Monday, August 13, 2007

Bernie Worrell readies instrumental release

Bernie Worrell finally releases the instrumentals record he has long dreamt of on September 11th, 2007 with Improvisczario.

The jazz/funk/rock recording is anchored by the rhythm section of Will Calhoun (Living Colour) on drums and bassist Brett Bass. There are also some incredible turns by two legends of contemporary music. Guitarist Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule, Allman Brothers) guests on two of the tracks, and Mike Gordon (Phish) showcases the banjo on yet another. Meanwhile, Worrell glides over top, moving effortlessly from Baby Grand Piano, to Hammond B3, to Clavinet, to Wurlitzer. He even takes a turn on Thelonious Monk’s old celeste piano.

Raised in Plainfield, NJ, Bernie Worrell was a classically trained pianist at three years old. Throughout his childhood he played with symphonies and orchestras, and even wrote his own concerto at the age of eight. Slowly, he listened to the radio and discovered sounds other than classical, and when he went to college, he played with a number of bar bands, including the Tavares (who were known as Chubby & the Turnpikes back then). It was also around this time that Worrell met George Clinton, who was the vocalist for a Motown-influenced group called the Parliaments. The Parliaments soon split up and moved to Detroit, where Clinton re-formed them into a new group, called Parliament. Clinton then formed another side band, called Funkadelic, several of whose members had been in Parliament but were now performing under the new name due to contractual glitches. Worrell joined Funkadelic in 1970, beginning with their album Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow. He was an essential part of the P-Funk mob and continued to play with them right up until the early '80s. He then joined the Talking Heads as a session man and went on tour with them throughout the '80s, basically working with David Byrne and the band right up to their split in early 1992. Besides his solo career, Worrell continues to work with members of the P-Funk, including Bootsy Collins. His work on such songs as "Flashlight," "(Not Just) Knee Deep," and "Cosmic Slop" influenced not only other R&B/soul artists but also many rap groups, who continue to sample his work in their own songs.

Improvisczario Track Listing:
New Boss
Up in The Hills (feat Mike Gordon)
Bass on the Line
Dirty (feat Warren Haynes)
Killer Mosquito (feat Warren Haynes)
OK, You Can Leave Now
Celeste

www.myspace.com/improvisczario

www.godforsakenmusic.com

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is absolutely crazy stuff

Anonymous said...

i can't wait for this one. warren's guitar on killer mosquito is one of the best uses of the instrument i've ever heard. if you don't think he's better than clapton ever was, check out this cut

Mickie said...

I'm looking forward to this effort as well. Let me know what you think once you hear it. Keep on rockin' Mickie