“One piece we’ll do is a medley of James Brown songs and you don’t really think of a symphony with James Brown songs. There are some of our songs from the past, like (1974’s) ‘Below Us, All The City Lights,’ that I think lend themselves well to doing with an orchestra. The songs I have chosen are the ones I feel will show off the orchestra and really complement what we do. “So, we’re expecting that and will talk to the orchestra at rehearsal. “We know that orchestral string, brass and wind sections don’t play as tight and as on top of the beat as we do,” Castillo noted. The adjustments, then, will be made by the symphony’s musicians. But it’s really not going to change what we do.” “There are some new interludes at beginning and in the middle of some tunes - which will just be played by the orchestra - and that will be different for us. “We know our stuff inside out and we’ll just play what we normally play in each song,” Castillo replied. Will Tower of Power need to adjust or modify its songs to accommodate an orchestra? He’s already done orchestral arrangements for our entire set with the San Diego Symphony.” “Dave Eskridge has done all the arrangements on our albums since the 1990s. “We’re really excited!” Castillo said, speaking last week from his Arizona home in Scottsdale. Both groups, who share the same manager, will perform with the San Diego Symphony and guest conductor Christopher Dragon. That will change when Tower of Power plays here Thursday at The Shell on a double-bill with the jazz- and funk-fueled jam band Lettuce. “We have never played with a symphony orchestra before,” said tenor saxophonist and periodic singer Emilio Castillo, one of the band’s co-founders. Yet, for all its accomplishments, there is at least one thing Tower of Power has never done in its 53 years.
In the intervening years, Tower of Power has created a repertoire that includes such enduring favorites as “You’re Still a Young Man,” “Down to the Nightclub (Bump City),” “So Very Hard To Go,” “Squib Cakes” and “What is Hip?” Fans can expect to hear most of these when the band performs in San Diego Thursday at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park. That was shortly after legendary concert promoter Bill Graham had signed Tower of Power to his Fillmore Records label, which in 1970 released the band’s debut album, “Easy Bay Grease.” One of the group’s first concerts was as the opening act for Jimi Hendrix at the Berkeley Community Theatre. More than a dozen lead singers have passed through the ranks in that time. Since debuting in 1968 in Oakland, the brassy soul, funk and R&B band has released 29 albums - including six live concert recordings - and performed countless times with at least 49 different lineups of musicians. Tower of Power hasn’t done absolutely everything a band can do in 53 years, but it’s come close.
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