Room of Voices to perform at Bear's Place

Mingo Lewis is no stranger to jazz and blues venues.

The child of a musical family, Lewis grew up playing percussion in New York City where his mother and father worked at jazz venues Cotton Club and Birdland.

At 8 p.m. Saturday, Lewis and his band, Room of Voices, will play at Bear’s Place.

Throughout his extensive career, Lewis has played and recorded with musical greats such as David Byrne, James Brown, Carlos Santana and Chick Corea.

Lewis specializes in hand percussion and incorporates elements of reggae, funk, fusion, latin rock and other styles into his diverse sound.

His latest project, Room of Voices, is a collaborative effort with partner Karissa Gallo, also known as Sound Sapien. Lewis and Gallo have put out two albums in recent years.

They are currently touring in support of their latest release “Temple Rhythm.”

Gallo brings a synthesized, electronic sound to the two-piece group that builds layers with Lewis’ more traditional percussion rhythms to form a complex, room-filling sound.

While Lewis comes from a jazz background, he said the new album has “nothing whatsoever to do with jazz.”

“It’s funky, funky, groove kind of music,” Lewis said. “Our sound is something like electronic world reggae meets dub step. It’s really suited for dancing — our whole sound is about dancing.”

Lewis said his current project is unique because they are performing what dubstep DJs play, except they’re doing it live.

“We incorporate an Arabic and Middle Eastern sound with old-school funk and hip hop — the music comes from many different genres,” he said.

Lewis’ experiences with experimental musicians and producers such as Miles Davis and Brian Eno have taught him to be open to vastly different sounds.

“I’m not close minded when it comes to music,” Lewis said. “I’m always looking for the newest, latest thing – I’m always trying to stay in front.”

In regards to the tone of their performance, Lewis said fans should expect a very ethereal experience.

“There’s a mysterious soundspeak that goes on while we’re playing,” he said.

Listeners need not worry about things getting too deep, Lewis said.

“It’s really about the groove,” Lewis said. “We’re not trying to play music that goes over everybody’s heads. We’re trying to produce sound that sticks and remains a part of the body.”