Vinyl pre-order ‘Big FUNK Band’ by Redtenbacher’s Funkestra (RSB Records)

With much excitement I’m finally in the position to announce that ‘Big FUNK Band’ is coming your way, following on from the super-well received ‘The Hang’ which has accumulated over 450k+ Spotify streams since the 2020 release and spending numerous weeks being number #1 in the Funk category of the Roots Music Report (RMR).

You can NOW pre-order the vinyl by emailing me: stefan AT rsbrecords DOT com

Friday, 30th of April 2021.

DIGITAL RELEASE

About the vinyl

180 grams white vinyl, printed inner sleeve and mastered by Barry Grint (Alchemy mastering at Air), artwork by Angus MacKinnon.

About ‘Big FUNK Band’

London based Redtenbacher’s Funkestra are probably best known for their original ‘wall-to-wall’ instrumental Jazz Funk.

The band is the creation of bassist and Austrian expat Stefan Redtenbacher who is the writer, principal arranger and producer of this large ensemble opus – long-play number #12 to be exact.

This offering – as the name implies – certainly does their reputation justice.

Like the opening track ‘Crescent City’ which is an homage to the musical melting pot and birthplace of Jazz (New Orleans) this album is drawing from a wide range of influences performed with nearly 50 musicians from Austria, Cuba, Germany, Ghana, Italy, UK, USA and Venezuela.

The multi-nationality of the players is an important factor to Stefan Redtenbacher who views music as a unifying force during seemingly fragmented times and world events.

The album certainly follows in the footsteps of their previous records like ‘The Cooker’ (ft. Eric Krasno from Lettuce/Soulive, Lenny Pickett from TOP and the NPG Hornz, the long-standing Prince horn section lead by master trombonist Michael B Nelson [Cory Wong/Fearless Flyers]) and ‘The Time Thief’ which heavily featured saxophonists like Pee Wee Ellis from James Brown/Van Morrison, Rick Margitza (Miles Davis), Andy Snitzer (Rolling Stones/Paul Simon/Sting) and Charlie Hunter (Gil Evans/Michel Camilo) and yet again the Hornheads (AKA the NPG Hornz).

The concept of the ‘Big Funk Band’ was to feature different drummers and instrument combinations not heard before on a Funkestra record – like ‘Funkberater’ recorded with two drummers and ‘Go East’ recorded with double bass and electric bass.

The star guest drummers are German drum virtuoso Benny Greb, Keith Carlock (Steely Dan, Wayne Kranz, Mike Stern), Francesco Mendolia (Incognito), Stanton Moore (Galactic) alongside long-standing Funkestra drummer Mike Sturgis (Bob James, Randy Brecker).

Other well known guests from the international Jazz and Funk circles are Cory Wong (Vulfpeck/Fearless Flyers), the NPG Hornz and Bruce Gertz (Jerry Bergonzi) and many of the finest Jazz Funk players that the vibrant London scene has on offer.

The Redtenbacher’s Funkestra have clocked up an impressive 2.5 million streams on Spotify and are proud to present their 12th fully blown album alongside their work as the studio house band for the ‘Masterlink Sessions’ which has led to numerous recordings with a range of artists across a broad range of styles (Grammy winner Mike Farris, Hamish Stuart – original member of the Average White Band now in the Ringo Starr All Stars, Jo Harman and a plethora of young and upcoming artists).

Pre-order the special edition vinyl now!

THE TUNES

THE A SIDE (21 min 53 sec)

1. Crescent City (ft. Benny Greb, Tucker Antell)
2. Slipped Biscuit (ft. Keith Carlock)
3. Feed The Chicken (ft. Stanton Moore, Cory Wong, Michael B. Nelson)
4. Go East (ft. Bruce Gertz)

THE B SIDE (18 min 35 sec)

1. Cool Beans (ft. Paul Jordanous, Mike Outram)
2. Shiny Shoes (ft. Piers Green)
3. Funkberater (ft. Backwood Five)
4. Jump Up (ft. Francesco Mendolia, Tucker Antell)

The MUSICIANS (50+)

(in alphabetical order)

TRUMPETS

• Joseph ‘Pepi’ Burchartz
• Graeme Flowers
• Tom Gardner
• Sid Gauld
• Paul Jordanous
• Adam Meckler
• Yauré Muniz
• Doug Olsen
• Gerd Rahsdorfer
• Rory Simmons
• Steve Strand

SAXOPHONES (FLUTES)

• Simon Allen
• Tucker Antell (& flute)
• Richard Beesley
• Piers Green
• Kenni Holmen (& flute)
• Andrew Michael Ross (flute)
• Andreas See
• Bill William Vint (& flute)

TROMBONES

• Mike Kearsey
• Herman Mayr
• Michael B Nelson
• Angelo Subero
• Clayton de Walt
• Tom White

GUITAR

• Mike Outram
• Stefan Redtenbacher
• Paul Slaviczek
• Johnny Sommerer
• Cory Wong

DRUMS (PERCUSSION)

• Karl Vanden Bossche (percussion)
• Keith Carlock
• Benny Greb
• Josef ‘Seppi’ Hinterhoelzl
• Francesco Mendolia
• Mike Sturgis
• Stanton Moore

KEYBOARDS

• Martin Gasselsberger
• Steve Hamilton
• Oliver Kerschbaumer
• Dave Limina
• Ross Stanley

STRINGS

• Paulette Bayley
• Sarah Brandwood-Spencer
• Nicholas Trygstad
• Simon Turner
• Pete Whitfield (leader, arranger)

BASS

• Bruce Gertz (double bass)
• Stefan Redtenbacher (electric bass, synth bass, alto glockenspiel)

ARRANGERS

All the compositions have been arranged by Stefan Redtenbacher with the exception of these tunes:

• Pete Whitfield (string arrangement for ‘Cool Beans’)
• Paul Jordanous & Stefan Redtenbacher (horn arrangement for ‘Cool Beans’)
• Peter Tomasso & Stefan Redtenbacher (horn arrangement for ‘Crescent City’, ‘Go East’, ‘Jump Up’ and ‘Slipped Biscuit’)
• Michael B Nelson & Stefan Redtenbacher (horn arrangement for ‘Feed The Chicken’)

CREDITS

All tunes have been written, arranged and produced by Stefan Redtenbacher (except where indicated)

• Artwork: Angus MacKinnon
• Mixing and digital mastering engineer: Rupert Christie
• Vinyl mastering by Barry Grint (Alchemy mastering at Air)
• Recording engineers: James Welch, Stefan Redtenbacher, Lewis Chapman, Michael Whittaker, Joe Steward, Michael B Nelson
• Publisher: Hypenstein Publishing (ASCAP)
• Record label: RSB Records (RSB73700)