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The Soulful Strings were an American soul-jazz instrumental group formed in Chicago in 1966. Predominantly a studio band, the project was created and led by Richard Evans, a staff producer and musical arranger with the Chess Records subsidiary Cadet Records.〔 The group comprised various members of Cadet's house band – such as Phil Upchurch (on guitar), Charles Stepney (organ, vibraphone), Lenny Druss (flute), Cleveland Eaton (bass, cello), Morris Jennings (drums), Bobby Christian (vibraphone, percussion)〔 and, later, Billy Wooten, in place of Stepney. Sol Bobrov〔 and Bruce Hayden were among the eponymous string players. Other contributors included Johnny Griffith and Donny Hathaway, both on keyboards, and jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby.〔 Between 1966 and 1971, the Soulful Strings released six studio albums, all recorded at Chess's Ter Mar Studios,〔 and one live album. This period coincided with the peak of Cadet Records' influence, during which Green continued to produce other acts,〔 including Ashby,〔 Woody Herman and Marlena Shaw. Simultaneously, Stepney – often assisted by Upchurch, Christian and Jennings – also worked with the group Rotary Connection, recording for Chess's Cadet Concept label. As of October 2014, the Strings' catalog remained out of print,〔 although their biggest US hit, "Burning Spear", was included on the 2004 Chess compilation ''Chicago Soul''.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Chicago Soul – Electric Blues, Funk and Soul: The New Sound of Chicago in the 1960s )〕 ==Concept== The Soulful Strings' repertoire consisted mainly of cover versions,〔 often given a musical interpretation that combined soul, jazz, funk and psychedelia.〔 Speaking to an interviewer from Berklee College of Music, where he later worked as a professor teaching jazz arrangements,〔 Evans attributed the ensemble's distinctive sound to his use of violas (rather than any violins) as lead string instruments, beside the cellos. He described the combination of two violas and four cellos as "a very dark sound".〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Richard Evans" > "Chapter 6 )〕 In a 2009 interview with ''Wax Poetics'' magazine, Evans credited Chess co-founder Leonard Chess with initiating the strings-based concept; however, he added that the flute and guitar parts became a "driving force" as much as the string section.〔 Larry Grogan, founding editor of the soul music website Funky16Corners, writes that although superficially the project might appear to be in the "easy listening/kitsch" category, their music reveals "() a Montovani-esque vibe, but rather an energetic soul/funk/jazz rhythm section augmented (not overpowered) by strings".〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Soulful Strings」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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