Busty and the Bass, share their new single “Kids,” along with a mini documentary, highlighting the band’s commitment to music education. The band, who met studying in the jazz program at Montreal’s McGill University, are advocates for strong musical and cultural education in schools. While on tour they make a point of stopping at schools in each market to conduct music workshops and assemblies with students ranging from elementary to high school age.
Busty’s vocal/alto sax player, Nick Ferraro, has written an op-ed for the Hechinger Report, a nonprofit news organization named in honor of the famed New York Times education reporter. He says, “For the past few years through dozens of school visits, the band and I have been trying to engage students musically within the simplest context of social play. If the arts teach children that the act of creating is enough in its own right, then intuitively they will feel like they can be enough in their own right. I have so much confidence and hope for how music education can look systemically in the near future.”
WATCH “KIDS” MINI DOC HERE
Busty and the Bass have officially signed to indie record label, Arts & Crafts, home to Broken Social Scene, Andy Shauf, Liza Anne, and more. Since signing they have released three tracks, Clouds, Summer, and Baggy Eyed Dopeman (ft. George Clinton), produced by Neal Pogue, who has recently worked on numerous iterations of modern funk and jazz [Tyler The Creator, DRAM, KAYTRANADA, Anderson .Paak]. The octet, Nick Ferraro [vocals, alto sax], Evan Crofton a.k.a. Alistair Blu [vocals, keys, synths], Scott Bevins [trumpet], Chris Vincent [trombone], Louis Stein [guitar], Milo Johnson [bass], Eric Haynes [keys, piano], and Julian Trivers [drums]—score nostalgic lyrical ruminations with a soundscape of simmering soul, fiery funk, spirited rock, hypnotic hip-hop, and artful R&B.
The multinational band met during their first week as students in the jazz program at McGill University back in 2011. Beginning as an instrumental act, they capitalized on any and every gig they could, taking $100 for a three-hour set or exchanging tunes for wine and hors d’oeuvres at a cocktail party. They went on to drop a pair of EPs—GLAM [2015] and LIFT [2016]—before unveiling 2017’s full-length debut, Uncommon Good. In addition to packing houses on headline tours, they graced the stages of international festivals such as Made in America, Osheaga, Pinkpop, Montreal International Jazz Festival, The Great Escape, Ottawa Bluesfest, and Rifflandia, playing alongside the likes of Radiohead, Anderson .Paak, and Lana Del Rey.
KIDS is out now! https://bustyandthebass.lnk.
