THE Tony Williams LIFETIME TRIBUTE BAND
featuring Jack Bruce, VERNON REID, JOHN MEDESKI & CINDY BLACKMAN
WHAT: Legendary bassist/vocalist of Cream and former member of
Tony Williams' Lifetime
Jack Bruce joins forces with guitarist Vernon Reid, organist John Medeski and drummer Cindy Blackman from January 27 - 30 at the Blue Note. These celebrated musicians in multiple genres have all been deeply influenced by Williams and his music. For
Jack Bruce, paying tribute to Williams is a homecoming that is more than welcome. "One of the greatest highlights of my musical career was playing with Tony's amazing band," he said. "Together I believe we can rekindle the spirit of a more joyous and optimistic era."
WHEN: Thursday, January 27 - Sunday, January 30, 2011; Sets at 8:00pm & 10:30pm
WITH:
Jack Bruce, bass/vocals; Vernon Reid, guitar; John Medeski, organ/keyboards; Cindy Blackman, drums
COST: $45 @ table / $30 @ bar
WHERE: The Blue Note; 131 W 3rd. St, New York, NY 10012
MORE: Doors open at 6pm. Set times are 8pm and 10:30pm
BIO: In December, 2008, an all-star cast of musicians, all deeply influenced by the music of the late great revolutionary drummer
Tony Williams and his band Lifetime, came together for a series of concerts in Japan. They now call themselves The
Tony Williams Lifetime Tribute Band, featuring legendary bassist of Cream and one-time Lifetime member
Jack Bruce, guitarist from Living Colour Vernon Reid, organ player John Medeski of Medeski Martin & Wood, and top drummer Cindy Blackman, the long-time drummer for
Lenny Kravitz. The
Tony Williams Lifetime Tribute Band now brings their unique take on Williams' revolutionary music to New York in their Blue Note debut.
Lifetime was founded as a trio in 1969 by
Tony Williams who featured electric guitarist
John McLaughlin and organist Larry Young. Lifetime's first album, titled Emergency!, was rejected by many jazz fans who came to know Williams' music from his work with the
MiLes Davis Quintet in the ‘60s, but many now consider it a fusion classic.
Jack Bruce joined Lifetime on their second recording Turn It Over, providing bass and vocals, making the group a quartet. But Lifetime was short-lived, and Williams took the concept through various iterations, starting with the New
Tony Williams Lifetime 1975. The last New Lifetime recording, Play or Die, was released in 1980. Williams, widely considered one of the greatest drummers of all time, continued to perform and record extensively until his untimely death in 1997.
The idea of a tribute band "really started a long time ago with the tragic death of
Mr. Williams," Vernon Reid wrote in his blog at livingcolourmusic.com on the eve of the Japan dates. "I've had the great fortune to work with the extraordinary bassist
Jack Bruce of Cream, and during a tour with him started to chat about
Tony Williams and Lifetime and their close personal relationship. I thought of Cindy Blackman, a true devotee of
Mr. Williams whose work in that regard is not as well known as her long association with the rock star
Lenny Kravitz. John Medeski's organ work evokes the mysterious power of the vastly under-appreciated Larry Young." Reid went on to cite
John McLaughlin of the original Lifetime band as a major influence on his guitar playing, "mainly from the later Mahavishnu period, the seeds of which were sown in
Tony Williams Lifetime."
Cindy Blackman also expressed her excitement at being involved in the group, exclaiming "
Tony Williams is my drum hero! The
Tony Williams Lifetime influenced not only
MiLes Davis but Mahavishnu, Return to Forever and the next three decades of electric music to the present."
For
Jack Bruce, paying tribute to Williams is a homecoming that is more than welcome. "One of the greatest highlights of my musical career was playing with Tony's amazing band," he said. "Together I believe we can rekindle the spirit of a more joyous and optimistic era."
