Super funky sweet soul San Gabriel 7 – Red Dress

The feature vocalist, Femi Knight, keeps it all REALLY rockin’ on songs like the high-energy “West Indian Brown“… great bass lines, keyboard & horns groove ya’ right ON out into the soul-sphere… DJ’s will be running this on their playlists for eons!

I absolutely DUG the keyboards on the 5:43 “Stranger“, and Femi’s vocal took me way back to the excellent soul offerings of the ’70’s and ’80’s… you’ll be spinning this superb song over & over again, I’ve no doubt.

Experience tells us that we really, REALLY don’t be on the receiving end “When A Woman’s Had Enough“… Femi digs right down into your soul on her performance of Shemekia Copeland’s excellent tune; the guitar leads on this one just SMOKE!

Lots of players in San Gabriel 7, too many to itemize here, so check out their BIO page to see who all is part of this totally dynamic group… their live performance on B.B. King’s “Never Make Your Move Too Soon” was an easy pick for my personal favorite of the nine soulful songs offered up… one of the best interpretations of this song I’ve ever heard.

I give San Gabriel 7 a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) score of 4.98.  Get more information on their SGSjazz website.     Rotcod Zzaj

Contemporary Fusion Reviews

As you groove to the tight, ultra-brassy, super-funky soul-jazz poppin’ from the grooves, melodies and vibrant arrangements of San Gabriel 7’s nonstop party album Red Dress, it might seriously bug you that the ever-evolving collective – formed by trombonist and JPL spacecraft engineer Jim Lewis in 2006 – has a ton of under the radar releases you’ll now have to catch up on as they, the words of pianist/producer Chris Gordon, “bring our music to a larger audience outside of the (SoCal) region.” 

Yet it’s best to let those frustrations go and just jam along with Dave Cushman’s alternately sensual and high-octane arrangements performed dynamically by the seven-piece rhythm section and five-piece horn section comprised of some of the West Coast’s most storied studio and touring jazz musicians. When Cushman took over the arranging from Lewis after the latter did an 18-month stint in Afghanistan ten years ago, he shifted the group’s dynamics to go down two different paths – recording instrumental albums featuring his arrangements and producing compelling vocal albums featuring the compositions and lead vocals of a chosen singer.

On Red Dress, the towering, R&B-jazz leaning singer we’re blessed with is Femi Knight, a well-rounded veteran best known for her long association with Sergio Mendes. When you hear her sashaying over the simmering horns of her jam “The Next Best Thing,” tapping into the punchy, exotic and gospel spiritual energies of “West Indian Brown” (featuring Chad Edwards’ high altitude B-3 ) or telling her lover some hard truths on the simmering funk tune “I’m Going Home Tonight,” you might wonder where she’s been all your smooth soul loving life. Because if she’s been behind the scenes or backing other legends, she should keep on emerging to the center stage she takes here.

Knight also brings her towering and insightful emotional presence to two freewheeling performances she recorded with SG7 at the Cal Tech Jazz Festival – Bettye LaVette’s raw and sassy “When A Women’s Had Enough” and Stix Hooper’s rolling, jangling feel good blues romp “Never Make Your Move Too Soon.” It shouldn’t have taken this long or us to discover the high-octane charms of San Gabriel 7 and Femi Knight, but now that we have, let the gratitude swell so that they combine their explosive forces again in the near future.

A copy/paste from Chris Gordon on Facebook

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I want to thank my friend, James Lewis, a University of Alabama Jazz Ensemble alumnus, NASA engineer, military hero, leader of The San Gabriel Seven, one of the very best jazz groups in Los Angeles, and owner of JRL-SGS Records! As I sit and listen to just how much world-class music Jim has given the jazz world, I am stunned by his recording legacy and just how significant his contribution is and has already been as he continues to sponsor, create and produce quality jazz. I include here only a sample of the diversity of The San Gabriel Seven’s recordings and the JRL-SGS Records catalogue! Thank you Jim for making great music!!

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