Brother Brother

In March 2013 The Funk Brothers -- the elite group of studio musicians who played on all the hit Motown records -- received their star on the Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame. West Coast guitarist Thom Douvan, who originally hails from Detroit and played with several of the original Funk brothers, decided to record a soul-jazz organ tribute of fourteen selections from the Great American Soul Songbook in honor of The Funk Brothers. In addition to Thom on guitar, the resulting record 'Brother Brother' features Detroit organist Duncan McMillan, saxophonist Tony Malfatti, and five celebrity drummers sharing the drumming duties: James Gadson who played on Marvin Gaye's 'I Want You' and Diana Ross's 'Love Hangover,' Ralph Penland who played with Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, and Frank Sinatra; Michael Barsimanto who played with Billy Preston, Ivan Neville and Johnny Depp; Frank Wilson who played with Jimmy Smith; and Tony Moore who played with Gerald Albright, George Benson and Robben Ford. The majority of the songs on 'Brother Brother' were recorded in just two days in the studio. Thom then added legendary organist Bobby Pierce (Sonny Stitt, James Moody and Pat Martino) to record the Donny Hathaway ballad 'Someday We'll All Be Free' to complete the selection.