At the beginning of June Spectrum Road will release their debut album. The project consists of four contemporary artists inspired by the work of drummer Tony Williams. Contrary to expectations they are not a tribute band, but a project of four musicians whose aim is to preserve the legacy of legendary Williams.
The ensemble, named after a composition of The Tony Williams Lifetime band, features bassist, composer and founder of the psycodelic trio Cream Jack Bruce, jazz and rock drummer Cindy Blackman Santana, best known for her over ten year collaboration with Lenny Kravitz, guitarist, composer and band leader Vernon Reid, and jazz keyboardist John Medeski, a veteran of New York’s avant-garde jazz scene fom the early 90s and member of Medeski Martin & Wood.
„The idea for Spectrum Road first came about in 2001. The eclectic music of Tony Williams was a starting point to us because we wanted to create something totally our own from the very beginning. There’s a certain type of force between us I’ve never experienced before as an artist“, says Reid.
Tony Williams passed in 1997 and is best remembered for his pioneer work on the field of fusion, combining rock, jazz and R&B. He demonstarted through his playing that the role of a drummer in a band is not only a rythm keeping one, but that he can have an important role in improvisation.
Spectrum Road will play a long anticipated concert at the Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee on 9th June, which also serves as the first show of a tour with more dates to be announced.