INTERVIEW: The Dip Brings Seattle Soul to Saratoga Jazz Festival
06/27-06/28 @ SPAC, Saratoga Springs
Photo provided by The Dip
“Jazz has been a big part of our journey since the beginning.”
There is a certain confidence that comes from a band knowing exactly who they are. Not arrogance. Not nostalgia. Just a clear understanding of the sound they make and the audience they have built one late night dance floor or festival stage at a time. That confidence runs through every song by Seattle soul band The Dip, and it comes through just as clearly when bassist Mark Hunter talks about the band's upcoming appearance at Saratoga Jazz Festival this June 27 and 28.
For Hunter, playing a festival like Saratoga feels like a warm welcome, even if it is happening 3,000 miles away from the Pacific Northwest. Before The Dip became one of the most exciting modern soul bands in the country, before millions of streams and Billboard chart success, the group's roots were planted firmly in jazz. The members met while studying at the University of Washington, where improvisation, collaboration, and musical curiosity were part of everyday life.
"Jazz has been a big part of our journey since the beginning," Hunter says. "A lot of us met through the jazz program, and even though we've gone in a different direction, those foundations are still there." That connection is one reason the Saratoga Jazz Festival feels like such a natural fit. The festival has always celebrated artists who blur lines and stretch genres, and few contemporary bands do that as effortlessly as The Dip.
Trying to define exactly what The Dip sounds like is an almost impossible exercise. There are traces of classic Memphis soul, flashes of rhythm and blues, pockets of funk, hints of jazz, and enough modern songwriting sensibilities to keep everything feeling fresh. Hunter laughs at the challenge. Several tracks off their fourth studio album, Love Direction, are especially built for a summer festival setting like Saratoga Jazz Festival. The titular song "Love Direction" bursts with warmth and momentum, the kind of song that can instantly pull an audience into the band's world, while "Doing the Thing" highlights the jazz instincts still running through the group, creating space for improvisation and musical conversation. Even on record, the songs feel alive and ready to stretch beyond their studio versions onto the stage. That flexibility is exactly what excites bassist Mark Hunter about performing them live. "The songs really take on a different life when we play them live," he says. For festivalgoers discovering The Dip for the first time, Love Direction offers a perfect introduction to a band that thrives on turning great songs into unforgettable live moments.
"We don't really try to put a genre on a lot of the things that we write," he says. "It just sort of comes out. Everybody brings different influences into the room and somehow it becomes The Dip." That organic approach has been central to the band's growth. Hunter recalls how the group's earliest days involved obsessively studying records by Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, not to imitate them but to understand them. The band would learn entire albums from front to back, absorbing the details of the arrangements, grooves, and horn lines.
For Hunter, however, the studio only tells part of the story. "The songs really take on a different life when we play them live," he says. "That's one of my favorite parts of being in this band."
That comment comes up repeatedly throughout our conversation. Hunter speaks about live performance less like a job and more like an ongoing conversation. The recordings provide the framework, but the stage allows the band to rediscover the music night after night.
"We really love when we can bring new life to them," he says. "There are songs we've been playing for years that still surprise us." That spirit of discovery helps explain why The Dip has become such a sought after festival act. Their performances feel polished but never mechanical. There is room for improvisation, interaction, and the kind of musical spontaneity that comes from years of playing together.
"You can definitely see it in our faces," Hunter says with a laugh. "We love to dance on stage. We love playing together." It is easy to imagine that energy translating perfectly to Saratoga. This year's festival lineup is packed with musical heavyweights, from Patti LaBelle and The Revivalists to Cimafunk, Christone Kingfish Ingram, Cécile McLorin Salvant, and dozens of others. Yet The Dip occupies a particularly interesting space. They are not a traditional jazz band, but jazz is woven into their DNA. They are not a retro soul act, yet they honor the genre's rich history. They are contemporary without chasing trends.
For Hunter, that balance reflects what festivals like Saratoga are all about. "I feel like it's a celebration most of all," he says. "It's paying homage to the history of jazz, but it's also looking forward to what jazz is and where it's going." That perspective feels especially relevant today. Festivals remain one of the few places where audiences actively seek out new experiences. A fan may arrive to see a headliner and leave talking about an artist they had never heard before. Hunter understands that possibility and embraces it.
"Hopefully we're there to keep the party going and make people smile and dance," he says. Simple goals, perhaps. But then again, The Dip has built an entire career around making something complicated feel effortless. And if their appearance at Saratoga Jazz Festival introduces a whole new audience to the band's irresistible blend of soul, rhythm, groove, and joy, that sounds like a pretty perfect summer afternoon.
For more information on Saratoga Jazz Festival or to buy tickets, please visit www.spac.org
