The band is opening its 40th year together with a nine-show run in the Northeast, including a stop at Infinity Music Hall in Hartford on Feb. 19.
Hailing from Toronto, the band remains largely a family affair with siblings Margo Timmons (vocals) and Peter Timmons (drums) joining their brother, Michael, while Alan Anton (bass) rounds out the line-up which has remained intact since their founding. As he has been for many decades, multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird joins the band on the road.
Considered a hybrid alternative country/folk band, their live approach transcends to a much deeper, more complex sound — often fusing elements of blues and lush psychedelic freeform, coupled with poetic lyrics.
The group says it will be going deep into its catalog during the February shows. They’ve put out 21 studio albums. The most recent, Such Ferocious Beauty (Cooking Vinyl/Latent Recordings) in 2023, was their first after a five-year recording break.
The studio was the focus of the Feb. 8 edition of Greasy Tracks as we spotlighted the career of pianist Nicky Hopkins and closer to home, some of the interesting/innovative things happening at Parkville Sounds in Hartford.
Hopkins, widely regarded as the greatest studio pianist in rock history, played on some of the biggest tracks ever recorded by Jeff Beck, The Who, The Kinks, Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and scores of other artists.
There was also an interview with Stephen and Jillian Cusano, the founders of Parkville Sounds, a multi-faceted recording, rehearsal and performance space.
Strictly Roots will celebrate the music of Bob Marley and Aston “Family Man” Barrett throughout February, airing features every Sunday, 6-8 p.m. Click here to listen live.
Marley — the most prolific and best-known musician and songwriter to come out of Jamaica — passed away in 1981 at 36. Bassist Martin, a key member of Marley’s backing band, the Wailers, died Feb. 3, 2024 at the age of 77.
Lively Up Yourself: Bob Marley (left) and Aston “Family Man” Barrett on stage.
Marley is considered a messenger who helped introduce reggae to the world, but was also an ambassador of peace and justice who frequently spoke out in support of social reforms.
He fueled the reggae explosion in the 70s and was a force to be reckoned with, not only at home, but abroad, as he embarked on sold-out stadium tours towards the end of that decade. He sold more than 75 million albums.
Marley’s musical career began when The Wailers were formed in 1963 with Neville O’Riley Livingston, known by his stage name, “Bunny Wailer” and guitarist/vocalist Peter McIntosh, soon known as Peter Tosh.
Their debut album, The Wailing Wailers in 1965 was produced by the legendary Clement Seymour “Coxsone” Dodd who put together 12 recordings the band did between 1964-65. It featured the lead single, “One Love” which included a re-working of Curtis Mayfield’s “People Get Ready.” It had been recorded by Mayfield’s group, The Impressions, in 1965. The single established the Wailers as rising figures in reggae.
After signing to Island Records and tours in support of two albums released in 1973 (Catch A Fire and Burnin’), the group catapulted to international attention and financial success.
Boosted by Eric Clapton covering “I Shot The Sheriff” on his 461 Ocean Boulevard (1974) — the lead single from the album, would be Clapton’s sole No. 1 on the U.S. charts — Marley’s popularity sky-rocketed across the globe.
He finally had an official international breakthrough with his first hit outside Jamaica, “No Woman, No Cry” from the Live! album in 1975. This success was followed by the U.S. release of the Rastaman Vibration (1976) which reached the Top 50 of Billboard’s soul chart.
Despite his increased popularity, Marley’s outspoken views challenging the system and status quo of the time made him at a target of those with opposing views. In 1976, he was shot in the arm during an assassination attempt at his Kingston residence.
After moving to London permanently, Marley released Exodus in 1977 and it garnered considerable commercial and critical success, paving the way for a handful of world tours.
Marley’s health took a turn for the worse that year. Following an injury to one of his toes suffered during a pick-up soccer game, Marley was diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma. Specialists recommended amputating the cancer-laden toe in hopes it would prevent the cancer from spreading, but due to his Rastafarian beliefs and how the procedure could impact his ability to perform, Marley refused.
Despite his illness, Marley continued to record and perform. On the tour to support the release of Uprising (1980) he and the Wailers played their biggest concert ever, appearing before more than 100,000 Stadio in San Siro, Milan, Italy.
On the U.S. leg of the tour that fall, Marley played a pair of shows at Madison Square Garden, opening for The Commodores. After collapsing while jogging in Central Park, he was taken to hospital where it was discovered that the cancer had spread to his brain, lungs and liver.
Marley initially refused to cancel the remainder of the tour and with the I-Threes supporting, continued onward to Pittsburgh where he played The Stanley Theatre on Sept. 23, 1980. It would be his final live performance and he’d be dead about eight months later.
In addition to his work with Marley, Barrett was also part of Lee “Scratch” Perry’s in-house backing band as well as a member of the The Upsetters and The Aggrovators.
Barrett’s legacy shines bright as a prime example of how a humble musician’s mastery and message shaped and changed the music world and his unique technique and sound influenced generations of musicians.
Summing up the importance of the bass, Barrett once said: “The drum, it’s the heartbeat, and the bass, it’s the backbone. If the bass is not right, the music is gonna have a bad back, so it would be crippled.”
Barrett also collaborating with Burning Spear and Tosh when he went solo.
He was considered a reggae music ambassador and one of the most crucial bassists to help cultivate acceptance, growth and popularity during the subsequent explosion of reggae music on the international music scene in the 1970s with Marley serving as the primary catalyst.
Almost all of the Wailer’s albums have Barrett involved and nearly everyone of Marley’s most celebrated tracks have his killer bass lines, including: “Could This Be Love”, “Jammin’”, “Lively Up Yourself”, “I Shot the Sheriff” and “Three Little Birds.” He was often in charge of arranging tracks in the studio.
Included was music from her latest album, Blue, along with an interview recorded at her Jan. 17 appearance at Scullers Jazz Club in Boston.
Born Jessica Arellano in in Portland, Ore., but raised in Hemet, Calif., she began studying piano at age four and later the saxophone. At 15, she was named Piano State Champion at the Bela Bartok Festival in California, but sax had become her primary focus.
This led to her performing in the Grammy Band and at international events, including the legendary Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
She won a scholarship to University of Southern California where she earned a degree in jazz studies and was named “Most Outstanding Jazz Student” of her class. It was during her time at USC that she spent two years playing in Disney’s All American College Band.
Stints in the Henry Mancini Jazz Orchestra and the Hispanic Musician Association Jazz Orchestra followed as did studio work with artists including Aerosmith, Jessica Simpson, Michael Bublé, Burt Bacharach, Michael Bolton, Paul Brown and the Temptations. She’s played on stage with Gerald Albright, Norman Brown, Euge Groove, Peter White and Anita Baker and made appearances on television competition shows American Idol, The Voice and Dancing With The Stars.
She cites Sergio Mendes and Julian “Cannonball” Adderley as inspirations for her music which often takes on a Latin feel.
Arellano says her stage name came about in 2006 when she started doing sessions for what would ultimately be her 2008 debut release, Tequilla Moon (Peak), which was produced by Paul Brown.
She credits Brown for the moniker. She recalled him saying her name “would be hard for people to spell. It would be hard for people to remember it, to Google it and get the website.”
She said she was on board with having a stage name and that “Jessy“ was a nickname she’d had since she was very young and the “J” part, she noted, was for “jazz.”
She’s released nine albums, the most recent, Blue, in 2022 on her label, Changi Records. The album featured the track “Dig It” which was co-written with Jeff Lorber and includes performances with Jay Rowe, Andy Abel, Trevor Somerville and Dave Anderson.
With all of the attention surrounding the recent Bob Dylan film, A Complete Unknown, it seemed a perfect excuse to focus on Dylan going Christian for the Jan. 18 edition of Greasy Tracks.
Here’s the archive, while a playlist is here. Need more Dylan, here’s a whole program from Jan. 25 of other artists covering him, just click here!
The bulk of the feature centered on the bard’s oft-overlooked “Christian trilogy” of releases: Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love which came out between 1979-81. There is also a good helping of outtakes and live material, especially from the 1979 Gospel tour.
To provide some context, a track or two from the albums that preceded and followed the “trilogy:” Street Legal in 1978 and Infidels in 1983 are part of it as well as a handful of gospel-styled Dylan covers.
The Jan. 11 edition of Greasy Tracks was the first of an occasional program spotlighting the impact of the saxophone, especially when it comes to rock, jazz and soul music. The show also paid tribute to Sam Moore and Don Nix who recently passed away.
Opting to steer clear of the obvious tracks and characters, went deep and wide when it comes to material and players.
Memphis-based sax man Art Edmaiston was interviewed.
The veteran player did spells with Bobby “Blue” Bland, JJ Grey & Mofro and the Gregg Allman Band, amongst scores of others, as well as countless sessions. He provided insight to the importance of horns — especially the saxophone — which he considers the icing (on a musical cake).
In addition to diving deep into Hammond’s catelog, the show focused on the just-released You’re Doin’ Fine which captures Hammond in two shows at the Boarding House in San Francisco. Recorded by Owsley Stanley in 1973, the three-CD set is part of the on-going series of Bear’s Sonic Journals by the Owsley Stanley Foundation.
Hammond only did a few interviews in conjunction with the release and WRTC got one of them. He shares insight on how this live collection came to be as well as some memories from across his 60-plus year career.
Best known for his work with Peter Gabriel — with whom he has played for five decades — and as a member of King Crimson, Levin is also a veteran session musician appearing on hundreds of albums by artists such as David Bowie, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Richard Thompson, Lou Reed, Seal, Todd Rundgren, Laurie Anderson, Tom Waits and many others.
The bassist is currently touring with a new band, BEAT, which celebrates the music of the 1980s era of King Crimson, focusing on such classic releases as Discipline, Beat and Three Of A Perfect Pair.
Along with former Crimson frontman/guitarist Adrian Belew, the line-up also features guitar virtuoso Steve Vai and Tool drummer Danny Carey.
BEAT’s tour has been playing to sold-out crowds and receiving rave reviews since hitting the road in September. The band visits The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford on Dec. 3.
In addition to being highly in demand for his unique, inventive style of playing, Levin was also instrumental in popularizing the Chapman Stick, a 10- or 12-stringed instrument that covers the range of both a bass and a guitar.
The “Stick” is featured prominently on Levin’s latest release, Bringing it Down to the Bass (Flatiron Recordings). The album includes collaborations with many of the musicians Levin has worked with over the years, including members of Gabriel’s band and King Crimson.
In addition to discussing the BEAT tour, Levin provided some interesting insight to how he started working with Gabriel and the Robert Fripp-led Crimson, including some of the varied line-ups and musical approaches the band has taken over the past four decades. He also shares some memorable studio experiences.
The Nov. 15 edition of Crashing the Ether spotlighted Low Cut Connie.
Hailing from Philadelphia, Low Cut Connie is the alter-ego of singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Adam Weiner. Low Cut Connie’s albums and high-energy shows have earned them a dedicated fan base that includes Elton John, Steve Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen and Barak Obama.
Rob caught up with Weiner before the band’s Nov. 7 performance at Daryl’s House — Daryl Hall’s club in Pawling, N.Y. The two discussed politics in music, anti-Semitism, the new Low Cut Connie movie Art Dealers and new “companion” album Connie Live (Contender) as well as their mutual love of Prince and Lou Reed.
