BY PATRICE WILDING / the times tribune / Published: July 6, 2015

It’s been said that music is the universal language, which is good for Clarks Summit native Nick Wight since his bandmates live thousands of miles away and speak minimal English.

Now a Brooklyn, New York, resident, Mr. Wight plays drums in the international band Pericopes+1, which he described as a melting pot of musical styles rooted mostly in jazz.

The group will bring its melodic, instrumental sound stateside for a show at the Cooperage in Honesdale on Saturday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Wight said he looks forward to getting out of the city for a while to show his friends around his hometown and breathe “some fresh air” before they promote their studio album, “These Human Beings,” in Europe this fall.

An Abington Heights High School graduate, Mr. Wight played in his alma mater’s jazz, marching and concert bands before he earned a bachelor’s degree in music education and jazz drum performance from Temple University in Philadelphia.

Deep roots

Though his musical roots extend all the way to age 3, when his parents bought him his first drum set for Christmas, Mr. Wight delved into the jazz scene during college.

“It was a very fertile scene in school and the conservatory,” he told The Times-Tribune during a recent interview from California. “(There were) a lot of musicians learning and thriving in Philly.

“I jumped into the jazz scene, trying to learn from the local greats and masters there, and picked up a few solo gigs. The teachers at school played locally, too, and were playing the scene in New York. There was not much of a separation between school and the scene. They were regular musicians that had gigs on the weekends, and there was a lot of crossover.”

He watched local improvisational legends like Byron Landham and drew inspiration from his own father, the late Dave Wight, a co-founder of area band Old Friends in the 1970s who introduced his son to surf music.

“My ultimate goal was to stay humble and become more in-demand as a side man,” Mr. Wight said. “Back then I wasn’t really sure what path I wanted to pursue the most. … I really enjoyed the improvised music realm, and I wanted to travel and do what I love.”

He taught (and still teaches) lessons, including drumlines at local schools and clinics for middle- and high-school jazz bands, but he continued to look for an outlet for his eclectic love of drumming styles and music genres.

“I really enjoy (teaching), but doing what was most natural to me is playing drums and forgetting about life,” Mr. Wight explained. “I channel my energies to that moment, whether it’s bluegrass, rock-and-roll, or straight-ahead jazz.

“If I was only teaching, I’d burn out. But the same goes for playing.”

Off to Europe

On the recommendation of a friend, Mr. Wight was invited to join a New Orleans-style/Chuck Berry-influenced band out of New York on a European tour, and he found a true friend in Emiliano Vernizzi, a saxophonist who also became part of the touring lineup.

“We were playing rock-and-roll music but talking about John Coltrane, our favorite artist, every night,” Mr. Wight said of his instant connection with the Italian.

Mr. Vernizzi told him about an original project he was working on in Italy, called Pericopes, and encouraged Mr. Wight to look him up the next time he was in Europe so they could jam.

“When I realized Nick was so elastic as a drummer, I (wanted) to involve Nick with this project,” Mr. Vernizzi said by phone. “Nick was talented. … He’s not just a drummer, he’s a musician.”

About six months later, Mr. Wight was on his way back to Europe for another tour. He and Mr. Vernizzi set up a week of rehearsals in Paris where the other regular member, pianist Alessandro Sgobbio, lived.

“I had no expectations; I was along for the ride,” Mr. Wight said. “We did this, and after we worked out some of the kinks and presented it to some of the clubs, it was apparent it was something we had to pursue. We clicked and had this bond.

“(Mr. Vernizzi) speaks limited English, but people could sense our brotherhood in music,” Mr. Wight added. “There’s this personality and understanding and fun you can see when we’re playing live.”

The result is an Italian jazz style that mixes with post-rock, avant garde and classical minimalist chamber music, according to the band.

With the three members of the newly christened Pericopes+1 so geographically spread out, however, regular gigs have been tough. Last spring, Mr. Vernizzi and Mr. Sgobbio came to the United States for a slew of shows over a two-week period, and the band quickly recorded its album at Tedesco Studios in Paramus, New Jersey.

“They came here with maybe only two or three compositions we came up with in Paris two years before that, but they’re very structured about the charts and sheet music they come in with before we improvise,” Mr. Wight said of his bandmates.

Perhaps the most sentimental piece of music found on the album is one Mr. Wight’s father wrote during his own heyday, which Pericopes+1 has reworked into a tune it can call its own.

“I’m not much of a writer in terms of (being a) composer,” Mr. Wight said. “All I could bring to the table was reflections of my dad’s songs.

“(We) channeled some pretty deep emotions on that. My dad’s lyrics were written in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, about war and social injustices. … As we’re ending our 20s and we’re hyper-sensitive to this now, these words apply to today’s world as it did then.”

Mr. Vernizzi said they “wanted Nick collaborating in some way as a composer.”

“When he came out and said, ‘Hey, I have a song from my father,’ that was really amazing for us,” Mr. Vernizzi said. “It has a lot of meaning. We come from European jazz tradition with a lot of influence from folk, traditional songs. We wanted American roots, (so) it fits perfectly with the balance.”

The group is excited not only to play together again but also to bring its music to audiences closer to where Mr. Wight calls home. Pericopes+1 has only played in Pennsylvania once before, last year in Delaware Water Gap.

“The whole goal is definitely to see some familiar faces back, (but) we want to share this music with a wider audience,” Mr. Wight said. “We want it to spread out to Honesdale, Hawley and Wayne County.”