Reviews & Press Releases

Keyboard Wizard... Still Pumps Out the Music

Original Article: Hunterdon County Democrat
by: Rick Epstein

bernie_tie_dyeWhen celebrated keyboardist Bernie Worrell moved to Lebanon Township in 1999, it was not to retire and look back on a triumphant career. That career began when Bernie sat down to his first keyboard at age 3 and learned to play the piano and proceeded to write a concerto while still a child.

In Catholic school the nuns couldn’t help but notice his continual desk-drumming, which foretold his percussive style on the keyboard. Bernie continued his education at Juilliard and the New England Conservatory of Music.

In the ’70s he joined Parliament-Funkadelic, playing keyboards and co-writing and arranging a lot of the band’s music. He and the rest of the group were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. In the ’80s he performed and toured with the New Wave group, Talking Heads.

Since then, his band affiliations have included Gov’t Mule, the WOO Warriors, Red Hot Organization, Black Jack Johnson, Praxis, Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains and many more.

The Worrells did come to Hunterdon County to enjoy the peace and beauty of the countryside. Judie, who was raised in a rural part of Long Island, had admired the landscape when she used to drive to Frenchtown to shop for clothes at Bluefish.

Read more: Keyboard Wizard... Still Pumps Out the Music

   

Masters Session with Bernie Worrell and Will Calhoun

The Hollywood Reporter
pg. 87

ascap_expo_inset"In Living Colour drummer and producer Will Calhoun talks to legendary composer Bernie Worrell about a storied career that began as a founding member of Parliament/Funkadelic. Worrell's keyboard can be heard accompanying everyone from the Talking Heads to Keith Richards and, thanks to hip hop artists like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, he is one of the most sampled musicians of all time."

When: Saturday, April 30 @ 11:45am
Where: RENAISSANCE HOLLYWOOD HOTEL - Hollywood, CA

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More info:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-make-money-music-hard-179654
http://2011expo.ascap.com/event/392af551f348619a87835eabb2d2c775

   

SociaLybrium (feat. Bernie Worrell) premieres two new videos!

(NEW YORK) Hot on the heels of the official release last month of their full-length debut For You • For Us • For All (LiveWired Music), SociaLybrium are stoking the fire with not just one, but two new video clips culled from their exclusive appearance at last October's CMJ Music Marathon in New York City.

bqe_video_200

Recorded and filmed at Sullivan Hall in the West Village, each video is testament to the group's ability to, in bassist Melvin Gibbs' words, "bring it live," from the shredded axe-ology of former P-Funk guitar-slinger Blackbyrd McKnight to the uncanny keyboard flourishes of the legendary Bernie Worrell -- SociaLybrium's esteemed founder and leader.

A song like "BQE" -- the album's standout track -- is a prime vehicle for the group's infectious live energy and relentless sense of groove, ably anchored by Gibbs and veteran drummer J.T. Lewis.

Read more: SociaLybrium (feat. Bernie Worrell) premieres two new videos!

   

SociaLybrium Review on JamBands.com

"The sound of the band SociaLybrium is just exactly what I imagine it would sound like if keyboard funkmaster Bernie Worrell played all the instruments himself." - Brian Robbins
[Review from JamBands.com]

socialybrium_cd_200I’m serious: graft a bunch more arms and legs on the man – with everything answering to that groovemonster brain – and this is what the result would be. Worrell’s three bandmates in SociaLybrium – bassist Melvin Gibbs, drummer J.T. Lewis, and guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight – are perfect formation flyers when it comes to brain-syncing with Worrell and their debut album For You – For Us – For All is proof. A portion of that musical ESP could be attributed to some history: Worrell and McKnight were fellow space travelers in Parliament-Funkadelic three decades or so ago, but … then was then and now is now. And how do you explain Gibbs and Lewis? The fact is, you can’t; the individual parts of SociaLybrium add up to one big chunk of jazzy fusion funk and that’s all you need to know.

Right off the bat, “Swamp” is a seven-minute-plus sampler of what this band is all about: big ol’ crashing full-band intro and establishing of the central melody, then some classic Worrell piano over a foundation of groove. Back to the main theme, then a little synth flash by Worrell, ushering in McKnight who goes absolutely apeshit for the final third of the song – bringing everything to a smoldering, sweating shudder seconds before the song ends. (You may want to pause the CD and get your breath before continuing any further.)

 

Read more: SociaLybrium Review on JamBands.com

   
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