The Motor City Horns
Local Boys - Reviews
Macomb Daily "Local Boys" Review and interview with Keith Kaminski
By Mitch Hotts, Macomb Daily ColumnistThey're used to playing in the background behind some of music's biggest names, but a new CD by the Motor City Horns firmly places the four instrumentalists front and center.
Titled "Local Boys," the record boasts contributions from a list of Detroit all-stars in the field of rock, funk, blues and R&B for a one-of-a-kind musical experience.
"It's kind of like our calling card," said saxophonist Keith Kaminski of Mount Clemens.
"We decided to ask all of our friends to submit material to showcase what we as a unit do, but it's also a record for people to enjoy."
Their friends, as Kaminski puts it, include more than 40 of the best-known local nightclub acts including Kid Rock DJ Paradime, Alberta Adams, Brian Vander Ark, R.J. Spangler, Liz Larin, Jimmy Bones, Thornetta Davis, Brett Lucas, The Brothers Groove, Tino Martin Gross and others.
All Music Guide Review
by Mark DemingTrue to their name, the Motor City Horns are four musicians who hail from Detroit, MI --Mark Byerly on trumpet and flügelhorn, Bob Jensen on trumpet, Keith Kaminski on saxophones, and John Rutherford on trombone and tuba. The Motor City Horns are talented journeymen who've collaborated with many of the most notable names on the Michigan music scene, from heartland rock hero Bob Seger to techno pioneer Carl Craig, and on the album Local Boys, they offer up a healthy dose of love and respect for their fellow artists from the Mitten State. Each track on Local Boys finds them collaborating with a different lead vocalist (except for three instrumentals), and 44 different musicians (all from Michigan, most from Detroit) contributed to these sessions, which run the gamut from churning funk, smooth grooving soul, and rough-and-ready blues, to polished but streetwise hip-hop and swaggering rock & roll, along with several distinct flavors of jazz. In many respects, Local Boys sounds more like a compilation than an album anchored by a single group, and while the horn section is the sole common element on these 15 tracks, the Motor City Horns understand the traditional role of horns is that of support, and while they carry the melodies on these tunes (and do so with skill and style), they're confident enough to let the vocalists take center stage, and they give enough spots to the guest soloists to make this one of the most democratic albums of recent memory. And sharing so much of the show with their guests was clearly no act of creative charity -- Thornetta Davis' powerhouse vocals on "Kissing My Love," the internationalist flavor of the group Bump on "Appollonia," the joyous trad jazz stylings of the Hot Club of Detroit on "The Moochie," and Alberta Adams' perfectly aged performance on "Remember Me" all richly earn their star billing. At a time when "the Tragedy of Detroit" is a popular story in the national media, Local Boys shows that the musical community that has been such a big part of this great city is still as strong and powerful as ever, and the Motor City Horns deserve the key to the city for showing just how many gifted artists are still living, working, and thriving there.
Blues in Britain Magazine
Mick RainsfordThe Motor City Horns comprises of Mark Byerly (trumpet/flugelhorn), Bob Jensen (trumpet), Keith Kaminski (tenor/baritone/soprano/alto sax) and John Rutherford (trombone/tuba) – and either as group combinations or individually they have appeared or recorded with the likes of Justin Timerlake, Dizzy Gillespie, Mel Torme, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Joe Weaver, The Temptations, Kim Wilson, Little Feat and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra … to name but a few. A list that should tell you these are seriously talented musicians.
On this set they link up with The Brothers Groove (Chris Codish (keyboards), James Simonson (bass) and Skeeto Valdez (drums)) and a plethora of guest artists to deliver a wonderful set of blues, R&B and funk that is guaranteed to delight all lovers of blues and it's related genres.
The set opens with "Local Boys" – a funky horn fuelled number replete with fine vocals (Codish) and stunning wah-wah (Brian Vander Ark) – before moving on to the soulful grooves of "Smoke And Mirrors" where Michael King's fine vocals are underpinned by baying horns. Bill Withers' "Kissing My Love" is fired by the sassy, strutting vocals of the great Thornetta Davis who lauds it over percolating organ, soul infused horns and more wah-wah – whilst "Cadillac Blues" is a swinging 50's styled slab of R&B featuring the mellow vocals and beautifully understated guitar of the wonderful Johnnie Bassett – not to forget the smokey horns.
Chris Codish perfectly captures the funky essence of Johnny "Guitar" Watson's "Superman Lover" – "Casual Observer" is a smokey jazz inflected instrumental featuring the MCH and Codish – whilst "The Introduction" can only be described as a "rap-blues" featuring moody vocals from Paradime and Savallace.
"Cross Section" features Mark Byerly's band Bop Culture with Jimmy smith's fine trumpet to the fore on a moody number with an MJQ feel – "Crash Save The Pieces" is a soulfully brooding slab of electronica featuring great vocals from Liz Larin – whilst "Appollonia" is a riveting slab of Latino R&B featuring the great vocals of Yorg Kerasiotis and wonderful trumpet from Byerly.
Barbara Payton sounds like a cross between Etta James and Tina Turner on Bob Seger's "Lucifer" which rides a pulsing bass and horn riff – Alberta Adams delivers a typically bluesy "Remember Me" backed by RJ's Rhythm Rockers replete with 40's styled horns and piano (Shawn McDonald) – whilst Tino Martin Gross sings a brooding modern blues underpinned by baleful horns.
Add in Alberta Adams' swinging "(Sweet Home) Detroit" and a dramatic rendition of Duke Ellington's "The Mooche" replete with Latino acoustic guitar (Evan Perri), and wonderful clarinet and accordion from Carl Cafagna and Julien Labro accordingly – and you have a set that demonstrates the talent and versatility of the MCH and the richness of Detroit's talent.
The 30 minute DVD features interviews and full performances of the tracks by Thornetta Davis, Johnnie Bassett and Chris Codish's "Superman Lover" – the latter to an audience of simply gorgeous women.
The Segerfile
Scott SparlingMotor City Horns Release A Musical Feast
What does it take to back up one of the biggest and best voices in rock? To create new arrangements for some of the most popular songs of our time? And add muscle, oomph and pure pleasure for more than half a million fans over 60 shows?
To do all that, you've gotta be the Motor City Horns -- Mark Byerly, Bob Jenson, Keith Kaminski and John Rutherford. If you heard them with Seger, you know they pack a punch. Now, on their new CD, you can hear them with some of Detroit's best musicians, including 14 guest vocalists.
It's called Local Boys, and it just hit iTunes -- or rather, 14 of the 15 tracks did. One of them's missing. More about that in a minute.
Local Boys represents almost two years of recording and production, and spans a wide range of musical styles. The up-tempo numbers -- like "Kissing My Love" with Thornetta Davis and The Brothers Groove, or "If You Love Somebody" with Tino Martin Gross and The Howling Diablos -- have been burning my car stereo speakers all summer.
Give a listen and you'll recall exactly what Seger meant when he said this about the Motor City Horns: "They're like our turbocharger -- when we really want to shift into triple digits, we get the horns out."
You'll also hear blues, worldbeat that will sweep you off your feet (it may be a federal crime to listen to "Appollonia" in a seated position) and even an old Duke Ellington number, "The Mooche," recorded by MCH with The Hot Club of Detroit.
That just scratches the surfaces. There's more info here. After listening to the generous samples, you'll want to go straight to iTunes.
But if you do, you'll miss the track that will blow away every Seger fan. I call it the official song of the summer, since I've had my copy for a while: "Lucifer" by the Motor City Horns and Barb Payton, one of Seger's amazing backup singers. Seger's music is not licensed for the Internet, Rutherford explains. To get this track, you need to buy the physical disk at CD Baby. Which you should do. Now.
After all, how many groups can take a classic, powerful Seger song and just knock it out of the park? Not many that I know. And when Seger himself uses words like "turbocharger" to describe your music, you know you're good.
SoulTracks.com
By Peggy OliverBetween their individual and collective schedules, The Motor City Horns have traveled all across the country playing just about every genre imaginable. Detroit-based musicians John Rutherford, Mark Byerly, Keith Kaminski and Bob Jensen each bring their unique strengths as sidemen and their remarkable knack for arranging horn parts at the drop of a dime. Those are good reasons why artists such as Bob Segar and Bruce Springstein's saxophone sidekick Clarence Clemons have utilized MCH for their tours. That is why it also made sense for this versatile group to take charge of its own recording session.
MCH's debut effort, Local Boys, features a cast of over forty musicians and vocalists out of Detroit representing blues, rock, pop, hip-hop and hip-hop bop. With all the diverse talent involved, MCH is never lost in the shuffle as they adapt their sharp brass arrangements to the aforementioned genres. The sheer ambitiousness of the project (and a couple of lackluster vocal performances) at times makes the compilation lose some continuity. But MCH's broad vision works overall, -- and their playing is terrific. Local Boys demonstrates why MCH is not just any ordinary brass band.
Notable Tracks: "Smoke & Mirrors," "Kissing My Love," "Superman Lover," "Cross Section," and Appollonia.
Big City Blues Magazine (Aug.-Sept. 2009)
Roger and Margaret White
The Motor City Horns debut CD "Local Boys" isn't just an album featuring a horn band; it's a complete Detroit musical experience with horns driving the whole event. For years, the Motor City Horns have backed up Detroit's top talent including, The Temptations, Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Betty LaVette and Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band. The Motor City Horns are John Rutherford on trombone, Keith Kaminski on saxophone, and trumpeter's Mark Byerly and Bob Jensen. Together the horns are the driving force, producing, recoding, mixing, writing and arranging. These local boys being musical products of their environment have put together an all star review of several Detroit bands and vocalists to showcase their driving soul, blues, rock, funk, rap or jazz sound with the horn section of their dreams.
Their most frequent partner is The Brothers Groove, Chris Codish keyboards, James Simonson bass and Skeeto Valdez hitting the skins. They do the title tune with Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe singing and a wha-wha pedal on the trumpet. Soul diva Thornetta Davis revisits "Kissing My Love", a number she's been performing for the past decade but over the funk horns and wailing guitar sound of Brett Lucas her vocals sound even sweeter. Bluesman Johnnie Bassett also redoes one of his classics, "Cadillac Blues," and with Johnnie's warm growling vocals this number has a style that never breaks down. The Groove's Chris Codish takes the mic on the Johnnie "Guitar" Watson's "Superman Lover", a funky number that showcases Chris' vocals while the "Casual Observer" takes the Brothers to a mellow jazz fusion with the addition of Erik Gustafson on guitar and Larry Fratangelo from P-Funk on percussion.
Halfway through the CD, "The Introduction" takes and abrupt turn with rappers Paradime, Savallace, and samplings that introduce a whole new direction for a horn section to travel. Another number featuring samplings, "Crash Save The Pieces" with Liz Larin on vocals and guitar is a driving number that doesn't put on the breaks. Taking another sharp turn rock band Bump transforms into a hot Latin band on "Appollonia." "Smoke and Mirrors" with Michael King on vocals has a Peter Gabriel like sound with the blare of the horns sounding like on coming traffic passing by. Bob Seger's "Lucifer" sung by Barbara Payton, a long time back up singer for Seger, rocks Detroit style. The Duke Ellington number, "The Mooche", features the Hot Club of Detroit's Evan Perri acoustic guitar, Shannon Wade acoustic bass, Carl Cafagna clarinet, Julien Labro accordian and Nate Winn drums. The horns have the traditional Ellington sound and the Hot Club gives this a 30's Parisian nightclub sound with accordian and guitar stepping out in the leads rather than the horns. Alberta Adams at almost 90 years old and having toured with Ellington and Louis Jordan is the only singer allowed two numbers. Supported by RJ's Rhythm Rockers, Paul Carey guitar, Mike Marshall bass, Shawn McDonald piano and RJ Spangler drums, Alberta kicks it out on Eddie Burn's "Detroit" singing this tough rockin' blues and she mellows down on the smokey "Remember Me" which she first recorde at Chess Records back in the early 1950s.
The Motor City Horns' "Local Boys" might not have the big names but these are the real stars of The Motor City. This is a broad sample of what's going down in Detroit right now.