The Greyboy Allstars are famous for their laid-back, funky soul jazz, and, as keyboardist Robert Walter said, they don't know another way.
"I think when we think we're being aggressive...and on it, we're still kind of relaxed because we're from the West Coast, grew up close to the beach," said Walter.
The Greyboy Allstars — Walter, as well as Karl Denson on sax and flute, Chris Stilwell on bass, Aaron Redfield on drums, and Elgin Park on guitar — visited the KNKX studios during the 20th anniversary of the band's formation. They shared about details on their origins, the various projects that influence their sound, and their unexpected foray into cinema.
Created as a backing band in San Diego, California for DJ Greyboy, they planned to release albums as the All Star Band for the Greyboy record label. The label didn't work out, but Denson said the band was truly an inspiration.
"It was [DJ Greyboy's] record collection that we that we first used as a template. He put the band together to to do his record release party, and we met in a garage in Del Mar, and we liked what we heard, so we kept doing it," Denson said.
The Greyboy Allstars bring a modern perspective to the deep grooves of the organ-based soul jazz scene of the 1960s. Though you might not hear it at first, Walter pointed out a direct connection to the earliest days of jazz.
"We're using a dance rhythm that's maybe more current, and they were using a dance rhythm from swing. Jazz was supposed to be dance music originally, and then it became something else. But, all those swing rhythms are based on dance rhythms," Denson said.
By definition, these All-stars stay busy with their own bands and projects, and Denson said they were excited to find the time to record again as Greyboy Allstars to hear how their current musical passions might influence their sound.
"It was just interesting where everybody was. Like you know, Robert came in and he'd been listening a lot of Michael Jackson. So, it kind of changes from from year to year. You never know what kind of what we're going to come up with," Denson said.
Film scores are another big influence on the Greyboy Allstars. Their music has a cinematic quality that led them to scoring the film Zero Effect, which launched Elgin Park into a new career. He's composed for dozens of movies, including Donnie Darko, Bridesmaids, The Big Sick, and more.
"We're always working on movie music when we scored Zero Effect, which is where I sort of took off from there while these guys went on the road," Park said.
Greyboy Allstars just put out a collection of previously unreleased tracks called Grab Bag: 2007 to 2023, celebrating their third decade of laid-back grooves.
Songs heard in this episode:
- "What Happened to Television?"
- "Inland Emperor"
- "Old Crow"
