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www !earshot
Earshot National Jazz Chart October 2008
Other charts: Top 50 Electronic Hip Hop International Jazz Loud Folk/Roots/Blues
Reporters: !earshot | CFBX CFMH CFRU CFUV CHLY CHRW CHUO CHYZ CILU CJSF CJSR CSCR
TW LW Artist Title Label
1. Bill King's Rhythm Express Beat Street 7 Arts
2. Jane Bunnett Embracing Voices Blue Note
3. The Franco Proietti Morph-tet Morphology Bongo Beat
4. Blink. Epidemic Of Ideas Thirsty Ear
5. Mark Dejong The Unknown Chronograph
6 -- Hutchinson Andrew Trio Music Box Chronograph
7. Rudresh Mahanthappa Kinsman Pi
8 -- Eri Yamamoto Duologue AUM Fidelity
9 -- Willie Nelson And Wynton Marsalis Two Men With The Blues Blue Note
10 -- Kate McGarry If Less Is More... Palmetto
Rhythm Express - Beat Street
Beat Street is my homage to the great soul jazz pioneers who have inhabited my inner sound system since I was a fifteen year old searching the keyboard for those elusive blue notes in between. Cannonball Adderley , Ramsey Lewis, the Crusaders, the Jazz Messengers, Junior Mance, The Three Sounds, Miles Davis, Eddie Palmieri, Herbie Hancock, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and all.
I can’t recall the number of times I played “The In Crowd’ or “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” or “What’s Going On” on the bandstand. I do know I never tired of playing the form and soloing over the changes. It was always about the groove, mood and original intent that kept me intrigued and in the pocket.
The Rhythm Express Band is one of those five in the morning grand moments of clarity when all the music circulating inside gets introduced to an imagined cast of great musicians. Fortunately, I had Ontario Arts Council on my side and some incredible players willing to embrace the idea. They are simply the best!
Rather than chatter on about the music I would like to express for myself and our caring community the loss we all feel for those players and friends who passed recently. It’s taken a toll and all of us. I scripted “The Wake” in memory hoping every time it’s played their contributions and friendship will return to view ( Doug Riley, Oscar Peterson, Newton Garwood, Domenic Troiano, Richard Bell, Curtis Bailey, Dougie Richardson, Jeff Healey and Paul Hoeffler.) You generous spirit and enormous talent made this music country what it now is!
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Rhythm Express - Beat Street Your Beat Street CD !
I really love it. What a great project. You have really mastered a number of different styles on this disc... the latin rhythms in some of the tunes remind me of the great latin soul jazz of people like Grant Green (Mambo Inn), Horace Parlan (Congalegre) and Charlie Rouse (Back Down to the Tropics.) Plus there's that great Gospel tune. And the amazing solos from William Sperandei. Not to mention the beautiful colours from all your different keyboards.
I know I keep telling you, but this is a really beautiful recording !!!
All my best,
Robert Robert Rowat, producer
TONIC
CBC Radio 2
CD Reviews: Bill King’s Rhythm Express, “Beat Street” Posted by: editoron Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 10:14 PM
By: Edward Blanco
When he’s not composing music, arranging, producing acting as a photo journalist and publishing The Jazz Report and Ejazznews web site, Bill King is a consummate professional musician who plays and sings the blues, soul and of course, jazz and does it well. A leader of many musical groups, the eclectic Rhythm Express sextet presents the latest project with “Beat Street,” a personal homage, as he states, “to the great soul jazz pioneers…” that have been a part of his musical make up since the age of fifteen. In particular he points to the influences of such artists as Cannonball Adderley, Ramsey Lewis, the Crusaders and Jazz Messengers, Miles Davis, Eddie Palmieri, Hancock, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder just to name a few.
While mentioning great musicians that have influenced his music, Beat Street contains no standards from any of the above; all of the twelve pieces are original compositions. Providing the percussive core and beat of the music on this album are drummer Mark Kelso and percussionist Luis Obergoso. Trumpeter William Sperandei and Darcy Hepner add the brass and reeds respectively as Duncan Hopkins plays acoustic and electric bass. Completing the rhythm section of the “Express” is King who marvels here as he performs on the acoustic grand, the Hammond B-3 organ, Fender Rhodes and the Korg Synthesizer.
As for the music, in one word, “outstanding!” The recording is quite aptly named for you will find the beat of the music electric and the stylish rhythms aggressively expressive. A jazz album you will truly appreciate and play often because the sound is so infectious.
There are many highlights here way too many to mention but the “Express” starts rolling with the “Rhythm Express” containing a bit of the Latin feel to it, rumbling through with tasteful solo expressions from both Sperandei and Hepner supported by the guys on the percussions and drums. As for King, his contributions are many beginning on the synthesizer with his play on “Hymn #1” and his piano lead and solo on “Sundown Comin’ “ one of the finer numbers on this disc.
Interestingly enough the title tune seems a departure from the rest of the album sounding much like free style jazz as if it were played with more improvisation than following a musical script, but then that’s just this appraiser’s opinion. “In The Blues Garden,” and “Only The Righteous” are King’s contribution of the blues and they are bluesy to the core. The pianist penned “The Wake” in solemn tribute to the memory of players and friends who have recently passed on. The music ends with three terrific tunes, the lively and bouncy melody of “Kobe” and the two slightly Latin jazz-shaded scores, “My Summer Rose,” and the finale “427 Rhythm Street.” Beat Street is well paved with sizzling jazz music and provides an excellent musical journey for those who decide to take a ride on Bill King’s Rhythm Express.
Year: 2008 Label: 7 Arts Entertainment Artist Web: www.billkingmusic.com
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Bill King’s Rhythm Express – Jazz Journal International Volume 61 No.11
Bob Weir
I reviewed Bill King’s blues band album (Saturday Nite Fish Fry – Dirt Road Blues -7 Arts 0012) in the June issue. This one is different but just as good. It takes for its inspiration 1960s non-vocal soul-jazz as played so excitingly by such as Cannonball Adderley, Art Blakey and Horace Silver. But it is Bill’s very personal take on the genre – all the numbers are his originals apart from the band’s jointly composed Beat Street.
Versatility is the keynote. The band is equally adept on bright Latin grooves (Rhythm Express, 427 Rhythm Street) majestic gospel-infected bop (Hymn No.1, Only the Righteous, The Wake) meditative ballads ( Sundown Comin’, My Summer Rose), a pastoral evocation of Canada’s wide-open spaces (Big Country) soulful blues (In The Blues Garden) and the Jazz Messengers style hard-bop (Archie Speaks, Kobe). Beat Street is a spirited collective jam spurred on by Mark Kelso’s inventive, driving drums.
The songs are first rate, nicely varied and skillfully arranged to keep the listener both alert and satisfied. The players are all good improvisers and they cohere excellently to give the band a distinctive sound. The music is never frantic, even at up tempo. Everything is controlled and relaxed in the manner of the 1960s innovators.
This album, adventurous and fresh sounding and imbued throughout with real jazz and blues feeling, deserves wide circulation. Availability can be checked via Bill’s website ( www.billkingmusic.com).
Featured Artist: Bill King's Rhythm Express
CD Title: Beat Street
Year: 2008
Record Label: 7 Arts Entertainment
Style: Various Jazz Styles
Review:
Bill King is a jazz renaissance man! He’s the co-founder and editor of the increasingly popular and informative EjazzNews.com website and noted jazz photojournalist. Moreover, he’s an accomplished keyboardist and composer who possesses a wide-ranging music vernacular, evidenced here on this largely, smoking studio set.
The album is centered upon King’s homage to time-honored soul-jazz pioneers, Cannonball Adderley, Ramsey Lewis, Eddie Palmieri and others. No doubt, it’s all about that very special groove within the core jazz idiom. Recorded in Canada, King leads a sextet that conveys an overriding sense of buoyancy amid the variable cadences and stylizations explored here. Yet, this isn’t an ensemble that attempts to mimic the courses previously traversed, especially when we consider that King solely penned eleven tracks to complement one group-based composition.
They execute Latin jazz, funky jazz, high-impact modern jazz and gently walking struts to complement a few sprightly cosmic meltdowns along the way. Sure enough, the band implements a toe-tapping and finger-snapping program, spiced up with King’s fluent B-3 organ and acoustic piano voicings. Otherwise, the musicians do indeed ring up notions of the greats cited above, although they inject a personalized spin into the grand schema.
Listen to the gospel-blues drenched piece “The Wake,” where the hornists’ warm choruses enamor a sublime melody and melodically rich primary theme. And on “Kobe,” I detected a few nods to keyboard great Herbie Hancock’s grooving straight-four classic, “Cantaloupe Island.” Simply stated, this an irrefutably enjoyable album that beckons repeated listens. As King and his crew combine laudable chops with a focused methodology. More importantly, they’re not merely playing for themselves: that notion alone comes at you from the get-go. In sum, it’s a highly-charged endeavor, all executed with a modernist-like flair.
Artist's Website: http://www.billkingmusic.com
Listen or Buy: Bill King Music
Reviewed by: Glenn Astarita
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