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SLAMMIN ALL-BODY BAND



Last Updated: 11/25/2009

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Status: Single
City: OAKLAND
State: California
Country: US
Signup Date: 2/11/2006

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Thursday, May 15, 2008 

Current mood:  accomplished
Category: Parties and Nightlife
Our concert with guest dancers was truly inspiring - three male solo dancers, different styles, and every one virtuosic and tuned in. we think we surprised them with the music - the how do they do it factor - mutually enjoyed and appreciated. a true downtown oakland scene and everyone rising to the occasion. we're making it a tradition.
Saturday, February 11, 2006 
 Listen to segment on NPR
Fri, Jan 6, 2006
The California Report Magazine 2006-01-06
Music Review: Slammin'


In 1988, Bobby McFerrin brought a capella music onto the mainstream pop charts with his hit, "Don't Worry, Be Happy." But vocal music has a long tradition in jazz, and a new CD by the Bay Area ensemble Slammin' shows that tradition moving into new territory.
Guests:
Andrew Gilbert, music critic
Saturday, February 11, 2006 

Category: Music

11/14 SLAMMIN has already been receiving heavy airplay at WHRV and WUSR,moderate airplay at KUNM, WSHA, WGBH to name a few and a spin or 2 on KNTU, WRTI, KPFW, WFNX and other major market stations. Non-MediaGuide tracked JazzWeek reporters WEMU and WWSP have added it as well and we hope more and more stations will discover the band.

There's a little something for everyone here from jazz classics ("All
Blues" & "Freedom Jazz Dance") to R&B (Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed") to reggae (Toots & The Maytals' hit "Pressure Drop") to an incredible bluesy gospel improv ("Can't Get It Right") to Outkast ("The Way You Move")! All performed solely with the human body and voice in a style reminiscent ofsome of Bobby McFerrin's group work. To date the trax "Freedom Jazz Dance," "Overjoyed" and "Pressure Drop" have gotten the most spins.

Here's what fellow Bay Area musician, percussionist Babatunde Lea, wrote SLAMMIN founder and leader Keith Terry after hearing the new CD and an interview with Keith on KCSM:

"Some of the most exciting, spirit- and soul-grabbing music I've heard in a long time. Don't let me forget inspiring. SLAMMIN is the only group of this type I feel actually works...big time! They've transcended the cutesy,gimmicy, novelty type stuff other a cappella groups rely on."

In his review of SLAMMIN in the 11/09 issue of JazzWeek Tad Henderson had this to say:

"...a pleasant surprise from the get go...the sextet sets the tone for outside the box creativity...the group draws upon such disparate sources as Eddie Harris's 'Freedom Jazz Dance' (which is a true and improvised highlight recorded live), Toots and the Maytals' classic 'Pressure Drop' and Outkast's 'The Way You Move,' taking each in a wildly imaginative new direction that is due to the arrangement of ideas and the skill with which these are applied...Jazz folks will be drawn to the hip version of Miles Davis's 'All Blues' but there are plenty of other choices for creative listening and programming."

"Mixing jazz, reggae and techno with a funky hint of Sly and Family Stone, this body music group abandons not only convention but instruments altogether. Slammin relies exclusively on the musical potential of the human body to cook up a fresh take on old favorites such as Miles Davis, Stevie Wonder and Toots and the Maytals. The Bay Area sensation, known for its signature off-the-wall improv sessions, offers up an organic blend of a cappella, beatboxing and body music (imagine a funk-soul version of Bjork's Medulla)." - Jackie Black, GOOD TIMES