by William Alonso
From deep in the South where the peaches are sweet and the spice
burns like sultry Georgia nights comes a blues swinging jazz band that
gets the booty movin' James Brown style.
Hailing from Atlanta, King Johnson plays funk so steamy one would
swear they've taken lessons from the Godfather of Soul himself. King
Johnson will be heating it up with funk-jam legend Merl Saunders
Wednesday at the Copper Dragon.
Saunders is a 67-year-old keyboardist that kicks the feel-good
vibes on Jessica, his Hammond B-3 organ. If there is a jam band worth
noting, Saunders has probably played with them; he has played with
Miles Davis, Bonnie Raitt, Blues Traveler and Jerry Garcia. His
recordings run the gamut from rock to funk to rain forest inspired New
Age.
"It's great to play with somebody that has been doing it for so
long. He has lots of musical wisdom and lots of cool stories to tell,"
said KJ guitarist and lead vocalist Oliver Wood.
"It's nothing we do full time. For a couple of weeks we will tour a
region with him. It's cool that we get to do this every once and a
while."
KJ is taking time off from its regular tour schedule for the brief
Midwest tour with Saunders. KJ finished a string of gigs with Saunders
in January when they played at venues in Colorado. Wood said the band
gets to tour new regions of the country with Saunders, which is also a
chance to play in front of new fans.
"We don't have the budget or the connections to get into some of
these places. We have toured so much in the South that we are pretty
sick of it. This was the first time we've had to play Colorado," Wood
said. "It is nice to get exposed to that, next time we will be able to
go back and do our own tour."
KJ formed in 1995 when Wood met bassist/vocalist Chris Long and
drummer Greg Baba. They formed as a blues band named out of respect
for legends of the genre with the last name King (B.B., Albert,
Freddie) and Johnson (Robert, Blind Willie, Tommy). The group soon
departed from the blues, their sound evolving to their own original
brand of tasty funk with the addition of horn players Adam Mewherter
on trombone and Marcus James on sax.
They have released three albums since their inception. Their
latest, released in spring 2001, "Luck So Strange," has been compared
to such greats as Little Feat, Van Morrison and James Brown.
These Hotlanta boys bring together their individual musical
elements, creating a sound that lends itself to such comparisons, but which is
nonetheless distinctively King Johnson. Baba's drumming has been
described as earthy and natural, enfused with a big New Orleans street
beat. Baba, who lived and studied drums in the Big Easy for a while,
said that there is a definite "Nawlins" style sound to KJ.
"The beat to this band is that aspect, but you have a lot of other
aspects also," Baba said. "The song writing is more roots-oriented.
There is some instrumental stuff where we can get wacky and take it
out of bounds. Then you have the horns, which also provide a New
Orleans flare."
The visceral horn sounds that detonate and soar from the lungs of
Mewherter and James on "Luck So Strange" fix themselves on the heart
and surround the feet with an infectious groove. Audiences will have a
chance to sample live funk from "Luck So Strange" with the added
swagger of Saunder's keyboard.
"After you get to know each other fairly well you enjoy seeing what
can happen on stage," Mewherter said. "We have different styles of
music and everyone brings something different to the table, but it all
comes together. The horns opened things up a little more harmonically
and stretched the sound."
With the experimental tendencies that KJ often indulge, Saunders,
with his background with jam bands, seems a perfect match. Wood said
that when it comes to going off on the instrumentals, Saunders is open
to the KJ spice that differs from other bands he has played with.
"To have a Hammond organ player jump in is great. It doesn't really
change anything, but adds an underlying sound," Wood said. "What's
cool about Merle is that he is on the same page as we are as far as
improvising and jamming and structure. But not so much structure that
it is the same thing every night. It is always a surprise."
Reporter William Alonso can be reached at walonso@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 2/21/02; 7:20:19 AM
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