who loves us, baby?
“Richard Niles is a great orchestrator and musician and was a great pleasure to work with.”
Paul McCartney
“richard, bandzilla rises!!! sounds great - you are the one and only you and you’ve done it again here!”
Pat Metheny – 20x Grammy winning guitarist/composer
"Cool track, it was fun to do! BANDZILLA RISES!!! is a really well crafted work featuring some of the UK's best musicians and singers, and some other very talented individuals - including my main man Randroid who crawled out from under a rock to participate....great production, conception and playing from all concerned! (except maybe him!)”
Randy Brecker – multi-Grammy winning jazz composer and trumpet player
“Very nice! Super fonky! Loved hearing Randroid sing. Holds a place dear to my heart.
Congrats on a very cool project.”
Bob Mintzer – Composer, saxophonist, educator
“Wow! Some pretty hip stuff here, Man! :)
Very entertaining and a very cool new way of treating the big band genre. Bravo!
Dave Koz - 9x Grammy nominated Saxophonist, composer, broadcaster
“Bandzilla Rises!!! is a sumptuous tour de force, with a hip, lavish sound. ”
Michael Gibbs – Composer/arranger, educator (Jaco Pastorious, Gary Burton, Chick Corea)
“Richard.... You're one very cool cat.... Fantastic! I want to play on the next Bandzilla album... Please! Congratulations on an amazing album.
Such incredible playing, music, arrangements, production... Wow!”
Martin Taylor MBE – multi-Grammy nominated guitarist
“Bandzilla is a monster in every way - monster charts performed by monster players and singers.
A monster joy to listen to!”
Chris Walden – 6x Grammy nominated composer, arranger (Michael Bublé, Diana Krall)
“Every musician on the planet is going to want a copy of this!”
Don Was - Grammy winning Producer, President BLUE NOTE RECORDS
“It's a masterpiece of contemporary music... the music world needs this recording now more than ever!”
Danny Gottlieb - Grammy winning drummer, (Pat Metheny, Stan Getz, John McLaughlin, Blues Bros., Gil Evans)
"It is a great cd. I loved the arrangements and the mixing is spectacular. Marvelous musician!!!!"
Jeff Berlin - virtuoso bassist (John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham...)
“WOW!!!! I've put out an APB and have sworn out a warrant for your arrest!
Yooooo Beeeee Baaaaaad!
I love the music and your voicings are off the chain!
Really creative and well performed. Awesome work!”
Bill Champlin - singer, songwriter (Sons of Champlin, Chicago, Earth Wind & Fire)
"ABSOLUTELY KNOCKOUT! What an AMAZING recording on so many levels. Your imagination and unbelievable skill in putting all these elements together in your own inimitable way is truly awe inspiring! The production is truly beautiful and the MUSICIANSHIP throughout is a joy to behold. Ian Palmer beautiful throughout on drums, all the soloists - magic! All the singers and vocals.. and vocal arrangements too - stellar! I am charmed, truly stimulated and astounded by your talent, so look... why don't you just step right up and pick yourself up a Grammy!!?? It's a major recording and it's glorious!"
Gary Husband - drummer/pianist/composer (John McLaughlin, Billy Cobham)
“Great album! Richard Niles is one of the premier composers/arrangers of our time!”
Peter White – Guitarist and composer
“Bandzilla Rises!!! is a knockout! Great writing, grooves and musicianship all 'round. I've always been a fan of Richard Niles and this album has reminded me why. Hugely recommended!”
Claire Martin - UK Jazz vocalist and BBC Radio 3 presenter
“Richard Niles has been my mentor, teacher and most importantly, friend throughout my career as a producer. To hear his innovative, uncensored and genius arrangements unleashed in Bandzilla is like a wonderfully bonkers rollercoaster journey into his expansive musical brain - always brilliant, often challenging musically and gloriously wacky. WARNING: The musicians on this album are highly trained professionals, do not attempt these charts at home!”
Steve Anderson – Producer/Songwriter (Kylie Minogue, Britney Spears)
“Richard Niles is one of the most innovative, creative and musical composer/arrangers of our time. With incredibly deep horn arrangements and rich vocal harmonies for days, BANDZILLA RISES!!! takes a fresh, inspiring and very funky look at combining the best of the iconic bands of our time. Elements of The Brecker Brothers, Steely Dan, and Manhattan Transfer are mixed in the very unique way only Richard can do. This ain’t no background music! You’ll be sucked in from the first listen and it will be well worth it! Experience the Rise!!!”
Blake Aaron – Guitarist and radio host
“This is awesome and hip… !! Nice charts, hip band. Sounds like they all took private lessons! When it comes out, put me down for a copy in B sharp major. You have more talent than 99 percent of all the jazz cats with big names that do the same standards over and over and over again. You should be scoring movies all day...10000 times better than the amateurs doing it today”
David Chesky – Grammy nominated orchestral composer, pianist , founder Chesky Records
“Richard Niles’ Bandzilla delivers three knockout punches: great writing, great playing and great production. No one else is doing things at this level of creativity and craft. Everyone needs to hear this record.”
Matthew Nicholl – Berklee College of Music, Chair, Contemporary Writing & Production
"Brave, intelligent and funkier than a six day old tuna sandwich left in a hot car...
Richard Niles is a genius with an attitude, a conscience and an address book full of amazing musicians.
Destined to be as classic as the goatee."
Michael Ruff – singer/songwriter/keyboards (Bonnie Raitt, Chaka Khan, Dave Sanborn)
“The recording is clean as a whistle, and the performances, production and writing are all first rate.
Bravo, Bandzilla!”
Mike Metheny – Jazz trumpet player and author
"Guitarist and composer Richard Niles' latest release BANDZILLA RISES!!! is a masterpiece! Great compositions and arrangements played by some of the best musicians on the planet. Check it out!"
- Mark Egan, bassist/composer
"The force of nature that is Richard Niles explores the landscape shunned by the de-skilling aesthetic of Punk Rock. That place exploited by Pop, but hidden by the bright light of the star. It's somewhere between arrangement and composition where the delight in the playing of musical instruments is central. A plot, a territory cultivated by Zappa, Quincey Jones and Van Dyke Parks. Not a desert but a forgotten garden, ripe for new planting. Impressive."
Andrew Poppy, Pianist/composer
“Have you ever eagerly walked into a fully air-conditioned store after being in oppressive heat and humidity for an afternoon? The new release from Richard Niles, BANDZILLA RISES!!! sounds like that! I feel like a 14 year old kid hearing this stuff – reminds me of the excitement and wonder I had back then.
“In this clever, fun, lively, and sophisticated set, Niles combines his well-documented pop sensibilities with his masterful jazz orchestral arranging to create a unique listening adventure. It's truly one of the most exciting and interesting projects to come around in a very long time.
“There is no weak link in the chain of component parts that make this album great. The writing, concept, sound quality, and vocal and instrumental performances are all top notch. Nobody here is phoning it in. At this level of engagement, confidence and ability are a given. The result is serious music that doesn't take itself too seriously.
“Answering to only to himself and his vision, Richard Niles clearly shows that there are still those who want to present the very best. With a healthy respect for traditions of the past along with an eye towards the future, BANDZILLA RISES!!! gets three thumbs up and a snap!”
Tony Renaud – Bassist
“Lord have mercy on my café-au-lait soul! Congratulations!”
Kid Creole & the Coconuts
“If the Simpsons had to – I mean absolutely had to – put on a jazz-funk stage show, incorporate some Frank Zappa, Manhattan Transfer, hopped-up Leonard Bernstein, over the top Earth Wind & Fire, then, put all seriousness aside and leave NOTHING in the bag, well… they would have to turn the project over to Richard Niles and let him loose!”
Mitch Coodley – TV composer, jazz guitarist
“I have to say you are writing the best lyrics around, heart wrenching and pure. You manage to distil this poetry and yet make it sound obvious - conversational. Quite the trick. The music is a kind of alchemy, a spiral of all the music that has gone before. You are playing it for my heart. You have tapped into magic.”
Lisa Hayden Miller – Author and Designer
“BANDZILLA RISES!!! really caught me off-guard upon my first listen. The entire vibe is so fresh! This entire record is a celebration. Richard Niles has created something new and wonderful –virtually impossible in today’s world. Many, many will be happy to experience this throwback to the future!
The writing, arranging and production and performances are nothing short of breathtaking. However, I didn’t expect to hear remarkable vocals! It’s instantly evident the players are having a lot of fun–that’s where the magic is coming from. BANDZILLA RISES!! is not Big Band Music… it’s Very Big Band Music - tighter than a witch's butt, in a snowstorm, funkier than a drunken bear dancing, in the rain...and the vocals are crazy-good!
This music is and always will be important, relevant and above all beautiful. I truly love this record.”
Dann Glenn – Orchestral composer, guitarist
Quirky sense of humor and superb playing!
Opening with THE ALLIGATOR FROM WEST 15TH I immediately loved the humorous approach to the lyrics.
Many of the vocal lines are sung in unison with improvised-like instrumental lines, giving the melodies a unique and flowing rhythm. The improvising on this album is outstanding, as are the arrangements. My favorite is
L.A. EXISTENTIAL - the band and arrangement is well balanced in a composition that is dynamic, playful, and serious at the same time. The Randy Brecker solo on YOU CAN’T THERE FROM HERE is a highlight!
Wouter Kellerman – Grammy-winning flautist & composer
“BANDZILLA RISES!! is a solid record from guitarist, composer, and arranger Richard Niles. The charts are engaging and the playing world class. With a mixture of instrumental and vocal sections, this album has something for every soul & jazz fan. A must have jazz record for 2016 and beyond.”
Mat Warnock Guitarist & Journalist
"Bandzilla's new record is high energy funk turned on its head. Richard's arrangements are refreshing!"
Derek Sivers – Author, Musician, Entrepreneur
“Well done everyone….classy, sassy…and insanely accomplished!
To be expected from a band comprised of such talent”.
Corinne Drewery - Swing Out Sister
"What an amazing band! I was blown away by the talent, skill and grooves!"
Jim Cregan - musician, Rod Stewart, Cockney Rebel, Family
"A crew of 25 pros gather here to bring the funk, and everything else, in top shelf style. You could call this 'thinking man's pop music but it also provides heat for the feet with loads of bounce as well.
Killer stuff throughout!""
Review: midwestrecord,com
Hell on Earth! Sounds incredible!! Can’t wait to get my mitts on this…
Snowboy
You're in for a funky jazz experience of a lifetime. Bandzilla Rises!!! is one of the most adventurous sounding albums I think I have ever heard - and yet everything works to a tee. Well played Richard Niles. Well played, sir.
CHERRY POP review: annecarlini.com/
"BANDZILLA RISES!!! is lots of fun - excellently produced and the grooves are killing!"
Joey Sellars - Director of Jazz Studies, Saddleback College
"Richard Niles has put together a fantastic set with a stellar cast of musicians that will make jazz-fusion fans moist with enjoyment. If it's your bag, it's essential!"
the-rocker.co.uk
"Really, but REALLY digging BANDZILLA RISES!!! Super, super sweet and funky stuff."
Frank Griffith - Composer, Director of Performance, Brunel University
"Fantastic musicianship, Bandzilla, grooves and swings in many musical directions. Richard Niles is a super arranger and the cast of performers here is dazzling, energetic, warm, funny and greatly entertaining."
Lauren Passarelli - professor Berklee College of Music - songwriter, guitarist, producer
"BANDZILLA RISES!!! is jaw-droppingly amazing, yet with so much heart. It's an album of rare ambition in these straitend times - a total musical pleasure with wonderful musical surprises throughout. To be very musically advanced without being esoteric is a balance that is rarely achieved."
Carl Orr - guitarist/composer (Billy Cobham, Geoge Duke, Randy Brecker)
"Wow! Just freakin' WOW! You really do blaze your own creative trail and it's wonderful to hear."
Wayne Powers - jazz singer