Dance the demons away in costume with Naomi & the ODAT Band this Halloween. The band’s African-inspired experimental music has “beats and grooves so deep and round, you can’t help but dance,” Naomi Siegel says. The trombonist leads the seven-piece ensemble, including local musicians Thione Diop (percussion), Jefferson Rose (bass), D’vonne Lewis (drums), Andy Coe (guitar), Hans Teuber (saxophone and keyboard) and Teo Shantz (percussion).

Band name ODAT stands for one day at a time, a mantra for Siegel when she first transplanted to Seattle 2008. Then, she didn’t know a soul. After some time, she is thrilled with the music connections that she has made. “It’s a small city, but it’s rich in creativity. I feel really fortunate,” she says.

A ten-year-old Siegel started trombone in middle school band; she was drawn to the trombone’s low range and slide. In 17 years since, she’s graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory and found incredible versatility in her instrument, one prone to experimentation.

Currently, Siegel has taken to pulling abnormal pitches and mixing electronics into improvised pieces. Her sound is constantly developing. It’s a sound that has found like-minded collaborators in Seattle, and for Siegel, that’s what it is really about, connecting through music and having fun with your bandmates. She’s a member of Thione Diop’s Afro Groove, Picoso, the Syrinx Effect duo with Kate Olson and the Royal Room Collective Music Ensemble. She teaches trombone and works with a few nonprofits, including Seattle JazzED, Jazz Night School and Seattle Music Partners.

– ST