Daniel Erickson of Muzikreviews.com reviews Throttle Elevator Music and likes what he hears:

“Throttle Elevator Music is one thing you should take notice of. They’ve managed to combine rock, punk, and jazz together to make a unique but tasty concoction… And, it feels good to say this; this band isn’t really anything I’ve heard before. I’m sold on them…. This album feels like the perfect stepping stone for this band to build on; I don’t think they can go anywhere from here but up.”

Read on at Musik Reviews or check out Throttle Elevator Music.

“A collective of talented in-house players from San Francisco-based label Wide Hive. Producer and label owner Gregory Howe, who clearly has a great ear, has penned a striking selection of soul-fused jazz tracks for his house band.” –BBC Music magazine

Read another glowing review at Musik Reviews.

Cross Coltrane with The Clash and it would resemble the departure point Throttle Elevator Music leaps from. Tenor Saxophonist Kamasi Washington takes the lead and raises the bar of instrumental intensity on 16 original compositions ranging from shorter punk minded 45 second flurries to thematic uptempo romps, and rounding out with a few expansionary journeys. Kamasi’s melodic tonality melds nicely into the electric undercurrent laid down by punk drummer/guitarist Lumpy, Wide Hive Player’s bassist/keyboardist/composer Matt Montgomery, and Wide Hive Players composer/engineer/producer Gregory Howe.

track listing

1. Thrill SeekerThrill Seeker
2. Breather
3. GTFO
4. Violet Revolutionary
5. Bass In The SublimeBass in the Sublime
6. Ratchet
7. Throttle Rocket
8. Free Just
9. Chilton Alley
10. Dancing Dust Moat
11.Capital Rumble
12. Rampart
13. Inner Spatial Dub
14. Elevator Shaft
15. Standards Reproach
16. Sacred Rights

CD & MP3
April 10, 2012

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Coryell has made several returns to his fusion beginnings over the years, but it took this little house band from Berkeley to bring him back with the full-on fire, fury and spirit or those pioneering times. You don’t even have to be a fan of his or a guitar afficionado to dig this disc; anyone who likes that old school funky rock-jazz with a few delectable diversions will find a lot to like about it.

- continue reading at Something Else!

The last thing you hear on Larry Coryell’s latest is a voice, presumably Coryell’s, saying, “It sounded so great, man, I got spaced out and forgot to look at the music.” This provides a summation of the record that bursts with positive energy.  With the Wide Hive Players, which recalls Coryell’s frist Eleventh house record, flirts soul, jazz, r&b and Chicago blues, but its loose approach gives it a jam-band feel.

-Downbeat, March 2012

After 45 years of making records, Larry Coryell may have just cut his best one ever. Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players is a collaboration with this Bay Area-based rhythm and horn section, and the results are astonishing. Throughout the 13 tracks, Coryell raises his freak-flag high and ably resurrects the sound of pre-Mahavishnu fusion with style and precision. The correct elements are here – slightly grungy guitar tones, funky brass arrangements, sexy Fender Rhodes piano licks, and grooves to die for. Atop it all, Coryell jams with joyous abandon, mixing blues, rock, soul, and complex jazz phrases as only an old ’60s master can. No wonder he’s regularly touted as “the godfather of fusion” (if you’re in doubt, listen to landmark jazz-rock LPs like Chico Hamilton’s The Dealer from 1966,
or the Free Spirits’ Out of Sight and Sound from ’67).

Now, back to the present. Cue up “Terco” for a good example of Coryell’s acid-fusion nirvana. A deep, urban vamp provides the perfect backdrop for him to get funky with badass bends, post-bop phrases, and a not-quite-clean tone that evokes a gritty city scene. “The Last Drop” does what is unthinkable to today’s musicians, but which is to mix horns, Hammond organ, and acoustic guitar in a jazz tune. Larry smokes his solo nevertheless, playing without any trace of post-modern irony; he just delivers a great acoustic improv over an interesting harmonic situation. On “The Return of Shirtless,” the accent is on classic R&B á la Blood, Sweat & Tears or the Electric Flag, with Coryell employing a phase shifter to brilliant effect on a series of nasty solos. And in “Moose Knuckles,” you may think you’ve stumbled over a vintage jam from Terry-Kath-era Chicago or the original Steely Dan lineup – it’s a veritable time machine back to days of taste and tone.

After listening to Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players a few times, you may smack yourself on the forehead as you realize how hip fusion guitar was before speedsters like John McLaughlin and Al Di Meola cranked it through a Marshall stack. Cut by cut, Coryell reminds us that the genre’s true roots lie in hard bop, blues, ’60s soul, and funk music, not hard rock and prog (the retro typeface and artwork on the cover are no accidents either, allowing us to visually reconnect with old-school fusion in all its trippy, hash-fueled glory). The coup de grâce is that at age 68, Coryell is making some of the most exhilarating, ballsiest music of his career. Hats off, too, to the amazing Wide Hive Players for giving him plenty of room to prove he’s still got it.

– Pete Prown
Vintage Guitar, August 2011

Master of trombone, Phil Ranelin, forms a solid gold union with stellar percussionist Big Black and phenomenal bassist Henry Franklin to create the makings for the fire-filled jazz sucker punch that is Perseverance. The album takes you straight to a low-lit New York City jazz lounge. You can practically taste the smoke hanging in the air. This is Ranelin’s fourth release on Wide Hive Records and it stands on its own two feet.

The smooth-voiced eloquence of Ranelin’s trombone leads the way down rambling corridors of jazz without ever losing its place. Big Black adds well-placed sonic texture, while Henry Franklin holds it down on the bass. The trio is well-matched. Their razor sharp group dynamic couldn’t be tighter.

The fluid warmth of the tracks is undeniable. They speak without saying too much. Ranelin’s trombone work lends an air of exploration without ever allowing the listener to feel lost. The album starts off strong and keeps it up all the way through. The album is bookended by a couple of jazz whoppers that both run around ten minutes long. The initial track, “In Search of the One,” is an upbeat jazz menagerie that manages to make enough liquid changes to keep it interesting all the way through. And the closer “A Tear in Elmina” is a slow-pouring of contemplative melancholy. Perseverance is worth your time. – Shimmy Boyle- Muzikreviews.com Contributor

“Master of trombone, Phil Ranelin, forms a solid gold union with stellar percussionist Big Black and phenomenal bassist Henry Franklin to create the makings for the fire-filled jazz sucker punch that is Perseverance. The album takes you straight to a low-lit New York City jazz lounge. You can practically taste the smoke hanging in the air. This is Ranelin’s fourth release on Wide Hive Records and it stands on its own two feet.” — Muzik Reviews

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“It just keeps getting better and better. You can’t go wrong with this sound. Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players is a keeper. — Muzik Reviews

We are proud to announce our latest release, Larry Coryell with the Wide Hive Players, has spent ten weeks on CMJ’s top ten!

The East Bay Express has just put out their annual “Best Of the East Bay” issue and we are proud honored to be selected the East Bay’s Best Independent Record Label! Thank you East Bay Express!

“Gregory Howe knows that great things start in living rooms. After college, he moved to the Bay Area and started recording local artists in a studio out of his home. Twenty years later, his Wide Hive Records in Albany has its own fully equipped, deluxe space and has released more than thirty records featuring artists like Calvin Keys, Phil Ranelin, DJ Zeph, Azeem, and Harvey Mandel — blending jazz, funk, hip-hop, rock, and soul into complex and satisfying music. The label’s latest offering is thirteen tracks from Larry Coryell, the “godfather of fusion” according to Downbeat, backed by the Wide Hive Players, Howe’s in-house band. Some have called jazz-funk “jazz for the dance hall” — a lesser music form — but Howe’s Wide Hive label proves them wrong: It doesn’t matter if it’s the dance hall or the living room, as long as the groove gets out.” – East Bay Express