Album Notes

GRAND WAZOO – Kings of Soul :
Australia's Foremost Soul & RnB outfit since 1981: here "LIVE"

"SOUL MONSTER: LIVE"

’GRAND WAZOO-Kings of Soul’ is a 14 piece Australian Soul/RnB band, formed in 1981 by arranger-musician John Montesante, who remains leader today. Every week since JUNE 1981 JOHN MONTESANTE has performed a gig somewhere with GRAND WAZOO—formerly titled ‘Band of 1000 Dances’, a tribute to Wilson Pickett’s tune Land of 1000 Dances, and latterly ‘ Kings of Soul’, a tag earnt through over a quarter century of non-stop entertainment.

Featuring 4 vocalists, 6 horns and 4 rhythm players, and a repertoire exceeding 300 Black Soul and Rhythm‘n Blues tunes, the outfit has performed thousands of live gigs since its inception. Not only has JOHN MONTESANTE played trumpet and employed hundreds of Musicians for this 14+ piece ‘Institution’ over the years, he has also, researched, orchestrated and arranged all the tunes played by the band -including a few originals and rarities thrown into the mix.

During the vicissitudes of the Music Industry, when other Bands took breaks, JOHN MONTESANTE forged on with his Soul mission, taking a personal financial loss at times, to support the Band through earnings from teaching Music. A consummate and driven musician, he also makes a little time to play with his Jazz Quintet, between Soul engagements.

When GRAND WAZOO celebrated an amazing 10 years of weekly Soul Sessions at Melbourne’s celebrated Rainbow Hotel, the band recorded the gig LIVE before an audience, with only ONE take of each tune -not an easy feat with a 14 piece line-up, in non-studio conditions. JEFF DUFF (a former 'Kush' band colleague of John Montesante) was invited to join the line-up that day, and perform 2 songs on the album: "Easy Street" and "God Bless The Child"

Running for 60 mins 38 secs, with a selection of 16 Black Soul and iconic R n B tunes, 'SOUL MONSTER - LIVE' truly captures this monster of a band, GRAND WAZOO-Kings of Soul, "live in the moment"- and replicates the experience of a typical one hour set.

GRAND WAZOO-Kings of Soul has been described as a living ' Black Soul Music Jukebox' - the sort that President Barack Obama and all the hip guys of his generation listened to from Ray Charles onwards -a unique bBand in Australia.