express the horror and angst that emanates from the world around you, it feels glorious.

This collection of songs comes from the music editors of more than 20 different papers. As I was writing a column about the Trump regime for a number of alt-weeklies—and trying to find ways to take "alt" back from the Nazis—I ended up talking to a lot of editors and writers around the country and we thought if we could bring together the best protest songs from as many cities as possible, we might learn something about the state of dissent—while also finding some relief. (By Baynard Woods)

A project by member publications of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia. - Rochester City Newspaper

With seven talented musicians, Indianapolis based Clint Breeze and the Groove is making a big impact on the Indy music scene.

The band blends hip hop and soul - along with a major emphasis on the art form that brought the group together - jazz.

Set list:
1. Razorblades
2. 3 AM
3. Status Quo
4. Crosswalks - WFYI - Indianapolis NPR affiliate

“Timing is everything,” Theon Lee tells me.

Theon is frontman for Clint Breeze and The Groove, and he also holds a large role on the Clint Breeze LP Nappy Head, rapping on four of the sprawling set’s 20 tracks.

“[Carrington Clinton] couldn’t have picked a better time to release Nappy Head,” Lee continues. He cites the album’s place within a series of high-profile national releases like D’Angelo’s Black Messiah, Janelle Monáe’s The Electric Lady and Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly, all works that blend elements of hip-hop, jazz and soul with pointed social commentary. “Clint Breeze was part of that on a local level,” Lee says. “The world was going through so many emotions, and the timing of these artists was just right.”

Clint Breeze is the artistic persona of a 26-year-old Indianapolis drummer and beatmaker Clinton. And, like all great drummers, Clinton has impeccable timing. That’s why his Clint Breeze project arrived in Indianapolis right on time.

Clint Breeze was born from an important musical symbiosis: Indianapolis jazz is in the midst of a significant renaissance, while the city’s hip-hop scene is currently experiencing an unprecedented period of artistic productivity. With a foot in both these worlds, Clinton’s seized an opening to channel the energy of these parallel scenes into his finely tuned artistic vision.

Clinton’s live act Clint Breeze and The Groove features an all-star lineup of Indy jazz players, including Reggie Bishop, Jared Thompson, Joel Tucker, Nick Tucker and Jay Higginson, while his latest album Nappy Head includes contributions from the biggest names in Indianapolis rap, from Oreo Jones, to Drayco, to Flaco, to Sirivs Blvck. Through his own unique alchemical process, Clinton has distilled all these voices and sounds into the singular artistic entity of Clint Breeze.

Beyond purely musical concerns, Clinton has also tapped into the frustration and anger of a civil rights movement unified nationally under the banner of organizations like Black Lives Matter. Clinton conceived Nappy Head as a comment on racial oppression in America, but the album is far more than a comment. It’s a stinging manifesto featuring the artistic signatures of over two dozen rappers, musicians, singers and poets.

I first wrote about Clinton in late 2015. He’d just finished recording Maisha, his third album as Clint Breeze. Maisha was Clinton’s first full-blown hip-hop release. In many ways Maisha was a typical local hip-hop record, but there was something special about the musicality of his beats that transcended the genre. While the record drew some positive notices in the local scene, Clinton remained something of a fringe figure in the world of Indianapolis hip-hop.

I strongly doubt anyone at that time would’ve anticipated that only a year later Clinton would release the most talked about hip-hop record in 2016, and form one the greatest live bands currently active in our city.


I first wrote about Clinton in late 2015. He’d just finished recording Maisha, his third album as Clint Breeze. Maisha was Clinton’s first full-blown hip-hop release. In many ways Maisha was a typical local hip-hop record, but there was something special about the musicality of his beats that transcended the genre. While the record drew some positive notices in the local scene, Clinton remained something of a fringe figure in the world of Indianapolis hip-hop.

I strongly doubt anyone at that time would’ve anticipated that only a year later Clinton would release the most talked about hip-hop record in 2016, and form one the greatest live bands currently active in our city.

But he did, and my conversations here with Clinton document his emergence as one of the most important artistic voices in Indianapolis. - NUVO Newsweekly

In 2016 Carrington Clinton (aka Clint Breeze) formed one of the most amazing bands in Indy (Clint Breeze and The Groove) and recorded one of the most musically and conceptually epic Indiana albums I've ever heard (Nappy Head). Carrington patiently went through EVERY track on that record with me for a special "Nappy Head" edition of Cultural Manifesto. This is the first part of a two part episode. - WFYI - Indianapolis NPR affiliate