Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe Visits The Blockley Sept. 20th

The Blockley welcomes Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe with special guests The Soul Rebels on Friday Sept. 20th

The Blockley is proud to announce the debut engagement of soul-funk titans Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, on Friday September 20th, 2013. The San-Diego based group has a lengthy history of throwing down massive dance parties all over Philadelphia, and we are excited to host them at 38^th & Chestnut. KDTU will be supported by one of New Orleans’ most blazing-hot brass bands, The Soul Rebels.

An intoxicating mix of soul-jazz, hard-funk, and sulty rock with R&B flavor, KDTU is legendary for their late-night shows at festivals across the country. The reputation is hard earned through countless gigs that rage until sunrise. Beginning with New Orleans Jazz Fest After-Dark,  where the guests crowd the stage and get down with ‘The Diesel’; later growing outward to major events like the late-night sets at Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee, and High Sierra Music Festival’s all night Funk n’Jam House in Quincy, California.

Denson’s inimitable sax and flute lines dance atop crushing funk grooves. The Tiny Universe pays homage to any of a number of classic Black music heroes, whilst defining the sound of their own band all the same. Longtime coconspirators Chris Littlefield (trumpet & flugelhorn), John Staten (drums) and David Veith (keyboards) are schooled in all things Mothership, Blue Note, Al Green, and all points between! Chris Stillwell (bass) is an old ally from West Coast boogaloo band The Greyboy Allstars, another renowned krewe that Denson fronts.

Beyond his exploits with KDTU, GBA, and KD3 (his fusion jazz trio); Karl D first jumped from jazz to jams as a crucial member of Cali pal Lenny Kravitz’s rock & funk machine. Kravitz has joined the Tiny Universe a handful of times in NOLA for those patented, guest-laden all-nighters that earned the “Karl D is the King of Late Night” title. Denson is also a touring member of reggae-rockers Slightly Stoopid, and in 2012 a few of them joined KDTU onstage for a short tour commemorating the career of the Beastie Boys.

The Soul Rebels Brass Band are an eight-piece New Orleans based brass ensemble that incorporate elements of soul, jazz,funk, hip-hop, rock and pop music within a contemporary brass band framework. The band grew from their New Orleans brass style out of original members Lumar LeBlanc and Derrick Moss’s shared desire to play the music they heard on the radio but with respect to the New Orleans brass band tradition. The band consists of percussionists and founding members Lumar LeBlanc and Derrick Moss, trumpet players Julian Gosin and Marcus Hubbard, trombonists Corey Peyton and Paul Robertson, saxophonist Erion Williams, and sousaphonist Edward Lee Jr.

As autumn builds and the temperatures start to dip, West Philadelphia’s premier live music venue will just be heating up! Many killer shows are already on the docket, and when Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe arrive at 38^th & Chestnut Friday September 20th, The Blockley will be pumpin’ the fiery, funky grooves deep into the night.

Press Release by Brian Getz