As a Saxophonist, Maceo Parker, Kenny Garrett, Branford Marsalis, Grover Washington Jr., Eddie Harris, Bennie Maupin, John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley have been the most influential for Sam.
Sam has absorbed many musical influences. His most elemental roots are “funk” (Parliament, James Brown, Prince and Earth Wind & Fire), “hip-hop” (Slum Village, Jurassic 5, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, DJ Quik, DJ Spinna and DJ Premier), “Jazz” (Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, Grant Green, Jimmy Smith, Donald Byrd and Gary Bartz), “rock” (Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, The Allman Brothers and The Beatles) and he is continually intrigued by all of the sounds created worldwide.
"A saxophone legend, Berklee alum, and all-around funk genius, Sam Kininger is building his fan-base and repertoire simultaneously at clubs across the country. Kininger has been in legendary funk/soul groups since the beginning, including, but not limited to Lettuce, Soulive and the Brotherhood of Groove. He has also performed with larger pop acts including Dave Matthews and Wyclef Jean.
As a solo artist Sam Kininger has developed a distinctive, organic sound on the saxophone that is strongly expressive. He consistently demonstrates his technical dexterity and rhythmic precision while maintaining an honest and innovative exploration of musical improvisation.
His debut album includes completely original instrumental funk/jazz compositions. The grooves are intense and the solos are aggressively rhythmic and deeply soulful. Loaded with guest musicians, Sam Kininger's album features some of the most talented musicians on the scene, including Eric Krasno (guitar) and Neal Evans (organ) from Soulive, the legendary Fred Wesley (trombone) from George Clinton's Parliament and James Brown's JB's, and Adam Deitch (drums), a member of guitar legend John Scofield's band.
Sam Kininger's original funk band, which also features Amy Bowles on Key's, Aaron Bellamy on Bass and Nikki Glaspie (who just completed a world tour with Beyonce) on Drums (as well as an assortment of other rotating musicians), has been blowing away audiences with their high-energy funk for about 4 years now, and their musical evolution and popularity is exponentially growing with each show. They have performed at many festivals throughout the country, including The New Orleans Jazz Festival (LA), The North Beach Jazz Festival (CA), Camp Creek (NY), Berkfest (MA) and Sunset Jazz (St. Croix, VI). They have also had successful shows in clubs such as The Blue Note (NYC), The Mercury Lounge (NYC), The Elbow Room (CA), Tipitina's (LA) and many others.
Don't be surprised if some heavyweight players make sit-in appearances, and be less surprised if you find yourself dancing like a maniac. This is a must-see show, so grab your friends and make it a night out of dancing,
drinking and funking.
Sam Kininger has recently completed the recording his sophomore album, "Anthem", which is scheduled to be released March 5, 2008 on the BMG-Japan label.
SOULIVE - Sam was also a member of the internationally renowned Blue Note recording group Soulive, who has successfully toured the world and achieved outstanding record sales. During the summer of 1999, Soulive cut their first LP, "Turn It Out," for Velour. It featured guests John Scofield and Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers). Then, in 2001, Soulive released their sophomore album, "Doin' Something," featuring legendary performer and arranger Fred Wesley on trombone. In February 2001, Soulive toured Japan, followed by a month long European summer tour that included stops in France, England, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. They band also did a run of stadium shows opening for the Dave Matthews Band.
Update: On Friday, February 18, 2008, Sam performed with Soulive at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This performance was quickly followed up with a performance the following night at the State Theater in Ithaca, NY. Unanimously happy with how these shows turned out, Sam will again perform with Soulive for a number of shows in the upcoming months.
LETTUCE – With their Velour Recordings release, Outta Here, Lettuce combines the grittiness of the Meters with the harmonic textures of Herbie Hancock. The band consists of Sam Kininger, Eric Krasno, Neal Evans, Adam Deitch, Adam Smirnoff, Erick Coomes, and Ryan Zoidis. On their album, Lettuce is joined by some of their heroes including guitar great John Scofield, trombone legend Fred Wesley and Tonni Smith (Jamaica Funk). Lettuce has successfully toured across the US as well as Japan, where they released a live album, "Live In Tokyo".
In February, 2007 Lettuce returned to the studio to record a new album, titled "Rage!", which is scheduled to be released April 22, 2008. The band will then reform for a series of shows in May.
Early Bird tickets are on sale now! See all 150 bands for only $10! Offer is good until June 30th. Click the link to order your tickets now or visit any of our ticket outlets listed on our site.
For a list of bands and their profiles please visit us at www. uticamusicfest. com or check out our blogs. And while you’re there sign up on our mailing list to stay informed. Hope to see you at the fest!
HI SAM.YOU DONT HAVE GROOVE, YOU..RE THE GROOVE MAN!!FIREBALL SAX.ALL SOUL, ALL BLUES.JUST FANTASTIC. WE LOVE YOUR PLAYIN AND YOUR ALBUMS, WE ARE INSPIRED BY THEM.BEST WISHES FROM SPAIN, HOPE TO SEE YOU ROUND HERE SOON. MAMA BOOGIE
thanks for an awesome show @ Sunnyside Island...sorry i didnt get to see you off in the am, but Sam ill look forward to seeing you on JC7, just booked my cabin! Safe travels!!
Sam Thanks for letting me sit in Fri. The opportunity is really appreciated on this end. It was cool seeing where you guy's are taking some of the arrangements after a couple of months. Ain't It Funky Now seemed to have the tempo an groove of Super bad, real cool! I picked up as much of the guitar parts as I could over a short time which helped me out a lot. The break you guy's put in Time to Be Out were the studio version has that distinct guitar riff during the melody line threw me a two times. I used the Bill Evens stack fourths idea to comp under the first part of that section. I hope the re harms didn't get in the way to much. Some of the ones I chose were a combination of what you had for a horn line and what the keyboard was playing underneath. I look forward to working on more of our tunes in case you want some guitar the next time you come up. Peace Nick
Sam Hey, it's been such a long time. Your new record sounds amazing! Congrats! Let me know when your in NY I'd love to see and hear you again. I hope your happy and well Big hugs Marianne
