Description
With Special Guests Antony Hegarty, Bernie Worrell, Bill Laswell, Dean Bowman, Martha Wainwright, Sandra St. Victor, Shilpa Ray and Vernon Reid
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.
MTO’s Steven Bernstein currently plays trumpet and leads the horn section for the Levon Helm Band and has written, arranged and performed with the likes of Lou Reed, Mavis Staples, Nick Cave, My Morning Jacket, Rufus Wainwright and Elton John among others.
MTO is Steven Bernstein, Peter Apfelbaum, Doug Wieselman, Erik Lawrence, Curtis Fowlkes, Charlie Burnham, Matt Munisteri, Ben Allison and Ben Perowsky
