At its
core, the music Michael Bellar & the AS-IS Ensemble creates is ecstatic.
It's wide-open improvisation with earthy, percussion-fueled grooves. It's funky
and weird. It's expansive and arresting. It will always be in the moment and
without apology.
From the
opening moment of their latest recording Oh No Oh Wow, you hear the band in
mid-laughter, which turns out to be a sure sign that the album got it's title
for a reason. It's the very best of everything this band has to offer with
grinding vintage keyboards, funky drums, exotic percussion and thumping bass.
The musical environs that Bellar takes the band through on the new record are
many but never are they disparate. "I'm interested in creating the largest
palette I can with a small group so I'm bringing as many sonic colors and different
grooves to the table as possible," states Bellar.
The
AS-IS Ensemble is the musical home of keyboardist/composer/producer Michael
Bellar. As a sideman, Bellar has recorded and toured the world with some of the
greatest voices in music today - Amos Lee, Art Garfunkel, Oliver Wood (of the
Wood Brothers), Jay Clifford's Rosebud, Jump Little Children, Ryan Montbleau,
Wheatus, Howie Day and Euro pop star Giorgia. Oh No Oh Wow features the talents
of Bellar's longtime group, which features drummer Brad Wentworth (Melissa
Ferrick, Aretha Franklin, Howie Day), bassist Rob Jost (Bjork, Imogen Heap,
Tony Scherr), and percussionist Brook Martinez (Brooklyn Qawwali Party, Slavic
Soul Party).
Bellar
and Wentworth both grew up in North Carolina and went to the same school, but
it wasn't until the drummer finally moved to New York City that they played
together, and it was at that session that Bellar decided it was time to change
up his band to include Wentworth. Wentworth suggested Jost, a bassist he had
just met, and the new lineup of the band was formed. Bellar admits, "It's
been amazing to be able to keep such great collaborators and improvisers
together for such a long time. With musicians such as these, there is always
something new being tossed around on stage."
Hailed
as "GENERATION NEXT" by Billboard Magazine following their first ever
New York City show, Michael Bellar & AS-IS Ensemble are known for their
joyous, never-the-same-way-twice live musical experiences. Even if they did use
a set list, which they don't, the music and flow of their shows would never be
the same. "I love bringing a room full of people along for the ride with
us and the greatest shows are always the ones when the band and the crowd
become a complete circuit. The most common comment I get from people after
shows is, 'It's so obvious you really love what you do!' And I say at this
point if I didn't love what I do, I would truly be insane.'"
The
songs on Oh No Oh Wow not only exemplify Bellar's small group/large palette
concept but also showcase his many strengths as a composer, improviser and
producer with a wide range of musical stylings including the super funky
"Gadson" (dedicated to the historic soul drummer James Gadson) and
"Little Mike D's a Big Boy Now," the hypnotic/bubbling rhythms of the
title track "Oh No Oh Wow" and "Yes Please," the soulful
gospel of "Biscuit Baby," the Pink Floyd meets Bill Frisell
expansiveness of "Girl on a String," and contemporary reworkings of
two classic covers: Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" and Jimi
Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile."
Bellar
wrote "Gadson" after getting to play and hang out with the great
drummer for a week while he was touring in Amos Lee's band. "Not only is
that man as humble as can be, but no one else can play that sixteenth note,
slow burn funk like he does," explains Bellar. "This piece is not
about trying to sound like him, for me it's celebrating the spirit of James."
"Hot
Box Magic" came from the desire to record something for the accordion that
was as far away from a typical accordion vibe as they could get. (Hot Box in
this case serves as an epithet for the accordion). "When I first wrote the
melody, it had an almost Sephardic desert vibe to it and though experimentation
in the studio transformed into this fun, strange little pop song. And live,
it's seems to have become a real favorite," says Bellar.
The fun
and twisted arrangement of Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" was
actually a collaborative effort by all the members of the group in one short
session. "Usually with covers, I like to make it as bare bones as
possible, so we can go in any direction at any time live," says Bellar.
"But when I started playing 'Three Little Birds' in a rehearsal one day,
this arrangement just sort of snowballed and morphed into this really trippy,
high-energy vibe which is so much fun to play."
"My
life would be a whole lot easier if I could rattle off some cool buzz words
that describe this music but on the other hand I'm really glad that I can't. It
doesn't fit into any clear genre but I guess that's just a product of who I am
as a person and musician - a rock kid who fell in love with
improvisation," admits the keyboardist. It's just Bellar - he does things
a little different.
About
Michael Bellar & the AS-IS Ensemble:
For a
group that you've never heard of before, Michael Bellar & the AS-IS
Ensemble have performed at a wide range of diverse festivals and venues across
the country including the NYC Winter Jazz Festival, Brooklyn Bowl, Telluride
Jazz Festival, the Kennedy Center, SXSW, A Bear's Picnic, Blue Note Jazz
Festival NYC, Avery Fischer Hall (for Habitat for Humanity), San Jose Jazz
Festival, Evolve Fest, JVC Jazz Festival, Rockwood Music Hall and spent a
summer as the house band at the world famous Blue Note jazz club in New York
City. The group has also opened for artists diverse as Robert Randolph &
the Family Band, John Scofield, Oliver Wood (of the Wood Brothers), the Everyone
Orchestra, Medeski Martin & Wood, Tea Leaf Green, Howie Day, Grant Green
Jr. and the Ryan Montbleau Band.
Upcoming
Michael Bellar & the AS-IS Ensemble Performances:
May 25 /
The Colony Cafe / Woodstock, NY
May 31 /
Positive Pie / Montpelier, VT
June 1 /
Radio Bean / Burlington, VT
June 6-7
/ O'Hara and Flynn (solo) / Charleston, SC
* June
10 / The Pourhouse / Raleigh, NC
* June
12 / ISIS / Asheville, NC
June 25
/ BB King - Lucille's, Blue Note Jazz Festival / New York, NY
July 6 /
BRYAC / Bridgeport, CT
July 12
/ The Jazz Estate / Milwaukee, WI
July 13
/ The Cabooze / Minneapolis, MN
July 14
/ Rockwood Music Hall Stage II / New York, NY
July 28
/ Rockwood Music Hall Stage II / New York, NY
August 1
/ Telluride Jazz Festival / Telluride, CO
August 2
/ Vine Street Brewery / Denver, CO
August 3
/ Mountain Sun / Boulder, CO
August 5
/ Winstons / San Diego, CA
August 9
/ Blackbird Cafe, San Jose Jazz Festival / San Jose, CA
August
11 / Rockwood Music Hall Stage II (w/
special guest Shaun Pelton) / New York, NY
August
25 / Rockwood Music Hall Stage II (w/ special guest Melissa Reaves) / New York,
NY
*
indicates a Michael Bellar solo performance opening for Carsie Blanton
Michael
Bellar & the AS-IS Ensemble · Oh No Oh Wow / Left 3
Lanes Music · Release Date: June 24, 2014 / MichaelBellar.com
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