Oakland, CA - Crosspulse Records and Videos announces the release of SLAMMIN all-body band, the self-titled debut CD of a powerhouse sextet based in Oakland (CA) that performs a joyous mix of a cappella singing, beatboxing and body music. The CD features band members Zo Ellis, Kenny Washington, Destani Wolf, Bryan Dyer, Steve Hogan and Keith Terry and special guest Vicki Randle on one track. Deeply rooted in jazz, funk, R&B and World Music grooves, SLAMMIN all-body band uses the human voice and body to push a cappella music outside the box and over the ledge. This “all-body band" creates soulful sounds infused with infectious harmonies and lightening-fast improvisations, percussively punctuated by beatboxing and body music -- the kinetic component that sets SLAMMIN apart and on the cutting edge of a cappella performance.
Their CD includes highly original interpretations of tunes by Toots & The Maytals ("Pressure Drop"), Sly Stone ("Thankyoufalletinmebemiceelf), Stevie Wonder ("Overjoyed"), Miles Davis ("All Blues") and “Outkast" ("The Way You Move") as well as an on-the-spot, over-the-top blues improv by Zo Ellis ("Can't Get It Right").
Since its release on November 1, SLAMMIN has received airplay on NPR and college radio stations throughout the US and Canada and is being heard regularly on WGBH and WFNX in Boston, WRTI in Philadelphia, WPFW in Washington, DC, KNTU in Dallas/ Fort Worth, KCSM in San Francisco, CJLO in Montral and other major markets in North America. The CD was a top-5 jazz add at college radio for the first three weeks of November (the #1 jazz add the week of November 14) and debuted at #39 on the Top-40 jazz chart of the College Music Journal the week of November 21.
Part formal studio performances and part spontaneous improvisations recorded live in concert -- their music is rowdy, funky, humorous, vibrant and fresh; their material is old school, contemporary and of the moment.
Percussive A Cappella Jazz from SLAMMIN all-body band: Much of it LIVE, most of it IMPROVISED, all of it SLAMMIN.
What others are saying about SLAMMIN all-body band:
“Some of the most exciting, spirit and soul grabbing music I've heard in a long time. Don't let me forget inspiring. SLAMMIN is the only group of this type that I feel actually works...big time!" They've transcended the cutesy, gimmicky, novelty type stuff other a cappella groups rely on." - BABTUNDE LEA
“...a pleasant surprise from the get go...the sextet sets the tone for outside the box creativity...the group draws upon such disparate sources as Eddie Harris's 'Freedom Jazz Dance' (which is a true and improvised highlight recorded live), Toots and the Maytals' classic 'Pressure Drop' and Outkast's 'The Way You Move,' taking each in a wildly imaginative new direction due to the arrangement of ideas and the skill with which these are applied...Jazz folks will be drawn to the hip version of Miles Davis's 'All Blues' but there are plenty of other choices for creative listening and programming." - Tad Hendrickson, JazzWeek
“I put Slammin' on and let it play for about 25 minutes. Let me tell you, it got the phone ringing. Even after my show was over I got three emails forwarded to me asking who it was. You've got a winner." -- Steve Rubin, KZYX / Mendocino, CA
“I was most skeptical after reading the promo and usually do not favor vocal recordings, but this is very moving and fun music! Listened to it three times through tonight and I usually don't have time to give a recording more than a once through." -- Eric Leff, Jazz Director - WRUV / Burlington, VT
“Screw that “desert island disc list" construct -- who needs a boombox, batteries, and a CD wallet when you've got your body, man? That's the idea SLAMMIN is working with: Keith Terry smacks his body upside itself, Steve Hogan beatboxes, and, over it all and over the top, vocalists Bryan Dyer, Zoe Ellis, Kenny Washington, and Destani Wolf do what can only formally be called a cappella, including a vinyl-scratching, hyper-hop take on Outkast's “The Way You Move"."
- Stefanie Kalem, EAST BAY EXPRESS
“Mixing jazz, reggae and techno with a funky hint of Sly and Family Stone, this body music group abandons not only convention but instruments altogether. Slammin relies exclusively on the musical potential of the human body to cook up a fresh take on old favorites such as Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder and Toots and the Maytals. The Bay Area sensation, known for its signature off-the-wall improv sessions, offers up an organic blend of a cappella, beatboxing and body music (imagine a funk-soul version of Bjork's Medulla)." -- Jackie Black, GOOD TIMES
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for more info: www.crosspulse.com 510-601-9797 [email protected] ______________________________________
Their CD includes highly original interpretations of tunes by Toots & The Maytals ("Pressure Drop"), Sly Stone ("Thankyoufalletinmebemiceelf), Stevie Wonder ("Overjoyed"), Miles Davis ("All Blues") and “Outkast" ("The Way You Move") as well as an on-the-spot, over-the-top blues improv by Zo Ellis ("Can't Get It Right").
Since its release on November 1, SLAMMIN has received airplay on NPR and college radio stations throughout the US and Canada and is being heard regularly on WGBH and WFNX in Boston, WRTI in Philadelphia, WPFW in Washington, DC, KNTU in Dallas/ Fort Worth, KCSM in San Francisco, CJLO in Montral and other major markets in North America. The CD was a top-5 jazz add at college radio for the first three weeks of November (the #1 jazz add the week of November 14) and debuted at #39 on the Top-40 jazz chart of the College Music Journal the week of November 21.
Part formal studio performances and part spontaneous improvisations recorded live in concert -- their music is rowdy, funky, humorous, vibrant and fresh; their material is old school, contemporary and of the moment.
Percussive A Cappella Jazz from SLAMMIN all-body band: Much of it LIVE, most of it IMPROVISED, all of it SLAMMIN.
What others are saying about SLAMMIN all-body band:
“Some of the most exciting, spirit and soul grabbing music I've heard in a long time. Don't let me forget inspiring. SLAMMIN is the only group of this type that I feel actually works...big time!" They've transcended the cutesy, gimmicky, novelty type stuff other a cappella groups rely on." - BABTUNDE LEA
“...a pleasant surprise from the get go...the sextet sets the tone for outside the box creativity...the group draws upon such disparate sources as Eddie Harris's 'Freedom Jazz Dance' (which is a true and improvised highlight recorded live), Toots and the Maytals' classic 'Pressure Drop' and Outkast's 'The Way You Move,' taking each in a wildly imaginative new direction due to the arrangement of ideas and the skill with which these are applied...Jazz folks will be drawn to the hip version of Miles Davis's 'All Blues' but there are plenty of other choices for creative listening and programming." - Tad Hendrickson, JazzWeek
“I put Slammin' on and let it play for about 25 minutes. Let me tell you, it got the phone ringing. Even after my show was over I got three emails forwarded to me asking who it was. You've got a winner." -- Steve Rubin, KZYX / Mendocino, CA
“I was most skeptical after reading the promo and usually do not favor vocal recordings, but this is very moving and fun music! Listened to it three times through tonight and I usually don't have time to give a recording more than a once through." -- Eric Leff, Jazz Director - WRUV / Burlington, VT
“Screw that “desert island disc list" construct -- who needs a boombox, batteries, and a CD wallet when you've got your body, man? That's the idea SLAMMIN is working with: Keith Terry smacks his body upside itself, Steve Hogan beatboxes, and, over it all and over the top, vocalists Bryan Dyer, Zoe Ellis, Kenny Washington, and Destani Wolf do what can only formally be called a cappella, including a vinyl-scratching, hyper-hop take on Outkast's “The Way You Move"."
- Stefanie Kalem, EAST BAY EXPRESS
“Mixing jazz, reggae and techno with a funky hint of Sly and Family Stone, this body music group abandons not only convention but instruments altogether. Slammin relies exclusively on the musical potential of the human body to cook up a fresh take on old favorites such as Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder and Toots and the Maytals. The Bay Area sensation, known for its signature off-the-wall improv sessions, offers up an organic blend of a cappella, beatboxing and body music (imagine a funk-soul version of Bjork's Medulla)." -- Jackie Black, GOOD TIMES
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for more info: www.crosspulse.com 510-601-9797 [email protected] ______________________________________
For more information contact All About Jazz.
