[Harp-L] Butterfield Fans...... (a bit long...)

[Rob Paparozzi <chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Apologies in advance for the bandwidth but thought this would be worth sharing with our listââ.

Well after 14 yrs of working with this project a true labor of love, I was somehow able to swing making a record!

Itâs a âBig Band Tribute" to the music of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and The Electric Flagâ.

The importance of these two bands in Music History cannot be stressed enough. Spawning and influencing the likes of: Santana, Blood Sweat and Tears and so many others in the 60âs and 70âs. Butterfield and Bloomfield convinced Bill Graham that the BLUES daddies like Muddy, and BB King HAD to be included and the rest is historyâ

Regarding Harp, Butterfield like Little Walter were heavily influenced by Jazz Horn playersâ.my goal in doing this project was not to copy or mimic the original recordings, who could copy Butterâs sound anyway he was totally unique!,-) But I wanted rather, to play it in my own style with ânodsâ to them and paying much respect as we did itâ.what better song to conjure up some âhornsâ then Nat Adderleyâs âWork Songââ.

My arranger, Ed Palermo decided to take Cannonballâs original Alto Sax solo and write it out for the 5 saxes as a SOLIâthen he gave me space to blow over the changesâI decided I would not go electric harp like Butterâs version but keep it in a jazzier texture with the horns so I played it off mic and not cuppedâ

The CD is 75 mins of music with a few special guests: Steve Cropper, Jimmy Vivino, Harvey Brooks and Mark Naftalinâ..I went for broke getting them but happy I was able to get at least two alumni. Harvey from the Flag and Mark from Butterâs 1st bandâ.I wonât be getting my money back from this project anytime soon Iâm sure,-)!  Tom Ellis III ( Harper and Butterfield Historian) was a tremendous help with this undertaking and our 16 page color booklet was designed by his talented wife Mason Ellisâ..Thank You Tomââ

Hereâs a little taste, this is one of the Jazzier cuts off the CDâ..hope you enjoy my take and nod to one of the true greats Paul Butterfield

The other Butter Cuts on the CD are Walkinâ Blues, Drivin Wheel, Driftin Blues, Lovinâ Cup, Love Disease, Everythingâs gonna be Alright, Walkin by Myself and moreâ.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvHymMwNbTU

I sent Bill Bentley from Vanguard records an advance copy and was so thrilled and humbled to get his responseâ.

ELECTRIC  BUTTER â Rob Paparozzi and The Ed Palermo Big Band

(A Tribute to Paul Butterfield and Michael Bloomfield)

In the ever-vibrant history of American Music, there are seismic shifts in those proceedings that really do turn the world around. And one of those joyous occasions was when two young men in Chicago collided in their love for electric urban blues. Paul Butterfield and Michael Bloomfield were born to spark off each other, and when they did in the mid-â60s, both blues and rock & roll have never been the same. Butterfield, a singer and harp player of absolutely devastating power, showed the world what was possible for that music. On his side guitarist Bloomfield lit much of the

fire to their early collaborations, and became a guitar hero who will never be equaled. Each went on to write and record songs of such force and feeling that even today those accomplishments are still a shining beacon. Today, in his own way, singer-harp player Rob Paparozzi along with the Ed Palermo Big Band take up right where Paul Butterfield and Michael Bloomfield left off in their much too early exits from the planet. With a voice straight from the celestial gutter and a harp style that takes no prisoners, Paparozzi looks the soul of Butterfield and Bloomfield in the eye and doesnât flinch an inch. âElectric Butterâ is the kind of album that hits the monkey nerve from note one and keeps climbing higher and higher from there. While Rob and Ed may have gone to school on the work of the two earlier pioneers, they walk in their light and not in their shadow. Their burning band take some of the most moving songs from the Butterfield and Bloomfield treasure chest and explode themâin a way not soon forgotten.

âBill Bentley Senior Director/A&R, Vanguard Records and Co-Producer of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Elektra Years


PSâif anyone would like to order the CD you can respond privately to me off listâthanks

All the Best,
Rob Paparozzi