Thursday, May 31, 2012

Introducing: The Will Sessions Band



                                          Will Session Miss Takes: Takes 1


                          Will Session Miss Takes: Takes 2

BIOGRAPHY 
Also known as......
Will Sessions and The African Assembly....
The Motor City Funk Night House Band...
Kindred Ensemble...
The Black Milk Big Band....
The Phat Kat Big Band....
The Guilty Simpson Big Band...


Select members of the band have performed on:
Elzhi and Will Sessions - Elmatic (2011)
Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement (2009)
Black Milk - Tronic (2009)
Black Milk - Album Of The Year (2010)
Slum Village - Slum Village - Villa Manifesto (2010)
14KT - The Golden Hour (2009)
Buff1 - Pure (2007)
Dennis Coffey - Dennis Coffey (2011)

Mayer Hawthorne: "Will Sessions is holding it DOWN for the D right now. They're in a league of their own. Nobody comes close."

Black Milk: "I respect Will Sessions a lot, they are the funkiest white cats I know... Always excited to get in the studio and collab on music with these guys because they are on the same page I'm on musically, "Funk", so we always come up with some of the dopest joints together. Also, they're shows are crazy too. They probably have the biggest following in Detroit..."

Real Detroit Weekly named them as one of the “2010 Bands of the Year” and has said, “This band is as eclectic as they come…”

MetroTimes has said, “There’s no doubt that Will Sessions is the coolest thing in the Motor City at the moment.”


Originally formed in a Detroit basement in 2007 as a solo project, Will Sessions has quickly evolved into a solid core of musicians adept at shifting effortlessly between rare funk, hip hop, jazz-fusion and soul music. On a typical night you can catch the band on their principal instruments delivering funk as fiery as any rare 45 and in the next set see them manning an array of synthesizers and samplers, playing note for note versions of hip hop bangers, but totally live.

The ensemble is led by it's founder, trumpeter Sam Beaubien, who not only also handles keyboard duties, but is the principal writer, producer and arranger. The sound is driven by the propulsive rhythmic core of energetic drummer Bryan Arnold, the dymanic bass playing of Tim Shellabarger and the toneful approach of guitarist Ryan Gimpert. The lineup is rounded out by Eric Kacir (percussion), Justin Jozwiak (sax/flute), Matt Martinez (trombone), and Tom Parks (trumpet).

Not long after coming together, the band settled in as house band at Detroit’s now-legendary Motor City Funk Night (voted the country’s best party by Paper magazine) where they regularly kept the wildly expanding crowd dancing into the morning. Soon came a series of stunning live collaborations with heavy hitting performers such as Guilty Simpson, Black Milk, Mayer Hawthorne, Slum Village, Elzhi, Amp Fiddler, Dennis Coffey, Monica Blaire, Phat Kat, and Rickey Calloway.

The band credits it's solid schooling (nearly 2/3rds of the band hail from Wayne State University's jazz program), a strong work ethic, and a diverse array of well-absorbed influences as the the key to their rapid growth.

Because of their musical flexibility, stellar musicianship, exciting live shows, and knack at making collaborating artists sound their best, Will Sessions has established a reputation as one of the hottest bands in Detroit, effectively bringing musical styles and people together, but compromising little.

The band intends to stay busy on stage and in the studio throughout the year - stay tuned for more exciting collaborations and a series of releases showcasing their depth.

Band Members
The Will Sessions Band
Sam Beaubien - Trumpet/Keys
Bryan Arnold - Drums
Tim Shellabarger - Bass
Ryan Gimpert - Guitar
Eric Kacir - Percussion
Matt Martinez - Trombone
Tom Parks - Trumpet
Justin Jozwiak - Sax

Genre: Soul/Funk/Hip Hop/Jazz/Experiemental


* I stumbled up on Will Sessions just kind like I found 

the Budos Band and The El Micheals Affair me being a 

crate digging music geek junkie for that funky live 

instrument sound. I ran across these guys about a year 

and a half ago,did my research found out they were 

from Detriot and had work with Black Milk, If you like 

The Robert Glasper Experiment you will like the Will 

Sessions Band.  


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