Los Angeles, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Godforsaken Music) - Bernie Worrell finally releases the instrumentals record he has long dreamt of on
September 11th, 2007 with Improvisczario.
The jazz/funk/rock recording is anchored by the rhythm section of Will Calhoun (Living Colour) on drums and bassist Brett Bass. There are also some incredible turns by two legends of contemporary music. Guitarist Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule, Allman Bros.) guests on two of the tracks, and Mike Gordon (Phish) showcases the banjo on yet another. Meanwhile, Worrell glides over top, moving effortlessly from Baby Grand Piano, to Hammond B3, to Clavinet, to Wurlitzer. He even takes a turn on Thelonious Monk's old Celeste piano.
Raised in Plainfield, NJ, Bernie Worrell was a classically trained pianist at three years old. Throughout his childhood he played with symphonies and orchestras, and even wrote his own concerto at the age of eight. Slowly, he listened to the radio and discovered sounds other than classical, and when he went to college, he played with a number of bar bands, including the Tavares (who were known as Chubby & the Turnpikes back then). It was also around this time that Worrell met George Clinton, who was the vocalist for a Motown-influenced group called the Parliaments. The Parliaments soon split up and moved to Detroit, where Clinton re-formed them into a new group, called Parliament. Clinton then formed another side band, called Funkadelic, several of whose members had been in Parliament but were now performing under the new name due to contractual glitches. Worrell joined Funkadelic in 1970, beginning with their album Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow. He was an essential part of the P-Funk mob and continued to play with them right up until the early '80s. He then joined the Talking Heads as a session man and went on tour with them throughout the '80s, basically working with David Byrne and the band right up to their split in early 1992. Besides his solo career, Worrell continues to work with members of the P-Funk, including Bootsy Collins. His work on such songs as "Flashlight," "(Not Just) Knee Deep," and "Cosmic Slop" influenced not only other R&B/soul artists but also many rap groups, who continue to sample his work in their own songs.
Worrell will also release an additional record on September 11th (Baby Elephant), as well as a documentary film on October 9th (Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth) . Baby Elephant finds the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer teaming up Prince Paul and Newkirk. Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth features interviews with Worrell friends and former band mates such as George Clinton, David Byrne, and Mos Def.
Improvisczario Track Listing:
1. New Boss
2. Up in The Hills (feat. Mike Gordon)
3. Bass on the Line
4. Dirty (feat. Warren Haynes)
5. Killer Mosquito (feat. Warren Haynes)
6. OK, You Can Leave Now
7. Celeste
