Take Note: Japhlet Bire Attias

Japhlet Bire Attias plays an odd-looking instrument called a Chapman Stick, which looks like a bodyless guitar neck with ten or twelve strings, depending on the model. His self-titled debut album includes some of the best jazz musicians in the Twin Cities and breaks new ground for an instrument that has a cult following among die-hard fans of what used to be called progressive rock.

GREW UP: Syracuse, New York, and central Mexico.

CAME TO MINNESOTA: Because my aunt lives here.

MUSICAL BACKGROUND: I was a guitarist for a long time, and I had a band in Mexico. I always liked classic progressive rock—Pink Floyd, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, that kind of thing—and especially King Crimson. King Crimson’s bassist, Tony Levin, was the first person to use the Chapman Stick in a popular band, and I thought it was cool. Then one day I had an epiphany and thought, 'I can order a Chapman Stick and learn to play it too.'

Instrument of choice: There’s a nine-month waiting period on Chapman Sticks because only one guy makes them [Emmett Chapman in California]. Mine is a ten-string model. The bottom five strings are tuned in fifths, like a cello, and the top five strings are tuned in fourths, like a guitar. But you don’t pluck it, you play it by tapping the strings.


Type of music: I call my music “progressive world electronic jazz.” I don’t really consider myself a jazz musician, but a lot of what I do is really jazz, even though I’m from the progressive rock school.

Ipod shuffle: King Crimson, Björk, Interpol, Emilie Simon, Manu Chao.

Catch his act: Self-titled CD and performance info available at japhletba.com, CD Baby, Electric Fetus, stick.com.