Supa Lowery Bros

If I had to describe the genre of this group in one word, I would say "jazzhiphopsoulrnb" okay, so it's almost impossible to describe it in one word! Literally, the Supa Lowery Bros are the coolest, hottest, young jazz band that I have heard in a long time. Living in New York allows you to be surrounded by many (almost too many) people with talent. I mean, every second there is someone trying to hustle for a dollar doing anything-i.e. bums performing on the train for a little change is an everyday thing. However, it is rare to actually hear a performance that is REALLY good. The most memorable performance was hearing the SLB when getting off the train at Columbus Circle and it never failed that there was a huge crowd around them every time they were playing...and, I'm sure it doesn't hurt that the band members are attractive! They were selling their CD for $10 and I haven't stopped listening to it since. The vibe is relaxing, you can just let the CD play. The majority of the songs are instrumentals of course but, when there are lyrics, the words are incredibly
inspiring, deep, and thought provoking. I encourage you to support this band, they are not signed to a major label yet but you can purchase their self titled CD's on iTunes and CD Baby.


The group is made up of two brothers originally from Philly, Chris (trumpet) and Wes Lowery (drums). Also, Kwama Hall-Alto Sax, Aaron Bumpus-Bass and features Phatlace, Kazi the Blak and Pakeeso Young-guitar. You should definitely check out their websites: myspace.com/supalowerybros and www.supalowerybros.com



POSTED BY VANITY PAGES AT 12:56 PM

LABELS: POSTED BY LADY A

3 VAIN COMMENTS:

John said...
I checked them out. They sound good. You really don't hear music like this down south. Will they perform in the south?

2/12/07 7:15 PM
VANITY PAGES said...
Make sure you check their myspace and website for more info.

2/12/07 8:07 PM
Denise said...
I absoulutely LOVE good music I am a music freak! I went to the SLB website and these guys are so friggin cool and they ARE cute!



- VANITY PAGES

By Mark Sabbatini
Discuss

This is the album I searched all of New York City for.
OK, now that this jazz/hip/soul group has a review blurb to take out of context, a bit of elaboration: perusing endless bins at megastores like Virgin and Tower Records is great, but what I really hoped to find during a recent trip to NYC was obscure albums by struggling locals. This is a lot harder than it sounds if you know nothing about the city and therefore spend hours paying tolls all the way to Jersey when you were actually looking for Greenwich Village.

But finally, rushing to meet someone on my last day, I emerged from a subway and encountered this group setting up for an evening gig between Central Park and big glass buildings like the Time Warner Plaza. With no time to watch them play, I plunked down $10 for their debut Vol. 1 CD and signed their guestbook hoping they'd e-mail some information about them.

Given all that, I'd call my “street music souvenir” a decent acquisition, if not a mind-blowing one.

Supa Lowery Bros., a sextet led by twin brothers Chris and Wes, is a self-described “street bop” group that plays a decent modern rendition of '70s-style funk. Vol. 1, available soon at their new web site ( www.supalowerybros.com ), is definitely not a high-volume disc—the plain white CD-R label is hand-lettered with felt markers. But it's professionally recorded and holds its own against its Tower Records brethren, thanks to above-average contributions from alto saxist Tim Green and drummer Wes Lowery.

One of my most immediate impressions, in fact, was “Wow, that sax player has game,” and, after a little web browsing, it's apparent why. Described by one article as a “sideman nonparallel,” Green plays with more than twenty bands (he says he prefers the sideman role to leading) and his slightly old-school tone infuses considerable post bop intellect into the relatively simple funk compositions. Lowery keeps things interesting throughout by not getting stuck in any particular groove for long. His extended exchanges with Green and tenor saxist Lawrence Clark are unquestionably the highlight of this album, especially when they go beyond funk, as with their free jazz jam on “Father Time.”

Otherwise this is a horn-heavy collection delivering its compositions at a mostly middling pace on an even keel. If it doesn't completely motivate the get-up-and-dance mentality urged by the narrator on the opening track, it's at least lively enough to keep listeners from sitting still in their seats. But if studio cuts are merely a menu of what happens when players do their thing live, as Miles Davis claims, then Vol. 1 offers enough to make me wish I'd had time to stick around for their performance. Fans of funk will probably find it worthwhile to at least listen to the free selections at the group's web site, if nothing else.

Visit Supa Lowry Bros. on the web.


Track listing: Intro; High St.; One's Perspective; Father Time; Black Pages; Get By

Personnel: Chris Lowery, trumpet; Wes Lowery, drums; Tim Green, alto sax; Lawrence Clark, tenor sax; Matthew Smythe, organ; Thomas "Pops" Lowery, percussion

- ALL ABOUT JAZZ ONLINE -MARK SABBITINI

GeoReview: Supa Lowery Bros. , High Street, Vol. 2
By Clayton Ruley

The sound of a saxophone or saxophones is so soothing to the ears and that with the bass guitar, guitar, trumpet, drums and the keyboard make a sweet sound called Jazz! This Jazz is more than you momma's variety because they find a smooth way to mix it with Hip Hop and Soul.

Chris (Trumpet/Keyboard) and Wes (Drums) "Philly" Lowery are the Supa Brothers the group's name refers to and they are joined by: Kwame Hall (Alto Sax), Lawrence Clark (Tenor Sax), Pakeso Young (Guitar) and Aaron Bumpus (Bass). Kaz The Lace, Thai and Phat Lace also add vocals to four of the eight tracks and the music lends itself to the street stories the artists are speaking! This is not to say the music isn't divine enough to stand on its own because not the case! The instruments are more than enough to hold it down!

I particularly like "Deep (Take A Look At The World)" featuring Kaz, The Lace, "Philli-Izms", "Love Jawn (Remix)" and "Sunsets", a track that stands out because of the strong guitar play that is wrapped through out the song!

This a nice piece to do work (as I'm doing now) and also the sound isn't mundane. It reminds me of the early Roots works.just a little! I hope these performers continue to grow with their sound, which is already of a polished nature! It's good to see the blend of two of the greatest story and emotion telling genres from time to time and it's something that should never go away! This doesn't feel like a product someone is hustling on the streets but one you could get at a major store. I look forward to getting a copy of High Street Vol. 3 and back to Vol. 1.

I'll give the album 4 GeoGlobes!
- GEOCLAN.COM REVIEW

Those of you who know me personally know that my aversion to smooth jazz, the nauseating sax-heavy grooves played while you're at the dentist, runs pretty high. I gravitate more towards the jazz that's found on stations low on the FM dial, if you know what I mean. I have no problem listening to the classics (Bird, Coltrane, Miles), but I seriously jones for some contemporary jazz that's home grown since unfortunately the rest of the world has a serious appreciation for jazz music that this country just seriously lacks. For all the reasons listed above, I'm so happy that I stumbled upon The Supa Lowery Brothers and their album Vol. 2. Hailing from the land of Illadelphia, these two brothers grew up in this city rich with a musical legacy all its own. With Christopher Lowery on trumpet and keyboards and Wesley Lowery on drums, these two brothers' musical training was further honed at Philadelphia's High School of Creative and Performing Arts, the same Fame-type school which produced Boyz II Men and drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson.


Now based in Los Angeles, these two brothers have been sitting quietly under the radar for some time. The quartet, consisting of the Lowerys, Pakeso on guitar, and vocalist Kaz The Black, recently played a set last week at LA's Little Temple (while I was away on vacation, no less). Kaz, who also blesses some tracks with his rhymes showcases that these brothers' brand of jazz is embracing of hip hop that is on the more conscious side of the genre, all without sounding too preachy on "deep(look at the world)". If you close your eyes, it's almost as if this is what Mo' Better Blues and Bleek Gilliam's band would sound like, if only this movie had been made in 2008. I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying that this may have be the sound they were looking for. In any case, I am officially putting all these brothas on notice that I hope this year brings yet another volume of musical treats.


- http://www.soulbounce.com/soul/2008/01/fresh_recommendations_supa_low.php