Articles by Jason Elias
Ain’t Nothing Stopping Us Now: The Tower Of Power Story
by Jason Elias
For over 50 years Tower of Power has been the favorite of those who love R&B/soul, funk and sophisticated jazz. While the band is often known for its revolving door of lead singers, the band's founders, Emilio Castillo (saxophone) and Stephen “Doc" Kupka (baritone sax) have remained their constant. The Bay Area band's first album East Bay Grease was released on Bill Graham's San Francisco Records. The effort became known for its immediately recognizable horn arrangements and energy, especially on ...
read moreRoy Ayers: A Retrospective
by Jason Elias
Vibraphonist, singer and producer Roy Ayers is a master of many musical styles and genres, from acid-jazz, jazz-funk to romantic ballads and dance tracks. While many of his contemporaries seemed to fail when they tried different sounds, Ayers always made sure a certain of musicality and identity was apparent in all of his work. Ayers's first album was 1963's West Coast Vibes and it was issued on United Artists Records. Ayers spent the next few years as a ...
read moreThe Crusaders: A Retrospective
by Jason Elias
With the esteemed jazz/funk/fusion band the Crusaders as a guide, one could trace the rise and fall of commercial jazz in all in many of its permutations. The core group that is the most recognized was founded in Texas and comprised Joe Sample (piano), Wilton Felder (tenor sax and bass), Stix Hooper (drums) and Wayne Henderson (trombone.) In the early days, the then Jazz Crusaders fashioned a studious, hard-bop sound on the label World Pacific that appeared on songs like ...
read moreRamsey Lewis: Love Songs
by Jason Elias
Sometimes it's a good idea to do a Love Songs compilation. This is one of those times. Ramsey Lewis was signed to Columbia from 1973 to 1991. Of course, during those times, jazz went through many changes, and Lewis was certainly ready for them all. Easily moving from acoustic to electric piano to whatever synths were in fashion, Lewis never lost his charm or musical identity, although “Spiderman" and “Breaker Beat" certainly cut it close. No worries and ...
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