Local Funk

 
Well, I’ve been somewhat dormant for more than a month now, but I assure you that this post will make up for that and then some.

After many, many hours of hard work putting this together, I’m very excited to release this stellar nine-minute multimedia piece of the always amazing Realistic Orchestra performing their killin’ track SR 75 live at the Coda Lounge in San Francisco’s Mission District on February 9, 2010. I really can’t stress enough how incredible it is to witness this much awesomeness live and in person, so make sure to check Coda’s Jazz Mafia Tuesdays schedule for their next performance — it’s a guaranteed WIN every single time!

Also, please note that this video can be streamed directly from this page and is directly playable on your iPhone too, and if you have the bandwidth to handle it, you can watch or download the original high definition 720p version from here.

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 Download: Track 1

Musicians (On This Night)
Adam Theis, Bandleader, Trombone
Eric Garland, Bandleader, Drums
Evan Francis, Alto, Flute
Kasey Knudsen, Alto, Flute
Sheldon Brown, Tenor, Clarinet
Matt Nelson, Tenor
Doug Rowan, Bari
Jeanne Geiger, Trombone
Danny Grewen, Trombone
Jamie Dubberly, Bass Trombone
Dave Scott, Trumpet
Mike Olmos, Trumpet
Erik Jekabson, Trumpet
Joel Ryan, Trumpet
Colin Hogan, Keyboards
Jon Monahan, Guitar
Tommy Folen, Bass
Dublin, Guest Vocalist
Joe Bagale, Guest Vocalist

Here’s a video mashup I recently put together of Adam Theis and the whole Jazz Mafia family performing their hip hop symphony Brass, Bows & Beats live at Yoshi’s in San Francisco on August 21, 2009. These clips were from the second night of a sold out three-night run at Yoshi’s, which was the group’s first time playing the piece live since its world premiere at the Palace of Fine Arts earlier this Spring.

If you dig what these cats are up to, please consider making a donation towards their efforts to record a new studio album and take the piece on a far reaching U.S. Tour — no small task for a 70-piece orchestra.

SF Jazz showcased the premiere of Adam Theis’ Brass, Bows & Beats: A Hip Hop Symphony at the Palace of Fine Arts on Saturday, April 18, 2009. Supported by a generous “Emerging Composer” grant from the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the composition featured more than 40 of the Jazz Mafia’s incredible jazz, funk, classical, and hip hop musicians.

It was a truly remarkable event, my hat goes off to everyone involved! I was quite simply blown away by it all, and I was grateful to have been given such intimate access to document the day in photos. If you’d like to read a more detailed review of how entirely awesome it was, make sure to stop by Kirk Hamilton’s Blog for a fittingly excellent writeup.

Musicians
Adam Theis, Rita Thies, Evan Francis, Alex Budman, Sheldon Brown, Kasey Knudsen, Matt Nelson, Doug Rowan, Dave Scott, Neil Levonious, Mike Olmos, Joel Ryan, Joel Behrman, Danny Grewen, Jeanne Geiger, Jaime Dubberly, Allison Sawyer, Mads Tolling, Anthony Blea, Dina Macabee, Celia Harris, Kathy Marshall, Graeme Jennings, Elizabeth Prior, Charith Premawardana, Darcy Rindt, Jess Ivry, Robin Reynolds, Sam Bass, Jon Monahan, Matt Berkeley, Colin Hogan, Geroge Ban-Weiss, Tommy Folen, Eric Garland, Joe Bagale, Pat Korte, Matt Lucas, Aspect McCarthy, Karyn Paige, Chris McGee, Dublin, Seneca, Gedeon, and Lyrics Born. I’m sure I missed someone, sorry, but I wrote everyone I could possibly remember!

I’ve been sitting on this gem for far too long, so here’s a post with photos and a tasty audio sample of the Realistic Orchestra performing live, with other acts that included Mos Def, as part of the Band Shell Music Summit in Golden Gate Park on October 18, 2008.

The band delivered some serious music to an enthusiastic crowd and were joined by special guest vocalists that included Chris McGee, Joe Bagale, Karen Page, and a first-ever performance by Lavay Smith with the Orchestra! The included audio track is Sun Up segued into Search with solo action from Doug Rowan, Mike Olmos and Evan Francis.

Play Audio: 
Adobe Flash Player and JavaScript are required to stream our audio clips. You can also download the audio files directly using the links below.
 
 Download: Track 1

Musicians
Adam Theis, Bandleader & Trombone
Eric Garland, Bandleader & Drums
Joel Behrman, Trumpet
Daniel Casares, Tenor Sax
Evan Francis, Alto Sax & Flute
Jeanne Geiger, Trombone
Danny Grewen, Trombone
Colin Hogan, Keys
Erik Jekabson, Trumpet
Kasey Knudsen, Alto Sax & Flute
Jon Monahan, Guitar
Matt Nelson, Tenor Sax
Mike Olmos, Trumpet
Doug Rowan, Bari Sax
Joel Ryan, Trumpet
Dave Scott, Trumpet
Joe Bagale, Guest Vocalist
Chris McGee, Guest Vocalist
Karen Page, Guest Vocalist
Lavay Smith, Guest Vocalist