We play the Basie stuff, the old spirituals, in big-band style. We do gospel and add a few grooves here and there to make it fresh. To me, the perfect concert would be where 13-year-olds and 75-year-olds are dancing to the same song.
I'm from Houston, I grew up in church, I've been singing that way since I was a boy. Kevin is from the blues capital of the world, Kansas City. We can't do a Count Basie tribute without that. You'll hear the South in anything we do.
It only sounds archaic if people aren't having a good time,
The areas that get hardest hit are generally the poorest. Donald Harrison ? he's an alto player from there ? said most of the people who were left there just couldn't afford to leave.
Wade in the Water. It has different bass lines, reminiscent of what you might hear in a dance club.
To swing like Count Basie and have the impact of Mahalia Jackson.
