I was on Facebook one evening and had a message from a fellow named Jason Miles... at the time I didn’t know him. He introduced himself as a keyboardist and producer from New York. He mentioned a project that he wanted to run by me. Seemed straight forward and legit. I Googled him and yep, enough said! When I later got back to him, he talked about a music project themed “SLY Reimagined - the music of Sly & The Family Stone”. After running down the possible cast and the vibe he wanted to achieve, he asked if I would be interested..... I was silent for a moment. Well, I told him I had been thinking (and dreaming) about doing something like this for the last decade. He just cast the charioteers and laid the groundwork as I would have done myself, or better. My next words were, I’M ALL IN! Greg Errico - original drummer of Sly and The Family Stone Sly Stone got it right. In 1968, the Family Stone was a band with no boundaries. The music conveyed the message of the times. Whether it was “Dance to The Music” or “You Can Make It if You Try”, the message was there – in the music. Go beyond the message and these were some seriously funky cats! In May 1968, I sat in the 2nd row of the mezzanine at the Fillmore East in New York, waiting to see Jimi Hendrix. Sly and the Family Stone were the opening act. Sly and the band came out – everybody dressed in white - and started to hit it hard from note one. They immediately won over 2500 new fans. I followed them for the next 5 years, bought their albums and played in several cover bands playing their music. And, and I have been listening to that music now for the past 40+ years. Making an album of Sly's music had been on my mind for over a decade. I saw the opportunity to reintroduce this great music and re-imagine Sly's music for 21st century sensibilities. That it had stood the test of time was obvious. And I had the band to do it. When Global Noize was conceived in 2008, I was xaware we live in a world constantly connected to one another. Yet we remain unsettled. I hope the musical force behind GN might bridge this cultural dissonance. Sly’s vision was and is timeless, as it addressed these same cultural elements. It’s for "everyday people" after all…. Things change and we offer thanks to the great artists and mentors preceding us. Global Noize was ready to take on Sly's music, and we started our tmusicalmusical journey in our ever changing laboratory of great players and voices. Picking the material was not a real challenge, but once Roberta Flack agreed to sing “It's A Family Affair”, the rest all fell together without effort. I approached a great drummer in New York Steven Wolf to play on the project and he turned me down. He said, "You have to get Greg Errico, the original Family Stone drummer, for the project. He sounds amazing.” I found Greg, and we immediately had a great dialog happening. Greg graces us with his great groove and pocket, and he gives this project the authentic kick which puts Global Noize is on the right path. As I look at Global Noize in 2013, I’m still confident we got it right. Throw down the groove and use your musical imagination. You can make it if you try… Thanks to Nona Hendryx and DJ Logic, Roberta of course, and to Falu, Jay Rodriguez and Amanda Ruzza for getting onto our journey. Thank you to all my old and new musical friends, for getting behind the message of this album and for supporting what Global Noize is... An inclusive musical group which has no creative boundaries and embraces what our world is about. With Sly Reimagined, we're hoping we can spread this funky, vibey message to the people who occupy this planet.....and beyond ! Jason Miles Time stayed steady on the mind of Sly Stone, the “Spaced Cowboy in Command”, one of the brightest lights of the late 60s/early 70s possessed in song. The questions were and remain “where are we going,” “how can we best facilitate the ride” and “where would we like to wind up” standing … together … in gratitude for the ability to be ourselves…in perpetuity! The world is so much smaller now, yet insidiously and pitifully divided in spite of every technological and communications advance we have made on the planet. From the senseless slaying of Trayvon Martin down south in the darkest backwards depths of Florida to the relentlessly raging war in Afghanistan, evil’s song remains the same. But as members of The Universal Family Stone, we wield shape-shifting songs of unity, peace and tolerance … songs blasted with an ancient future ring of Promised Land freedom that is vehemently keeping the torch alight and a dream alive. The music of Sly Stone is bumpin’-n-barkin’-n-breathin’ … and in very good hands within the album at hand. Jason Miles and his pan-cultural crew of aural shamans simply celestially encapsulated the vibe and whisked it on a Global Carnival Ride - bowing to its essence…but for another space and Time. A. Scott Galloway So why do we need to “Reimagine Sly”?

He gave us baby boomers so many words to live by, “Stand and In The End, You Will Still Be You…”;
“You Can Make It If You Try…”;
“When I Party, I Party Hearty…”;
“Same Thing That Makes You Laugh, That Makes You Cry…”;
“Blood’s Thicker than the Mud, It’s a Family Affair…”
But this is a new century, and it’s a much more dangerous world that is sorely in need of the Sly groove. Who better to bring that groove to the world of today than the musical polyglot aggregation known as “Global Noise?” The message is in the music, and that message is one of a "Global Family Affair.”

Bob Davis - CEO, Soul-Patrol.com When Sly and The Family Stone hit the scene back in the late ‘60s, the world – socially, culturally and politically – was in a state of upheaval. And their music perfectly evangelized the moment. Today, we stand dangerously at the edge of a similar precipice – and that message of celebratory potential and jubilant clarity is sorely needed. With that concept squarely implanted in his mind’s eye, visionary conceptualist, producer, arranger, composer and keyboard wizard Jason Miles has created the extraordinary Sly Reimagined on the ZOHO Roots label. With his groundbreaking, genre-defying borderless mothership Global Noize providing the vehicle, Miles takes on eight classic Sly Stone journeys into the wilds of a reality nearly half a century beyond their point of inception. Nobody is more capable or qualified to take on a project like this than the Grammy-winning Miles. His groundbreaking synth programming for Miles Davis’ ‘80s masterpieces Tutu, Music from Siesta and Amandla; along with his contributions to a genre-crossing array of artists - including Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, Ruben Blades, David Sanborn, Whitney Houston, Grover Washington Jr., The Crusaders, Chaka Khan and so many others - have led to a variety of legacy-based dedications to Marvin Gaye, Ivan Lins, Vandross, Grover…and now Sly. Reimagined is the ideal description as the music on this CD doesn’t simply pay homage, but also defines the timelessness of the music by translating it to the forefront of musical thinking here in 2013. Global Noize – with its triumvirate of Miles, turntable master DJ Logic and vocalist Falu – is accompanied on this recording by an astonishing array of nearly two dozen musical powerhouses, including Nona Hendryx, Roberta Flack, Jay Rodriguez, Amanda Ruzza and the original Family Stone drummer Greg Errico. The nine vocalists and seventeen instrumentalists are woven masterfully into the musical context of each piece – no contrivance, no excess, no aural gymnastics, just extraordinary musicianship, impeccable tastefulness and a relentless sense of groove. The musicians weave in and out, emerging at the always appropriate moment and then sinking back into the perfect mix. There is a visceral sense of ensemble playing, as live and cohesive as the 1968 concert performance at the Fillmore East where Jason first experienced Sly and The Family Stone, becoming forever connected to its unique musical expression. But while that group never could have existed without the foundation of James Brown, vocal groups from the Orioles through the Temptations, jubilant jazz of Louis Jordan through Mingus and Sun Ra, and all strains of Gospel and Blues, Sly Reimagined shows the influences of the post-Sly environment of P-Funk, Prince and the many explorers stimulated by Sly and The Family Stone. All cross-bred with the borderless context of the here and now at its richest. Two songs are given dual treatments. It’s a Family Affair – both with Roberta Flack on lead vocals – receives a Groove Vibe Version and the Falu Mumbai Mix. The former a deeply grooved percussive blend with horns, voices, rhythm and DJ Local all circling around in a round-robin; the latter sparer, leaner, meaner and tinged with Eastern harmonic and rhythmic flavors that offer testimony to the sub-title. Nona Hendryx sings lead on both versions of The Same Thing. The straight-up version is an extremely funky excursion with a dark gurgle of baritone sax (courtesy Jay Rodriguez) all swaggering, staggering and lurching forward like a super-hip drunk on a fervent mission for The Funk. The Mulholland Drive Mix plows similar ground, but coupling a deep bass groove with a strong spicing of the classic tenor/organ combo tradition. The Big Horn tenor style – this time in the hands of Ron Holloway - is also featured on Fun with a raucous solo that evokes the irresistible sound of Gene Ammons and Arnett Cobb. Surrounding it is a vividly syncopated groove kick, a passionately soulful vocal by Maya Azucena, DJ Logic’s turntable magic, a chanting chorus and lots of undiluted fun. Maya’s vocals also take the lead on two other pieces. You Can Make It If You Try, a richly layered celebration with a distinct P-Funk feel, the funky trumpet of Ingrid Jensen, and Rodriguez updating Jr. Walker into the 21st Century. On Stand, a proudly upright and emphatic take on the anthem, Maya soars over a chorus of vocalists chanting it out in Funkadelicized Gospel jubilation. She also provides playful and expressive support for Nona Hendryx’s lead on In Time, an easy-grooved percussive jaunt stoked by rich synthesizer textures. Global Noize regular Falu is up front on the brilliant Thank You For Talking To Me Africa – with a side trip to India via her Carnatic vocal approach. An ultra-thick body built on a saxophone choir (arrangement and all saxes by Jeff Coffin), sets a tantalizing groove that oozes like a lava flow and just keeps digging deeper and deeper and deeper into the darkest luster’s of pure funk. Falu’s exotic, sinuous style is also ideal for Dreams, an appropriately ethereal and evocative soundscape built upon a pastiche of electronica that closes out this remarkable album in a most palpably emotional manner. The presence of Jason Miles is at the core of every element of this truly remarkable album. Not only does the concept flow stem from the heart and soul of his remarkable musical vision; but also the keyboards, synthesizer and programming that comprise his instrument of aural expression permeate every moment of this music, holding it together and binding all of the parts into a most singular sensibility. Sly Reimagined is an album that can be experienced for its sheer joy, or dug into more deeply for in unlimited depth of artistic expression. Marty Khan