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Soulive

Stax is back with Soulive's No Place Like Soul, a bold new statement from New York's preeminent groove machine and the first new-artist release from the Concord Music Group's relaunch of the legendary Memphis soul label. Since forming Soulive in 1999, guitarist Eric Krasno, organist Neal Evans and drummer Alan Evans have developed a reputation as one of the most sought after instrumental soul-funk trios around, a hard-touring live act that's thrown down everywhere from small rock clubs to opening arena shows for the Rolling Stones. Yet an interesting thing happened when the three veteran musicians hooked up last year to begin work on the follow-up to 2005's critically acclaimed Break Out: They discovered that rather than extend their past achievements, they were more interested in racking up some new ones.

We all show up at our rehearsal spot, and we're sitting around looking at each other," Alan remembers. No one brought any tunes. So we're like, 'What're we gonna do?'" The drummer laughs. Slowly we started working on some stuff. I threw something in, Eric threw something in, Neal threw something in. And it all ended up being vocal-based."

Vocals aren't entirely new for Soulive: Featuring appearances from soul-music luminaries like Chaka Khan, Ivan Neville and Corey Glover, Break Out found the trio beginning to push its music in a less improvised, more song-based direction. But this time the band-experienced collaborators who've recorded with Dave Matthews, Talib Kweli and Meshell Ndegeocello, among others-craved bigger change.

We've been playing instrumental music for eight years," Alan says, and we love doing it. But we've always strived to reinvent ourselves; none of us wants to hear the same old thing all the time." The drummer cites in particular his and his bandmates' varied solo and side projects (including Krasno's production work with the Fyre Dept.) as having fueled their desire for a makeover. So for the first time, Soulive increased its ranks, inviting singer Toussaint-a versatile Boston-based vocalist who's spent the past several years touring the East Coast with his reggae outfit the China Band-to join the group on a permanent basis. After nearly a decade as a trio, Soulive is now a quartet.

This isn't the three of us featuring a guest singer," Alan says. It feels like it's a new band. All of us wanted to go in a different direction; outside of Soulive, we were all doing more song-based stuff. So we just figured, Why don't we go in that direction inside the band? It's just music. We don't wanna get caught up in what genre or style it is. If we wanna get up there and play death-metal polka, it'll still be Soulive playing it."

For better or for worse, No Place Like Soul, Soulive's sixth studio full-length, contains no death-metal polka. What it does feature is the band's sharpest, most mature songwriting to date, with thoughtful nods to funk, soul, rock, hip-hop, reggae and old-school R&B. Waterfall" kicks the album off in fine style, Toussaint expressing his need to wash my mind clean" while his new bandmates chew up a deep Memphis-soul riff. In Comfort" a head-nodding beat stirs in the flavor of the street, and in Bubble" Alan pays tribute to Led Zeppelin's John Bonham. Outrage," one of the disc's two instrumental tracks, charges along on Krasno's fleet-fingered guitar work, while Mary" slows things down a bit; it's a laidback acoustic soul tune that should soundtrack backyard barbecues all summer long. Throughout the expansive, wide-ranging 13-track disc, Soulive navigate this new sonic terrain with the expert abilities they've honed by logging countless hours on stages across the world. Guys who know what they're doing but retain an appetite for the unknown, they've managed to produce that rarest of musical accomplishments: a record that sounds classic and forward-thinking at the same time.

The quartet spent the latter half of 2006 recording No Place Like Soul with producer Stewart Lerman, who's also worked with such disparate talents as Loudon Wainwright III, Dar Williams and Vinicius Cantuaria. Alan explains that when the band first set up shop in Lerman's Greenwich Village studio, the Shinebox, the plan was to write and demo at the same time, then take the best material to a different studio to track the album. But everyone ended up happy with what they laid down at the Shinebox. Alan says he and the band dug the personality and the spontaneity they captured in Lerman's space and didn't want to risk sacrificing those qualities by rerecording the music elsewhere.

It's a mindframe that demonstrates the perfect fit between Soulive and the relaunched Stax. I'm so excited," the drummer says of the band's affiliation with the label. When I get the final version of the album with the Stax logo on it and everything, that'll be a huge accomplishment for me. Back in the day, everyone on Stax had their own thing: Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, the Bar-Kays, Carla Thomas-they were real individuals. There's character in that music, and we're ecstatic to be doing our thing as a part of that lineage."
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Soulive at Higher Ground, South Burlington, Vermont

by Doug Collette
December 16, 2014

Soulive Higher Ground Ballroom South Burlington, Vermont December 13, 2014 Strikingly reminiscent of the Lettuce show October 25 2014, Soulive's extended single set at Higher Ground this night took flight during a blazing solo by guitarist Eric Krasno. It wasn't the only such instance that occurred during the two-hours plus the trio occupied the stage--another cam shortly after when Krasno and keyboardist Neal Evans engaged in some extremely intense interplay--but it was evidence of how ...

Live Review

Soulive: South Burlington, VT, October 26, 2012

by Doug Collette
November 17, 2012

SouliveHigher Ground South Burlington, VTOctober 26, 2012Opening its two-night run at Higher Ground on October 26, 2012, Soulive played one of the most memorable sets ever offered at either location of the venue. In fact, relying on some of the tried and true from its repertoire (such as “Turn It Out") and new material, it took the trio just a little over an hour to demonstrate how much it has progressed in those ten-plus years ...

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Album Review

Soulive: Rubber Soulive

Read "Rubber Soulive" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
September 2, 2010

Soulive has experimented in many directions during the course of its decade- plus career, so it's only natural that the group would eventually go back to the basics, and that's exactly what it's done with Rubber Soulive. Comprised entirely of tunes by The Beatles, this project allows the band to get back to its roots in more ways than one (on the inner liner photo, see the suits and ties of their early days) without even covering that particular Lennon/McCartney ...

403

Album Review

Soulive: Up Here

Read "Up Here" reviewed by Doug Collette

by Doug Collette
April 26, 2009

In a very real sense, Up Here is the perfectly appropriate way for Soulive to celebrate a decade together. These jazz funkers have restlessly experimented and modified their three-piece approach in their ten years together, and this debut on their own label is a good summation of what they've done.

Soulive doesn't wait long to get into a groove here and do so via the gritty bounce of Neal Evans' piano dancing in sync with a stately horn ...

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Extended Analysis

Soulive: Breakout

by Doug Collette
September 28, 2005

Soulive Breakout Concord Records 2005

Soulive is nothing if not a young jazz band of the people, playing on the road constantly, interacting with audiences graciously and regularly hosting musicians on stage and on tour. Yet this trio adamantly refuses to release albums that merely reflect its live act, which is a generously funky mix of pure improvisation over deep grooves seasoned with old-school soul, R&B, and contemporary beats.

A ...

125

Album Review

Soulive: Next

by Craig W. Hurst
April 12, 2002

Big and chunky, phat and phunky would describe the music on the newest CD Next by the groove based jazz organ quartet Soulive. Two of the more outstanding musical facets that are ubiquitous on this recording are the tightness of the ensemble and the omnipresence of a driving bass line groove. Coupled with the thick sounding harmonies played on organ, clean, precise drumming, and saxophone playing that fits “hand into glove” with the rest of the ensemble, Next is a ...

Album Review

Soulive: Next

by Phil DiPietro
February 1, 2002

Honestly? I wasn’t intending on reviewing this one... ‘til I heard it! Sophomore slump my sweet a...uhh, Lord. You heard it here first, this recording is going to blow the roof offa Soulive, and the roof, the roof, the roof is already on fire!... catch my meanin’ now? These guys managed to sell truckloads of records last year without getting picked in the top whatever in any of the polls by the major jazz mags. And they have had plenty ...

Performance / Tour

Soulive | Colorado | Brooklyn | Review | Photos

Source: JamBase
March 2, 2012

By Brad Hodge Soulive :: 02.18.12-02.19.12 :: Fox Theatre :: Boulder, Colorado Royal Family Recording artist Soulive certainly has a flare for the dramatic. The band's annual Brooklyn Bowl winter residency has become a staple in the yearly calendar of funkateers with a massive roster of special guests under the marquee of Bowlive. With the smashing success of the event, a modified version of the concept has now been bottled up and taken on the road to a few select ...
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Performance / Tour

Soulive and Lettuce: Royal Family Ball Fall Tour

Source: JamBase
September 14, 2011

BRINGING THE ROYAL FAMILY ACROSS THE U.S. THIS FALL; NEW MIXTAPE FROM DRUMMER AL EVANS OUT NOW Preeminent soul-funk trio Soulive, fresh off hosting their first ever festival The Royal Family Affair earlier this summer, have announced a full-on Royal Family Ball tour for Fall 2011. The run will see the return of Soulive to eight cities, including New York City, Chicago, Boston, Portland, Pittsburgh, Falls Church, Philadelphia and a two-night Halloween blowout in Burlington. Joining Soulive on all of ...
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Festival

Bond-Fire Fest: George Clinton, Soulive, NMS, Particle

Source: JamBase
July 15, 2011

The Innagural Bond-Fire Art & Music Festival set to be held December 30, 2011 to January 1, 2012 in Lake County Florida, is proud to announce a unique New Years Weekend festival experience with the George Clinton & Parliament FunkadelicT he New Mastersounds and many others. The Bond-Fire features: 50+ hours of music on three stages; Two Side-by-Side stages in the Main Concert field, in addition to the “Big" Tent located in the adjacent General Camping area. Art installations and ...
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124

Festival

Redhookfest: Citizen Cope, Soulive, Robert Randolph

Source: JamBase
July 7, 2011

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT WWW.REDHOOK.COM Join Redhook Brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for the 30th birthday bash and the 15th annual RedhookFest. The monumental birthday will be headlined by indie rocker Citizen Cope and is expected to attract thousands of craft beer and music lovers from across New England for a summertime bash in the brewery's backyard. For this year's birthday celebration, Redhook has partnered with 100.3 the ROCK Station to offer live music, food, and Redhook beer. RedhookFest ...
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Event

Royal Family Affair: Soulive, Chromeo, Lettuce, Big G, Denson

Source: JamBase
May 19, 2011

DUMPSTAPHUNK, MEDESKI, DEITCH & SKERIK, JENNIFER HARTSWICK, BREAK SCIENCE, PIMPS OF JOYTIME, ZACH DEPUTY, ALSO CONFIRMED In celebration of its 13th year as a band, the preeminent soul funk trio Soulive has announced the inaugural Royal Family Affair—a three-day music festival from August 12-14 set in the beautiful Green Mountains of Vermont at Stratton Mountain Ski Resort in Bondville. Take a look at the full lineup below. Along with performances taking place on two stages and a late-night venue, the ...
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Recording

Soulive's Al Evans Unearths "Crushed Velvet"

Source: Chris M. Slawecki
May 12, 2011

Royal Family Records has announced the May 24 release of the long lost 1970s' motion picture soundtrack The Big One by Crushed Velvet & The Velveteers. This never-before-issued soul music gem was recently unearthed by Soulive drummer Alan Evans when a family friend in Buffalo, NY put him in touch with the movie's director Cleo McBride. A 1974 Shaft-meets-007 Blaxploitation production, The Big One never made it to the big screen as the film was reported to have been destroyed ...
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Festival

Bear Creek Music Fest Adds Soulive, Zach Deputy, NMS

Source: JamBase
March 4, 2011

ANDERS OSBORNE, BEATS ANTIQUE, BREAK SCIENCE, DR. LONNIE SMITH, MARCO BENEVENTO TRIO, ERIC KRASO & CHAPTER 2, JENNIFER HARTSWICK ALSO ADDED The Bear Creek Music & Arts Festival is thrilled to add a slew of new artists to the 2011 lineup. New to the lineup are Soulive, The New Mastersounds, Anders Osborne Trio, The Coup featuring Boots Riley, Zach Deputy, Break Science, Marco Benevento Trio, Eric Krasno & Chapter 2, Spam All-Stars, Jennifer Hartswick Band, Snarky Puppy, Nigel Hall, The ...
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Performance / Tour

Soulive Announces US Tour Dates

Source: Calabro Music
September 30, 2010

Soulive Announces US Tour Dates Rubber Soulive Debuts at No. 1 on iTunes Jazz Soulive has announced U.S. tour dates for the remainder of 2010 in support of their ninth studio album, Rubber Soulive. The 27-show run kicks off this weekend with a New York City hometown blow out dubbed The Royal Family Ball at Terminal 5, featuring special guests John Scofield, Talib Kweli, Christian Scott, Big Sam and Maurice Brown, as well as Royal Family crew Nigel Hall, Lettuce ...
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Event

NYC Royal Family Ball: Soulive, Lettuce, Scofield

Source: JamBase
August 26, 2010

TALIB KWELI, QUESTLOVE, CHRISTIAN SCOTT, SHADY HORNS, NIGEL HALL ALSO ON THE BILL Soulive will host the 3rd annual New York City Royal Family Ball at Terminal 5 on Saturday, October 2. Joining Soulive's Eric Krasno, Neal and Alan Evans and their Royal Family crew on this evening will be a who's who of modern hip- hop, jazz and New Orleans' music luminaries, including John Scofield, Talib Kweli, Questlove, Christian Scott and Big Sam. The bill will be topped off ...
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Recording

Soulive Tackle the Beatles

Source: JamBase
July 23, 2010

TAKING IT FROM BROOKLYN TO ABBEY ROAD!

New York City's preeminent soul jazz trio, Soulive, bring the funk to The Beatles' iconic repertoire with the release of Rubber Soulive due September 14 on the band's own Royal Family Records. Featuring renditions of 11 classics by The Fab Four, including “Come Together," “I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and “Revolution," Rubber Soulive takes its place in a lineage of classic instrumental albums by the likes of Booker T. & The M.G.'s, ...
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