Jellyroll

There are at least three groups by this name. 1) Born Out of the Swing revival of the early 90's, Jellyroll has, in the ensuing years, forged a sound that is at once assured and fine-tuned With freshly conceived arrangements, yet firmly steeped in the traditional form. From the beginning the band has embraced a danceable, stylish sound, which they continue to expand upon while remaining faithful to the music's core elements. Belinda Blair,the charismatic, smokey-voiced lead vocalist, blends impeccable phrasing with fiery blues overtones to achieve a sound that's as warm and traditional as a Sunday afternoon in the park, but at the same time, something altogether new and distinct. Miss Blair is a savvy performer, having led numerous bands through sultry venues of Paris, London, Zurich, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. She possesses a sound, either live or recorded, that is distinctly her own, and lingers long after the needle lifts or stage goes dark. She met Steve Dekrone, the group's leader and rhythmic anchor, through musicians while in Paris. Mr. Dekrone honed his skills as a drummer and composer on the fertile yet demanding testing grounds of the Berklee College of Music. It's his acute, educated sensitivity to the nuances of swing that allow him to choreograph the well-constructed arrangements, which provide a perfect backdrop to Miss Blair's crooning ability. The musicianship of the band is as precise as a well-made martini, only the finest ingredients in perfect measure. Providing the heavy melodic artillery for this band, a two-piece horn section that blows a bigger than the two-piece sound. Trumpeter Jay Sanders and Saxophonist Yanos Lustig soar on strongly felt solos, but mix fluidly on unisons, octaves and delicate harmonies. Mike Irwin, a young gifted guitarist, plays with a vintage sensibility that is wiser than his years, and bassist Seth Ford-Young steers the Jellyroll bus right down the center of the Boulevard with the dance floor only one stop away. The repertoire covers all the jazz, swing and blues classics of the day and more. From the classic standards once sung by Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Louis Jordan, to the Brazilian and Latin-jazz classics of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Astrid Gilberto. And still there's more from the songbooks of Big Mama Thorton, Etta James and other Jump-Blues greats. And if that is not what you want to rattle your bones by, Jellyroll has arrangements for R&B classics by Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations and James Brown ready at your choosing. 2) Jellyroll is also a horn dominated group from the 70s with a sound remeniscent of Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears. Jellyroll consisted of Roger Troy (lead vocals-bass), Tim Heding (keyboards-background vocals), Ed Setser (guitar), Stu Perry (drums-percussion), Lee Asch (alto-tenor-baritone saxophones), Dave Parkinson (tenor saxophone) and Bob Thorne (trumpet), also featured on the album is Cosme Joseph Deaguero on Conga. 3) JellyRoll is a hip-hop/rap artist from Tennessee. Hailing straight out of Cashville (Nashville, TN), JellyRoll has been taking the underground rap scene by storm as of late. Although not new to the game, ever since joining up with Lil Wyte’s label Wyte Music, JellyRoll’s presence on the internet has been noticed rapidly. A veteran of the Nashville rap scene, and known for his Free-Style Champion type skills, JellyRoll was recently quoted saying “Thanks to Lil Wyte for showing me a whole new life.” followed by “Cashville, if this works out like its suppose to, I got y'all, I mean that. I love my city.” Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.