Read the full article by Ruth Finch at The Sacramento Observer
The LabRats are a genre-spanning jazz quartet that’s breaking into a new frontier: musical theater. While the band can usually be found at the Torch Club on Sunday at their improv sessions, on March 21 they’ll be providing live accompaniment to a cast of Sacramento rappers and dancers at Sac Dance Lab.
The band’s drummer, Jacob Swedlow, has written and produced a hip hop opera adaptation of the 1967 French-Italian neo-noir classic “Le Samouraï.” Swedlow named the musical “Who is Jef Costello?” for the film’s titular antihero, a hitman caught between a detective and his former employer, both of which want him out of the picture.
The cast of the musical includes an ensemble of local musicians, including Jakhari Smith, Dogpatch, EGDABEAST with rapper Rudy Kalma starring as Jef Costello. The soundtrack to the musical, recorded by LabRats, will also be released as an album.