Tuesday, March 13, 2012

THE BERNIE WORRELL ORCHESTRA

Rock n' Roll Hall of Famer, Grammy winning featured musician, and co-founder of the original Parliament-Funkadelic (P-Funk) puts a unique funked up spin on his new album featuring The Bernie Worrell Orchestra! Including songs from Bernie Worrell: Standards as well as classics from Bernie's past collaborations. Five upcoming performances featuring special guests including: Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club and Steve Scales of the Talking Heads (Sunday April 1st performance):

Friday, March 17, 2012 - 8:30 PM
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleeker Street, New York, NY 10012
http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/3033


Friday, March 23, 2012 - 8:00 PM
The Brooklyn Bowl
61 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
http://www.brooklynbowl.com/

Friday, March 30, 2012 - 8 PM
The Spot Underground
15 Elbow St, Providence, RI 02903
http://thespotprovidence.com/

Sunday, April 1, 2012 - 7:30 PM
Stage One
70 Stanford Street, Fairfield, CT 06824

Friday, April 13, 2012 - 8PM - (originally scheduled for 3/10)
The Historic Blairstown Theatre
30 Main St., Blairstown, NJ 07825

How many artists can say they were in on the ground floor of an honest-to-Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame supergroup, while inventing a completely original and uncanny sound and, in the ensuing years, building a legendary reputation as one of the most versatile hired guns in the music business? True funkateers know the history. From the fat Minimoog bass lines of “Flash Light” and “One Nation Under A Groove” to the percussive piano runs of “Chocolate City” and “Give Up the Funk,” Bernie Worrell is synonymous with the legacy of Parliament-Funkadelic; in fact, he’s one of the originators of the psychedelic funk sound, having written and co-produced the lion’s share of the music going back to Funkadelic’s formative years, with an eclectic ear for everything from Chopin to the Chi-Lites.

These days the terms “living legend” or “funk icon” really don’t come close to doing him justice. “Funk iconoclast” is probably more apt, considering the breadth of Worrell’s contributions to seminal albums outside the P-Funk canon—including Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense and Public Image Ltd’s Album, to name two of the more monolithic examples. Keith Richards, Yoko Ono, Bootsy Collins, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Mos Def, Sly & Robbie, Deee-Lite, Bill Laswell and many more have recruited Bernie in the studio and on tour—all for his versatility, vision and feverish creativity whenever he gets his hands on a keyboard.

June, 2011 saw the release of Bernie Worrell: Standards -- Bernie's take on jazz standards -- precipitating the decision by Worrell and co-producer, Evan Taylor to "take the show on the road". The Bernie Worrell Orchestra performs with a nine piece band consisting of two guitarists, two drummers, bass, percussion and a three piece horn section that performs songs from this album along with songs from Bernie's vast repertoire. The enthusiastic response from fellow musicians means that you just don't know who will show up to join the BWO on stage.

More information, including tour dates, can be found at http://www.bernieworrell.com/.

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