Dave Sharp's Secret Seven

Artist Information

Biography

DAVE SHARP’S SECRET SEVEN is “World Jazz for the Jazz World”. It transcends musical, national, and ethnic boundaries by re-interpreting, not fusing, influences from Africa, Asia, the Latin world, Blue Note Jazz, and that other planet, New Orleans. “7,” (Vortex Jazz Recordings 1969) brings stunning new energy to straight ahead jazz, including original tunes like Africano (Afro-Beat), Skeleton Key (Rumba), Chrispy Underground (New Orleans Funk) and Lootmar (Indian Music).The band features Dave Sharp (The Melvins) on electric & upright bass, Chris Kaercher (Aretha Franklin, The Four Tops, The Temptations, and the O’Jays) on tenor saxophone and Eric “CHUCHO” Wilhelm on drums & percussion.

Secret Seven features Dave Sharp on electric & upright bass, leading a steady groove and laying the foundation for the band’s irresistable melodies. Native Detroiter Sharp became devoted to Jazz at the University of Michigan and refined his chops under the tutelage of renowned bassist Herbie Lewis (McCoy Tyner, Cannonball Adderly, Les McCann) in San Francisco, and virtusoso bassist, composer and bandleader Marion Hayden (Straight Ahead) in Detroit. As bassist and composer for the modern jazz ensemble Spheres of Influence, and touring bassist for the seminal rock band The Melvins (Atlantic Records), Sharp has already made a mark on the national scene. Sharp lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he composes, records, teaches and performs.

The new CD “7’ features a wide array of musical talent from across the US including:
•Andre Frappier (guitarist for NE-YO)
•Eenor (guitarist for LES CLAYPOOL'S FROG BRIGADE, YARD DOG ROAD SHOW)
•Jon-Paul Frappier (trumpet)(ALICIA KEYS, MIKE FARRIS, ARETHA FRAKLIN)
•Sean Ike (vocalist for the Elevations in Detroit)
•Alex Anest (guitarist for Delta 88)
•Kris Kurzawa (guitarist for Zap Toro)
•Ross Huff (trumpeter for the Macpodz)
•John Churchville (tabla for Sumkali)

Instrumentation

Dave Sharp-Bass
Chris Kaercher-Tenor Saxophone
Chucho Wilhelm-Drums
Dale Grisa-Keyboards
Muruga Booker-Percussion
Choni-Guitar

Discography

"7" on Vortex Jazz Recordings out in 2010. This release charted in the top 30 for CMJ, and streaming clips are on Itunes, LastFM. Bandcamp.com, AirplayDirect.
Airplay Nationwide in 2010
KSDS (San Diego, CA)
KKJZ (Los Angeles, CA)
WNMC (Traverse City, MI)
WVIA (Pittsburgh/Scranton, PA)
KUNV (Las Vegas, NV)
KUSP (Santa Cruz, CA)
KUNM (Albuquerque, NM)
KEWU (Cheney, WA)
KRCC (Colorado Springs, CO)
KTSU (Houston, TX)
WRFG (Atlanta, GA)
WEMU (Ypsilanti, MI)
KZMU (Moab, UT)
WNMC (Traverse City, MI)
WICR (Indianapolis, IN)
KMHD (Portland, OR)
WYCE (Grand Rapids, MI)
WWSP (Stevens Point, WI)
KBEM (Minneapolis, MN)
WWOZ (New Orleans, LA)
WHRB (Boston, MA)
KANU (Lawrence, KS)
KKFI (Kansas City, MO)
WBLU (Twin Lakes, MI)
WDCB (Chicago, IL)
WICR (Indianapolis, IN)
WMSE (Milwaukee, WI)
WYCE (Grand Rapids, MI)
KBCS (Bellevue, WA)
KBOO (Portland, OR)
KBCS (Bellevue, WA)
KCHO (Chico, CA)
KWLC (Decorah, IA)
WDCE (Richmond, VA)
WMCE (Erie, PA)
WMUA (Boston, MA)
WNHU (West Haven, CT)
KMUW (Wichita, KS)

Links

• MySpace
• Facebook
• Last.fm
• Twitter

Audio

• Africano
  Listen   Download
• Chrispy Underground
  Listen   Download
• Skeleton Key
  Listen   Download
• Blackout
  Listen   Download
• The Seventh Secret
  Listen   Download

Video

SECRET SEVEN LIVE @ KERRYTOWN CONCERT HOUSE

SECRET SEVEN: AFRICANO LIVE AT CROSSROADS MUSIC FESTIVAL

Photo Gallery

Press

• SECRET SEVEN CHOSEN IN JAZZ TIMES MAGAZINE 2010 Critics Poll [+ Show ]
  

  For our annual year-end Critics’ Poll, we asked our writers to choose what they believe to be the be...For our annual year-end Critics’ Poll, we asked our writers to choose what they believe to be the best and most important releases of the past 12 months.
  SEE #7 BELOW
  Chris Heim New Releases:
  1. Bobby McFerrin VOCAbuLarieS (Emarcy) ?
  2. Federico Britos Voyage (Sunnyside) ?
  3. Dave Holland/Pepe Habichuela Hands (Dare2) ?
  4. Chris Washburne & the SYOTOS Band Fields of Moons (Jazzheads) ?
  5. Regina Carter Reverse Thread (E1) ?
  6. Mulatu Astatke Mulatu Steps Ahead (Strut) ?
  7. Dave Sharp’s Secret Seven 7 (Vortex)
  ?8. Issac Delgado L-O-V-E (Calle 54/Sony)
  ?9. Nguyen Le Saiyuki (ACT) ?
  10. Rafi Malkiel Water (Tzadik)
  

• Review of CD "7" Secret Seven [+ Show ]
  

  Ann Arbor, Michigan doubler Dave Sharp stays sharp on this recorded debut of his band Secret Seven. ...Ann Arbor, Michigan doubler Dave Sharp stays sharp on this recorded debut of his band Secret Seven. He’s a serious groover, as the lilting Afrobeat “Africano” demonstrates, but the record’s diverse stylistic palette shows off a kaleidoscopic competency in a wide array of styles. The record’s lush production is a bonus, giving it an airiness and clarity that suits the at-times dense material. -Jonathan Herrera

• Must hear cuts, “Africano” / “Boop Bwee Ahh” / “Blackout” [+ Show ]
  

  First of all… anyone who writes a tune called “Boop Bwee Ahh” gets my vote for “Coolest Title of the...First of all… anyone who writes a tune called “Boop Bwee Ahh” gets my vote for “Coolest Title of the Year”! Doubler Dave Sharp is a bad boy, and “Chrispy Underground” shows off his formidable acoustic contra groove. This CD sounds like it was recorded in a very comfortable club setting, and the band sound really at ease within this particular musical environment – which goes a long way in producing a vibe this big, fat, and wide. There’s just enough Latin and Middle Eastern to satiate the most urbane of musical tastes while leaving enough of a “jammy thing” for the rest of us! This is a great disc to throw on at a house party. I know… did it!
  
  Must hear cuts, “Africano” / “Boop Bwee Ahh” / “Blackout”

• from AllAboutJazz.com [+ Show ]
  

  Bassist Dave Sharp and his Secret Seven ensemble interconnect an expansive jazz layout with New Orle...Bassist Dave Sharp and his Secret Seven ensemble interconnect an expansive jazz layout with New Orleans swamp-funk, world-beat rhythm structures, and variable components of Eastern and Western fare. They propagate a cheery panorama via these sustainable compositions, often highlighted by memorable hooks and edgy soloing ventures by multi-reedman Chris Kaercher and others. Variety looms as a significant positive, where the band abides by a festive disposition throughout.
  Sharp lays down a fluid and at times, monstrous bottom-end on these pieces, teeming with punchy horns and rollicking jazz-grooves. Many of these pieces are engineered with a sweeping wall-of-sound aura, to complement some shuffling grooves abetted by Dale Grisa's Hammond B3-initiated soul-funk passages.
  
  On "Blackout," the band spawns a tender melody line, enamored by Kaercher's radiant sax and Grisa's trickling piano phrasings. Here, the band works within a harmonically appealing vibe. Sharp's clever arrangements fuse the past with the present, to complement the artists' bold and brash statements, all underscored by an entertaining outlook.

• Review of Secret Seven [+ Show ]
  

  “a real fireworks flash that is consistently powerful….with "7," Dave Sharp's Secret Seven succeeds ...“a real fireworks flash that is consistently powerful….with "7," Dave Sharp's Secret Seven succeeds to deliver a very fun, bright and irresistibly entertaining album that seems to lean on a retrospective of instrumental soul…”

• Review of Kerrytown Concert House Performance 11/19/2010 [+ Show ]
  

  African rhythms are at the heart of much of the music of bassist Dave Sharp’s group The Secret Seven...African rhythms are at the heart of much of the music of bassist Dave Sharp’s group The Secret Seven. Those rhythms were the focus of the band’s sold out Nov. 19 show at the Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor. Billed as a “Pt 1: Journey to Africa,” Sharp and mates explored, emphasized and featured percussive elements throughout the hour and 45 minute performance.
  For this special occasion, Nigerian musician Ibrahim Aminou joined ranks to provide a direct conduit to African beats. Animated and enthusiastic, Aminou displayed his mastery of the marimba front and center in KCH’s intimate setting. Other times he led fellow percussionist John Churchville and drummer Eric “Chucho” Wilhelm (he also on congas) in frenzied acoustic trios that lifted the assembled crowd clear off their chairs.
  The 7’s other members were by no means overshadowed. Sharp’s writing partner and co-leader Chris Kaercher alternated smoking, muscular solos on tenor and delicate melodies on soprano. Duncan McMillan delighted on keys while guitarist Alex Anest elevated the ensemble with a spacy component to his craft. His contrasting licks to Aminou’s soaring guitar rhythms on [name of tune] was one of the evening’s many highlights.
  Sharp has assembled a group of outstanding musicians who impress (if not astound) with their melodic virtuosity while often holding down an infectious beat. They’re one of the finest outfits around and are not to be missed on the too-infrequent occasions when the full crew is in tow.
  

• Review of CD Jazz Inside New York [+ Show ]
  

  Dave Sharp’s Secret Seven’s self titled album begins with a song that would make even the most atona...Dave Sharp’s Secret Seven’s self titled album begins with a song that would make even the most atonal and non-rhythmic person want to get up and dance. The opening track, “Africano,” is a mixture of Latin, African and jazz sentiments, with Eric “Chucho” Wilhelm laying down some incredible multi-layered percussion. Dale Grisa provides a contagious piano groove and Kris Kurzawa’s guitar solo would make any jam band fan jump for joy.
  The second track continues the dance vibe, but this time getting a little funkier with it. A consistent bass groove is laid down by sharp and doubled by baritone sax. Pianist Dale Grisa comps in the most perfect way, as potent horn parts come into the mix. Suddenly Grisa comes out in front with some very tasty piano riffs. It is a long form blues, and Kaercher rips it open with deep and dirty harmonica that would make Sonny Boy Williamson rise from the dead. This music could be called progressive grove-the groove builds and builds as layers are gradually added.
  It’s time for some cow bell on “Skeleton Key” which brings a tango flavor to the proceedings. The musicians take turns telling stories, none of which interrupt the dance-ability of these songs-they are adventurous but within the confines of groove-not at all a bad restriction.
  For the fourth track, “Blackout” the Secret Seven change things up a bit, placing more of an emphasis on exploring a mood than a groove. Nevertheless, a bluesy bass line motif carries through the simple changes of this reflective, slow to medium tempo piece. Kaercher gets a beautiful and breathy tone from his tenor and Grisa’s improvisations conjure memories of Bill Evans on Kind of Blue.
  

• Review of CD "7" Secret Seven out of Chicago [+ Show ]
  

  Dave Sharp may be best known as the touring bassist for the hardcore rock band The Melvins, but his ...Dave Sharp may be best known as the touring bassist for the hardcore rock band The Melvins, but his first love is jazz. Here, the former bassist/composer for modern jazz ensemble Spheres of Influence presents a program of Afro-Latin groove jazz funk complete with lots of horns and percussion. Along with Sharp's chewy electric and acoustic basses, drummer Eric "Chucho" Wilhelm provides the wall of rhythm, Dave Grisa the B-3 and piano, while Chris Kaercher (the Temptations, Aretha Franklin) adds tenor, soprano, alto and baritone saxes, flute and harmonica. These four are supplemented by several guest musicians and singers (the "seven" must be tongue-in-cheek). "Africano" starts things off brightly with an Afrobeat blast, while the groovy "Chrispy Underground" is impossible not to move to. "Skeleton Key" has a touch of spooky New Orleans voodoo wafting like incense, while "Blackout" slows things to a pop ballad pace. "Boop Bwee Ahh" features Kris Kurzawa on wah-wah guitar on a catchy and truly funkalicious track. Meanwhile, "The Seventh Secret" races across the desert like a scirocco, "Lootmar (Wind Song)" features John Churchville on tabla, while a cover of Chuck Carbo's New Orleans Funk classic "Can I Be Your Squeeze?" rounds out this blistering hot groove jazz release.

• "...Jazz Adventurists" [+ Show ]
  

  Dave Sharp is a musician who knows his stuff, he is very much his name, I’m not going to lie. 7 (Vor...Dave Sharp is a musician who knows his stuff, he is very much his name, I’m not going to lie. 7 (Vortex Jazz) is the name of the album by Dave Sharp’s Secret 7, and yes the album features seven track. Oddly enough, the Secret Seven features only four members, so there’s something going on here.
  
  Sharp is joined by Chris Kaercher (saxophones, flute, and harmonica), Eric “Chucho” Wilhelm (drums/percussion), and Dale Grisa (Hammond B-3 and piano) and together they are jazz adventurists, willing to combine African roots and Latin rhythms in one song (”Africano”) while getting cool, blue, and calm in others (”Boop Bwee Ahh” and “Lootmar (Wind Song)”). They probably sound more powerful in a live setting, but this has a feel of a live performance and it’s quite intense. There’s a chemistry between Sharp and Kaercher, which extends to the two collaborating in the songwriting/arranging department, and when Wilhelm and Grisa jump in, it feels like something is about to happen but you don’t know what. The group are joined by a number of other musicians adding different colors and textures to these tracks, and they could arguably widen the depth of this mysterious 7, but this is unknown.
  
  It seems the group want to aim high, for one of the bonus tracks is a radio edit of “Africano”, reduced by about 90 seconds although the full-length 7:11 take is worthy of airtime too. What might help them get a bit more airplay and attention is the second bonus track, a cover of Chuck Carbo’s funk classic “Can I Be Your Squeeze”. It’s unusual to hear the song, recorded 40 years after the original, so clean and crisp opposed to the grit of Carbo’s version, and perhaps it will help bring this song to a new generation.
  
  Whatever the secret to 7, it will not be guarded for long.

• Dave Sharp Profile from AnnArbor.com [+ Show ]
  

  From the Melvins to Miles Davis to the students he teaches how to play the blues at the Ann Arbor Mu...From the Melvins to Miles Davis to the students he teaches how to play the blues at the Ann Arbor Music Center, bassist Dave Sharp is all over the musical map.
  
  So it only makes sense that Sharp’s latest project, Dave Sharp’s Secret Seven, would combine multiple genres under the broad umbrella of jazz.
  
  “I wanted to create a world-music jazz band, but we ended up using different genres to create what you might call ‘groove jazz,’” he said. “It’s not really traditional jazz and it’s not straight-ahead jazz.
  
  “One of my students called it bright, modern jazz.”
  
  That description certainly fits the tunes on the band’s new record, titled “7.” But it hardly covers all the bases the trio — yes, the Secret Seven is fundamentally a trio, not a septet — travels on the new record, which visits everything from New Orleans funk to drone-y Middle Eastern and Indian classical forms.
  
  It’s still is, fundamentally, a jazz record. Just one that you can dance to.
  
  “I love jazz records and I listen to them all the time,” Sharp said. “But their identities are usually in the composition and the improvisation.
  
  “I wanted to do more with textures, which is where the world-music elements come in, with the use of instruments like the tabla and some other unusual instruments and motifs.”
  
  Sharp, who arrived in Ann Arbor from Detroit during the mid-1980s to attend the University of Michigan, has a history as varied as the sounds on the new record. After achieving regional success with the hard-rock band Mol Triffid in Michigan, he and the rest of the band moved to San Francisco, where Sharp discovered a deep love for the Middle Eastern and Indian music that has a stronghold in the Bay Area.
  
  And even though he started playing jazz in California, he was still playing rock ’n’ roll and spent a year touring with pre-grunge pioneers the Melvins, playing up and down the west coast.
  
  “It was an exciting time and I got to meet a lot of the stars in the Seattle music scene,” he recalled. “And all those influences stuck with me and led me to where I am now with the Secret Seven.”
  
  Eventually, a desire to be closer to family and his future bride called him back to Ann Arbor in the late 1990s and Sharp formed his self-titled quartet, which became a stalwart band on the local jazz scene.
  
  Through his quartet, Sharp met reedman Chris Kaercher and drummer Eric Wilhelm, who constitute the other two-thirds of the Secret Seven’s core. Together with Kaercher, Sharp began composing the 7 tunes that make up the bulk of the new record (there are 2 bonus tracks, also, including an inventive cover of Eddie Bo’s “Can I Be Your Squeeze?”). The two then demoed the tunes in Sharp’s rehearsal space at the Ann Arbor Music Center, then honed them at live gigs, before doing the majority of the tracking at Big Sky Studio.
  
  In the process, he brought in a host of his musical friends, including guitarist Alex Anest on lap steel and Dale Grisa on keys, as well as singers Chris McCall and Sean Ike.
  
  “It went so far beyond what I was expecting,” Sharp said. “But I knew all these great players, who I knew I wanted to be part of this project.”
  
  And, although he had served as the leader of his quartet for years, Sharp said recording the new record really honed those kills and brought them to the forefront.
  
  “I really like steering the vision and encouraging other people to bring in their vision, as well,” he said. “I know what these guys can do and it’s very gratifying to put them into an environment where they can do what they do best.
  
  “I like juggling all the strengths and, hopefully, pulling out everyone’s strong suits to benefit the songs.”
  
  And for all the fireworks on display on the record, Sharp said the band really shines onstage. In the meantime, he said he’s been thrilled with the reception the record has received, both here and on jazz radio stations across Europe.
  
  “Everyone’s favorite songs seems to be different from everyone else’s,” he said. “That tells me that there’s a lot of great tunes and a good variety of styles, which is exactly what I was going for.”
  
  The new CD is available at CDBaby. Dave Sharp's Secret Seven will play Live at PJ's, 102 S. First St., at 8 p.m. Feb. 20. Will Stewart is a free-lance writer for AnnArbor.com.

• WEMU 89.1 FM Review
  

  "...his energy brings an immediacy and freshness to the music.” –Linda Yohn WEMU FM 89.1

• Music Player Network Review [+ Show ]
  

  "Sharp lays down a burning rhythmic canvas that serves as a launching pad for soaring melodic invent..."Sharp lays down a burning rhythmic canvas that serves as a launching pad for soaring melodic invention.” –Kevin Owens, The Music Player Network

• Fox Entertainment Review
  

  “...the music breathes with energy and integrity.”-Christopher Schneiders, Fox Entertainment

Setlist

50 minute sets:
Original jazz/world music/funk instrumentals:
Africano (Afro-Beat)
Crispy Underground (New Orleans Funk)
Skeleton Key (Rhumba)
Lootmar (Indian Music)
Mystery Blues (Blue Note Jazz)
Blackout (Blue Note Jazz)
The Seventh Secret (Subcontinent Trance)
Der Dolphin
Desert Sky
Sherehe Wakati
String Theory

Basic Requirements

Calendar