For Immediate Release

Contact:

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Musical Director Evan Taylor

Celebrates New Orleans

In “Heapin’ Bowl of Gumbo”

From Bernie Worrell: Wave from the WOOniverse  

 

The Legendary Fred Wesley (Parliament-Funkadelic,

James Brown, Count Basie)

Performs Trombone on the Track

 

NOLA Musicians Add Flavor

To Playful Song About The Big Easy & It’s Famed Cuisine

 

Taylor Dives Into the Story Behind the Song

On “Heapin’ Bowl of Gumbo,”

From the Parliament/Funkadelic and Talking Head Funk Legend’s

Posthumous Double-Album

 

album cover: Bernie Worrell: Wave from the WOOniverse

art by Raeghan Buchanan

Album Now Available Digitally

And on CD and Vinyl, HERE

 

LOS ANGELES — New Orleans is many things. It’s the Birthplace of Jazz. The Big Easy. Mardi Gras City. Home to this year’s Super Bowl LIX on February 9. And, it’s the subject of “Heapin’ Bowl of Gumbo” featuring Leo Nocentelli, Fred Wesley, Stanton Moore, and Lonnie Marshall from Bernie Worrell: Wave from the WOOniverse.

“When I initially heard the bones of ‘Heapin’ Bowl of Gumbo,’ I felt that it had potential to be an ode to NOLA, so I began casting with New Orleans musicians that I really admired,” says Taylor, who went through dozens of the late Worrell’s treasure trove of demos, drafts, and unfinished songs in various stages of completion to produce the 13 tracks on the double album posthumous album.

“The drums on the demo were great, but I needed more of a New Orleans tumble,” continues Taylor, “so I enlisted Stanton Moore from New Orleans to provide that sort of pulse. Next, we brought in Leo Nocentelli, also from NOLA, to lay down some rhythm guitar and Mardi Gras-laced soloing. I had the great fortune of backing up some of those moments on electric bass myself while still leaving space for Bernie’s synth bass.”

Worrell originally intended the song, which features Worrell’s synth bass and Wurlitzer, to be an instrumental, but Taylor kept feeling like something was missing. “This was a full song minus vocals and solos. Almost a vamp. But something wasn’t right yet. After sitting with it for a bit, I finally came up with a little call-and-response chant and we went back to my studio [Loantaka Sound in Los Angeles] to get a handful of singers and friends together in the same smoky room to lay down the chorus,” says Taylor.

One of those singers was Lonnie Marshall from the funk-rock Los Angeles band, Weapon of Choice. “I fed Lonnie different lines about New Orleans cuisine, and he ad-libbed, in one take, a comical, almost P-Funk-esque character. He really nailed it. Another impromptu moment on this song was the party sounds and comedic spoken lines by Jonathan Wald [LA-based composer],” adds Taylor.

Lonnie Marshall’s ad-libbed New Orleans cuisine lines are: “I just want my shrimp and grits and that’s the start of it.”

The icing on the cake — or rather the hot sauce on the gumbo— for this track was getting 81-year-old legendary trombonist Fred Wesley on the track. Wesley played with Parliament/Funkadelic in the 1970s and P-Funk’s spinoff group, the Horny Horns. His resume also includes impressive stints with James Brown, the Count Basie Orchestra, Ray Charles, and others.

“After a horn session in Brooklyn with Justin Mullins arranging and Shlomi Cohen on multiple saxophones, I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great to have Fred Wesley on this?’ We weren’t sure if he would be available. The horn section agreed, though, so I called Fred on my walk to the train. Fred agreed and was available to be part of it, which was a huge honor. He is truly one of the greats,” says Taylor.

Bernie Worrell: Wave from the WOOniverse was released on Org Music initially on vinyl on Record Store Day (April 20, 2024) and then digitally and on CD in August 2024 at all DSPs (linktr.ee/bernieworrell). The lineup includes Bootsy Collins (James Brown, P-Funk), Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads), Fred Schneider (the B-52s), Mike Watt (The Minutemen, The Stooges), Leo Nocentelli (The Meters) and Sean Ono-Lennon, Leo Nocentelli, Miho Hatori, Steve Scales, Marc Ribot, Fred Wesley, Marco Benevento, Stanton Moore, Steven Bernstein, Daru Jones, Will Calhoun, Buckethead, Norwood Fisher, Eric McFadden (P-Funk All Stars) and many more.

“Heapin’ Bowl of Gumbo” Production Credits:  

Bernie Worrell: Keyboards

Leo Nocentelli: Guitars

Stanton Moore: Drums

Fred Wesley: Trombone

Jared Samuel Elioseff: Keyboards

Evan Taylor: Bass

Alecia Chakour: Tambourine

Lonnie Marshall: Lead Vocals

Justin Mullens: Trumpet

Shlomi Cohen: Saxophones

Group vocals: Evan Taylor, Jonathan Wald, Ricky Martinez, Rhiannon Bahree

Jonathan Wald: Role of New Orleans Tourist/Gumbo Enthusiast

Horns arranged by Justin Mullens

Engineered by Spencer Guerra, Miles Senzaki, Ben Ellman, and Nick Solnick

Mixed by Miles Senzaki

Produced by Evan Taylor

Mastered by Steven Berson at Total Sonic Media, Cedar Park, Texas (digital tracks) and Dave Gardner (vinyl tracks)

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