Vital information

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Vital information
Steve Smith & Vital Information (2009)
Steve Smith & Vital Information (2009)
General information
Genre (s) Soul , jazz , funk , fusion
founding 1983
Website www.vitalinformation.com
Founding members
Mike Stern
Tim Landers
Steve Smith
David Wilczewski
Current occupation
Keyboards
 Tom Coster (since 1986)
Guitars
 Vinny Valentino (representative 2004, permanent since 2006)
bass
 Baron Browne
Drums
 Steve Smith

Vital Information is an American fusion jazz band . The band's genre can now be described as a combination of funk and jazz. Steve Smith and Baron Browne set a vital, swinging rhythm that transports the songs dynamically to the melodic events, which are mostly illustrated by the electric guitar. Tom Coster brings in the jazz harmonies, he combines rock sounds with jazz harmonies. Guitarist Frank Gambale designed the melodic patterns or gave the other instruments the basis in their solo parts.

history

Steve Smith, Mike Stern , Tim Landers and David Wilczewski, the founding members of the band, met while studying in Boston (USA). From 1983 the group operated under the name Vital Information .

At the time of the first Vital Information album for Columbia Records, Steve Smith was the drummer of the multi-platinum band Journey . As a counterbalance to the pop-rock of this group, Smith initially aimed for an open jazz-rock sound with Vital Information. The third album Global Beat marked a first swing . Additional African musicians as well as reggae and Afro-based rhythms were brought into the band performance.

In 1987 Smith cast the group with Tom Coster , formerly the keyboardist of Santana, Torsten de Winkel , later in the Pat Metheny Group, and Kai Eckhardt , later with John McLaughlin, and recorded the fourth and final album for Columbia with Fia Fiaga . Due to the influence of the two German musicians with whom Smith initially toured in de Winkel's mastertouch band in 1986 , the band has also worked with computers since then. Joining Intuition Records, a German label, made her move away from it relatively. On VitaLive , Larry Grenadier played bass for the first time acoustically. In 1997 the album Where We Come From brought a radical change of direction. All "click tracks" were thrown out and roots-heavy jazz and rhythm and blues were played again. Come on in was characterized by Indian rhythms that Smith brought to the sound. Similar to the Scatten , the percussionist in the Indian "Konnakol" uses the voice to create rhythm.

Discography

  • 1983: Vital Information
  • 1984: Orion
  • 1987: Global Beat
  • 1988: Fiafiaga
  • 1991: Vitalive!
  • 1992: Easier Done Than Said
  • 1996: Ray Of Hope
  • 1998: Where We Come From
  • 2000: Live Around The World; Where We Come From (Tour 1998-1999)
  • 2001: Show 'Em Where You Live
  • 2004: Come On In
  • 2007: Vitalization

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ " Pulling the sound out of the drum" drummer Steve Smith in Corso talk , Deutschlandfunk, November 10, 2012, accessed November 11, 2012