Beyond his sheer virtuosity and versatility, drummer Adam Deitch has proven to be a musician of perpetual motion. In just over a year’s time, he has been the driving force behind psychedelic funk veterans Lettuce’s eighth studio album Unify, released a hip-hop beats album 'TAKE YOUR TIME', and now returns with the second LP release from his soul-jazz project The Adam Deitch Quartet entitled Roll The Tape. Available via Deitch’s imprint Golden Wolf Records on November 10, 2023, the forthcoming album exemplifies his unwavering commitment to producing authentic music from a broad spectrum of styles, all rooted in his tutelage of rhythmic studies & groove, and his upbringing as a drummer from a young age. Deitch is joined by organist Wil Blades, Lettuce cohorts Eric “Benny” Bloom on trumpet and Ryan Zoidis on saxophone. The album's second single "Play On Playa" is available today.
“Play On Playa" tips its hat to Soulive, the New York-based organ trio comprised of Eric Krasno (guitar), Neal Evans (organ & keyboards), and Alan Evans (drums) who have been instrumental in the modern funk and soul revival scene since their inception in 1999. With its swanky melody and groove-driven organ work gelled together with Deitch's drumming, the tune sounds like it could have come straight out of Soulive's repertoire with Deitch's attention-to-detail and perpetual student-of-music mindset. "I owe so much to Soulive for introducing me to organ trio music," says Deitch, "They've really helped mold the careers of both Lettuce and myself into who we are today."
Roll The Tape was a 1-2 punch effort coming off the heels of Lettuce recording their next full-length album as Blades flew in to join Deitch, Bloom, and Zoidis for a session at Scanhope Sound. Written on ProTools in his home studio in Denver, Colorado, Deitch composed and arranged all parts for the quartet and provided demos for the band to learn on the spot, much like the quartet’s debut LP Egyptian Secrets. “I’d bring the tunes in, play them on the computer, have the guys learn them as fast as possible, and then ‘roll the tape,” Deitch says of the rigor of the back-to-back sessions and marathon studio effort that contrasted the band’s debut effort recorded in two sessions over the course of five years. While the process may seem overwhelming at first glance, Blades speaks to it being a testament to Deitch’s thorough composition process and wholeness as a musician, “I don’t change much of anything at all. All of the harmonies and voicings are spot on. I grew up as a drummer, so the way Adam plays organ is the way I’m already playing organ.”
The quartet was formed when Deitch and Blades joined forces to play a last-minute late-night show at Boom Boom Room in San Francisco after Lettuce performed at The Fillmore and Tedeschi Truck Band performed at Bill Graham Civic Center in December 2013. The impromptu after-show featured an array of special guests including Zoidis and Bloom along with Eric Krasno (Soulive), Maurice “Mo Betta” Brown (Anderson .Paak), and James Casey (Trey Anastasio Band) and Kofi Burbridge (Tedeschi Trucks Band), both who left this earth all too soon. After additional performances at New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and some one-offs, Deitch knew the project had to continue and took the reigns to get the group in the studio.
‘Roll The Tape’ features ten brand-new songs that transcend the traditional organ trio format and are accentuated by Deitch’s prowess for funk, breakbeat, hip-hop, and electronic music experiences coupled with highlighting the strengths of every musician in the group. “Wil and I are both basketball fans and homies. He is highly skilled with the organ pedals and lefthand bass and is super smart and easy to work with. Zoidis and Bloom always balance each other out with Zoidis bringing a psychedelic vibe with his effects and Benny bringing his wild, crazy Benny attitude as a great musician with great showmanship,” says Deitch.
‘Roll The Tape’ is available for pre-order and pre-save HERE.
For more information and to stay posted on all of Adam Deitch’s endeavors, visit deitchbeatsdontquit.com.
