The New Mastersounds Schedule Residency at Brooklyn Bowl
Dynamic funk/jazz fusion quartet The New Mastersounds recently came to Brooklyn Bowl for a three-day, four-show residency April 14-16.
The group, founded in 1999 in Leeds, England, has been doing an extended series of shows in Brooklyn annually for awhile now, says guitarist Eddie Roberts. “We’ve been playing at the Brooklyn Bowl for years. We started out doing one night, expanded it to two nights, then to three nights, and then we threw in the kids’ show.”
While the band is known for its marathon late-night sets, the matinee performance (Saturday, April 16) gives a chance for a whole new audience to experience the band live. The daytime show is especially popular with “a lot of our older fans who now have kids,” says Roberts. “It’s kinda cool; a lot of people come for all four shows.”
The New Mastersounds generally find a packed room when they take the stage. But not always, laughs Roberts. “We had a problem one time. We played a Thursday, and it was Hannukah. There were about twenty people there.”
Over the years and across more than a dozen albums, the group has expanded, contracted to its core quartet, and featured many guest artists. “Our second album [2003’s Be Yourself] was a four-piece, with one guest singer: Corinne Bailey Rae, before she was famous.” The group’s latest release, Made for Pleasure, features guest vocalist Charly Lowry. “I met her through Everyone Orchestra on a run down in the Carolinas,” says Roberts. “These things are pretty organic, [involving] people you meet on the road, and people you just want to work with.”
Though the quartet’s sound is rooted in jazz, soul and funk, they’re popular on the jam-band circuit. “Especially for me, as I’m from a jazz background, the improvisational side of things is there in our music,” Roberts says. “Combine that with funky grooves that people like dancing to; I think that’s why they like it.”
An edited version of this feature appeared in Brooklyn Paper. Check back soon for a review of their latest, the vinyl-only release, The Nashville Session — bk
About the Author
Bill Kopp
With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. After a stint as Editor-in-chief for a national music magazine, Bill launched Musoscribe in 2009, and has published new content every business day since then (and every single day since 2018). The 4000-plus interviews, essays, and reviews on Musoscribe reflect Bill's keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz, and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill's work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He regularly hosts lecture/discussions on artists and albums of historical importance (including monthly events Music to Your Ears and Music Movie Mondays), and is a frequent guest on music-focused radio programs and podcasts. In Spring 2023 he is co-teaching a history of Rock 'n' Roll at UNC Asheville's College for Seniors. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues -- more than 30 to date -- and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian "Cannonball" Adderley's final album. His first book, Reinventing Pink Floyd: From Syd Barrett to The Dark Side of the Moon was published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2018, and in paperback in 2019. His second book, Disturbing the Peace: 415 Records and the Rise of New Wave, was published in 2021 by HoZac Books. His third book, What's the Big Idea: 40 Great Concept Albums will be published in 2024. Read even more about him here.