Gizmo presents: Red Balloon
OKP is extremely excited to report that our runnin' buddies over at Revivalist are releasing the debut album of one Kenneth "Gizmo" Rodgers---vocalist, bassist and musical director for projects with Bilal, Meshell Ndegeocello and Lalah Hathaway--on their site. Titled Red Balloon, the project is produced by Derrick Hodge (of Robert Glasper Experiment fame), which right off the bat tells you two things: 1) It's going to feature a great set of musicians and vocalists and 2) it's going to be a creative and hard-to-categorize fusion of jazz, hip-hop and experimental sensibilities. We could go on about Gizmo's frenetic creativity, how his sound combines dusted hip-hop drums, guitar sonics ranging from shoegaze to feedback and rambling monologues worthy of a Thelonious Monk documentary. But you can connect all those dots yourself simply by watching the video for the title track below. Check out more album details after the jump, stream the single on Gizmo's soundcloud and stay tuned for more!
Gizmo Presents: Red Balloon
“A labor of love recorded over the course of three years in Boston between gigs and classes at Berklee College of Music, the deeply personal album features an impressive cast of thousands including Anna Wise of experimental electronic Plug Research duo Sonnymoon, world renowned guitarist Ilann Bar-Lavi, Casey Benjamin of the Robert Glasper Experiment, accomplished pianist/ Berklee professor George Russell Jr, Downbeat magazine Rising Star drummer Jamire Williams and more.”
Gizmo- Vocals/Bass
Jamire Williams- Drums
Jake Sherman- Keys/Organ
Ilan Bar-Lavi- Guitar
Marcos Lopez- Percussion
Mario Castro- Sax
Lennie Doran-Trumpet
Chauncey Matthews- Background Vocals
Jazmin McCray- Background Vocals
William Gittens- Background Vocals
Co-Producer- Derrick Hodge
Engineers: William Wells, Jackie Sanchez
Mixer: Keith Lewis
Master: Dave Kutch @TheMasteringPalaace
props to Revivalist
