Photo by Rob Chapman

Night seven of Bowlive II, Soulive’s ten day residency at Brooklyn Bowl, was an evening of jazz infused funk and soul with guests, Ivan Neville, Oteil and Kofi Burbridge, John Scofield and Marco Benevento.

Soulive drummer Alan Evans opened the evening with his newly formed Playonbrother Band. Then Soulive took the stage as a trio performing favorites “El Ron” and “Upfront,” before bringing out Scofield and the Burbridge brothers for a monster jazz fusion jam.

Performing two songs from Scofield’s repertoire, “Boozer” and “Red Baron,” Krasno and Scofield played step in step with each other while Oteil Burbridge danced on stage. Another highlight was Bill Cobham’s “Stratus,” with each musician playing soloing. James Hurt then joined in on synthesizer to add a spacey fusion sound to the mix.

A heavy stream of musicians came on and off the stage throughout the night with six keyboard players in the mix. Evans, Burbridge and Hurt were joined by Nigel Hall and later Marco Benevento, who replaced Neal Evans for the Beatles’ “Something In The Way She Moves” with Kofi Burbridge on flute. Evans and Benevento also led a screaming fast Led Zeppelin “Out in the Tiles” jam. Ivan Neville then appeared (the evening’s sixth keyboardist) with Alicia Chakour singing Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady” and “Got Soul” with The Shady Horns. The night ended with a “Papa Was A Rolling Stone > Rock Steady” encore to end the evening.

Tonight’s extensive musical guest list includes: Karl Denson, Kofi Burbridge, Ivan Neville, Yonrico Scott, Van Hunt, Alicia Chakour and Questlove.