MTO Plays Sly @ LPR 1/6/12

This is always so great, it's hard to choose anything else when this is going on.  They opened with Stand, which I always love.  I recall I happened to be listening to WWOZ on-line last Fall when they happened to be interviewing Steven Bernstein.  They talked to him for a bit and then said they were going to play "Stand".  Steven warned the DJ it was the most "out" piece on the CD.  It was awesome and I can't believe I forgot to pick one up.

Anyway, I stayed for a few and then went home to rest up.  It was awesome.

Steven Bernstein's MTO plays Sly

Steven Bernstein, trumpet / Peter Apfelbaum, tenor saxophone / Doug Wieselman, clarinet / Allan Won, baritone saxophone / Clark Gayton, trombone / Charlie Burnham, violin / Matt Munisteri, guitar / Ben Allison, bass / Ben Perowsky, drums + special guests John Medeski, organ / Sandra St. Victor, vocals / Dean Bowman, vocals

New York City’s favorite "little big band" Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra cracks open wide the monumental songbook of Sly & The Family Stone on its third album, MTO Plays SLY. On this freewheeling and jubilant 13-track tribute, MTO is propelled by a dynamic cast of special guests, including Antony Hegarty, Bernie Worrell, Bill Laswell, Dean Bowman, Martha Wainwright, Sandra St. Victor, Shilpa Ray and Vernon Reid, treating Sly & The Family Stone with the same (ir)reverence it would Duke Ellington or Count Basie. By illuminating the melodic and harmonic sophistication of the iconoclast’s body of work, MTO re-imagine Sly Stone through the filter of their own "downtown NYC" aesthetic, while still upholding the Day-Glo soul and psychedelic funk that is the backbone for classics like "M'Lady," "Everyday People" and "Family Affair." Both the CD and LP versions of the release include extensive liner notes by Steven Bernstein and music historian Greg Tate along with never before seen photos from the recording sessions.