Concert Pics/Vids: The S.O.S. Band, Paradiso 02-02-2017
They played an energetic show at an almost sold out Paradiso. I filmed some with my phone, you can hear the guitar loud and clear because I was standing front row, just in front of Reggie :-)
For people who don't know The S.O.S.Band instantly but you were going out in the 80's and 90's: You probably know their music, they had many hits. Read more about them on Wikipedia.
9 years ago I was preparing the recordings for my third album "On Track". I invited Fred Wesley and Bruno Speight as special guests. Researching Bruno Speight on internet, I found out about The S.O.S. Band. Bruno Speight turned out to be a founding member of The S.O.S. Band, and Fred Wesley had written horn arrangements on their first 2 albums. Drummer Jamal Thomas replaced the initial drummer. Jamal plays on three S.O.S. albums. So, 3 persons I knew as being associated with Maceo Parker also previously had worked together in another band. Now, who's the guitar player in S.O.S. now? It's Reggie Ward, Fred Wesley's current guitar player. How did that come? In the 90's, Bruno Speight started to work with Bobby Byrd and later The J.B. Horns with Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker, a band which would turn later into Maceo Parker. So in S.O.S, the guitarist had to be replaced. Reggie Ward replaced Bruno. Later, when The S.O.S. band had a period with less gigs, and when "The JB Horns" (consisting of Maceo Parker, Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley) became "Maceo Parker", Fred and Pee Wee left the band and started their own bands under their name. That's when Reggie started playing with Fred's band. It's a small world. It sounds complicated but in the end it's not. They all played together.... Funny that all of them play on Saxify: Fred Wesley, Bruno Speight, Reggie Ward, Jamal Thomas. On the picture with the lovely Mary Davis, lead singer of The S.O.S. Band.
Just in time for International Women's Day, here's the first of a couple videos of Fred Wesley & The New JB's featuring Martha High.Think (About It) made famous by the recording of Lyn Collins, Martha always sang it with James Brown and Maceo Parker.Thank you Fred for having me on this great gig in Zurich, Switzerland! It was a pleasure.. and yeah you are right, for the connaisseurs of funk guitar, there's the one and only Bruno Speight! In the following videos the light is better and you'll see more of him, promised... stay tuned! - They played an energetic show at an almost sold out Paradiso. I filmed some with my phone, you can hear the guitar loud and clear because I was standing front row, just in front of Reggie :-)For people who don't know The S.O.S.Band instantly but you were going out in the 80's and 90's: You probably know their music, they had many hits. Read more about them on Wikipedia.9 years ago I was preparing the recordings for my third album On Track. I invited Fred Wesley and Bruno Speight as special guests. Researching Bruno Speight on internet, I found out about The S.O.S. Band. Bruno Speight turned out to be a founding member of The S.O.S. Band, and Fred Wesley had written horn arrangements on their first 2 albums. Drummer Jamal Thomas replaced the initial drummer. Jamal plays on three S.O.S. albums. So, 3 persons I knew as being associated with Maceo Parker also previously had worked together in another band.Now, who's the guitar player in S.O.S. now? It's Reggie Ward, Fred Wesley's current guitar player. How did that come?In the 90's, Bruno Speight started to work with Bobby Byrd and later The J.B. Horns with Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker, a band which would turn later into Maceo Parker. So in S.O.S, the guitarist had to be replaced. Reggie Ward replaced Bruno. Later, when The S.O.S. band had a period with less gigs, and when The JB Horns (consisting of Maceo Parker, Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley) became Maceo Parker, Fred and Pee Wee left the band and started their own bands under their name. That's when Reggie started playing with Fred's band. It's a small world.It sounds complicated but in the end it's not. They all played together....Funny that all of them play on Saxify: Fred Wesley, Bruno Speight, Reggie Ward, Jamal Thomas.On the picture with the lovely Mary Davis, lead singer of The S.O.S. Band.
