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76 Degrees West Band - 76 Degrees West Band |
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Written by Super Administrator
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Saturday, 16 May 2009 12:46 |
 Washington, D.C. has long been a music playground for all genres. And now thanks to the 76 Degrees West Band, that music tradition continues in the nation’s capital. The five-man band; its core members are founder, bassist and trombonist Leon Rawlings, saxophonist Eddie Baccus, Jr., Guitarist Stan Cooper, and drummer Sean Chase; brings a mixture of contemporary smooth jazz and R&B mixed a little funk and even some go-go, which is native to the D.C. area.
76 Degrees West Band’s self-titled debut CD brings some jam to smooth jazz that’s been sorely missing for some time now. 76 Degrees West – the actual Western Hemisphere longitude for Washington, D.C. to be exact, highlights not only the area, but what the band itself brings to the table. The album gives off a jazz vibe initially, but takes you a bit deeper with some jams that hit harder than the average smooth jazz sound. How did the process come about? Here’s the answer. “I would do a skeleton of a song and have the guys come in and lay down their parts individually and sometimes collectively,” says Rawlings, who produced the album. “After everything was laid down, the mix process began where all of the material was tracked, was then blended and tweaked through editing and mixing.”
The band has performed with good number of soul and neosoul artists in the past, including Ledisi, Victor Duplaix, and Rahsaan Patterson among many others. With their self-titled album, 76 Degrees West took no shorts collaborating with the likes of Angela Johnson, Jimmy Sommers, Gordon Chambers, and Allyn Johnson. “It was easy working with Jimmy, Angela, Gordon, and Allyn because we have been working with all of them for years,” Rawlings says. “They knew the feel of the song that we were trying to capture when listening to the tracks and that made it easy to come with the great ideas that they were able to contribute to the songs.”
The album mixes both instrumental numbers with some songs with guest artists taking over the lead vocals. Plus the elegant background vocals on the instrumental tunes keeps the CD moving forward with each song. All of the tracks are tight, with the standout tunes being “School Boy Crush”, a cover of song originally made by the Average White Band, “Be Careful”, and “This Summer”.
If you’re a jazz and R&B fan, the 76 Degrees West Band is a CD you might want to pick up and give a listen to.
Rating: 6/10
Gabriel Rich for Soulinterviews.com
Buy the CD on Dustygroove
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76 Degrees West Band on MySpace
76 Degrees West Band's Official Site
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Last Updated on Saturday, 16 May 2009 13:11 |
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