The Motet may be based in Boulder, but the band has roots in Cuba.
When lead singer and percussionist Jans Ingber went to the Carribean island in 1999 to study music, little did he know he would become the lead singer of a world-class funk band.
The Motet already had formed before they met Ingber and, at the time, it was heavily into Cuban and African music. The band just happened to be studying under the same teacher as he was.
They all hit it off, and the Coloradans asked him if he’d like to join the band. Soon after, Ingber found himself living in the Rocky Mountains for the next 8½ years.
He took the scenic route here. Before meeting his new band members in 1999, he flew to Cancún, Mexico, and bought a round-trip ticket from there. That was one of three times that Ingber went to the country that’s normally off-limits to Americans.
“The United States government does not want you to go to Cuba, but the Cuban government is fine with you coming, especially to study music. It’s gorgeous. But I think the most gorgeous thing is the people and the culture. That part of Cuba is amazing,” Ingber said from Portland, Ore., his latest home of five years
He’s the only member of the seven-piece band who doesn’t live in Colorado.
But he’ll visit here again with The Motet. On Thursday, the band will play the Animas City Theatre for its latest album’s release party.
“After about working on it for a year, it’s great to put it out there. I think it’s a great representation of where the band is now, and kind of the statement of what we are doing in music,” Ingber said.
The group’s self-titled seventh album released Feb. 10, just in time to share a stage Feb. 19 and Feb. 21 with its friends String Cheese Incident at the luxurious Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico, where they were “treated like royalty,” he said.
“Those opportunities don’t come around very often. So, when they do, we are very thankful,” Ingber said.
The Motet will start its tour Wednesday in Telluride at The Fly Me To The Moon Saloon, and from Durango, they’ll take their show east, playing shows from New York City to Florida.
The Motet has been performing for years in Durangoan, regularly packed crowds. Why is that? Ingber said it’s simple: “As long as people keep coming to the shows, The Motet will be here.
“We are about rapport with the audience. The idea is that we are together creating one big ‘ole dance party. And so I think our fans feel very included in the shows. And they make the party as much as we make the party,” he said.
mhayden@durangoherald.com
If you go
The Motet, with special guest Peter Robot, will play at 9 p.m. Thursday at the Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Drive. Tickets cost $20 ($25 for VIP), available at the box office or online at www.animascitytheatre.com. For more information, call 799-2281.
