HARLEM EXPERIMENT

HARLEM EXPERIMENT
Ropeadope Emerges From The Laboratory With
Volume Three From Its Acclaimed “Experiment” Series

Featuring CARLOS ALOMAR, EDDY MARTINEZ, DON BYRON
STEVEN BERNSTEIN, RUBEN RODRIGUEZ & STEVE BERRIOS
With Special Guests Including TAJ MAHAL, OLU DARA, JAMES HUNTER
QUEEN ESTHER & MUMS –Produced by AARON LUIS LEVINSON

Brooklyn, NY — It started in 2001 with a simple premise from the groundbreaking indie record label Ropeadope: take acclaimed musicians from a shared hometown, but with vastly different musical backgrounds, put them together in a recording studio and have them create spontaneous art inspired by that city’s musical lineage. From this humble thought came Philadelphia Experiment and, hot on its heels, the underground classic Detroit Experiment. Now after four years of deliberation, Ropeadope has broken out its lab coats once again, heading back into the studio and emerging with yet another potent musical concoction–Harlem Experiment–scheduled for release in September 2007. Masterminded, like its predecessors, by Grammy Award-winning producer Aaron Luis Levinson and Ropeadope founder Andy Hurwitz, this time around they have assembled a genre-bending tribute to perhaps America’s greatest cultural crown jewel: Harlem USA. The musicians taking part in Harlem Experiment are Carlos Alomar on guitar, Eddy Martinez on keyboards, Don Byron on clarinet, Steven Bernstein on trumpet, Ruben Rodriguez on bass and Steve Berrios on drums, plus special guest performances featuring Taj Mahal, Olu Dara, James Hunter, Queen Esther and Mums.

“We had a hard time picking the next city for our experiment,” said Andy Hurwitz. “We had a long list and technically Harlem isn’t even a city, but that’s exactly what got us going. The history, the present and the future. We look to Harlem as ground zero for all that is modern day ‘American’ music whether you call it jazz, R&B, hip-hop or rock, all of it passed through the neighborhood’s gates.”

The Harlem Experiment House Band:
Steve Bernstein – Trumpet & Arranger
Don Byron – Clarinet
Carlos Alomar – Guitar
Eddie Martinez – Keyboards
Ruben Rodriguez – Bass
Steve Berrios – Drums

Invited Guests:
Queen Esther – Vocals
Olu Dara – Vocals, Guitar, Pocket Trumpet
Taj Mahal – Vocals
James Hunter – Vocals, Guitar
Mums – Spoken Word
Larry Legend – Turntables

Track Listing:
1. Intro
2. One For Jackie (featuring The “Harlem Experiment” House Band)
3. Rigor Mortis (featuring The “Harlem Experiment” House Band)
4. Reefer Man (featuring Taj Mahal on vocals)
5. Harlem River Drive (featuring Steven Bernstein on trumpet)
6. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen (featuring Don Byron on clarinet)
7. Mums Interlude
8. It’s Just Begun (featuring Larry Legend on turntables)
9. Mambo A La Savoy (featuring Carlos Alomar on guitar)
10. A Rose In Spanish Harlem (featuring James Hunter on vocals & guitar)
11. One For Malcolm (featuring Malcolm X)
12. ‘Lil Bit (featuring DJ Mums on the mic)
13. Think (featuring Queen Esther on vocals)
14. A Rose In Spanish Harlem (Instrumental)
15. Walking Through Harlem (featuring Olu Dara on vocals, guitar & pocket trumpet)