LMT Connection

LMT Connection Live on BB Kings 80th Birthday Tour

Seldom are we in the presence of people that command music. Niagara-based funk and soul trio LMT CONNECTION are true masters of their craft. Dynamic. Electrifying. Inhuman. But looking at their history, even briefly, one might expect that. Theyve been together for 18 years and recorded four albums. Theyve played over 4000 shows, toured Europe seven times over the past four years and most recently, they were invited to open for the legendary Al Green and BB King. Twice.
Born in Atlanta and raised in Detroit, singer/songwriter/guitarist Leroy Emmanuel began his professional career at the age of twelve. He went on to record and play live with Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight and the Funk Brothers of Motown fame, to name just a few. With his original group the Counts, Emmanuel recorded five albums for Westbound Records, toured all over the United States and shared the stage with Kool and the Gang, the Commodores and the Funkadelics. Hes played Madison Square, the Apollo and Radio City. Hes got Stevie Wonders home number on his cell phone. Hes got Detroit funk in his veins.For four years, Emmanuel toured the continent with drummer/producer Mark Rogers with a 10-piece Motown revue. When it finally came to its end in 1989, the two formed a trio with bassist/singer John Irvine, an experienced touring musician and serendipitously, the missing part of the whole.To say they havent looked back since would be an understatement. LMT Connection have shared the stage with The Temptations, jazz-organist Joey DeFrancesco and Alex Lifeson of Rush. They have released four albums on their own without ever taking a dime of major label money. All releases are through LMTs self-owned and operated Impression Records.
Their repertoire is both familiar and refreshing. Like an arrow pointing in two directions, LMT Connection evoke the Motown era while breaking new ground in contemporary music. And nowhere is this more evident than in their live performance. Emmanuel, who recently celebrated his 60th birthday, moves like a man half his age. As a rhythm section, Rogers and Irvine attack their instruments with such ferocity, its hard to believe youre listening to a three-piece band. Orchestra is more like it. Even the stuffiest wallflowers cant resist the groove. Together they travel beyond mere nostalgia or entertainment into a dimension that transcends age, time or location. The plane of exhilaration.But words are only words. There is no substitute for the real experience; an experience that robs words of their meaning. To speak about LMT Connection in the third person is nothing like being there in person. So well let you decide.
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