Tower of Power (special guest Stefanie Heinzmann) - AVO Session Basel 2009 [2009, Soul / Funk, SATRip]

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2009 TOWER OF POWER - AVO Session Basel
2012 TOWER OF POWER - Leverkusener Jazztage

2006 HERBIE HANCOCK
2008 THE BRAND NEW HEAVIES
2009 PETER SCHÄRLI TRIO
2009 TOWER OF POWER
2011 EARTH, WIND & FIRE EXPERIENCE feat. AL McKAY

Tower of Power schaffte in den 1970er Jahren als eine der ersten weißen Bands den Sprung in die erste Liga des ursprünglich tiefschwarzen Funk. Als Bewunderer von James Brown beweisen die brillanten Kalifornier bis heute, dass Musik eine Frage der Kultur und nicht der Hautfarbe ist. "What is Hip?", fragten Tower of Power in einem ihrer bekanntesten Hits - sie selbst sind es definitiv, und dass sie "Soul With a Capital 'S'" liefern, ist unbestritten.
Konzertaufzeichnung von der AVO Session Basel 2009 mit der Schweizer Sängerin Stefanie Heinzmann als Special Guest, die ihren ersten großen Erfolg mit einem Song von Tower of Power feiern konnte: "Only So Much Oil in the Ground".

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The renowned horn-driven funk outfit Tower of Power has been issuing albums and touring the world steadily since the early '70s, in addition to backing up countless other musicians. The group's leader since the beginning has always been tenor saxophonist Emilio Castillo, who was born in Detroit, but opted to pursue his musical dreams in Oakland, CA. It was in Oakland that Castillo put together a group called the Motowns, which as its name suggested, specialized in '60s-era soul. Castillo teamed up with a baritone sax player (andMotowns fan) Stephen "Doc" Kupka, and soon the Motowns had transformed into Tower of Power (one of the first tunes the duo penned together was "You're Still a Young Man," which would eventually go on to be one of the TOP's signature compositions). Tower of Power played regularly in the Bay Area throughout the late '60s, as its lineup often swelled up to ten members, including such other mainstays as Greg Adams on trumpet and vocals and Rocco Prestia on bass. By 1970, the funk outfit had inked a recording contract with Bill Graham's San Francisco Records, resulting in the group's debut the same year, East Bay Grease, which failed to make an impression on the charts as TOP was still trying to find their own sound.
But it all came together quickly for the group, as 1972's Bump Citywould touch off a string of classic hit releases, including 1973's self-titled release (which included another one of the group's most enduring tunes, "What Is Hip?"), 1974's Back to Oakland, plus 1975'sUrban Renewal and In the Slot. While Tower of Power remained a must-see live act, the quality of their subsequent records became erratic, resulting in some admirable releases (Ain't Nothin' Stoppin' Us Now, Live and in Living Color) and several uninspired albums that are best skipped over (We Came to Play, Back on the Streets).
Despite the dip in the quality of their albums, Tower of Power remained a much in-demand backing group for some of pop/rock's biggest names, including Elton John, Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Huey Lewis, Little Feat, David Sanborn, Michelle Shocked, Paula Abdul,Aaron Neville, Aerosmith, Michael Bolton, Billy Preston, PiL, Rod Stewart, Toto, Merl Saunders, and others. Tower of Power remains very active to this day, keeping up a brisk touring schedule and issuing such new albums as 1999's Soul Vaccination: Live; while several compilations were issued around the same time: Rhino's double disc What Is Hip?: The Tower of Power Anthology (1999) andVery Best of Tower of Power: The Warner Years (2001), plus Epic/Legacy's Soul With a Capital "S": The Best of Tower of Power (2001). The band celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008 and still retains 5 original founding members.
Greg Prato ~ AMG