Music Briefs
from Little Rock Free Press: May 09-June 8, 2006
by Richard Ledbetter
These boys have caught scent of, if in fact tasted from, the well-spring of inspiration, so should endure for some spell as yet. Great ones always stand out so I’m amazed how more folks aren’t already hop to the funky sounds of these Memphis cats. For your own sou’s shake, pick-up on the four piece ensemble know as The Gamble Brothers Band (GBB).
Their insightful, original songsmithing has prompted me to remark, “when they make the movie of my life, these guys wrote the sound track.”
Sparingly interspersed with their own material are only the choicest cover cuts from The Band, that the Gambles make all their own through fresh, unique interpretation.
On stage, packed house or sparse, they give it all they’ve got everytime, as only those who live it can. Each of their three CDs. “Back to the Bottom,” “10lbs of Hum” & “Continuator,” are as fully electrifying as their lilve sets.
The term “soulful” most definitely applies. If you like Tower of Power horns and Little Feat keyboards, hooked up to impecable rhythm and top-notch vocals, look no further.
Gamble Brothers Band - Continuator
Continuator
from Keyboard Magazine: April 30, 2006
by Scott Healy
Rediscovering American roots music can be incredibly rewarding, but it is not without its pitfalls. Many artists end up sounding like cover bands, for one thing. Not so for the Gamble Brothers. For the past five years, this four-piece Beale Street fixture has been pushing the envelope on the very styles the modern curators are trying to recreate. But while their sound is evolving, it still strongly reflects all the southern rock, Stax and Muscle Shoals soul and R&B, and New Orleans funk they grew up with. Recently they’ve been grooving across the country promoting their third album, Continuator.
When you grow up within spitting distance of Muscle Shoals and spending many years gigging in Memphis, you can’t help but get a good groove on. And what keyboardist Al Gamble may lack in formal musical training, he makes up for with an unofficial diploma from “LP University.” “I tried piano lessons,” says Al. “My parents signed me up in seventh grade. I took for six months or longer, but I think it was the tunes that turned me off. I was always playing, messin’ around on the piano, but never practicing what I was supposed to. For me the records were the teachers.”
It’s a good thing the Gambles’ house had some cool vinyl side-ing: “My dad had some great Jimmy Smith records. I remember listening to those a lot on Saturday afternoons. He also had some Ray Charles records. I wanted to emulate those guys.”
Let’s not forget the school of the streets, too; Al’s pro experience backing up such artists as Irma Thomas, The Barkays, and Bo Didley didn’t hurt either. His brother Chad seems to have merged the diverse roots style of Meters drummer Zigaboo Modeliste with the studio sheen and laid-back edge of Bernard Purdie. These guys are naturals.
Live, the band plays music that’s focused, arranged, precisely organized . . . at least until they start to jam out. “That’s what we love, having it open up like that, being able to feel what needs to be or what needs not to be,” says Gamble. “I have to be aware if I’m doing too much.” Throughout the new record the keyboard parts and the musical textures evolve: A funky Clav and driving piano part will morph into a sustained organ section with the Clav doubling Blake Rhea’s bass. Many times Al does lay out, but even when he plays a lot, the rhythm section sounds clear. One tends to forget how much sonic real estate a guitar takes up, until it’s not there.
The organ is the centerpiece of Al Gamble’s live rig. “I’ve had a chopped [Hammond] A-100 for thirteen years now, and I also have a Korg CX-3 for backup and smaller situations. The Leslie speaker is chopped as well. An ugly rig, but it gets the job done!” On top of the organ is a real Clavinet. “It’s an E7, and I take the top off and I leave it open so the strings are exposed on the right side so every now and then I can do a little strumming, I guess it’s the guitar wanna-be coming out. I found a great little amp, a Vox Valvtronix (http://www.voxamps.co.uk), and I’ve taken the amp out of it so I can separate it from the speaker, and I made a nice little box for it.” On his right and Al’s got another vintage beauty, a Wurlitzer electric piano.
The History and the Brotherhood
Says Al of playing music with his brother: “We grew up playing in our basement together, but never really played in a band together until we started this band. But there is a chemistry that came about pretty early. Vocally I think there’s something special about siblings singing together. There’s a certain something that makes harmony feel more natural, so that is very special and I love playing and singing with him. He got his first drum kit when he was four, he started early, and we were really very interested in playing, the singing came much later.”
This vocal intimacy is obvious when you hear them live. Al’s well-developed and intense Lowell George-influenced bluesy lead vocals blend perfectly with brother Chad and saxophonist Art Edmonston’s backgrounds. But the groove remains the foundation of the sound. Where’s the guitar? It seems like it might turn out to be the most important aspect of the sound of the band — the guitar’s biggest contribution is it’s conspicuous absence.
“It was right after 9/11, and it seemed like we’d play a club, book another date, and a month later it had closed down. This would happen a lot. It was tough. But that early struggle was really hard for our guitar player. He had three kids and he took a well deserved, steady gig. Initially we thought, ‘Okay, who could we get?’ and I said, ‘Let’s just wait for the right person to come along. Let’s not just grab a guitar player — ‘cause there are plenty out there, but we wanted the right one. So we started playing as a quartet, and just decided that we don’t really need another guy in the van! Besides from it being a bit different from the norm for this type of the music, we liked the freedom that it gave us to all be able listen to each other. It really opens up the sound.”
Pop?
There also seems to be an evolving pop sensibility in the new music. Al and the band’s writing merges many different styles into their soul and R&B framework. One tune has kind of Ska feel, perhaps a bit of The Police in there? ” I don’t we think we said, ‘Let’s write a Police tune,’ but when you’re in the van for eight hours, you listen to a lot of different music. Art always brings out the Police record out and, having grown up in the eighties, I appreciate the music maybe even more now than I did then.” How about Little Feat? “They expanded the harmonies and the range of Southern Rock and R&B. They were a lot more guitar-heavy obviously, and Bill Payne had more of an accompaniment role.” Al’s got all that — the off-meter stuff, different chord changes with a rootsy feel, yet he can funk for days, and he’s the frontman! Al: “Little Feat, definitely, another influence.” Steely Dan? They have dense content yet room for soloing and openness. “Yep, another one!” Randy Newman with a southern R&B twang, plus a bit of his special Americana? “That’s another one. On our second record we covered ‘Little Criminals.’ I love that sound.” And Brian Wilson? Some of that heavy piano-driven vibe also sounds like it there could be a bit of Beach Boys in there too. “Yeah, I can’t deny that either. Guilty as charged!”
“Continuator” gets Editor’s Pick
from Honest Tune Magazine: April 28, 2006
by Tom Speed
Memphis’ Gamble Brothers Band continues their collision of Steely Dan sophistication and Stax Soul with their third release, the aptly titled Continuator. Recorded in the shadows of Stax at the legendary Ardent Recording Studios in Memphis, Continuator is the band’s most mature record yet. It cements a style that is rooted in Memphis-style R&B and soul, but ventures successfully into jazz and funk realms, with tight compositions, and deft musicianship and the workmanship of keyboard/vocalist Al Gamble.
Notably, every song on the record, for the first time, is an original tune. And the highlights are plentiful. Whether on the jaunty “Shopping Cart” or the lead-off hook- laden “Overboard”, the band locks in on their groove throughout, blostered by Gamble’s
Booker T-inspired Hammond B3 sound, and painted by saxophonist Art Edmaiston. “Vinyl” is an R&B crooner. “E. Parkway Rundown” is the band’s most accomplished tune yet.
The instrumentals “Durty Walt” and “Theme from ‘Little Champ’” find the band channeling their brothers-in-arms from down the Mississippi, Galactic, with a fierce funk workout. Just as Galactic has effectively mined and advanced the Crescent City sounds of the Meters and the funk that they bore, the Gambles invoke the sounds of the Bluff City by building on the groundwork of folks like Booker T. & the MGs.
That’s not to say that either of these bands is necessarily derivative. On the contrary, each show reverence for the past while providing vision for the future.
The Gamble Brothers are doing for Memphis what Galactic has done for New Orleans-serving as the Vanguard for moving their respective city’s illustrious musical heritages into the new millennium. And on Continuator, the Gambles make it move, indeed. -T.S.
Memphis Pop Stew
Gamble Brothers Band “Continuator”
from The Boston Herald: April 1, 2006
by Kevin R. Convey
Part youthful Memphis r&b outfit, part jam band, part post-Beach Boys pop
group, the Gamble Brothers’ third album proves you don’t have to blow the
dust off some heirloom vinyl to enjoy great r & b from the Bluff City.
Kicking off with some light-footed funk that would delight Booker T. and the
MGs - an obvious influence - this nimble quartet soon ventures into heavier
realms, sound-checking Galactic and the Thrills among others on its way to
waxing a fresh take on Memphis’ storied musical tradition. Download:
“Overboard.”
Gamble Brothers Band - Continuator
Continuator
from The Commercial Appeal: March 31, 2006
by Marc Jordan
The Gamble Brothers Band is one of Memphis’ most accomplished live acts. Featuring Alabama brothers Al Gamble on keyboards and Chad Gamble on drums with Memphians Blake Rhea and Art Edmaiston rounding out the group on bass and sax, the band perennially draws crowds who are compelled to the dance floor by the group’s expertly played mix of jam-band improvisation and funky, horn-driven soul.
That recipe, fueled by way above average songwriting, begs comparison to a host of fusion and soul acts (blue-eyed and not), but above all to Steely Dan. Though the third effort by the Gamble Brothers surpasses recent antiseptic efforts of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, the spirit of Steely Dan still hovers over the proceedings, informing every rhythmic change-up, every sax solo, even Al’s vocals, which echo Fagen’s relatively monotone delivery.
Fans of the band’s live shows may bemoan the lack of extended jams. Such critics will have to console themselves with instrumental workouts like “Theme From ‘Little Champ’” and “Dirty Vault,” which has a second-line groove that recalls the band’s New Orleans soul mates Galactic, with whom the Gambles will be touring in April. But the rest of Continuator keeps the noodling in check and, though it occasionally flirts with AOR blandness, joins the newly-commercial-again Al Green and the Bo-Keys in making a case for the return of Southern soul.
Continuator
from The Virginian-Pilot: February 26, 2006
by Eric Feber
The Gamble Brothers Band’s third album release should be a grooving joy for lovers of contemporary Southern blue-eyed soul. On its first two disc, the Memphis-based quartet proved it could certainly play, squeezing Booker T. & the MGs/Meters’ chops throughout its original material. But the group’s vocals and songwriting needed work.
This follow-up to its sophomore “Back to the Bottom” admirably addresses those concerns.
Lead singer/keyboardist Al Gamble has now developed a convincing white-boy soul voice, chipping in decent vocals somewhere between The Rascals’ Felix Cavaliers and Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay. And the band’s original songs, although still somewhat derivative, are now solid and, oft times, melodic. But the foursome’s main strengths are its creative grooves. Wearing its influences on its sleeves-from Steely Dan and Tom Scott & the L.A. Express to Stevie Wonder and The Crusaders-the band produces a full, rhythm-happy sound.
No, “Continuator” doesn’t produce cutting-edge music or innovation, it just showcases four groove-obsessed cats perfecting their own 21st century brand of ‘70s funk-jazz.
Who can argue with that?
Gamble Brothers Band (Archer)
Continuator
from The Studio City Sun, California: February 24, 2006
by Bill Bentley
What we have here is a Southern fried Steely Dan, maybe not quite as sophisticated with chord structures or oblique lyrics, but still in that bag where jazzish rock enlivens all their music, and the vocals have a real R&B flavor that give them their kick. The Memphis-based Gamble brothers Al and Chad, vocal/keyboards and drums respectively, are definitely on the same sonic wavelength, and manage to overcome a lingering ‘70s feel to make this music matter today. Bless their hearts for going the distance on Continuator, knowing the long odds these days trying to find ears for anything outside the mainstream. They’ve got the chops and the character to snag a sizable audience, and sound like they could fill up a dance floor at the drop of a downbeat, showing the Gamble Brothers are a good bet for groovers of all ages.
The Next Waltz
The Gamble Brothers Band celebrates a new album with a little help from their friends.
from The Memphis Flyer: February 22, 2006
by Andria Lisle
Al Gamble, frontman for the Gamble Brothers Band, blanches when he reads some of the press about his group. “Someone compared our music to Hall & Oates, which never occurred to us,” he good-naturedly grumbles.
“I’d say we aspire to be like the Band,” Gamble says, naming the group that supported Bob Dylan (and, earlier, as “The Hawks,” backed Arkansas rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins), cut groundbreaking rock albums such as 1968’s Music From Big Pink, and bowed out via a star-studded final concert captured in the film The Last Waltz.
When the Gamble Brothers Band takes the stage at the New Daisy Theatre this Friday night, they will increase their ranks with nearly a dozen special guests, a la the Band’s final Winterland appearance. But the Gambles’ SuperJam (with organist Charlie Wood, guitarist Joe Restivo, singer/harmonica player Billy Gibson, and more) will mark a new chapter, not an end, for this popular Memphis group.
“Amy LaVere’s opening up for us, and we’ve got all these great musicians playing. It should be a blast,” Gamble says.
The SuperJam, which heralds the arrival of the Gamble Brothers Band’s third album, Continuator, has been a long time coming.
The group recorded the album in Ardent’s Studio A last April, with Jeff Powell producing, then originally slated it for a fall 2005 release. But after band pow-wows and meetings with their label, Archer Records, the Gamble Brothers Band decided to push the release date back, hire a hard-hitting publicist (Cary Baker, owner of the L.A.-based Conqueroo agency), strike a national distribution deal with Emergent Music Marketing/RED Distribution, and let excitement build before dropping Continuator on a hungry audience this spring.
“It’s been hard on us, because we wanted to give it to the people who would appreciate it,” Gamble confesses. “You hate to go, every time you see ‘em, ‘Well, it’s coming out.’ We’ve looked like real slackers, but we needed time to make sure everything was in order.”
The band’s plan is to keep touring and steadily build audiences, until, Gamble jokes, they achieve world domination. “This is our fifth year in existence, and it hasn’t been easy,” he says. “It’s a very frustrating business, but luckily, we love what we do, so we’re gonna keep playing.”
The Gamble Brothers Band currently hits the road four days a week, touring on a regional circuit that includes regular stops in St. Louis, New Orleans, and Knoxville. Up next: a tour with Crescent City jam-band kings Galactic, which starts in March.
With the stellar Continuator, their second release on the local Archer Records label, the Gamble Brothers Band joins the ranks of such great second-generation groups as the North Mississippi Allstars, the Bo-Keys, and the Drive-By Truckers, adroit at taking fundamentally Southern sounds—blues, R&B, and countrified soul—and adapting them for younger listeners.
Gamble and his brother Chad, who plays drums in the band, grew up in Truckers territory, Muscle Shoals, Alabama, which, in the ‘60s and ‘70s, was ground zero for the soul-music industry. At studios like Fame and Muscle Shoals Sound, and with the help of songwriters like Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, and Donnie Fritts, Percy Sledge, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, and James & Bobby Purify found their voice, while in the ‘70s, the Rolling Stones, Cher, and Rod Stewart all traveled to north Alabama to record.
“Chad and I were too young to have experienced the heyday of Muscle Shoals,” Gamble says, “so we didn’t know or appreciate that music until later. We do take a lot of our instrumentation from there, but our songwriting is different. We’re not singing, ‘Baby, I love you I need you,’ but who knows? Maybe there’s a little something in the water in Muscle Shoals.”
Take the brothers’ faultless musical sensibilities, factor in saxophonist Art Edmaiston’s songwriting skills and soulful horn blasts, perfected in Bobby “Blue” Bland’s backing band, and the progressive fretwork of bassist Blake Rhea, and you’ve got a deep, 21st-century groove that nearly bubbles over on songs like “Vinyl” and “E. Parkway Rundown.” Other tunes, including “Shopping Cart,” “Durty Walt,” and “All Skate,” draw on the group’s combined jazz obsession, as Al Gamble delivers a Hammond organ sound that’s equal parts Jimmy Smith and Booker T. Jones.
Although just one out of 13 tracks on Continuator clocks in over the three-and-a-half-minute mark, the Gamble Brothers Band has plenty of appeal in the jam-band market.
“That fan base is so loyal. They really network and help spread the word,” Gamble notes. “We’re not so much about the jam, though. We just like a good song.”
Southern Soul
Gamble Brothers Band,
from Chicago Sun Times: February 18, 2006
by Jeff Johnson
Keyboardist Al Gamble and his drummer brother Chad spent their formative years in Tuscumbia, Ala., not far from Muscle Shoals, so Southern soul comes naturally to them. They toughened their sound in the bars along Beale Street in Memphis, adding tenor saxophonist Art Edmaiston in the process.
They put it all together on their third album, “Continuator,” which pumps up the funk on working-class anthems such as “Overboard” and “Right Direction.” While there’s nary a six-string player in sight, the Gambles have developed a rich, full sound that gives a nod to their soul godfathers without limiting themselves by aping the classic sounds. It’s a work in progress, but one worth bookmarking for the future.
Wall Street Journal Review - Continuator
Continuator
from Wall Street Journal: January 28, 2006
by JIM FUSILLI
On its third album, brothers Al and Chad Gamble’s quartet mixes a jam-band
sensibility with the old-school sound of Memphis—not Elvis’s Memphis, but
the warm, gritty tones of the city’s R&B scene. The brothers got the right
credentials, having played behind Rufus Thomas, Irma Thomas, the Memphis
Horns and Eddie Floyd, among others.
While drummer Chad and bassist Blake Rhea drive the quartet with a fat percolating rhythm, Art Edmaiston on tenor sax provides a perfect compliment to Al’s Hammond B-3 organ. All isn’t perfect, though. Al’s vocals aren’t particularly distinctive—at best, he sounds like a muted Daryl Hall—and Chad favors that fat snare sound that brings to mind Billy Martin of Medeski Martin & Wood rather than great Memphis drummers like Al Jackson Jr. But “Continuator” is a nice take on a great American style of music. It arrives Feb. 21.
Gamble Brothers Band - Continuator
from SOUL TRACKS: January 13, 2006
I have a weak spot for any group that has a hot Hammond organ playing in front of a horn section, so I was pre-disposed to like the Gamble Brothers. This Memphis-based group has the sound of an early 70s R&B jam band, and they sound great on their third album, Continuator. Comparisons to Hall & Oates, circa 1971, are difficult to avoid, especially with Al Gamble’s Daryl Hall-like vocals up front on most of the disc. And while the songwriting is spotty, the band’s performance is fine and the group hits the mark on cuts like “Overboard,” the instrumental “Durty Walt” and especially “E Parkway Rundown.” A fun album worth hearing.
http://www.soultracks.com/news.htm
Continuator - Gamble Brothers Band
from Puremusic: January 3, 2006
by Judith Edelman
A dare: just try sitting still when you listen to Continuator, the Memphis-based Gamble Brothers Band’s third album. With all the sex appeal of an R & B group, the raw, primal appeal of a rock band, and the intelligence of a jazz combo, this power quartet culls their southern musical roots for inspiration, but does not stop at mere tribute. R & B, Soul, Jazz, and Roots Rock a la The Band or Little Feat are all strong presences in this irresistible combo’s sound, but through some organic musical alchemy, what emerges is pure, original, creative gold.
Continuator is thick with funky grooves, slinky keyboards and tasty horn lines…and no guitar: don’t miss it, don’t need it. Brothers Al and Chad Gamble (keyboards and drums, respectively), along with sax player Art Edmaiston and bassist Blake Rhea, have honed a mature and unmistakable sound in just a few years. While the band may be young, their creds are long, all of them having played extensively with an impressive list of R & B’s finest.
Al Gamble’s soulful, everyman voice raises the ghost of Lowell George, while at times the harmonies hint at Steely Dan. It’s a great mix that reflects the overall genre-bending territory GBB is so comfortable with.
Many bands that demonstrate this level of instrumental and vocal firepower lean heavily on it to make up for weak song writing. Not so, GBB. They write solid songs some of which speak from an oddly cheerful yet resigned point of view about the every day condition of the “simple man.” This sort of “what the hell” attitude comes across in songs like “Hold Out ‘Til Monday”:
Hold out ‘til Monday, let the weekend get by us
What’s a few more days if it’s already gone?
The bridge is burned and the biggest surprise is
Nobody thought it would last this long.
Other songs, like “E. Parkway Rundown,” have truly tender moments that are nicely suited to Gamble’s vocal palette and show off the band’s emotional range.
With GBB’s knack for both the catchy hook and the intelligent lyric, not to mention their sheer musical power, Continuator is that rarest of beasts: the album you want to jump around to and listen closely to.
So, go ahead, listen up and try not dancing. Double dog dare ya. • Judith Edelman
Preview audio clips @
http://www.puremusic.com/61gamble.html
Gamble Brothers Band
New Release “Continuator” Feb 21st
from Jambase: November 29, 2005
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Gamble Brothers Band went to Ardent Studios in the heart of Memphis to lay down tracks for their new album, Continuator, on Archer Records, which will hit the streets on February 21, 2006. Produced by Jeff Powell (Big Star, Afghan Whigs, North Mississippi Allstars), Continuator has what Powell describes as “a soulful, Memphis-style behind-the-beat feel, with a sound that jumps out of the speakers.”
The album follows the Gamble Brothers Band’s previous Archer Records disc, Back to the Bottom, which gleaned favorable reviews and comparisons with the likes of Booker T & the MG’s and The Meters. The band is comprised of Memphis keyboard player Al Gamble, his brother Chad Gamble on drums, tenor saxophonist Art Edmaiston and bassist Blake Rhea. The band revels in the space and freedom afforded by the absence of guitar.
Al and Chad gamble grew up in Tuscumbia, Ala., within spitting distance of Southern soul mecca Muscle Shoals. The other two members hail from Memphis and surrounding environs. The two Gambles plied their craft backing up such Southern denizens as The Bar-Kays, Irma Thomas, Syl Johnson, Rufus Thomas, Johnnie Bassett and the Memphis Horns. Edmaiston toured from the VFW post in Lake Charles, La. to Harlem’s Apollo Theater as a member of the Bobby “Blue” Bland Orchestra and on Jonny Lang’s Grammy-winning Lie to Me.
You’ll find their indigenous inspirations displayed proudly and impeccably on Continuator and in the GBB’s scintillating live performances — flavors cooked up and marinated to perfection several decades ago at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Memphis’ Stax Volt and Hi, Allen Toussaint’s studio in New Orleans and wherever Ray Charles and his band set up.
“My dad had the Genius of Ray Charles and Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music, along with some Jimmy Smith albums and a bunch of Verve Forecast stuff,” Al recalls, “and I wore them out. I grew up in the ‘80s, and I couldn’t relate to the music on the radio, so those records were my salvation.”
But this band isn’t interested in merely replicating the past or geographically confining its reference points, although they readily acknowledge that they’re paying tribute to the great soul acts. “We try to further the heritage,” says Edmaiston.
Expect the aptly titled Continuator to further up the ante for a savvy, surefooted band that, as the title indicates, continues to follow its own path. As Al succinctly puts it, “We let the music tell us where to go.” For this super-tasty band, the music is proving to be one helluva guide.
Gamble Brothers Band
Back to the Bottom
from The Virginian-Pilot: September 24, 2004
by Eric Feber
The Memphis-based Gamble Brothers Band’s sophomore release-the follow-up to its debut, “10 Lbs of Hum” - could have been subtitled “How to Cook a Funk Stew.” That’s what these 2003 winners of the Nashville-based Independent Musicians World Series serve up on their latest, “Back to the Bottom.”
With drummer Chad Gamble and bassist Blake Rhea supplying a funky Muscle Shoals broth, keyboardist Al Gamble and sax-man Art Edmaiston shake blues, jazz, pop and soul spices into a simmering grooving gumbo.
But all’s not musical fine dining. The band’s mainly original songs are highly derivative affairs, and the vocals, usually supplied by Al Gamble, are fair at best.
What makes this disc worthwhile is the quartets’s spicy soup of genres, ranging from Brecker Brothers and Headhunters’ funk-jazz to Steely Dan pop-jazz cool and Gil Scott Heron soul. And these boys can flat-out play. If you crave skilled grooves and a band that can saute anything from ska and jazz-rock to soul and pop, these guys know how to kick it up a notch.
Gamble Brothers Band - Back to the Bottom
Back to the Bottom
from cdreviews.com: July 2004
by Joel Dunham
Funk, soul, old school R & B, N’awlins jazz—the Gamble Brothers Band conglomerate all of these rootsy influences to create some feet-shifting, outdoor-summer-concert, good times southern rock’n'roll. Usually I find bands of this genre endlessly boring, but not so in the least with these guys.
Their sound is at once both authentic and completely fresh. Their songwriting is inspired: rarely will you hear tracks that pack so many different kinds of punches—this band is the scrappy underdog who knows they’re destined to win the prize fight: nobody else has got a step up on their moves. Let’s put it this way: the Gamble Brothers Band are so the real thing that it’s hard to believe all four of them are white!
Their label’s voluminous promo material mentions three bands who are listed as perhaps GBB’s greatest influences: Booker T & the MG’s, of whom I’ve never heard; of all people Steely Dan!; and the Band. Out of those three I’m only really familiar with the Band, but I can definitely hear the Band loud and clear through the Gamble Brothers Band. The two bands do sound a little similar, but really links them together are their identical senses of cohesion. Both bands have mastered the art of sounding only loosely tied together, while in fact each band member is so comfortable with playing with the whole that they’ve achieved something greater than what most artists can only strive for. Eric Clapton himself once admitted that his entire catalog was dedicated to imitating the loose yet tight feel of the Band, and that he failed to ever do so. The Gamble Brothers Band have not failed at this however; they have succeeded.
Brother Al Gamble provides lead vocals as well as playing a smattering of heavenly and earthy keyboards, running from Rhodes’s to Wurlitzers to clavinets. His instrumentation choice would sound horribly plastic in the context of most bands’ sounds, but here each keyboard is obviously quite at home. Gamble’s voice strains with urgency, he’s pent up with the pulse of the soul underscoring him. He lets his voice crack and inflect like an old pro. Brother Chad Gamble plays the virtuoso on the drum kit, deftly guiding his mates through so many transitions and signature changes with fills and rolls executed with verve. Will Lowrimore (bassist) and Art Edmaiston (saxophone) punctuate the record with chattering, tight melodies. All four of them provide vocals. The crazy thing is that there’s no guitars! You don’t realize it fully until you check the liner credits to be sure, but it’s true.
Each of the twelve tracks is a piece of originality. The band handles the strutting boogie of “Share” which is reminiscent of Sly and the Family Stone, just as well as they do the old fashioned rock and roll of “Record Store.” Portions of “Land of Soul” almost sound like afro-beat! Each track rings of the classics, whether they are original compositions (most of the tracks are) or otherwise (such as their cover of Randy Newman’s “Little Criminals”).
The lyrics are also spot-on, which one would guess in a band of this type would be the first to go. “Tiki Bar” perfectly describes the disillusionment of the high rollers as they dilute their consciousnesses with expensive mixed drinks, lounging on plush furniture. It’s a peek into a rich man’s alcoholism, which has its own kind of blues.
The eight-minute closer, Cadillactopus, is one of the album’s two instrumentals. Here the band finally lays aside their energetic busyness and starts to use space in their writing. Although the track starts off a little too aloof and free-jazz, it develops its own laidback jam that cruises to the finish, sometimes breaking into whirlwinds, sometimes dropping to nothing but the sparse clash of cymbal.
A veritable melting pot of American music, this one is not to be missed.
Gamble Brothers Band
Back To The Bottom
from Playgrounds Magazine: July 2004
by Curtis Lynch
If Steely Dan had honed their chops in Memphis instead of California, if they had traded in their clever, cold irony for humid pop hooks, if Becker and Fagen had BBQ sauce pumping in their veins instead of slightly chilled white zinfandel, then there may have never been a need for the Gamble Brothers. Lucky for us there’s room for both.
If Steely Dan had honed their chops in Memphis instead of California, if they had traded in their clever, cold irony for humid pop hooks, if Becker and Fagen had BBQ sauce pumping in their veins instead of slightly chilled white zinfandel, then there may have never been a need for the Gamble Brothers. Lucky for us there’s room for both.
To be fair, Chris Herrington wrote in the Memphis Flyer of the Steely Dan correlation before I did, as did others, but I heard it before I read it, so I don’t feel bad about using it as my lead-in.
Back To The Bottom is the Gamble Brothers second record, twelve tracks that reach across rock and soul and jazz and even grab a bit of reggae and ska. (Share, one of the best tracks here, artfully combines all those genres seamlessly.) Al Gamble plays keyboards and sings, and with Art Edmaiston on sax, they take care of the front line and the solos. The rhythm section is other brother Chad Gamble on drums and bassist Will Lowrimore, who was replaced shortly after this release by Blake Rhea. The solid foundation allows Al and Art plenty of freedom, to the point where they “don’t need no damn guitars” (from Tiki Bar.)
Record Store, the opening track is one of the strongest and at the same time, one of the most puzzling and revealing. Are these guys a funk/soul band or a pop band? Are they looking for a hit? Truth be told, I don’t think they know. Or care. “No use preachin’ to empty pews,” but then Al sings “I’m just as happy on the floor.”
Land of Soul, a B-3 driven tribute to their influences, drives the point home with the line “southern livin’ is good for you.” The Gamble Brothers Band’s style is one that invites comparisons, from Booker T to New Orleans funk, but ultimately, their smart songwriting gives them an original edge that’s essential to get them to the next level. Having said that, another essential benchmark is a band that takes covers and imprints them with their own stamp. The Gamble Brothers do that here with Love is Alive, a Gary Wright 70s radio staple that under their influence morphs into a funk romp, and Randy Newman’s Little Criminals, which is an inspired choice, one of Newman’s underappreciated gems.
Hard-core funksters and soul survivors may look down upon the Gamble Brothers’ pop leanings but the truth is, it’s all good.
Gamble Brothers Band - Back to the Bottom
Back to the Bottom
from Blues Revue: June/July 2004
by Hal Horowitz
Who needs guitar when you have a homegrown vibe with kick-ass keyboards? Not the Gamble Brothers Band, whose sophomore release eschews the most basic of R&B instruments at no expense to the music.
These Memphis marauders get more bang out of four pieces than most bands get out of twice as many, locking into a groove that combines soul, jazz, and blues roots with a sparkling pop sensibility a bit like that of Steely Dan.
It doesn’t always mesh successfully, but the Gamble Brothers Band (drummer Chad and keyboardist/vocalist Al, along with reed man Art Edmaiston and bassist Will Lorimore) find the pocket more often than not. Even when the melodies wander in search of resolution as on “Old New One,” or the words trip over the ska/reaggae rhythms, as on the clunky “Share,” the foursome generate enough heat to keep your foot tapping.
In general, the songs are the weakest link. With shifting tempos, winding melodies that occasionally lose their way, and tricky, sometimes busy arrangements, the group lacks the easygoing, pulsing simplicity that made the Memphis scene so legendary. Still, there are enough moments here to justify not only a recommendation for the entire album, but to predict that the Gamble Brothers will be around for a while. They toss in an unnecessary cover of Gary Wright’s hoary ‘70’s hit “Love is Alive,” but work wonders on Randy Newman’s “Little Criminals,” a curious yet inspired choice that, with Edmaiston’s distorted soprano sax solo, is one of the disc’s highlights.
Al Gamble’s gutsy voice mixes elements of Joe Jackson and Dr. John with soulful results, but the band really kicks into overdrive on the instrumentals. The swampy “Cadillactopus: and the stealthy “Escape alley” recall the band’s Booker T. & the MG’s inspiration as they navigate funky Memphis waters. Back to the Bottom isn’t perfect, but it shows immense talent. It’s a sure bet that the Gamble Brothers’ best work lies ahead.
Gamble Brothers Band - 4 Stars
from Car Audio & Electronics: May 2004
by John Raju
If the music business cared more about great music than greater profits then the Gamble Brothers Band would already be getting the big-time attention they deserve. These guys out of Memphis, the home of soul and much more, are top-shelf musicians whose collection of funky soulful rock is a welcome change from the straw-stuffed material that dominates pop charts. The material on this CD has a broad appeal with terrific hooks and memorable riffs. Keyboardist/vocalist Al Gamble and brother Chad have created a potent formula for a hybrid genre of music that reminds you of how much fun you can have just sitting around listening to tunes. If I have any complaint it’s that some of the songs are constructed so tightly that they sometimes seemed abbreviated.
Gamble Brothers Band - 5 Stars
5 Stars
from CONCERTO Vienna, Austria: March 2004
by Dietmar Hoscher
“Back To The Bottom” crosses borders. One could file it under “blues&roots” as well as under “jazz international”. The four musicians from Memphis combine soul with funk, jazz and a slight dose of blues and rock. All instruments are played in an excellent manner no matter if it is the Hammond B3, the saxophone, the drums or the bass (there’s no place for the guitar in this sound cosmos!). There seem to be influences from Booker T & the MG’s, The Meters but also from Colosseum or even Hall&Oates. But the main influence comes without any doubt from…Steely Dan!
Unusual sound structures are combined with great melodies, some of the tracks show big hit quality and should be heavily played on radio, eg the opener “Record Store”. Becker/Fagen weren’t able to deliver this quality in decades! The Gamble Brothers’ record company characterizes their style as “Modern Southern Soul” and they aren’t completely wrong by doing so. The sound is modern and fresh and therefore it is consequent that the Gamble Brothers Band won the Independent Musicians World Series in Nashville (against 1200 competitors). If the music business isn’t completely deaf and stupid the Gamble Brothers’ unique style should make them the next superstars. Sensational! Dietmar Hoscher
Gamble Brothers Band - 4 Stars
Back To The Bottom
from Paste Magazine: February/March 2004
by Brian Baker
GBB’s sophomore album rings with the sweet soul shimmer of Booker T & the MG’s and shuffles with the funky Naw’lins syncopation of The Meters. Back to the Bottom is an infectious set of rump-shaking, roof-raising soul jams that are equally reliant on the band’s jazz and blues chops. Great songwriting talent gives their originals the distinctive air of classics-in-waiting (particularly the legend roll call of “Land of Soul,” the slamming “Tiki Bar”), and their funky reinventions of Gary Wright’s “Love is Alive” and Randy Newman’s “Little Criminals” are transcendent. Without a guitar in sight, the Gamble Brothers Band rocks to a slippery beat that incorporates any number of Southern music traditions.
Life is full of spooky, unexplained coincidences
from The Pitch, Kansas City, MO: January 8, 2004
by Ali Ryan
Life is full of spooky, unexplained coincidences. Like Lincoln and Kennedy both being succeeded by Southerners named Johnson. And the identical twins who were raised not knowing each other but both named their sons “Harlan Hee-haw Landers Jr.” Or the time we ate a heapin’ platter of fried gator meat just minutes before momma got tanked up on sloe gin and became a waterlogged, amphibian-style Cajun party mix.
Which brings us to the “devil had a hoof in it” moment at hand. Work on the Gamble Brothers Band’s second album, Back to the Bottom, was funded partly by a grant from Jim Beam bourbon. Oddly, our work here is fueled partly by tugs from a Jim Beam bottle. Just a coincidence? Probably. Our work here is also fueled by Johnny Walker, Captain Morgan, Jose Cuervo, and Ronald McDonald. Unsolved Mysteries won’t be rat-a-tat-tatting at our door anytime soon, but we’ll let the weathered, craggy vocals of Al Gamble - laid flawlessly against the upbeat sounds of Art Edmaiston’s sax, Blake Rhea’s bass and Chad Gamble’s drums - scrape our spirits off the filthy alcohol-soaked floor. Oh! A beer nut! Life is so beautiful.
Memphis Band Finds a Second Home at B.B.‘s
from St. Louis Post Dispatch: January 7, 2004
by Terry Perkins
The Gamble Brothers Band may be based in Memphis, Tenn., but this quartet of talented musicians seems to have found a second home at B.B.‘s Jazz, Blues & Soups in St. Louis. Although the band has been together for only three years this month, the Gamble Brothers have played B.B.‘s five times since August 2001.
And according to Al Gamble, the organ player and lead vocalist for the group, the band is looking forward to starting its 2004 touring schedule with a return visit to B.B.‘s on Friday. “We just love that place,” says Gamble, speaking last week from his Memphis home. “From the first time we played there, people really appreciated what we have to offer, even though they weren’t familiar with us. They sure weren’t afraid to show they wanted to have a good time listening to our music. It truly is one of our favorite places to play.”
There are several good reasons why the Gamble Brothers Band has built a growing core of fans at B.B.‘s. Brothers Al and Chad Gamble were born in Muscle Shoals, Ala., one of the epicenters of classic Southern soul music in the 1960s and ‘70s, thanks to the talented studio musicians at the Fame and Muscle Shoals studios who backed such legends as Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge and Sam & Dave.
Add the decidedly in-the-pocket, New Orleans-style second-line drumming of Chad Gamble, the powerhouse tenor sax of Art Edmaiston and the funky bass lines laid down by recent recruit Blake Rhea, and you’ve got a band that’s proven worthy of its Muscle Shoals, Memphis and New Orleans influences.
“We’re all really big fans of soul music back when it was king,” says Al
Gamble. “And we all love the Meters and New Orleans second line. So that’s a real foundation for our musical approach. But we cover a lot of territory in our other cover tunes, and we’re really focused on writing and performing our original tunes.”
A typical Gamble Brothers Band gig will include covers ranging from the Meters and Al Green to Bob Dylan and Bob Marley. On the group’s two recordings - 2002’s “10 lbs. of Hum” and last year’s “Back to the Bottom” - you’ll find covers of Randy Newman’s “Little Criminals,” Gary Wright’s “Love Is Alive” and the Staple Singers’ “City in the Sky.” With originals that blend a soulful instrumental sound with some sharp jazz licks and witty, well-crafted lyrics, the band’s music has the potential to get plenty of notice on the national scene.
In fact, the band raised its profile considerably by winning Billboard
magazine’s Independent Musicians World Series competition this past July in Nashville, beating out 1,200 bands for the honor and winning $35,000 worth of musical gear in the process. The group also played a gig at New York City’s Lincoln Center Out of Doors festival this past summer and received some highly favorable reviews of “Back to the Bottom,” so it appears the Gamble Brothers Band is well-positioned to build on its 2003 success in the new year.
“Yeah, the new album is doing great - it just went copper,” jokes Al.
“Seriously, it’s doing well, and we’re really looking forward to touring a lot this year and kicking things off at B.B.‘s. It should be a lot of fun.”
Gamble Brothers Band
When: 10 p.m. Friday
Where: B.B.‘s Jazz, Blues & Soups, 700 South Broadway
Putting Memphis Back on the Map: Gamble Bros Band Reintroduce Soulsville, USA to its Musical Past
from An Honest Tune: November 2003
by Tom Speed
Midway through the sophomore release from the Memphis based Gamble Brothers Band, during a song called “Land of Soul,” keyboardist and vocalist Al Gamble sings: “I hear the voices calling out to me/Otis, Rufus and Booker T.” It’s a great line, one that follows another great one “Hernando De Soto, did you know/You were breaking ground in the Land of Soul.” But it didn’t necessarily need saying. On the nine tracks preceding “Land of Soul,” those voices reveal themselves over and over, not so much calling out as being channeled. And The Gamble Brothers Band may be the first group of musicians in a long, long time to recognize the City’s storied past, embrace it, and infuse it with fresh and vital energy.
Midway through the sophomore release from the Memphis based Gamble Brothers Band, during a song called “Land of Soul,” keyboardist and vocalist Al Gamble sings: “I hear the voices calling out to me/Otis, Rufus and Booker T.” It’s a great line, one that follows another great one “Hernando De Soto, did you know/You were breaking ground in the Land of Soul.” But it didn’t necessarily need saying. On the nine tracks preceding “Land of Soul,” those voices reveal themselves over and over, not so much calling out as being channeled. And The Gamble Brothers Band may be the first group of musicians in a long, long time to recognize the City’s storied past, embrace it, and infuse it with fresh and vital energy.
The Stax sounds of the 1970s provided Memphis with a musical identity, perhaps even more so than the days when Sam Phillips recorded Elvis Presley to bring black music to white people with what would come to be called Rock and Roll.
It was the sound of Otis Redding singing “Respect,” Rufus Thomas “Walkin the Dog” and the unforgettable pocket funk of Booker T & The MGs’ “Green Onions” that turned the musical world on its ear and put Memphis on the musical map with an undeniable sound that identified a place within seconds. Wilson Pickett’s “Midnight Hour” became a concert staple for everyone from the Grateful Dead to the Rolling Stones.
Since the late seventies, when Stax slowly died away, Memphis’ musical identity has been lost, unwilling to embrace its past and not sure where to go next. There were flashes of brilliance. Big Star was a Memphis band who, while not necessarily commercially successful, has been cited as one of the most influential rock bands in the country. In the 1980s and 90s, bands from around the globe-from U2 to ZZ Top-came to Memphis to soak up the soul and record albums. Big Ass Truck and Yamagata have been exploring jazz, funk and hip hop. And Free World has been a hippie-groove mainstay for nearly 20 years. But the glorious Stax sounds of the era were reduced to dime-a-dozen cover bands grinding out watered down versions of the hits over and over on a plasticized tourist-friendly Beale Street. Memphis Soul had become firmly entrenched in the past, stuck in an old Memphis that was little more than a historical curiosity and tourist attraction.
But the Gamble Brothers are changing all that. Their first release, 10 lbs. of Hum, was a smart and sweaty mixture of Memphis Soul and New Orleans Funk. Originals like “Point The Finger” showed a real penchant for groove and an aptitude for song craft, while the two cover tunes-Lee Dorsey’s “Everything I Do (Gohn Be Funky) and The Band’s “Don’t Do It”-pointed directly to their wide ranging influences. The release garnered them industry attention as they were selected for a Jim Beam independent ????? award based on the merits of that first CD. That resulted in a $3,000 grant to help produce their next album and defray touring expenses. The CD was also entered in The Independent Music World Series, sponsored by Billboard magazine. Out of more than 12,000 submissions, The Gamble Brothers Band was selected as one of the final contenders and invited to play in Nashville. They won. They were awarded $35,000 worth of gear.
While receiving these accolades, The Gamble Brothers were also signing a deal with Ward Archer and his new Memphis-based label Archer Records. “The label is as old as our band,” says Al Gamble. “They both started the same time, in 2001. In December of 2002 I told him that we were ready to make a record and we started preproduction in February and recording in March.”
So, with the praise coming fast and steady, they got to work at Archer’s studio with Memphis producer Ross Rice. “Ross is a Memphian,” says saxophonist Art Edmaiston. “He had a band called Human Radio in the late 1980s and has written with a lot of different people. He’s a great songwriter too. What I hear, he’s influenced by Beatles, Bowie. And he’s a chops monster so he’s into King Crimson and stuff like that and ended up co-writing some songs with Adrian Belew.” Rice came with production and engineering experience too, having produced albums by Memphis bands Big Ass Truck, Yamagata and Free World, and proved to be a perfect match for the band.
As the sessions began, the band began tweaking tunes from their live repertoire and creating new ones in the studio. Rice was influential in encouraging the band’s creative process. “For the most part, every thing took a whole new life when Ross Rice got ahold of it,” says saxophonist Art Edmaiston. “There were things that we thought were totally perfect like they were that he flushed and rebuilt. And other things that we tried to get rid of or redo and he’d say ‘No, that’s the good part!’”
“Tiki Bar” is one track that benefited most from Ross’ help. “It was a song I’d written a lot of times over and over and over and it never worked out,” says Edmaiston. “And it was one that he pushed and encouraged us not to give up on. The chorus is basically his.”
Towards the end of the sessions, the band entered Willie Mitchell’s Royal Studio, the place where so many classic Al Green records were cut for the Hi label. “Since you can’t go back to Stax, that’s as close as you can get,” says Edmaiston. “There’s a special Hi sound where they use a conga drum on the backbeat to accentuate, and it shows up on all these Al Green records. Well, [GBB drummer] Chad [Gamble] got to use the same conga drum that’s on all those records too. So that was very inspirational being able to do that. A lot of the old equipment was there and there was a real spiritual vibe.” They also recorded some additional parts at Sam Phillips studio, where Al Gamble had the opportunity to play on the same piano that Jerry Lee Lewis did, many years ago.
In September of 2003, Back to The Bottom was released as one of the first CD’s on the new label. Back To The Bottom digs even deeper into Memphis Soul, while infusing it with a variety of common influences. It’s where the Ghost of Memphis Past meets the Ghost of Memphis Future. It’s where Soul is embraced alongside Big Star.
The overt odes to Stax are certainly there; witness the infectious instrumental “Escape Alley.” But “Come On Sam” and “Old New One” exude the cool sophistication of Steely Dan, Gamble’s vocals alternately recalling the finesse of Bruce Hornsby and the gravelly jive of Dr. John. “Share” takes a swirling Reggae/Ska beat and infects it with groove.
And if the Gamble Brothers recall the early days of Stevie Winwood’s Spencer Davis Group (and they do), it’s not so much that they are taking a page from Winwood’s book as it is that they’re both taking the same page.
On the 8 -minute opus “Caddillactopus” the Gamble Brothers Band reach for the stratosphere. It’s a structured masterpiece that comes across as mad improvisation, but was actually much more pre-meditated. “The funny thing about the way it worked is that there are all these sections and one of the reasons we didn’t play it a lot was because it sounded like it was all a bunch of different sections,” says Edmaiston. “You’d get in the mood in the studio and cut it a couple of times and then you see how these different sections could gel together. And then, the improvisation within how all of us addressed those sections made it seem…we were all improvising but in the same way a jazz player would improvise on the same song night after night. It had places that it could go and we were able to connect the sections through improvisation. It’s definitely our freakiest tune.”
One of the many standouts on Back to the Bottom is “Record Store”-a catchy slice of groove with an irresistible hook that has Al Gamble declaring “I’ve got a song to sing/It’s got words and everything/For what it’s worth and a little more/I’ll put it in the record store/If you hear it on the radio/Get ready for your mind to blow/I know its what you’re looking for.” Indeed it is and Gamble’s braggadocios words may well be prophetic. “Record Store” exemplifies what should be on the radio and indeed it has found its way to the airwaves, albeit primarily on the more hip non-commercial stations than the Clear Channel Corporate Conglomerate Conspiracy Channels.
In much the same way that Galactic introduced a new, younger audience to the music of The Meters, The Gamble Brothers are likely to do the same with their Memphis counterparts, Booker T and the MGs. And by reconnecting Memphis to its past, the GBB re-christen Soulsville USA-the name given to Memphis to represent the endless array of Stax hits the city produced-as The Land of Soul.
Must Haves: the Gamble Brothers Band
‘10 Lbs. of Hum,’ ‘Back to the Bottom’
from Loud OKC: October 2003
If there is one thing that will restore your faith in humanity, it is discovering there are bands out there more interested in carving out a sound rather than chasing one. Memphis’ the Gamble Brothers Band has tried its hand at the former and succeeded spectacularly.
With 2002’s “10 Lbs. of Hum” and 2003’s “Back to the Bottom,” the Gamble Brothers Band have taken incredibly fertile influences like Booker T. and the MGs, the Meters, The Band, All Things Memphis Soul, and New Orleans and created a sound that is both funk, soulful awe-inspiring.
Sounding like a hybrid of a Beale Street funk group and a Burning Man jam band, the Gamble Brothers utilizes its masterful musicianship and crafty songwriting to the best of its abilities. Songs such as “Bring ‘Em Back,” “Numbers Never Lie” and “Point the Finger” from the group’s debut and the “Tiki Bar,” “Come on Sam,” “Share: and the title track from “Back to the Bottom” display its incredible strengths in spades. The band’s inspired covers of Gary Wright’s “Love is Alive,” Randy Newman’s “Little Criminals,” Allen Toussaint’s “Everything I Do” and Holland /Dozier/Holland’s old stand “Don’t Do It” prove the Gamble’s uncanny ability to cover (or reinterpret) a song.
Every town deserves a niche group like the Gamble Brothers Band. It would behoove you to procure both of this band’s great CDs and to watch the group in action Oct. 3 at Tapwerks, 5700 N. Western
The Gamble Brothers Band’s Bottom-Heavy Musical Gumbo
from The Memphis Flyer: October 17, 2003
by Chris Herrington
The Gamble Brothers Band is on a roll. Earlier this year, the local four-piece took home over $35,000 in prizes by beating out 1,200 other bands in the Billboard-sponsored Independent Musicians World Series in Nashville. And now they’ve followed up their strong debut, last year’s 10 Lbs of Hum, with the even more impressive Back to the Bottom (Archer Records; A-).
The Gamble Brothers Band is on a roll. Earlier this year, the local four-piece took home over $35,000 in prizes by beating out 1,200 other bands in the Billboard-sponsored Independent Musicians World Series in Nashville. And now they’ve followed up their strong debut, last year’s 10 Lbs of Hum, with the even more impressive Back to the Bottom (Archer Records; A-).
As perhaps the most dynamic act in a compelling Archer Records stable (which boasts jazz singer Kelley Hurt, classical guitarist Lily Afshar, and folk stalwart Sid Selvidge), the Gamble Brothers Band emerges on Back to the Bottom as a band whose celebrated live reputation is equaled by its ability to fashion radio-friendly studio music.
While the band’s sound is generally compared locally to Memphis soul (Booker T. & the MGs) and New Orleans funk (The Meters), which are acknowledged foundations, Back to the Bottom, ably produced by Ross Rice, sounds more like classic ‘70s radio rock—and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. The band’s jazz chops signify Steely Dan while the soulful vocals are blue-eyed R&B in the Van Morrison tradition. A couple of instrumentals aside, the well-structured songwriting here is something few groove- or jam-oriented bands could match (the strong originals spiked by an ace cover of Randy Newman’s “Little Criminals”).
The record is given cohesion by a trio of standout cuts that examine and celebrate the band’s own music. The relaxation-friendly “Tiki Bar” imagines an oasis where the Gambles are always the house band, and they “don’t need no damn guitar.” “Land of Soul” might be their anthem, a tribute to the musical gumbo of Memphis-Muscle Shoals-New Orleans, which lifts off with a series of rhyming exhortations: “From the shores of Alabama over to the Bluff City,” “The downhome sound is the thing for me,” “Ain’t no place I’d rather be,” “Otis, Rufus, and Booker T.,” etc. But best of all is the lead single, “Record Store,” which is both a joyful hymn to the band’s own work (“I got a song to sing/It’s got words and everything/For what it’s worth and a little more/I’ll put it in the record store”) and the best testament yet to the band’s ability to unite jazz chops, soul feel, and pop songwriting. You can hear all those elements come together when Art Edmaiston’s sax leads the band out of the taut, jazz-heavy music on the verses into a welcoming, soulful sing-along chorus.
Given those songs, you might assume that the title track is also self-referential. Well, “Back to the Bottom” isn’t really about music, but the message still applies. The perpetually interesting interplay of this band’s rhythm section may be its greatest strength. The syncopated rhythms and in-the-pocket groove of drummer Chad Gamble and bass player Will Lowrimore provide a deep, strong foundation for keyboard player Al Gamble and sax-man Edmaiston to play off of. You can see for yourself at the band’s next local gig, Friday, October 24th, at Young Avenue Deli.
Classy Flack Closes ‘Garden’. Trenyce, Gambles Add Local Flair
from The Commercial Appeal: September 20, 2003
by Bill Ellis
The weather was gorgeous and so was the music Friday at the Memphis Botanic Garden’s final Live at the Garden concert.
Singing legend Roberta Flack ended the summer series before some 3,300 people, and a classier closer couldn’t have been had.
Performing a mix of hits, covers and newer tunes, Flack was no prisoner to her past (though the soundman made her diaphanous voice at times a prisoner to the microphone - she has such a delicate delivery that one had to strain at times to hear her nuanced way with a tune)..
The weather was gorgeous and so was the music Friday at the Memphis Botanic Garden’s final Live at the Garden concert.
Singing legend Roberta Flack ended the summer series before some 3,300 people, and a classier closer couldn’t have been had.
Performing a mix of hits, covers and newer tunes, Flack was no prisoner to her past (though the soundman made her diaphanous voice at times a prisoner to the microphone - she has such a delicate delivery that one had to strain at times to hear her nuanced way with a tune).
That aside, Flack, now in her mid-60s, was fabulous…
Two local talents lent a Memphis flavor to the night. American Idol finalist Trenyce - back from her own summer tour - hosted the show. Though she didn’t sing, she proved just as comfortable with stage banter as she introduced each artist.
Those Bluff City jammers to beat, the Gamble Brothers Band, opened, serving up their distinctly tuneful jazz-funk.
The guitar-less quartet - keyboardist/lead singer Al Gamble, Art Edmaiston on saxophones, bassist Will Lowrimore and drummer Chad Gamble - have all the bases covered, from improvising to songwriting. Best of all, they can pull it off both on record and live, no easy feat given the subtle complexities of their material.
Playing selections from their new album “Back to the Bottom,’’ the group showed a commercial promise that an act like Medeski, Martin & Wood never quite found. With well-crafted songs such as Rec ord Store - simply the catchiest thing this critic has heard all year - the Gambles seem poised for some serious national exposure.
- Bill Ellis: 529-2517
Gamble Brothers’ Latest is a Safe Bet
from The Commercial Appeal: September 6, 2003
by Bill Ellis
As if 2002 debut “10 Lbs. of Hum” wasn’t impressive enough, The Gamble Brothers Band follows with another winner, “Back to the Bottom” (in stores Tuesday).
Made with Ross Rice (and this just may be his best effort yet in the producer’s chair), the sophomore record further hones what already seemed a near-perfect sound on the act’s debut. This instrumentally ferocious jazz-rock quartet - a Bluff City-meets-N’awlins hybrid - is so musically mature, in fact, it refuses to lapse into any “jam band” syndrome whereby endless riffing passes for a song.
As if 2002 debut “10 Lbs. of Hum” wasn’t impressive enough, The Gamble Brothers Band follows with another winner, “Back to the Bottom” (in stores Tuesday).
Made with Ross Rice (and this just may be his best effort yet in the producer’s chair), the sophomore record further hones what already seemed a near-perfect sound on the act’s debut. This instrumentally ferocious jazz-rock quartet - a Bluff City-meets-N’awlins hybrid - is so musically mature, in fact, it refuses to lapse into any “jam band” syndrome whereby endless riffing passes for a song.
The band’s daunting chops never fail to serve the written material, a wise path. And it’s the topnotch originals herein that you’ll remember most, from the great opener Record Store - a more-than-worthy nod to influence Steely Dan and as close to a “hit” as they’ve penned thus far - the ska send-up Share, the funky Tiki Bar, and the hip instrumental highlight Escape Alley.
Only a pleasant-enough arrangement of Gary Wright’s ‘70s hit Love Is Alive seems unnecessary. Not so, however, with the disc’s other cover, Randy Newman’s Little Criminals, which just may have outdone the author’s.
The Gamble Brothers Band took top honors at Nashville’s recent Independent Music World Series Southeast Showcase for a reason - they’re amazing players, especially live. They’ve also made one of the year’s amazing local discs in “Back to the Bottom.” If this is their “Countdown to Ecstasy,” I can hardly wait for their “Pretzel Logic.”
The Gamble Brothers Band opens for Roberta Flack on Sept. 19 at the Memphis Botanic Garden’s Live at the Garden finale.
Gamble Brothers Kept Industry Types on Their Toes
from The Commercial Appeal: August 9, 2003
by Bill Ellis
Anyone who has seen the Gamble Brothers Band in town knows they’re one of the best live acts going. Now the nation is getting a taste.
Congratulations are in order for the Memphis quartet, who won the Independent Music World Series Southeast Showcase finals in Nashville last week. They pick up $35,000 in music gear and prizes for their effort (go to discmakers.com/ imws for the official announcement).
Anyone who has seen the Gamble Brothers Band in town knows they’re one of the best live acts going. Now the nation is getting a taste.
Congratulations are in order for the Memphis quartet, who won the Independent Music World Series Southeast Showcase finals in Nashville last week. They pick up $35,000 in music gear and prizes for their effort (go to discmakers.com/ imws for the official announcement).
More than 1,200 acts applied to the contest, produced by leading CD manufacturer Disc Makers. Independent A&R company TAXI whittled the list to 100, who were then reduced to six by the folks at Billboard magazine.
Those half-dozen finalists then played before a panel of 12 industry judges - including representatives from Capitol Records, BMI and Billboard - in a July 31 showdown at Music City club 3d & Lindsley.
The funky jazz-rock group - keyboardist/lead vocalist Al Gamble, drummer Chad Gamble, tenor saxophonist Art Edmaiston and bassist Will Lowrimore - faced off against Knoxville’s Jag Star, the Smartest Monkeys from Nashville, Atlanta’s WISEDUMB, itinerant performer Dean Fields, and a group Memphians will remember as the entertaining winners of last year’s International Blues Challenge, Detroit act Chef Chris & His Nairobi Trio.
“There was a wide variety of music from hip-hop to punk to pop,” says Al Gamble of the contest. “We just hit ‘em hard for 20 minutes and everything turned out all right.”
Alison Jones with BMI in Nashville was one of the impressed judges.
“Everyone was so good, but (the Gamble Brothers Band) had a completely different kind of vibe,” she says. “They were extremely original with funk and rock mixed together. I thought it was amazing. They kept your blood pumping and on your toes the whole time. There’s something very special about that band.”
Disc Makers editorial manager Scott McCormick, who attended the finals, agreed.
“They were great,” he says. “They got the room excited and charged up. On top of that, they’re killer musicians.”
First held in the ‘90s, the Independent Music World Series now consists of four showcases in the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest and Southwest. Other regional winners this go-round are San Francisco hard rock outfit Dirty Power and Chicago trumpeter Orbert Davis (yet to be held is the Northeast finals, scheduled for October).
Success stories include former finalists Splender, Creeper Lagoon and Ultimate Fakebook, all of whom went on to sign major label deals.
Among the contest winner’s perks is that Disc Makers will manufacture 2,000 CDs for free. That comes at a good time for the Gamble Brothers Band since their new album, “Back to the Bottom,” is scheduled for a Sept. 9 release date on local label Archer Records, according to owner Ward Archer.
Al Gamble sees the win less as a launching pad than as one more notch in the band’s rising reputation.
“Hopefully, it’ll help open a few more doors,” he says. “Like the people from Disc Makers said, ‘Hey, take the ball and run with it - some good things will happen.’ So that’s what we plan to do.”
As for the band’s next bit of prominent exposure, they’ll play the Lincoln Center Out of Doors series Aug. 22 along with fellow Archer Records signee Kelley Hurt and Alvin Youngblood Hart in a show to be recorded by Beale Street Caravan.