Jazz Overhaul, a unique trio from the Pacific Northwest, reimagines hits from the early '90s rock scene in Seattle.
"We're really fortunate in Seattle that we have our own genre that's based out of here. So, why not cover all those tunes?," said Cliff Colón, tenor saxophonist and Jazz Overhaul's leader.
The group is rounded out with three stellar musicians: keyboardist Jake Sele, bassist Osama Afifi and drummer D'Vonne Lewis.
When they came to the KNKX Studios in 2024, Colón said the opportunity to form this band and play these songs came from Craig Baker, owner of the Bellevue jazz club Bake's Place. Baker asked Colón to create a monthly jazz series and to have some fun with it.
As he was considering what he would do, Colón noticed that the old jazz standards weren't hitting people the same way as the grunge covers.
"As soon as we'd cover Nirvana or a little bit of something a little bit more modern, they recognize it, even though we're playing it in the jazz format. So, [we] started doing more and more of that. And then for that gig, I was like, 'Oh, well, maybe we should just do all of that,'" said Colón.
Jazz Overhaul is an instrumental band, but their live concerts feel like a karaoke night when the crowd starts to sing along. Colón recognized the value in learning the lyrics to these songs too, taking a page from jazz saxophone legend Dexter Gordon's book.
"He used to not play songs unless he knew the lyrics to them, like a ballad, even if he knew the changes and stuff," Colon said. "And so I've had to really research these songs...'hey, what do they mean on 'Black Hole Sun?' Or, 'what do the lyrics to 'Would?' really represent?'"
Colón's tenor saxophone carries the song lyrics as well as the voices of singers like Chris Cornell.
"I think a lot of those male vocal tunes from the grunge era work really nice with the tenor saxophone, which is kind of in that tenor range of a tenor vocalist. And a lot of those bands are guitar-driven, and we wanted to be more organ and sax-driven," he said.
The charismatic frontmen of these bands were rock stars, of course, but Colón notes how their singing and songwriting talent transcends genre.
"I mean, Layne Staley could have been an awesome blues singer or jazz singer, if he wanted to. He ended up being for Alice in Chains," Colón said.
Jazz Overhaul continues to honor Seattle's rock n' roll legacy in their own way. In 2025, Jazz Overhaul released their debut album Filthy, which references the so-called grunge bands they cover. They even got a thumbs up from Pearl Jam's guitarist.
"I think D'Vonne might have sent it to Stone Gossard, and he was like, 'that's good,'" said Colón. "So, that was pretty cool."
Songs heard in this episode:
- "Smells like Teen Spirit"
- "Black Hole Sun"
- "Would?"
