Ellington

Coming directly from the dusty grooves of an old Blue Note jazz record, The Filthy Six brings its soulful grooves to Martin's Lounge tomorrow night.

Formed in the U.K., the jazz sextet has lent its talents to artists such as Tom Jones, Jill Scott, Basement Jaxx and many others. Fans describe the group's music as soulful and funky jazz with a heavy back beat and sultry horns.

Founding member and trumpet player Nick Etwell (fresh off a world tour with Mumford & Sons) took a moment to talk to the JFP.

How did you form the group?

I came to love the Hammond organ after listening to Jimmy Smith's "The Cat" on the radio when I was 15 and doing my homework one night. I went out and bought the record that following Saturday, and I loved it. It brought me into organ-based jazz. I discovered a great compilation series that Blue Note put out. That introduced me to Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, and (I) just fell in love with it all. After leaving college, I formed my own group called the BlackJacks in London. As we began writing our own material, we changed our name to Filthy Six, and here we are.

What year was that?

We started The BlackJacks in 2002, but the Filthy Six came together in about 2004. I realized April was our 10th anniversary.

How is it switching gears from a mega-tour like Mumford & Sons to playing smaller clubs?

It's the other end of the spectrum. I like playing small venues, but it's a huge adjustment from playing for 18,000 people on that Mumford tour. I love the intimacy of a small venue, though. You can see the sweat on the people's brow. You get a much more mutual response between the band and the audience. You can really feed off the energy. I'm really excited. It's just six guys in a van and doing it old school.

Jazz is so much more organic.

Yeah. That spontaneity, especially with improvising, means you're never really quite sure what's going to come out of the horn. It just flows, and it flows. The audience reaction helps with that.

You've mentioned Jimmy Smith, who is an organist, but are there any horn players you've gravitated toward?

I like Donald Byrd. When I started this band, we did a lot of Donald Byrd's stuff. He's got a very soulful voice. I love Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. You can't play trumpet and not listen to Freddie Hubbard.

The Filthy Six perform at 9 p.m. at Martin's Lounge (214 S. State St.) Saturday, April 26, along with People's Blues of Richmond. For more information, visit thefilthysix.com.