It?s no understatement to say that even in the crowded field of musical luminaries gathering in Baltimore City for the PAETEC Jazz Festival, Soulive will shine.
Since forming in 1999, the band has become one of the most sought-after instrumental soul funk trios playing everything from small concerts to opening arena shows for The Rolling Stones.
“It?s true,” guitarist Eric Krasnow said. “Our whole thing is that we will play anywhere there is a good sound system, and it?s a good situation for fans.”
Soulive is an offshoot of the musical careers of the veteran musicians who make up the band and have worked in various musical capacities with such heavy hitters as Justin Timberlake, Dave Matthews and 50 Cent.
The result is a melding of jazz and hip-hop that keeps the crowds dancing.
“One thing we love about playing live is that we can experiment,” Krasnow said. “We have played together so many years we can change a song and go in a new direction without it sounding too improvised. As we tour, we get more and more into it. That is what is really cool.”
It?s also cool for the fans who can see Soulive night after night but never see the same show twice.
The band is touring behind “No Place Like Soul,” which was released in late 2006. The album is quite different from the band?s critically acclaimed 2005 release “Break Out.” For one thing, it uses vocals.
“We all show up at our rehearsal spot, and we?re sitting around looking at each other,” drummer Alan Evan has said.
“No one brought any tunes. So we?re like, ?What?re we gonna do?? Slowly we started working on some stuff. I threw something in, Eric threw something in, Neal [Evans, Alan?s brother, who plays the organ] threw something in. And it all ended up being vocal-based.”
The band added singer Touissant to the lineup.
“I love to play and I love playing with these guys,” Krasnow said. “It?s a forum for me. We have such great chemistry together.”
