Concert Pics/Vids: The S.O.S. Band, Paradiso 02-02-2017
They played an energetic show at an almost sold out Paradiso. I filmed some with my phone, you can hear the guitar loud and clear because I was standing front row, just in front of Reggie :-)
For people who don't know The S.O.S.Band instantly but you were going out in the 80's and 90's: You probably know their music, they had many hits. Read more about them on Wikipedia.
9 years ago I was preparing the recordings for my third album "On Track". I invited Fred Wesley and Bruno Speight as special guests. Researching Bruno Speight on internet, I found out about The S.O.S. Band. Bruno Speight turned out to be a founding member of The S.O.S. Band, and Fred Wesley had written horn arrangements on their first 2 albums. Drummer Jamal Thomas replaced the initial drummer. Jamal plays on three S.O.S. albums. So, 3 persons I knew as being associated with Maceo Parker also previously had worked together in another band. Now, who's the guitar player in S.O.S. now? It's Reggie Ward, Fred Wesley's current guitar player. How did that come? In the 90's, Bruno Speight started to work with Bobby Byrd and later The J.B. Horns with Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker, a band which would turn later into Maceo Parker. So in S.O.S, the guitarist had to be replaced. Reggie Ward replaced Bruno. Later, when The S.O.S. band had a period with less gigs, and when "The JB Horns" (consisting of Maceo Parker, Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley) became "Maceo Parker", Fred and Pee Wee left the band and started their own bands under their name. That's when Reggie started playing with Fred's band. It's a small world. It sounds complicated but in the end it's not. They all played together.... Funny that all of them play on Saxify: Fred Wesley, Bruno Speight, Reggie Ward, Jamal Thomas. On the picture with the lovely Mary Davis, lead singer of The S.O.S. Band.
This is a tune called Kalunga Dance, from my latest album Dark Horse, order it here or buy it at a concert, the next one is Brebl, Nijmegen 1 day after my birthday on 16th of April! Hope to see you there!In this performance, we featured percussionist/vocalist and world citizen Helene Jank. She lived and worked in Brazil for quite a while and I really think it's audible here. I love the way she and the band creates this moment of space within the concert and this is also why - I think - visiting concerts is important because then you get to experience the whole context of the concert. How is the program build up, how does the audience respond and what does music makes you feel. More info:Susanne Alt: sax, Matthijs Geerts and Ike van Bergen: keys, Thomas Pol: bass, Yoràn Vroom: drums, Helene Jank: percussion Performed at 16th of January 2026 at Bimhuis, Amsterdam, Recorded by Onno Prillwitz Filmed by Robert Glass and Albert Nooij. - They played an energetic show at an almost sold out Paradiso. I filmed some with my phone, you can hear the guitar loud and clear because I was standing front row, just in front of Reggie :-)For people who don't know The S.O.S.Band instantly but you were going out in the 80's and 90's: You probably know their music, they had many hits. Read more about them on Wikipedia.9 years ago I was preparing the recordings for my third album On Track. I invited Fred Wesley and Bruno Speight as special guests. Researching Bruno Speight on internet, I found out about The S.O.S. Band. Bruno Speight turned out to be a founding member of The S.O.S. Band, and Fred Wesley had written horn arrangements on their first 2 albums. Drummer Jamal Thomas replaced the initial drummer. Jamal plays on three S.O.S. albums. So, 3 persons I knew as being associated with Maceo Parker also previously had worked together in another band.Now, who's the guitar player in S.O.S. now? It's Reggie Ward, Fred Wesley's current guitar player. How did that come?In the 90's, Bruno Speight started to work with Bobby Byrd and later The J.B. Horns with Fred Wesley, Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker, a band which would turn later into Maceo Parker. So in S.O.S, the guitarist had to be replaced. Reggie Ward replaced Bruno. Later, when The S.O.S. band had a period with less gigs, and when The JB Horns (consisting of Maceo Parker, Pee Wee Ellis and Fred Wesley) became Maceo Parker, Fred and Pee Wee left the band and started their own bands under their name. That's when Reggie started playing with Fred's band. It's a small world.It sounds complicated but in the end it's not. They all played together....Funny that all of them play on Saxify: Fred Wesley, Bruno Speight, Reggie Ward, Jamal Thomas.On the picture with the lovely Mary Davis, lead singer of The S.O.S. Band.
