Talkin' Tower of Power, with Adam Maness and Peter Martin [You'll Hear It]

Back in May, Kirk joined pianists Adam Maness and Peter Martin of
the You'll Hear It podcast  to talk about what makes
Tower of Power great. It was a very fun conversation, so he asked
if he could run their episode in the Strong Songs feed. And here
we are!


Listen to You'll Hear It anywhere you find podcasts, and
find both Adam and Peter (and many others) teaching jazz lessons
at OpenStudio.com.


ORIGINAL SHOW NOTES
May 19, 2025


We hand the mic to Kirk Hamilton from the Strong Songs podcast to
help us break down the groovy 1973 self-titled release: Tower of
Power. We unpack what makes this Oakland funk outfit a
generational institution – from David Garibaldi’s precision drum
fills and Rocco Prestia’s machine-gun bass lines to what may be
the tightest horn section of all time. We dig into standout
tracks like “What Is Hip?” and “Soul Vaccination,” spotlight
Lenny Pickett’s wild ascent from TOP to SNL, and detail some
funny production quirks (like why the drums are panned hard
left). It’s a full-course tour through funk, soul, and brass
brilliance – with a healthy side of stank face.


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SHOW ART
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