Back to the barbershop

WITH THE ADVENT of millennial devotion to old-world tonsorial tradition, barbershops and barbershop culture are on the upswing.

In many communities, barbershops have long been a hub of communal male conversation and conviviality. They've been a place for sharing news and opinions and for just kicking back and chatting casually.

Such camaraderie in the early 1900s gave rise to the barbershop quartet, an art form in which the lead vocalist carries the melody, and the bass, tenor (usually in harmony above the lead), and baritone voices follow in close harmony.

That style of singing fell into decline in the era of big band crooners, but with current a cappella harmonizers (e.g. Take 6, Pentatonix), it's again in vogue.

Two young local acts - South Jersey's JuTaun and the harmony-rich West Philly rapper Mad Squablz - find inspiration in the old-school barbershop while making new albums and planning live dates.

For JuTaun (pronounced zha-tawn), easy barbershop harmonizing is a way of life. Before they teamed up in 1999, Jamie and Jake Evans Jr. received mentoring and more from their pop, Jake Evans Sr., nicknamed "The Funk Master General," who worked with the cream of local soul - Chubby Checker, the Dovells and Dee Dee Sharp, Leon Huff, McFadden & Whitehead, and many more.

"John [Whitehead] attended my baseball games as a kid," Jamie says with a laugh. "These musicians were mentors to us and we grew in an environment where practicing a capella barbershop harmonies were a way of life. Now, we're taking that tradition to another level."

JuTaun started out with five-part harmonies typical of barbershop singing, but with departures, the group is now an R&B trio whose newly released EP, Back to Life, features their lustrous harmonic tones.

"We're evolving, moving from singularly doing a lead with harmonies around them to plantation-style singing, where it's often three lead harmonists at once" Jamie says of JuTaun's new trimmed-down sound.

"My dad always said our voices had a natural blend, so when the two guys left, we easily tightened up," says Jamie, a lower first tenor to brother Jake's middle. The third member of the group is their childhood friend Samoeun Cheng, who hits the high notes.

"There's no AutoTune on us. We switch up leads or all sing leads. I'm even good for some solo falsettos," Jamie says.

Then there is the other element of the barbershop tradition - maintaining camaraderie and a sense of community through conversation. That's where Southwest Philly-born Dahseim Henry - producer-rapper Mad Squablz - comes in.

He and his cousins were vocal followers of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 growing up. "You don't get more harmonious than that," Squablz, 19, said. "I had that high voice, too."

Growing up in the church, he found himself attracted to the jazzy, old-school, sociopolitical hip-hop of Gil Scott Heron and Mos Def.

"They made something out of nothing and made that something great within the storytelling tradition," Squablz said.

So he began writing, producing, and releasing chatty hip-hop tracks with an easy flow, such as "Spitters Lounge" and "Who Am I?"

In December, he dropped an EP, The Art of Boom Bap: Generation Next, and he plans to release a full album this year.

Because his written, rapped work is conversationally story-oriented and because he grew up hanging with his dad at the SPN Hair Zone, at 59th and Girard Avenue, Squablz will take his live shows to barbershops around Philly over the next several months.

"The barbershop is where people talk about the state of the world and current events: If it's a younger barbershop, people talk about hip-hop and politics. If it's an old cat's joint, it's sports and family matters. It's a place to let your hair down, literally," Squablz said, laughing.

"As I have always felt like my barbershop was home, it only makes sense to take my stories - funny, serious, personal - back home."

JuTaun play its Back to Life release party Thursday, Jan. 5 at 8 p.m. at MilkBoy Center City, 1100 Chestnut St. Tickets: $8-$10, Information: milkboyphilly.com

Mad Squablz' Back to the Barbershop tour starts Jan. 21 at Uncle Lou's Barbershop, 885 Main St., Darby, time to be announced.