If you only consider the album cover, which is totally psychedelic, and then insert the CD into the player, everything fits perfectly, as you find yourself in a form of jazz/funk with intonations of the 70s, except the quality of the production and the rhythms are very much of our time. Buffalo Monroe is a group that defines itself as (jazz/fusion), offering their first album with a great lineup of truly unexpected artists, including the excellent Ron Carter and Gregg Bissonette. This formation, which was born in 2020 near Boston, is led by Rachel and Matt Courtney. Willie Waldman, trumpeter and co-producer, features on all the tracks of this album. Originally from [Indiana], he started playing in the [Memphis] clubs of Beale St. and eventually teamed up with Herman Green, Calvin Newborn, and Jimmie Ellis at Club Hardy. The group transformed into FreeWorld and toured with Stevie Ray Vaughn, the Robert Cray Band, Albert King, and Joe Cocker. Willie Waldman, a member of the group Banyan with Stephen Perkins, released a solo fusion-improvisation album, *Trumpet Ride* (2001), which reached the Top 20 on the NACC and Jazz Charts. Willie has participated in numerous recordings and you can hear his trumpet on albums by 2pac, Snoop Dogg, Warren G., K-Ci & Jojo, Jodeci, Salt & Pepa, the Eastsidaz, Coolio, and Perry Farrell, to name just a few. He has also been hired to work on several soundtracks, including *Tombstone*, *Under Siege 2*, and *101 Dalmatians*. Waldman, an artist with a grueling tour schedule with the Willie Waldman Project, has played alongside countless greats, including Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Joe Satriani, Nels Cline, Mike Watt, Norwood Fisher, Flea, John Frusciante, Jake Cinninger, Thomas Pridgen, Tony Austin, Jay Lane, Terry Saffold, Herman Green, John Avila, Tony Franklin, Rob Wasserman, Norton Wisdom, and Robby Krieger.

All of this is to try to show you how surprising, timeless, and extraordinary this album is, and that the combined experience of these artists offers a remarkable album where it is easy to get lost on the first listen. Besides the excellence of all these artists, there is a very advanced sound research here, a form of experience, certainly, but one that fills our heads with images, pushing the boundaries of what is possible, in part thanks to Bissonette’s [and Vinnie Amico's] powerful and very inspired drumming, which provides a foundation for the musicians, allowing them to exploit all their resources.

You may be surprised at the first listen, finding this album too rhythmic—it’s just an impression, as the notes come from all sides, not to overwhelm the listener but to take them directly into this unique universe. The track “Ode to the Maestro” certainly best represents the very essence of this album, a perpetual sound balance, and at the same time, one cannot help but think of artists who have given us [these] kind of emotions in the past. Whether you categorize this group as jazz/fusion or jazz/funk, it is evident that this is great art, which rightfully deserves to be among our “Essentials.”

Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News

PARIS-MOVE, June 1st 2024

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To buy this album

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Performers on this album include:

• Upright Bass: Ron Carter

• Electric Bass, Ukulele, Guitar: Matt Courtney

• Keys: Rachel Courtney

• Keys, Rhodes Piano, Melodica: Ross Rice

• Trumpet, Horns: Willie Waldman

• Drums: Vinnie Amico

• Drums and Percussion: Gregg Bissonette

• Guitar: Harold McCummings

• Guitar: Clint Wagner

• Producers: Matt Courtney, Rachel Courtney, and Ross Rice
  Co-Producer: Willie Waldman
  Sound Engineer: Ross Rice
  Sound Engineer: Frank Rosato
  Sound Engineer: Nolan Thies
  Mixing Engineer: Ross Rice
  Mastering Engineer: Frank Rosato

• Metacognitive Records © 2024

These nine songs feature funky talent from across galaxies and the musical spectrum, and we hope you enjoy these jazz-funk-fusion grooves. The band created these frequencies which, when played in the right sequence, tell a story of Bella and Bo Monroe meeting musical giants and heading to Rus' Lab to develop a Chromatic Schematic, which set them on the path to The Maestro.

Available on streaming platforms including Spotify, iTunes, Pandora, etc. CDs available here.

On March 28th, 2023 we woke up at the Vampire Hotel in NYC and went to pick up the Maestro. The drive to The Bunker Studio with The Maestro was surreal; for you see, Mr. Carter is from Planet Elegance. In the studio, we were transported to Planet Elegance, indeed, while recording Dorian Interludes and Falling Leaves. The song Falling Leaves is an unreleased song from the late great Calvin Newborn, a mentor to members of the band, brother of American jazz pianist Phineas Newborn, Jr., and also happened to give guitar lessons to American blues legend Howling Wolf. Recording these songs with The Maestro is without a doubt one of the most amazing things we have ever experienced and we are thrilled to share this music with the world!

Bella and Bo first met Gregg Bissonette when attending a Bass Extremes concert with Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten. The band was incredible. After the show, Gregg blended into the crowd, with complete humbleness, even waving back at us when saying hello. We suspected he also might be from Planet Elegance. After the first session with Gregg, we were mesmerized by how he completed each song with such excellence.  Gregg asked when the next session was, and that inspired us to create over 25 tracks that we recorded with him in 2022. Some of these are a part of the debut album Buffalo Monroe Meets Willie Waldman. The first of many albums featuring our friend Gregg Bissonette. 

On October 15th, 2022 Bella and Bo traveled to upstate New York and met Willie Waldman, Ross Rice, and Vinnie Amico for an improvisational jam that we wanted to have as an artifact of our research endeavors. With Willie on trumpet, Ross on keys and engineering sound, Vinnie on drums, and Bo on bass. Together we produced the October Session, featured on our first album. We were so lucky to have all of these amazing musicians recording an improvised set together. The magic was apparent and most of the songs created in that recording session were in one take. These soulful sounds take one on a journey into another dimension of adventure! After the session with the four-piece band, Willie recorded trumpet on our other tracks with Gregg Bissonette.  Over the course of that weekend, Willie recorded a total of 20 songs on horns.

Getting to try out an XR stage and bend reality contributed to the filmed footage for our music videos. You can see the same technology used on the set of The Mandalorian and Grimes' video for Shinigami Eyes. What makes this unique is that the visualizations happen in real-time rather than adding the effects in post-production. Click on the link in the title to see behind the scenes.

Bella and Bo created do-it-yourself demos of some of their work and started sharing them with the world in 2021 and 2022. These demos helped carve a path for the duo in the industry, leading to collaborating with musical giants including The Maestro, Mr. Ron Carter, from Planet Elegance.

Multi-instrumentalists Bella and Bo Monroe have traversed space and time with the aim of assembling a musical research group to add more beauty to the universe through energy, frequencies, and vibrations.

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After their civilization found The Voyager Golden Record, they were inspired to explore the terrain of musical experiences and traveled lightyears from the Messier-51 galaxy, landing in Boston and forming the band Buffalo Monroe. This collaborative group merges multiple musical interactions with some of the most prolific and impressive talents this galaxy has ever known, particularly between New York and LA in this first expedition. At last, Bella and Bo are ready to share their initial findings in the debut album, Buffalo Monroe Meets Willie Waldman.