Blues master, Pop icon, singer, songwriter and new Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame inductee Steve Winwood will perform at this year's NSCA Systems Integration Expo opening night ExpoJam! on March 18 at the Las Vegas Hilton.
Sponsored by Yamaha Corporation of America and NSCA, Winwood will be joined by Motown’s number one band, The Funk Brothers, with special guest drummer Walfredo Reyes of Santana. The show is free and open to all NSCA badge holders. "It's an honor to have these legends kickoff this year’s NSCA Expo," says Larry Italia, general manager, Yamaha Commercial Audio. "Steve's music is really timeless, and we are extremely happy to have him perform for the commercial audio industry attending the show, and bringing with him the talents of The Funk Brothers and Walfredo Reyes."
A longtime Yamaha artist, Winwood’s career has spanned decades and touched many musical genres, defying any single definition. At age 15, he was already playing in the blues clubs of Birmingham, England with John Lee Hooker and Memphis Slim when he joined the R&B combo The Spencer Davis Group, which spawned a series of unforgettable radio standards, including "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man."
Winwood went on to collaborate with Blind Faith and later, Traffic. His highly successful solo albums include Arc of a Diver, Roll With It, and Back in the High Life, which earned the coveted GRAMMY for Record of the Year. He continues to blur the musical boundaries with his latest effort, About Time.
The Funk Brothers were the studio band responsible for the instrumental backing on countless hit Motown records from 1959 to 1972. Rarely credited on the hit records that relied on their performances, their extensive jazz and R&B backgrounds helped to shape the fabled "Motown sound."
Versatility has made Walfredo Reyes one of the most in-demand players today. The "one man percussion show" has gathered an impressive list of credits, including touring and recording with Carlos Santana, Traffic, Steve Winwood, Jackson Browne, Celia Cruz, Gloria Estefan, Smokey Robinson, Boz Scaggs, Christina Aguilera, and Ricky Martin.
For more information visit www.yamaha.com.
For more information and registration on the 2004 NSCA Systems Integration Expo®, visit www.nscaexpo.org.