Please join us for a Career Retrospective Q&A with Kool & The Gang's Ronald “Khalis” Bell, moderated by multiple Grammy award-winning producer and Emmy-winning musical director Steve Jordan.
PANELIST BIO - Ronald “Khalis” Bell
Ronald “Khalis” Bell co-founder of Kool & the Gang is a driving force behind one of the most successful groups of the last five decades. Khalis has composed, arranged produced and performed some of the most popular music of our time.
In 1964, a young Ronald Bell and his brother, Robert “Kool” Bell, joined neighborhood friends Spike Mickens, Dennis Thomas, Ricky Westfield, George Brown, and Charles Smith to create a unique musical blend of jazz, soul and funk.At first calling themselves the Jazziacs, the band went through various names changes -- The New Dimensions, The Soul Town Band, Kool & the Flames – before settling on their famous moniker.
Kool & the Gang officially launched in 1969 and 49 years later the band has become true Funk, Soul, and R&B legends.
A self-taught musician, Khalis’ signature sound can be heard on the band's unforgettable horn lines, bass, synthesizer and vocals. He has written and produced many of the band's iconic songs including Celebration, Cherish, Jungle Boogie, Summer Madness and Open Sesame.The band has earned two Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, 25 Top Ten R&B hits, nine Top Ten Pop hits and 31 gold and platinum albums to date.
Kool & the Gang’s music is also featured on the soundtracks of countless films including the classics “Rocky”, “Saturday Night Fever”, and “Pulp Fiction”.
From Nairobi to New York, Kool & the Gang has performed continuously longer than any R&B group in history and their bulletproof funk and jazzy arrangements have also made them the most sampled band of all time.A reviewer recently called their performance “a 24-karat show” and every year, even after a half-century on the road, yields a non-stop schedule of shows across the globe.
The heavily-in-demand band has continued to tour the world, appearing most recently alongside Kid Rock, Dave Matthews Band, Elton John and The Roots and performing on a recent, 50-city tour with rock legends Van Halen.
In addition to keeping pace with the road, Khalis has devoted much of his life to songwriting and producing for Kool & the Gang as well as developing new acts.
In 2014 Kool & the Gang was honored with a BET Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award. In October 2015, in the town they sing about in one of their earliest hits, “Hollywood Swinging,” Kool & the Gang was honored to take their place as American musical icons with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. After a decade long hiatus from new music the band released "Sexy" in 2016 and hit #15 on the Billboard R&B charts.
Today, Kool & the Gang enjoys global fame and a following that spans generations due in part to the groups widely sampled catalog. The group's signature horn lines, drum beats, bass, and guitar lace the tracks of numerous artists including the Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Cypress Hill, P. Diddy. and The Killers to name a few. With a tireless touring and production schedule, Kool & the Gang continue to delight fans around the globe with their timeless hits and amazing live performances.
Khalis is currently working on a series of collaborations including his solo endeavor “Kool Baby Brotha Band”
MODERATOR BIO - Steve Jordan
Steve Jordan has helped expand the vocabulary of modern music, not only as a drummer, but also as a composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer.
He has recorded with the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Steve Wonder, B.B. King, Sonny Rollins, Sheryl Crow, Beyonce', Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, The Pretenders, Stevie Nicks, Norah Jones, James Taylor, Diana Krall, Sting, Billy Joel, Don Henley, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, the original Saturday Night Live Band and he was a founding member of the World's Most Dangerous Band for Late Night with David Letterman.
As a multiple Grammy award-winning producer and Emmy-winning musical director, Jordan has made albums for Keith Richards and the X-pensive Winos, John Mayer, which includes winning Pop Vocal Album of the Year for "Continuum", John Mayer Trio, Robert Cray, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Los Lonely Boys, John Scofield, Buddy Guy, Booker T. & the MG's, Solomon Burke, Boz Scaggs, Hubert Sumlin, Tom Jones, Patty Scialfa and Beyonce'. His most satisfying work is the collaboration with Meegan Voss and their band, The Verbs.
He received an Emmy for his musical direction in Movies Rock in addition to doing Fashion Rocks, several Kennedy Center Honors, the 2004 Democratic Convention, and has worked as musical director/producer on. films Lightening in a Bottle, Cadillac Records, and consulted on Standing in the Shadows of Motown.Jordan is currently producing Solid Soul a documentary on musical legacy of record producer Willie Mitchell.
Steve and Meegan Voss are the founders of the independent recording company, Jay-Vee Records, home to the Grammy nominated album, Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm and their band, Verbs.They are also the Directors of Special Events and Development at The Jazz Foundation of America. and an advisor to the Little Kids Rock Foundation in New York.
In recent years, Steve has produced Keith Richards' album Cross Eyed Heart, John Mayer’s The Search For Everything and is working on The Verbs' new LP, Garage Sale and new albums by Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban and Bettye LaVette.
Additional production credits include Rod Stewart’s Soulbook, John Mayer’s Battle Studies, The Verbs' Trip and Cover Story, Boz Scagg's Memphis and his new album, Fool to Care, Robert Cray & Hi Rhythm as well as Cray’s In My Soul and his live project, 40 Years and 4 Nights. Jordan was musical director for the 61st, 62nd, 64th, 66th, 67th and 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as musical director for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research Annual Gala, in addition to touring with Eric Clapton.
