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Rock/jazz fusion band MJ Project will round out the groove at the Dancing Wu Li Festival in Morrisville, Pa.

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Behind the Kit
By: Jillian Kalonick
   Watching Ian McGuire lose himself playing keyboards in his band MJ Project, you’d never guess he once had a piano teacher who made him cry.
   "I started when I was 6 or 7… I hated a lot of it," he says. "She was very strict, she was Russian and ruled me with iron fists. It was pretty uncomfortable, but that’s what got me into it."
   The Berklee College of Music graduate says he only kept up with piano because he knew he was talented. "I didn’t have a passion for it until I started getting noticed by people," says Mr. McGuire. It was in eighth grade that he was spotted in a talent show by members of a band he would be playing with a decade later.
   MJ Project, a rock/jazz/jam band, is one of nearly 20 performers at the Dancing Wu Li Festival, an arts and music gathering at Snipes Farm in Morrisville, Pa., May 19 and 20. Along with headliners Keller Williams and Blues Traveler, Dancing Wu Li will feature local favorites Mutlu, Kate Gaffney, Bohemian Sunrise and Boris Garcia.
   MJ Project, which plays an instrumental mix of jazz, funk and groove, began first as a cover band, performing songs by influences as diverse as Rush, Phish, They Might Be Giants and Ben Folds Five. Drummer Ajinkya Joglekar, guitarist Benjamin Karp, bassist Paul Weinstein and keyboardist Mr. McGuire were together from 8th to 10th grade, when Mr. McGuire and Mr. Joglekar (the basis for the band’s name) decided to strike out on their own with jazz-rooted originals.
   They later brought back the other two members, but the band was split after graduation, with Mr. McGuire heading to Berklee, Mr. Weinstein going to Penn State and two other members heading to Pittsburgh to go to Carnegie Mellon (Mr. Karp) and the University of Pittsburgh (Mr. Joglekar).
   During breaks band members would come together in their hometown of Cheltenham, Pa., and play for friends, and each studied music in some form during college. "We’d been playing at a higher level and growing as musicians," says Mr. McGuire. "We were getting together and it was a high school reunion almost."
   Amazingly, the band’s chemistry was enough to motivate the four to move back to their hometown after graduation and move ahead with MJ Project, nearly a decade after they first formed. A recent gig at Moka’s in Philadelphia brought back friends from high school and college, helping create the fan base that’s essential for a jam band.
   Studying performance and composition at Berklee gave Mr. McGuire a solid education to bring back to MJ Project. The band’s experimental, improvisational style results in epic, 25-minute originals, danceable funk and Phish-style jams.
   "When you get down to working on the most difficult improv music, it’s all rooted in jazz in some way," says Mr. McGuire. "I studied a lot of jazz scales, harmonies, rhythms and jazz composition. I did a lot of writing and working on the craft of creating a focused piece… I apply a lot of it to MJ Project."
   MJ Project has played at the Theatre of Living Arts, North Star Bar in Philadelphia and the Knitting Factory in New York City, and has had songs on rotation on 103.3 WPRB. The band will play World Café Live in Philadelphia May 18.
   "Dancing Wu Li is really a milestone for us," says Mr. McGuire. "It’s the first pretty major festival we’ve ever had the opportunity to play. I think it’s going to mean a lot to us."
   Having lasted through high school, college and beyond, it’s no surprise the band has a unique chemistry, and that natural communication that’s such an asset to playing improvisational music.
   "It’s rare for a relationship to last nine years," says Mr. McGuire. "The guitar player and I were in a play group since age 1 and a half — I go to his house and I see baby photos of myself. It’s really weird, but at the same time we’ve known each other so long that it feels like we’re related. The fact we’re really good friends helps us stay together.
   "If we just got together during winter breaks we would hang out anyway," he continues. "We’d naturally be playing music together, that’s just how we are. Even if we broke up, we’d probably still get together and try to remember songs and play for friends. The whole concept of the band is rooted in good friendship."
The Dancing Wu Li Festival will be held at Snipes Farm, 890 W. Bridge St., Morrisville, Pa., May 19-20. MJ Project will play May 20, 3 p.m. Tickets cost $99 for weekend passes, $89 advance; Fri. $20; Sat. $55, $45 advance. For information on performers, camping and more, visit www.dancingwulifest.com. MJ Project on the Web: www.mjproject.net