The Funk Orchestra
Fort Collins, CO—The eclectic mix of musical education behind the Caleb Riley Funk Orchestra is simply astounding. The band’s six members have spent lifetimes learning and perfecting their crafts—all the while dedicated to the goal of creating a unique and powerful sound.
“We apply jazz form and theory to every style of music imaginable,” says Caleb Riley, “from funk to Latin to rock to metal.” Riley, the classically trained front man and bassist for CRFO, starting building on his understanding of music theory at a young age, hopping from viola to guitar to bass—the instrument that would capture his heart and catapult his career. But to satisfy Riley’s love for jazz, funk, Latin and soul, he needed more musicians to play the songs he was composing around his heavy, groove-oriented bass lines.
The first step in assembling Riley’s concerto was the addition Jason Larson, a veteran guitar player and no stranger to the national music scene. Next came the horn section, with Greta Cornett on trumpet, Dave Clapsaddle on saxophone, members of local superstar band 12 Cents for Marvin who have shared stages with the likes of The Skatalites, Ozomatli, Buckethead and Fishbone.Next was Eunice, Louisiana drummer Dave Nezat, whose Cajun-inspired beats became the heartbeat of the unstoppable dance machine that is CRFO. The last piece of the puzzle was Chris Nicholas. A formidable player with a doctorate in composition and an undergraduate in classical trombone.
This gumbo of experience and influence informs the musical arrangements written by Riley, whose ambitious energy seeps into his composing, playing and singing. “We want to cross genres, but also redefine them,” he says, revealing the heart of a musician always challenging himself to break new, uncharted ground. The success of this recipe is evident on the band’s first album, Fat Lip, which could make a dead man dance with its outrageous energy and soul.
Amongst all this genre jumping and cross-pollinating, CRFO has already shared National stages with Bruce Hornsby, Los Lobos, Little Feat, backed Dj Logic for a Widespread Panic Afterparty, and has played the Festival International de Louisiane, one thing remains constant in the Caleb Riley Funk Orchestra—the unmistakable, dance-friendly groove. From the mouth of the composer himself—“In this band, the groove drops HARD.”
