UPDATE 5/20/19:

Organist/keyboardist Deshawn Alexander (The Marcus King Band) will be putting together his own D-Vibes Watermelon Funk outfit for a sweet and juicy support set at tomorrow night’s Funk Sessions. Alexander is no stranger to the Sessions, as he has sat in and guested on occasion in the past. Expect additional guests to be joining throughout the night.

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Live For Live Music‘s The Funk Sessions keep rolling on! Last night, at Cervantes’ Other Side in Denver, CO, Lettuce drummer Adam Deitch put on an absolute clinic at his April edition of the monthly residency. With that performance now in the books, next up is the fifth installment on Tuesday, May 21st at Cervantes’ Masterpiece Ballroom. At the May edition of The Funk Sessions, recent Colorado transplant and TAUK drummer Isaac Teel will lead a killer squad featuring bassist Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits), Jennifer Hartswick (Trey Anastasio Band/Ghosts of the Forest) on trumpet/vocals, Nick Cassarino (The Nth Power) on guitar/vocals, Joey Porter (The Motet) on keys, and Nicholas Gerlach (Michal Menert & The Pretty Fantastics) on sax. (Tickets available here).

While Isaac Teel is perhaps best known as the drummer for instrumental rock fusion quartet TAUK, his abilities as a musician exceed his role behind the kit. Teel dropped his own solo album, Gentlemen’s Day, back in 2017 (under his first and middle name, Isaac Sinclair). The album saw Isaac mix his Gospel roots with R&B, blues, Afro-Cuban beats, and more into his own version of Urban Soul. He has also garnered a reputation for his smooth, soulful vocals, which he’s showed off during various special collaborative shows over the years. On this year’s Jam Crusie, he led the final session in the Jam Room featuring his TAUK bandmates as well as members of The Motet, Turkuaz, The U.N., The Nth Power, and more, propelled by the obscenely talented rhythmic one-two punch of himself and Star Kitchen drummer Marlon Lewis. The session also saw Teel welcome Kamasi Washington, Deshawn Alexander, Alison Shearer and more for covers of pop and R&B favorites like Destiny’s Child‘s “Jumpin’, Jumpin’”, Justin Timberlake‘s “Señorita”, Thundercat‘s “Them Changes”, and more. You can expect the same sort of soulful fare when Isaac leads The Funk Sessions next month. Check out some clips from Teel’s Jam Cruise 17 Jam Room session below:

Marc Brownstein has been dropping bass bombs on the masses for almost 25 years with jam and trance-fusion titans The Disco Biscuits. His recent foray into a more funk-oriented atmosphere with side project, Star Kitchen, has proven that the bassist continues to finely tune his own ever-expanding musical acumen. With the Biscuits in town their annual Bisco Inferno run featuring a 2-night run at the Ogden Theatre followed by a Red Rocks performance with PNUMA Live later that week, why not throw in an early-in-the-week round of The Funk Sessions?

As a longtime member of Trey Anastasio Band, Jennifer Hartswick has become one of the leading women in the jam and funk scenes, with an undeniable stage presence and ability to steal the show on both trumpet and vocals. She has kept plenty busy in various different projects over the years, including her recent tour with Trey’s latest new project, Ghosts of the Forest. 

Nick Cassarino, who came up playing with Big Daddy Kane’s band and later went on to form The Nth Power, lives, breathes, bleeds, and plays soul unlike any other. Hartswick and Cassarino are no strangers to each other, as they recently debuted their own duo project, touring around the nation and bringing plenty of passionate musical healing from city to city.  

Holding down the local Colorado side of the crew alongside Teel will be The Motet keyboard wizard Joey Porter, making a return appearance at The Funk Sessions, as will the man, myth, and legend himself, saxophonist Nicholas Gerlach. With this powerful crew of musicians on deck, the May edition of The Funk Sessions is a perfect precursor to your Colorado Disco Biscuits weekend.

Below, you can get a taste of the magic of The Funk Sessions with a full pro-shot video of April’s Adam Deitch-hosted The Funk Sessions from last night:

The Funk Sessions #4 w/ Adam Deitch, Adam “Shmeeans” Smirnoff, Garrett Sayers, Wil Blades, Dominic Lalli, & More – 4/23/19 – Full Video

Tickets for the May edition of Live For Live Music’s The Funk Sessions on Tuesday, May 21st at Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom are currently on sale and available here.

**SHOW INFO**
Artist:  Live For Live Music Presents The Funk Sessions ft. Marc Brownstein (The Disco Biscuits), Isaac Teel (TAUK), Jennifer Hartswick (TAB), Nick Cassarino (The Nth Power), Joey Porter (The Motet), Nicholas Gerlach (Michal Menert & The Pretty Fantastics) + Support TBA
Date: Tuesday – May 21st, 2019
Venue: Cervantes Masterpiece Ballroom (2637 Welton St, Denver, CO)
Ages: 16+
Time: Doors 7pm / Show 8pm
TICKETS: $15adv / $20dos