TransCanadaRadio.com » R&B

Methodology in profile: Bringing the funk back to live stage

Bambi Blue — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:15:14 +0000

With the release of their first album What We Have in January of 2006, METHODOLOGY joined the revolution to bring true Soul, R&B, and Funk back to the live stage. With approximately 50 independently produced shows across Canada in 2006, METHODOLOGY has grown into one of the foremost underground Live Soul acts in the country. In 2006 they were nominated for ‘Best Live Performance” and “Best R&B Group” at the Toronto Independent Music Awards, and were honoured to be nominated for “Group of the Year” at the Soultracks Awards in the USA (running against the likes of The Brand New Heavies, Amel Larrieux, Omar, and many other signed acts).
Through online distribution, internet and satellite radio, campus radio, and music publications, METHODOLOGY has developed a world-wide following. Sites like Myspace have exposed METHODOLOGY’s music to an international audience. Mixes of METHODOLOGY’s music are being spun by renowned DJ’s in the U.K, U.S.A., and Europe. With thousands of hours of airplay on radio and in clubs, METHODOLOGY’s music is now widely recognized in countries they have never even been to.

Formed in late 2003, METHODOLOGY are five individual artists that found a blessed connection together, and formed a unit to create and perform some intense, original music. With KAMIL spearheading the group on Vocals, JAMIE laying down the live beats on the Drums, MARTYN churning out thick riffs & rhythms on Guitar, STEFAN’s sweet fingers on the Keyboards, and DAN laying down the bass on the heavy tip, METHODOLOGY is a band that focuses on great music with great musicianship. Now with the frequent addition of the vocal talents of JANELLE, METHODOLOGY often rocks the live stage with six dynamic members. Their music has been called; ‘a perfect mixture of Soul, Hip Hop, and Funk’. The band has been described as; ‘Imagine Jamiroquai, Stevie Wonder & Prince all rolled into one fantastically melodic groove band’. The music is straight from the soul, steeped in the flavours of Hip-Hop, R&B, Funk and Pop.

2007 and 2008 has proved to be busy years for the band as they delved into work on their second and now highly anticipated album titled “THE REPRISAL”. A four-song EP featuring hot tracks from the new record has been released ahead of schedule to wet the increasing appetites of METHODOLOGY’s followers. With a fiercely growing large fan base and demand for new matieral, “THE REPRISAL” is is nearing completion and is currently slated for official release in the Summer of 2008.

Upcoming Shows

24 Jul 2008 14:00 Beaches International Jazz Festival Toronto
25 Jul 2008 14:00 Beaches International Jazz Festival Toronto
26 Jul 2008 14:00 Beaches International Jazz Festival Toronto
16 Aug 2008 22:00 Montreal Funk Fest! Montreal

Stepchyle

Bambi Blue — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:51:58 +0000

Stepchyle is a seven piece hard-hitting original Funk/Soul band that will get people out of their seats and on to the dance floor. The Stepchyle sound is fresh, featuring funk, soul and jazz fusion. Packed together with a solid rhythm and horn section, soaring vocals and soloists, they are a show loved by many. George Taylor along with Kris Craig are the sweat behind the Stepchyle project. Together, they have a wealth of experience and have shared the stage with such talent as Jerry Doucette, Roy Gaines, Wild Child Butler, Don Johnson and many more. George and Kris have been working together on many projects over the last 10 years. Stepchyle has become one of their most creative projects and the duo is excited about its sound and success. With many years of experience in Florida and the South Eastern U.S., George has opened or played backup for such artists as Millie Jackson, Johnny Taylor, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kool and the Gang, The Ohio Players, Albert Collins, Robert Lockwood Jr. and Teddy Pendergras. While based out of Florida, George worked 9 years with his own band, “Tutch”, whose style (similar too Stepchyle) was a heavy Funk and R&B base with Jazz overtones. He became band leader with blues artist Lucky Peterson in 1989. A competent lead and backup vocalist as well as guitarist, George Taylor has become a practiced professional with a versatility that is not restricted or limited to any one musical style.

Kellylee Evans in profile: Fight or Flight?

Bambi Blue — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 10:12:53 +0000

2007 Juno and Gemini Award nominated singer-songwriter Kellylee Evans is a unique voice in the urban-jazz world, and many of today’s top musicians have taken notice. With a smooth style that slides through jazz, soul, R & B, blues and world music rhythms, Kellylee’s calming sound speaks volumes; Rich, soothing, robust and energizing, and with a songwriting talent being compared to Elvis Costello, Aimee Mann and Ron Sexsmith, this eclectic artist ignites inspiration. From the sultry “What About Me?” to the bluesy “I Don’t Think I Want To Know”, to the reggae-flavored “Let’s Call A Truce Tonight” and sexy poetical Spanish vibe of “Rapunzel”, Fight or Flight? is an eclectic and focused effort, held together by Kellylee’s rich, expressive, effortless vocal range.

Kellylee was born in Toronto, but is now based just outside the Canadian capital of Ottawa. With the help Chicago-born bassist Lonnie Plaxico (Art Blakey, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Wynton Marsalis. Cassandra Wilson, Cyndi Lauper), Kellylee went to New York for a whirlwind two-day recording session at a Manhattan studio. Helping out on the album were keyboardist/pianist George Colligan (Cassandra Wilson, Ravi Coltrane), guitarist Marvin Sewell (Cassandra Wilson, George Benson, David Sanborn), drummer Steve Hass (Art Garfunkel, Billy Joel, The Manhattan Transfer), and percussionist Kahlil Kwame Bell (Erykah Badu, Roberta Flack). Trumpet player Alexander Norris and accordionist Rachelle Garniez also lent their talents to a track apiece. The recording resulted in 11 of her original compositions and as a bonus, an alternate recording of “What About Me?” Her talent has gained her the attention of many in the music industry. In 2004, Kellylee was awarded second place in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocals Competition, held at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The judges – Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Jimmy Scott and Flora Purim chose Kellylee out of a pool of over 160 gifted vocalists from around the world. Since her win, she has performed with award-winning saxophonist Jane Bunnett and has been invited to open for Tony Bennett, Chris Botti, Derek Trucks and Maceo Parker. In 2006, she performed to two sold out shows at the Kennedy Center Jazz Club in Washington, D.C. In the summer of 2007, Kellylee embarked on her first tour of the major Canadian jazz and folk festivals, including the Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal International Jazz Festivals. Evans has also studied with bassist Christian McBride (Sting, Diana Krall) and vocalist Janis Seigel (Manhattan Transfer) at Jazz Aspen Snowmass Academy in Aspen, Colorado.

Since it’s release in May 2006, Fight or Flight? has been receiving significant airplay on the CBC, college and community radio in Canada. It has also received adds at commercial Jazz radio. The album has also been released in the U.S. and was available exclusively at Barnes and Noble for the month of July 2006 in all their stores, as well as on BN.com. The title was also selected as a Barnes and Noble Discover Great Music title from August to October, an impressive feat for an independent artist. In addition to being a 2007 Gemini Award nominee alongside Michael Buble and Measha Brueggergosman and a Toronto Independent Music Award nominee for Best Jazz, she is also the winner of a 2007 Canadian Smooth Jazz Award for Female Vocalist of the Year and nominee for a 2007 Juno Award for Vocal Jazz Album. Other nominees that year were Diana Krall, Molly Johnson, Lori Cullen and Elizabeth Shepherd.

“Who Knows”

04 – 07 June ART OF JAZZ TORONTO, ON
15 August OLD MILL ETOBICOKE, ON