     To order any of the recordings either on homepage or in artist file just email us at billkingmusic@gmail.com - all CDs are $15 plus shipping. You can also reach us at 416 530-2524. The Bill King Trio - Five Aces is also available as a digital download at iTunes Store. http://itunes.apple.com/ca/artist/the-bill-king-trio/id469202323. Bill King Trio Five Aces ‘Five Aces’ is my recollection of those many road gigs playing soul music and a tribute to every keyboard player who memorized those ubiquitous parts. With bassist Collin Barrett and drummer Mark Kelso at my side I feel we capture a sense of what it was like to be emboldened by a sound that claimed the best of soul, gospel and rhythm and blues with a sprinkling of jazz that empowered a cadre of talented players to invent something so incredibly powerful it spilled over decades later to the young players of today. Bill King's Rhythm Express Beat Street Beat Street is my homage to the great soul jazz pioneers who have inhabited my inner sound system since I was a fifteen year old searching the keyboard for those elusive blue notes in between. Cannonball Adderley, Ramsey Lewis, the Crusaders, the Jazz Messengers, Junior Mance, The Three Sounds, Miles Davis, Eddie Palmieri, Herbie Hancock, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and all. I can’t recall the number of times I played “The In Crowd’ or “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy” or “What’s Going On” on the bandstand. I do know I never tired of playing the form and soloing over the changes. It was always about the groove, mood and original intent that kept me intrigued and in the pocket. The Blues Piano Collection The Blues Piano Collection spans seventeen years from swing jazz to grind it out blues, to New Orleans. This collection covers the years 1993 - 2008. Tracks were originally heard on Saturday Nite Fish fry, The Jazz Report All Stars, Rocket 88 band, Liberty Silver Live in Session and others. Saturday Nite Fish Fry - Dirt Road Blues Dirt Road Blues -It’s now forty-three years later and Bob Dylan’s music still rings true. The songs on ‘Dirt Road Blues’ for the most part come from the blues side of Dylan and those stacked against war. Blind Willie Johnson’s ‘I Just Cant’ Keep From Cryin’ is a melody that crawls about my nervous system and brings me back to my dad’s habitat. The three Eddie Hinton numbers are our connection to soul music. Hinton was a genius. The two instrumentals – ‘Memphis Ivory Jag’ and ‘KCAS Blues’ are all about the rhythm section which on its own is The Rockit 88 Band. ‘Jag’ is my definition of that beat we play – swing on top and rock underneath. Few can play this with the authority drummer Mike Sloski brings. Rockit 88 Band - Sweet Sugar Cane It's now 2010 and the Rockit 88 is back with the two founders: keyboardist/vocals Bill King and guitarist/vocals - Neil Chapman and heavyweights - Jim Casson drums, Jay Speziale bass/vocals and newcomer Stacey Bulmer sharing frontline duty. The band has revamped its sound with several months of writing new material for their second release ‘Sweet Sugar Cane.’ Blues remains at the core but the band has added a touch of country rock, Appalachian, folk electric and Southern rock to the mix. ‘Sweet Sugar Cane’ is all about storytelling - the kind that happens in the Deep South - civil rights, dignity, passion and desire, life, loss and the celebration of the human spirit. The songwriting have been called Van Morrison meets Bob Dylan. At the core of the band’s sound is a blend of rockin’ piano, heavy slide guitar, thundering bass, pounding drums, four lead singers - a sound made to order by great American bands like the Allman Brothers and Little Feet. |
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