To clarify to the people living inside the box, we are talking to David Pastorius, who has just recently gotten off touring with Tech N9ne in the Band Of Psychos Tour.

Yeah it was the “Band of Psychos Tour” with Stevie Stone. We had the Band of Psychos, Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko, and Stevie Stone.

So what can you tell us about being on the road, the tour itself, and the gigs that you played along the way?

Well, it was definitely a lot of fun! Probably the most fun I have had playing out. The tour was really cool, but it was also (pauses to think), these guys know how to tour, they got it down. It was not so hard, like you hear about with other bands.
You know when they go out and its like “the sh*t tour from hell”. It was like really nice, every bunk had a television. It was cool! Definitely went off without a hitch, it was good.

So coming from your background as an artist having played out and around before, would you say that this had a little more production to it?

WAAYY more production to it, yeah it was definitely way more. These guys had it to like, the beginning of each show, they had these screens that went along with the whole show that would play graphics through each song that they had set up which they had worked out. Before the show started, it was awesome, because he plays a song off of his new album that is not out yet. Almost like in the movie theater when you see a preview you know? THEY ARE SMART! You know what I mean? The beginning (he looks up reminiscing), Special Effects, that is the new album that is coming out. Then the date that it is coming out on, its really cool!

So most of the readers that are going to be listing in, kind of have this background of “Oh we are metalheads m/, we do not listen to rap!” What do you have to say regarding that?

You know, I get it because of my experience. I also come from Metal. Metalheads are probably the most open minded… you know fans, out there. I think a lot of times it seems like that is the difference. I saw one time there was this big argument about jazz and metal, and this metalhead said it right. He said “the difference between jazzheads and metalheads, is that we will actually listen to your music! We will give it a chance and you guys do not.” You know metalheads are pretty open-minded, but you know, I mean I know, there is some that are stuck in their ways. For the most part though, Tech N9ne’s had that rock element going for him since a looooong time. He has got some serious rock element.

Do you think that is what drew you initially to starting, and sending out your covers of his songs to him?

Not really, I have been a Tech N9ne fan for a long time, but I have also been a very big hip-hop fan for a long time. As much of a fan as of Metal, probably more Hip Hop as of late than Metal, but yeah I have always dug what Tech N9ne was doing. It is funny the first song I covered was a song called ‘Questions’, which is definitely straight Hip Hop. There is not a rock feel to that at all.

So tell us a little more about that initial concept and how it came to light. When was it that you decided, “hey I am going to do ‘Questions’ and I am going to film it?”

Haha With ‘Questions’ I had had that idea for maybe four or five years, but I was always just too lazy. Finally, Brendon from “Studio 101” when we were actually just hanging out, one night, just hanging out, he was like “hey you want to record that song?” I was like “ehhhhh, I do not know.” It was funny, because he was like “yeah we could probably just go out tonight, or you could stay here and try to change your life!” He actually said that! It was really cool too, because I have always felt that I play bass similar to the way Tech N9ne raps. He has got that Midwest, which is like a lot of double time lyrics over half time beats, being like (starts clapping a beat and over dubbing with his mouth “dub a bu dab ba bu”). Its just like over like a half time feel. And I play like that a lot! Actually, Tech N9ne has had an influence on my playing, which is weird because he is a vocalist. His vocal patterns, his rhythmic patterns, and his cadencies, I do a lot of the same stuff on bass. So I always had this idea, like a while ago, to follow his cadence as a bass solo and put it out. Matter of fact, we originally just did it as a recording, and I had Trujillo to check it out, I was like “hey what do you think of this” and he was like “dude you got to do a video for this.” So it was like within a day and a half, we had a video done. Then it was funnier, because of the whole reason that they hadn’t even heard of me. That is a funny story because I was like “man how am I going to get this to Tech N9ne” and Trujillo was not too keen on the idea, or did not know much about Tech N9ne. Like I think he had heard of him, but he did not know what he was and I was like “yeah he is doing this album right now. He is crazy! You got to check him out, he is doing an album with Ross Robinson!”

-David stops telling his story to ask-

You know who Ross Robinson is?!?! You know like Slipknot, Korn, all this nu metal sh*t like he is an icon. And Trujillo was like “dude he is doing an album with Ross Robinson!?” He was like “Dude! The guy is like my next-door neighbor, he is like one of my best friends! Send that to me, I will get it to him,” and that is how it happened.

It must have been a few weeks ago now that you posted a video of a bunch of superstars jamming where you played with Kirk Hammett, Stephan Perkins, and some others in what seemed like an all star band. Was that Trujillo that I caught singing in that video? Was that what I caught there?

At the beginning, when you hear ‘From Melbourne Florida’, that is Trujillo. He is kind of like MC’ing the whole thing. It was at the Mill Valley Film Festival. Trujillo is funding, or putting together a documentary about my uncle Jaco Pastorius. Basically they had this thing at the Mill Valley Film Festival where they showed the documentary, and it was like a work in progress. It is almost done but its still got some more edits, so they showed us the video and they flew us all out, and we all saw it. Then they had this all-star show at the Sweetwater where everyone played. I played with my cousin, Mary. We had a group, and uh, we played and we did our set. Then after our set they gave us a chance to just jam with the drummer for a little bit and that was where the video starts and then you see Hammett run up and cross the screen and grab the guitar. It was pretty awesome!

So back to touring with Tech N9ne. You toured with him and you obviously played with him, but did you get to talk to him at all about future projects or future prospects?

Actually it is pretty cool! This Tuesday they are flying me back out to Kansas City to record on his album and few things. Tech N9ne asked me about April, to do a real two months to three months tour. So yeah its definitely happening!

That must be very exciting!

DP: Oh it is AWESOME! Its awesome first off because it is a great gig, and second off because he is one of my musical heroes, which is good, you know what I mean? Tech N9ne and Mike Patton, those are like my two, when I think of influences (laughs). Neither one of them are bass players! You know what I mean? Music is music, you can take influence from anywhere.

Well it is interesting, and we did have this discussion at one point about you know, what it was that made you want to start playing bass, and funnily enough it was not Jaco.

No it was actually a buddy of mine. But of course I respect and appreciate Jaco.

I would imagine, given your history.

Well, I knew that I had an uncle that played music and played bass, but I did not even know what the bass looked like! I When I heard my buddy playing, I was like “is that the bass, or guitar?” you know? It was like that, so I did not really know.

So how old were you when you made that discovery?

Fifteen was when I started playing bass.

That is a nice Segway to jump into a little bit more about what Trujillo wanted to do. Are you involved in any way, shape, or form with this Jaco Pastorius production that he is trying to make?

Little things, its funny I got this song. I am actually going to be in the credits playing, because they basically got some artists like Rodrigo Y. Gabriela, Crosses which is Chino from Deftones, me and Tech N9ne on the track. But we have already done the track and it is actually at the end of the film. They are supposed to have me playing along at the end of the track, which is pretty cool! But that is about how involved in it I am. I mean we have not done anything too huge, just at the end of the documentary, but then again I did not know Jaco like that. You know? It was kind of cool for me to see it. I thought the documentary was great, what I saw, because I am looking at it as an outsider even though I am related but I did not know Jaco that well. You know the first thing it did was captivate my interest. It moved well, it was good, and I think it is going to be something great.

So stepping off of this touring stuff, as far as you go, David Pastorius, what is it that you have been up to since prior to Tech N9ne, and what is it that you have been doing since?

I have done my thing and you know the Tech N9ne thing is awesome, but other than that I have Local 518, which is my band. It is all instrumental stuff, we are finishing up our third album, that has got to be finished. For me, music is just music and I have enjoyed it with this Tech N9ne thing. I want to just get to a spot where I am comfortable. I love the touring thing! I want to be able to make my own money and not have to always be touring, but do not get me wrong, I love touring with Tech N9ne and it is great! It is great getting to go on tour! But I can tell with getting older that it is going to be be rough, you know. I have a family, I have kids, and it is hard you know?

It takes a lot of stamina to go on tour and it is hard to be away from family.

Well, for me it is kind of cool, because in a way I am a lot healthier than I was back then. I quit drinking. Drinking is a problem for a lot of people on tour. It messes people up, so I am lucky that way. I pretty much go to sleep earlier and wake up before everybody, which is cool. I like it that way. I am not out there to party. I mean I am not out there to be a prude either, not trying to be a d*ck here, I am just not downing on people, you know, just do your thing. I think it is awesome, it is fun, it is FUN! But just for me, I like to be, you know, me, I am not much of a party guy.

I have surfed the ether that is the Internet, and there are a few bass articles like Talk Bass and the likes. I came across one where they were talking about how you had had some heart complications not too long ago. What was your mindset coming out of that?

Yes, that was back in 2011, the 17th of December, 2011. I was actually playing at Off The Trax with Elephant Gun and it was weird. I started feeling like sh*t, and I was like man! I played a whole set doing that! I did not like fall out or pass out you know, like go down, but I was like this, this is bad, something was just not right. So I went right to the hospital, and the doctor was like you are having a heart attack. I was like “No Way! Really?” They took care of me right there. It was very slight, very little, and they said there was very minimal damage of anything, which was good.

So how did that change your mindset afterwards?

Well, it freaked me out! My age, you know, someone younger, like too young to be having a heart attack. They say it depresses you. And that is what happened, I got really depressed for a while and really bummed out, but it passed. It was really weird though. It was definitely weird for me, because I had never experienced something like that before. It is your mortality, its normal. It is going to freak you out a little bit, but I feel better now. I feel good now.

Well it seems like you are back on the road, touring and really rocking out!

Well I was also, at the time, smoking like three packs a day. That was a very stressful life in general for me. Stress is a killer, stress will do it more than anything (points at his heart) stress will do it more than just about anything. Even doctors will be like (holds hands up) you got to just chill, whatever it is. But yeah things are better now. All is good.

So you mentioned another band, Elephant Gun any word on that stuff?

Maybe, you know Elephant Gun, I do not know. I mean Trevor ridicules talent. He is a great songwriter, singer, and you know we are just doing different things now. But you know, we always get back together and jam, because it is a lot of fun, it is a cool show.

Getting back to your tour with Tech N9ne, do you have any funny stories about what happened on the road?

It is kind of funny watching how fans get sometimes. It is just fun watching them get excited. But this would be a funny story for you. Tons of chicks on the bus going crazy with the guys and they are dancing and they got a lot of drinks, and then my nerdy ass trying to make coffee to get off the bus you know what I mean? (laughs) It is like how do you try and get off the bus when all of that is going on, and not look stupid? I do not really care, but that is just my nature. It is not my thing, I am not out there for that. But as far as actual stories, man, I know it would probably be involving Alien, like one time walking back and filming Alien. There is actually a film. It was like four in the morning and he is back by himself in the lounge area by himself and we are driving and he is just drinking Jack and intently watching “The Power Rangers”. You know! “The Power Rangers?.

The old kids show?

Yeah, he had bought a Power Rangers DVD (laughs). Just observing him watch that while he just laughs and claps his hands. That was kind of funny!

So what was it like getting there at first meeting those musicians that you were going to be working with?

It was funny because I met Alien first, because I flew to Atlanta first then from Atlanta we went to Kansas City. He lives in Atlanta, so he was on the same plane from Atlanta to KC just like I was. I got to meet him a little bit there. It was crazy, because I do not get super star struck. That is what I would tell most fans, when you act like a crazy fan, you are always going to be looked at as a crazy. They will love you, and show you all the respect in the world, but I want to be looked at more as a peer not as a crazy fan. I just do not get as crazy as that, like I am with Tech N9ne and internally it was a trip, I am like going crazy like WOOW, I cant believe this. But on the outside, I am rehearsing with these guys, you know? But yeah other than that, it was very intense when we first started jamming with him. You just sit there and think about it, you know. Its like I am going next week to record on his album, I got Seven who is the producer on like all his music. Talking with him on the phone about airplane tickets yesterday, that was a trip to me, you know? It is pretty cool. I would love to get in on that, cut a song, get a couple points on a tune. That would be great!

That would be cool.

That is how you do it.

So you mentioned that you get a little worried when its not you driving on the tour bus, and that you have trouble sleeping.

That is just me, you know any time I am in a bus or something I like to be able to just see what is out front. On a tour bus they kind of just shut the door and he is up front and your just in that room. I will get fine after a while but it is the same thing like on a plane. I was petrified when I first started flying on planes when I was like 23. Now its funny I actually managed to fall asleep during take off for the first time.

Yeah that is me I just go into hibernation mode when I travel.

Yeah its nice, it is really awesome. Not much you can do about it, right? The one thing that made me really chill out was like stewardesses. They do this every day of their lives. You know, they got kids and families and they are just going to work. Man, nothing is going to happen and they are fine. It is funny with pilots too, when a pilot gets off. I do not like cocky arrogant people, unless they are my doctor or pilots and that is about it. Other than that if you are a doctor and you are a little cocky, you know? I do not want a scared sounding pilot you know being “well I hope you make it” I want someone who is like “yeah I’m the man! We are going to make it.” Same with doctors, that is the kind of a thing you want, confidence. I like that.

Do you feel like you carry some of that confidence with you to the stage?

Definitely, like the first show, the Knotfest thing was weird because first it was not the strange music of the people who were doing the show. It was Knotfest staff, so we basically just got a quick line check and went on. So it was a little more nerve wrecking, because first off it was our first show. It was Tech N9ne’s mother’s birthday, and she had just passed, which was like damn man I do not want to mess up a song and look stupid. So I was just concentrating, making sure I did the songs right and was getting everything right. As the show goes on though, you start to loosen up a little bit. I think that with the crowd. I am lucky, because I do not really get nervous in front of a crowd of people. I like it.

That was one of those things that really kind of took me by surprise. Because when you look at a show like Knotfest, you have bands like Danzig, Anthirax, and Testament. You know like really heavy thrasher bands that are not synonyms to rap. But the reality of the situation was that it worked.

It worked great! Yeah he has done tracks with Five Finger Death Punch, he jumped up with them later. He is friends with the guys from Slipknot, they might be on the new album you know? He has got a lot of respect from the metal crowd. People who have something to say, they just do not know. They have not listened, they do not know, you know. They do not know much about Tech N9ne first off. He recorded some songs with Hed PE, he has worked with tons of metal. Man, he has always loved Metal, Serj from System Of A Down you know what I mean? He is all over it and he is one of the few who can do it. I cannot think of any other rap artist right now that could go to a Metal show and could still manage to pull that same kind of a crowd. THAT is impressive, and that is what awesome about Tech N9ne.

I think my last show before going on tour was at the Palm Pub off Palm Bay road. It was playing basically for like 20-30 people on a trailer. It was kind of cool to go from there, which I love too, it is great! I love that stuff! All those stuff are fun!

You will never meet the same kind of characters at a show like that.

Of course! Because there is that separation at big shows. It is almost like you are watching a screen. Itis weird. But its kind of funny to go from that to, you walk out and there are 45,000 people there, it is pretty awesome. I love both, though, they are cool.

So what kind of stuff did you play for these bar folk?

That was with this band called Blue Fusion. It is like blues-rock, it was cool.

I have noticed that you do get around and play a lot here, it always seems like you are playing somewhere.

Yeah or downtown even, I will be playing with Nate, you know, just sitting out on the street, just playing drums, and I still do these stuff. I want to do these stuff, because they are fun! Man, we are just, you know, that is the thing, at the end of the day it is just music man. There are people out there that risk their lives every day. Sometimes people get a little too full of themselves.

Last thoughts, anything else you want to shout out about anything?

Local 518 got a new album coming out soon. No name on that yet, but look out for it. Going out on tour with Tech N9ne coming up this April! Keep an eye out for his new album coming out Special Effects

Are you going to get us any of your band footage, kind of like how Alien does?

Yeah, there is going to be plenty of stuff out there, like when we were waiting while from the dressing room and the fans are out there going crazy and they are shouting “Tech N9ne, Tech N9ne!” and Tech N9ne walks in with his face painted up and he is like “all right upstairs everybody. We are doing a photo shoot” and we go up and take photos. I cannot wait to see them, because they looked badass. He sold out the Fillmore, which is crazy! You get a trophy for that sh*t! It was really cool. The Fillmore was probably the most awesome. It was Tech N9ne’s birthday during the last show, and they sold it out which not many people do. It was crazy we were out there from like 10:30 A.M. and there had been people out there since like 6:30 that morning! Its crazy, you know? But it was pretty cool though!

Any hope to get some of that tour action on this side of the States?

Yeah, actually if we do an April tour, it will be all over, pretty sure. It is going to be like 50-60 dates. Kaliko will be on that too. He is the man you got to check out!

Interviewed by: CJ El-Khazen
Edited by: Duha Mousa

A beautiful and unrushed overture led by the very skillful ivory work of Brian Culbertson drops into a wild blast of funk delivered by Alex Al on bass in this rendition of ‘City Lights’. Soon the full spectrum of the horn section comes to life, complete with a flugelhorn, trombone, and trumpet, but not before the guest feature Lee Ritenor gives us an enigmatic solo to think about while weaving back and forth behind the horn section. Culbertson effortlessly pulls in to lead the arrangement again showing off his prowess as a pianist. The call is returned by the masterful Ritenour’s guitar work before cooling down into a duel between the two after the groove finds its way back to its original smooth feel.

‘Fullertone Ave.’ starts us off with a dark and misty feeling of a very moving funky jazz balled. Hopping between a build up and a break down the song cools off to let Culbertson take his leads before being accompanied by wild horn swells filled out by Eric Marienthal on the alto and tenor sax. With a foundation reminiscent of some tracks from the fantastic David Sandborn albums that both featured and were produced by Marcus Miller such as ‘Voyer’ or ‘Straight o the Heart’ this track hurdles into a wave of powerful guitar effects that build a lead line with an air of calm movement that signals the end.

‘Beyond The Frontier’ holds on to a euphoric feeling of ambience highlighted by the work of David Benoit’s string arrangement. Ultimately falling into a unique baled that highlights some of the lesser seen, Far East instruments, such as the Tabla and Sitar work that can be heard on this track courtesy of Brian Kilgore and Michael Thompson. This unique blend moves us out of space and time and leaves us feeling the euphoria brought on by this beautiful arrangement of Culbertson’s.

‘Heroes Of The Dawn’ very quickly sheds its slow intro for a more driving rhythm section. Filled with a question and answer horn section that quickly builds the theme of this song before diving headlong into a swirl of wild solos. Culbertson shows off his trombone skills in this song keeping up with the masters Eric Marienthal and Rick Braun on saxophone and flugelhorn respectfully.

‘Beautiful Liar’ boasts another stringed arrangement held down by David Benoit before it lends its ballad nature to none other than the great Steve Lukather on Guitar, throwing a tornado of guitar greatness in your face before fading away almost as instantaneously as it came in with a sudden blast of stringed greatness.

Another brilliant guitarist, Russ Freeman is brought into the fold in this very fast paced and ecstatic ‘Double Exposure’. A unique feature on this track highlights the fretted as well as the fretless bass work of Jimmy Haslip. This upbeat piece of urban jazz smears its strikingly edgy image on this album, leaving us with a fade out as if to wave goodbye to this track.

‘Twilight’ is a highlight that brings to light the exceptional work of Eric Marienthal as he very elegantly lays down the soprano sax lines that characterize this track. Overall this track brings about a tone of serene energy that is unmatched in this album.

‘Horizon’ shows off the very RnB roots in this contemporary jazz groove. Holding the edgy vibe with a strong and thumping bass line. The trumpet work of ‘Patches’ Stewart clearly outlines why the very capable player was chosen to feature on this track. Leaving us with a muted trumpet solo that fades into the distance, this track is definitely a staple of the album.

‘Along With You’ vaunts a very softly plucked jazz tune for all the lounge lizards. The very soft build up into dissonance is matched by whispers of funky guitar lines that expand the track into swells of sweet serenity.

‘Long Night Out’ definitely holds one of the longest lineups of fantastic musicians on this album. None of them however seem to pop out more than Candy Dulfer on Alto Sax during the songs sudden breakdown that immediately rises into a powerful solo held by a strong rhythm section let again by basest Alex Al. If you’ve ever had a long night out this song will definitely stir up some memories for you.

Standing out from the rest of the album ‘Changing Tides’ features some very interesting vocal work by Jonathan Butler who incidentally also fills out the dreamy nylon guitar lines throughout the track. A slowly building, chime filled, walk on the wetter side of things, this song brings out all the savory flavors that you were left wanting before the albums closure.

Overall Culbertson’s crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo was a great success and has left us with yet another golden masterpiece of an album created independently by a musician. Another Long Night Out is not only a peak into the mind of Brian Culbertson, it is an amazing jazz piece deserving of spot on your shelf.

Written by: C.J. El-Khazen
Edited by: NJ Bakr

– Check more info about the artist and his album through here.

‘Ode To Gee’, similar to ‘Octopus-E’ opens with an almost far eastern feel grounded in its ambient introduction before the wah begins to wind it up for a funky drive through the night. The constant force of the bass fiercely pushes the song along with its ever anonymous pops and slaps as the song is driven into one jumping solo after another. A calming interlude can be spotted at times, helping to break the song up a bit before beginning with the back and forth playing between the keyboard and the bass highlighting the connection between Mike Merritt and Renato Neto. The dynamic between these musicians is captured beautifully on this track as it expands into a wild flurry of colorful keyboard tones and explodes like a wild firecracker at its zenith.

Almost as if the live crowd could not get enough of that heavy driven keyboard vibe left over from the end of ‘Ode To Gee’, Neto builds ‘Dope On A Rope’ into cool jam session between the guitarists Bonamassa and DeJesus as they swap licks back and fourth just to remind us that this is, after all, a super-group of musicians. Their balancing act of shredding sheds its skin from the stale coat of reused blues and jazz licks and turns them upside down and inside out to give us a whole new generation of guitar virtuosos to examine for years to come. If you play guitar this is a dazzling spectacle to be sure.

When a song is entitled ‘The Best 10 Minutes Of Your Life’ you are expecting, well at least with this super-group, the best ten minutes of your life. The song begins, as a trip through ambience before it’s finally given a beat, only to remain in its state of constant dreamy drift. Here and there a lead line can be heard scurrying across the pans and you are immediately placed in front of the band as they take you on a journey that will have any post-rock lover in a world of ecstasy. Merritt is scarcely heard holding down the bass line before you realize that DeJesus is bringing a wah led rhythm into the mix. Holding the fort of harmonics Bonamassa plays with a few lead lines here and there and the song leaves us with Renato’s touching solo at the end of our voyage, just to let us know that the best ten minutes of our life have come and passed.

Well, since this is a funky party held by the Rock Candy Funk Party ‘Steppin’ in it’ steps straight into a gooy pool of funk greatness, leaving us feeling sticky and funky all over. The jumpy tone set by this song falls out and dies down into a very mellow but silly keyboard solo that drives itself into a heavier driven tone and builds us back into a muddy mess of hopping and wild play. Falling back into the groove of things Bonamassa takes the first guitar lead which, much like the keyboard solo starts us off easy before going completely nuts all over the fret board and sliding back into the groove. They then toy with the ending for the last minute or so because by this point in the album they could be standing on stage and picking their noses and they would have our full attention.

In what can only be assumed to be homage to Marcus Miller, and of course the great funk masters of old, such as Freddy Hubbard, Weldon Irvine, Rock Candy Funk Party take some liberties with the funk classic ‘Mr. Clean’. Opening with an outstanding drum solo led by Tal Bergman, the song slowly finds its way into this funky hard-bop groove as the guitars bring the song to life. Renato Neto’s exceptional piano playing turns the song in a completely different direction, reminiscent of the very spacy jazz lines that are character of the likes of Miles Davis. The song then waves a flashy hello to Marcus Miller’s famous Jean Pierre, as Bonamassa alludes to a few licks inspired from the track. Finally, the song is pulled to a halt in just in time for the closer of this outstanding show.

Full of heavy crunch and wild dissonance ‘One Phone Call’ is the perfect outro to this super-group of extraordinary musicians. Every musician shows all of the virtuoso talent off and at once there is enthusiasm to want to hear more from this star-studded power line up. Rock Candy Funk Party Takes New York – live at the Iridium is a must have for your shelf.

Written by: Clovis El-Khazen

Edited by: NJ Bakr

‘Octopus –E’ opens up the groove with a strange robotic alien voice that slowly builds its way into carving its name into the heavy funk world forever. The group fills the space with a formula reminiscent of “The Meters” old “Cissy Strut” laying down the groove that flows along into a chorus before taking a swan dive into the kind of guitar solos that have highlighted Joe Bonamassa’s career as “the” all-star guitarist for hire. The groove takes a turn for the jazzier side of funk as Renato Neto shows us what it means to have been a member of The New Generation, taking his slice of the pie and laying down his keyboard solo like a pro. An abrupt stop brings us back to Mike Merrit on bass and Tal Bergman on drums to remind us that the meat and potatoes of the song were always there, and that they were there with a big “Funk You!” stamped on their foreheads. The song rebuilds itself to end on dime leaving us standing in awe of this impressive super-group.

With a heavy and sludgy intro that could easily have been the remnants of a stoner metal fans wet dream, ‘Work’ is soon passed to Mike Merrit on bass as he carries the song into its funky and remarkable timework. Renato continues to hold down the fizzy keyboard parts resonant of the psychedelic rock era before fading down into Ron DeJesus’ shining moment on guitar, reminding us all that he is the brainchild of such great guitar teachers as Scott Henderson and Joe Pass. As his twangey Telly tone comes to an end the song dives once more into that heavy riff before reemerging as Joe Bonamassa takes the lead only to pass it off to Merrit’s outstanding basswork. Contrasting the earlier heaviness of the song, Merrit takes his cue with very soft warm chords that characterize the song full of ascending and descending bass lines that will have you drooling by the end of the song. Just when you were wondering where that heavy metal vibe went, the band reminds you and Tal Bergman leads the way into those heavy toms which are driven away by a playful keyboard solo held down by Neto who uses dissonance and well placed timing to have fun with all of us listening at home.

What do we want? The groove! When do we want it? Now! ‘We Want Groove’ doesn’t fail to disappoint. Right from the beginning you can tell that this is not a song meant to thwart your funkiest desires but instead give life to them. There is even a slight wink towards what could have been a horn section, were these lesser musicians. The duality of the guitar and keyboard work in harmony to bring these lines to life before melting your face off with a dazzlingly impressive guitar solo. When the groove comes back we set the stage for some talking back and forth between the musicians instruments before being completely blown away by the wild ivory work of Renato Neto. This all fades into a change up of dynamic where you finally get a taste of some very serious percussion work. Building back into the song we are given another guitar solo before the instruments begin another talking session where they show off their best licks, ultimately coming back together in unison to hit the lead line set down by Bonamassa before shutting the groove down.

Don’t let your heart skip a beat, let the guitar do it for you. ‘Heartbeat’ flashes us back to the eighty’s very briefly playing with offbeat signature licks that made the era famous for its disco vibes. This jam will have you hopping out of your seat with dance fever. The keys take the liberty first in this wah driven game of chromatic ups and downs before fizzling down into a wild envoy of shredding guitar greatness that will leave any guitarist standing in a pool of their own drool, if not dancing in it. This splashy mess of funky greatness is pulled back into the heart of the song before it flat lines to bring us our next feature.

‘The New York Song’ in contrast to ‘Heartbeat’ is a very soft soulful almost jazzy tune that could warm the heart of any RnB composer. Here instead of a human vocal we are given the vocal of a beautifully orchestrated keyboard solo that shows off all the emotion behind Renato’s playful fingers. A few guitar leads are thrown into the mix to expand the dynamic of the song following the mood set by Renato with very soft sliding leads accompanied by chimes and shakers. This is a song to wind down too.

‘Spaztastic’ is a very heavy driven funk tune reminiscent of the style set by Supertramp. In many ways this song embodies the wild side of rock n roll with a spice of glam in the world of funk. It is everything the name suggests, wild, crazy, and tones of fun. Some of the speedier guitar and bass work can be heard in this song as it drives in and out of the breakdowns that break up the solos of each of the musicians. This song is precision madness that is constantly flipped on its head as is usually done by Bonamassa.

We’ll be discussing CD 2 next week, stay tuned!

Written by: Clovis El-Khazen

Edited by: NJ Bakr

As elusive as the beginning of this review, the opening song is Clash favorite “Should I Stay or Should I Go”. With a smooth wink at the original rhythm lines, the stand up bass holds down the fort in this rendition. Building the way for Souza’s soothing voice, a very light piano line accompanies the bass setting the mood for smooth sailing across a musical journey through a song that is both familiar and yet slightly unrecognizable. The peak is reached with a freedom filled brass solo leaving us with a much-needed punch in the gut to remind us of the song’s punk origins. All in all the arrangement of this song leaves nothing wanted and it is indeed a staple of the Jazzy gone wild concept.

Somehow a bossa-nova arrangement was exactly the pepper that “Like a Virgin” needed to pull out the sexy theme of the song. Souza’s impeccable rendition of this Madonna classic speaks volumes about what a capable vocalist with a Jazz background can do when given a pop tune like this.

Continuing on with the pop star theme a rendition of British pop group “Simply Reds’” “Holding Back the Years” is the next track on the list. A very soft lounge rendition that holds true to the original melody for the most part but is distinctively cooler because, lets face it anytime you bring horns into the mix the song is bound to get well, hornier. In this case it is definitely for the better as pulls us out of the dreamy feeling instilled by the core of the song, bridging the gap in the song with the beautiful vocal line.

If anyone has ever picked up a guitar you have probably attempted to learn the first riff to “Smoke on The Water”. Ill wager however that your guitar playing sounded nothing like this “Cooltrane Quartet” rendition. A very distinct driven melody held together by -of all things- a scat produced by Souza reminding us of the songs legacy. Surprisingly enough there is little in the way of keyboard or piano work in this song, drawing a sharp contrast to Jon Lords heavy driven Hammond C3 from back in the 70’s.

“Karen Souza and The Cooltrane Quartet” are simply known for reinventing British rock band Oasis’s “Wonderwall”. While you may all know the original very well, this rendition will have you listening in through the first minute still trying to guess which track is this?. Building the opening with a beautiful trumpet lead before falling back into the lyrical wit. This song was not chosen by mistake and in some ways embodies the album as a whole as Souza along with The Cooltrane Quartet are simply throwing back songs they love, to us, as jazz renditions.

There are a many avid Pink Floyd fans that would not change a thing about “The Dark Side of The Moon”, this bold rendition of “Breathe” however takes the song out of its psychedelic and melancholy filled undertones. Featuring Lyle Hunter on vocals the song feeds a hardened sadness in her voice that only serves to highlight this masterful reinterpretation.

“Oh! Darling” a “Beatles” favorite, has the unmistakable sense of humor of the iconic British pop group, incorporating a very loud overdriven guitar that serves to break up the soulfulness, and build on the sadness that holds this song very near and dear in our hearts. Here Souza instead, highlights this with tremendous effect, by beginning with a back and fourth between her and a tenor saxophone. Ultimately leaving us with a strong tenor lead that pushes us to the brink of madness before finishing off with another scat back and fourth between the saxophone and Souza. Ultimately we are left with the feeling that this rendition could, quite possibly, give the original a run for its money.

A rendition of the dance rock super group “The Power Station’s” track called “Some like It Hot” is a passionate one which takes the song and cuts the time almost in half leaving us standing with a sense of having been seduced into falling in love with the genre.

Changing the dynamic up a bit “Back to Black” opens with a heavily driven hand-drum lead. This almost tips its hat to the Spanish guitar style that fills the woe still left by the early loss of “Amy Winehouse” as “Dinah York” fills in for this remarkable rendition of the song. Emulating the ominous feeling of the songs lyrics the musicianship is truly shown in this song both vocally and musically.

They seal the album off with a very jazzy rendition of “U2’s” “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”. With a not so subtle nod to the blue-eyed soul singers that popularized the genre, we are left with a very sorrowful goodbye to this album.

For the avid jazz fan, or just for anyone who might have a sense of humor that can appreciate a jazzy rendition of a hit made famous by an album entitled “Combat Rock”, “The Cooltrane Quartet’s” “Cool Jazz Blends” is definitely an album worth buying for your rack.

Reveiewed by: C.J. El-Khazen

Edited by: Ahmed S. Khalil

Opening off with the first track, “Biji” is a jammy tune that highlights the very tight band playfully jumping between harmonies, beautifully orchestrated between Sonny and his nephew trombonist Clifton Anderson. The shift in dynamics from Sonny’s usual tone as a bop bandleader is accented in Anderson’s trombone solo in the form of a percussion section fulfilled by Kimati Dinizulu. Showing off his ability to lead the band Rollins allows this to slide into a deeply RnB focused piano solo completed by the great Stephen Scott, a very accomplished jazz pianist in his own right. As the keys roll to a close you can almost hear Scott shoot a smile as he passes the lead on to Sonny. With his magical Tenor breakdown with its twists of overblowing, and fallbacks into the smooth bop style that soothingly sweeps up our attention and brings us square back out of the free flow, Sonny Rollins knocks this introduction into the third installment of the Road Shows straight out of the park.

The second installment in this album, “Someday I’ll Find You” highlights the softer side of Sonny’s jazz face as the chime filled percussion section gives way to the sublimely smooth guitar tones filled out by Bobby Broom Jr. who sets the stage bringing this tune to life. Taking us on a journey through longing and loss and pulling us out of the structure into the songs own revelation Sonny Rollins immediately and abruptly pulls us out of the dreamy state into the present with his powerhouse Tenor playing, filling out the rest of the track with his beauty blissfully and gently pulling us out of the song with his final few notes.

Leading up to the main focus of album by sharply contrasting the second track “Patanjali” kicks things into double time with its fast paced drum andpercussion section held by Kobie Watkins and Sammy Figueroa. Diverging from the previous song structure where Rollins would build the background of the song then allow his band to lead their own way back into it, Sonny delivers the initial lead executing his take flawlessly building on a constant flow of tenor work that stems from his 65 years of jazz brilliance. The guitar work is still very subtle rhythm work that builds on the drumming polyrhythms leaving us with a sense of awe staring at Peter Bernstein’s very capable hands which very quickly light up the fret board using a heavy driven rhythm to build on and lead into his very tastefully laid down solo lines. Filing out Sonny along with Anderson bring the song back home with the type of playing that you can only expect from relatives on the road.

Solo Sonny gives us some insight into the inner workings of Sonny’s musical thoughts. It is not often that an artist, without the support of another instrument, can perform so eloquently. Sonny brings his instrument to life giving it a voice to sing almost A cappella to a crowd of adoring fans. The song takes us on a journey through the ups and downs of musical emotion and playfully casts a few shimmers of light on the capability of the powerhouse 84 year old showing us why he is known as the Saxophone Colossus. Ending miraculously with the help of the full band.

“Why Was I Born” is a free flow jazz piece beginning with lick sharing trombone and tenor lines fading into a tenor driven intro that Sonny quickly passes off to Bobby Broom who magnificently builds a performers theme with his driving guitar leads. This falls back to Sonny who gracefully takes the ball and pulls out the key bop jazz lines that has separated his voice as a musician for his over 50 year career. Sonny passes this ball to the astounding drum work of one Steve Jordan who takes his fills with a very serious note embracing the rock n roll edge of hard bop with his perfect jazz technique. A unique feature of this track is the embellished bass work of Bob Cranshaw that seems to stand out with the incredible drumming power that appears towards the end of the track. Sure enough, smooth as silk, Sonny brings the song to a close igniting the end of this twenty-three minute long monster of a song.

Finally “Don’t Stop the Carnival” is a wink at the versatility of Sonny’s ability to tackle Latin/calypso jazz styles. It is also the perfect ending to this album, as you simply cannot get enough of the music. As a whole this third volume of Sonny Rollins’ Road Shows is something for the treasury, and who wouldn’t guess it coming from the Grammy award-winning saxophonist.