Anthony Hamilton
Comin' From Where I'm From

Composer and keyboardist John Carroll Kirby presents Septet. Septet was recorded live in studio with John on keys, Tracy Wannomae and Logan Hone – woodwinds, Nick Mancini – vibraphone, John Paul Maramba – bass, David Leach – percussion, Deantoni Parks – drums. For the “Rainmaker”video, we take it back to circa 1981 …John: “The video is a dramatization of studio characters I’ve encountered over the years. The egomaniacal producer, the eager engineer, the snobby record exec, the random guy in the corner, the musicians feeling themselves. Visually I wanted to play with the chaos of jazz fashion in the 70’s/80’s: bands like Weather Report, and Miles Davis’ constantly rotating cast. Musicians dressed themselves with a strong sense of individuality while still achieving a cohesive look, a theme I also look to achieve musically on the album Septet.”Video by Kalliope Pictures, directed by Michael Hili. The video stars John Carroll Kirby with a fictional cast of characters: Mac DeMarco as Studio Engineer; Kerwin Frost as Record Producer; Cola Boyy as Label Executive; Eddie Chacon as Body Guard; Victoria Mordoch on Percussion; Logan Hone on Flute; Leland Naylor on Soprano Saxophone; John Paul Maramba on Bass; Lemar Carter on Drums.The actual band on “Rainmaker” is comprised of John Carroll Kirby – keys, Tracy Wannomae and Logan Hone – woodwinds, Nick Mancini – vibraphone, John Paul Maramba – bass, David Leach – percussion, Deantoni Parks – drums.

Renata Lu is a bit of a mystery figure... She only made a few albums in the 1970s and sang backup on many more such Tim Maia and Nonato Buzar but for whatever reasons never seemed to make it into the MPB upper echelons. Debuted solo in 1971on her self-titled album for Copacabana Records with a heavyweight fusion of US style soul and funk with added Latin percussion. This features Renata Lu singing over a hybrid samba/boogaloo backing track rich in jaunty bass, rasping horns and jazzy electric piano riffs. Rare LP finally reissued on a deluxe edition. One of the landmarks of Funk Carioca.