On July 18th, The Blockley welcomes NYC groove legends Soulive to the stage for one of their few summer club engagements. This will be their first gig at the burgeoning West Philadelphia funk institution. Special guests are planned to join the trio onstage as well.
Soulive is the ultimate funky-feel good groove band. Steeped in soul, jazz, electro-funk, this jam trio is widely and equally popular at jam and jazz festivals. They are the foundation for the sprawling musical collective The Royal Family, and a cornerstone to the JamCruise/Jazzfest/Bear Creek movement.
When brothers Neal and Alan Evans first invited guitarist Eric Krasno to get down at their Woodstock, NY studio (a session that led to the trio’s break-out record Get Down! in 1999), it was out of mutual love for the great soul-jazz organ trios of the ’60s and ’70s (Jimmy Smith, Groove Holmes, Brother Jack McDuff). Soulive is all about danceable, organ-driven instrumental groove-jazz. They fuse soul jazz of the past with a modern hip hop feel. Krasno’s guitar lines recall the likes of Grant Green and Duane Allman at once, and their rhythmic concepts date back to the funk forefathers such as James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and Sly Stone.
Not many bands can say they’ve recorded with Chaka Khan, Dave Matthews, Talib Kweli and John Scofield. Nor can many bands open for The Rolling Stones on one tour and have Stevie Wonder sit in with them on the next. These developed musical relationships, from the aforementioned artists to Derek Trucks, Maceo Parker, Susan Tedeschi, Karl Denson, Robert Randolph, Joshua Redman, Kenny Garrett, Fred Wesley, The Roots, Ivan Neville and so many others, speak volumes about how versatile these talented musicians are. Jazz, hip-hop, rock, soul, funk, R & B, Blues – musically, there is not much the band hasn’t done.
In 2010, Soulive released Rubber Soulive, their take on Beatles classics, to countless rave reviews. March 2013 marked the 14-year anniversary of the trio, who celebrated their careers at Bowlive IV, their annual two-week celebration at Brooklyn Bowl.
Soulive’s Blockley engagement July 18th is one of few bookings of the summer, as Krasno will be on tour with Tedeschi-Trucks Band as their bass player. With the wonderful history of soul and funk music birthed in Philadelphia, the stage is set for a monumental throwdown at 38th & Chestnut.
Opening up the show will be local phenoms Swift Technique, is a leader in the new school of Philadelphia funk. Their heated shows on the Blockley stage are buzzed about all over the city.
Press release by Brian Getz
http://www.royalfamilyrecords.
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