SXSW 2012

“When you’re in a horn section, the goal is to play like one person,” says saxophone player Carlos Sosa, one-third of one of the world’s most sought after horn trios, Grooveline Horns. “When you’re together as long as we’ve been, it really becomes a psychic thing – like we know what we’re going to play without even talking about it, without even thinking about it, really.” Grooveline Horns, comprised of Carlos Sosa, Fernando Castillo on trumpet and Reggie Watkins on trombone, are not only a permanent part of Jason Mraz’s band. They’ve performed and/or recorded with everyone from Willie Nelson to Kelly Clarkson, from Dave Matthews to Blues Traveler. They’re the go-to guys for such musical icons as London based producer Martin Terefe (Train, Jason Mraz, James Morrison), and New Orleans’ Dumpstaphunk and The Funky Meters. In recent months, Grooveline Horns has begun a transition. Not only will they continue to play alongside grammy winning greats, but they are nearly finished with their debut album and are ready start jamming it live with their own backing band. They tested the concept at venues like the Roxy in LA back in 2009. Complete with police escort, the Horns raced to the famed Sunset Strip club immediately following their performance with Jason Mraz and proceeded to wow a packed house with original tunes and covers alike. Guest vocals from Jason Mraz and Bushwalla were right at home along side Grooveline’s slashing horn riffs and rhymes from up and coming MC Zeale Rapz. Fans can expect a relentless show of slamming grooves and signature horn lines along with frequent cameos from the long list of stars GLH has performed with. Grooveline Horns had their genesis more than 15 years ago in Austin, Texas, where they honed their chops bouncing back and forth from club to club every night on the town’s famed 6th street. At that time, enterprising young horn players could sit in with Austin’s best musicians night after night, playing a huge variety of styles. It’s there that Grooveline Horns put in their 10,000 hours, striving to join such groups as Tower of Power and the Memphis Horns in the pantheon of contemporary horn sections. It can take a decade for a horn section to truly gel. So it’s no surprise that in 2006, after Grooveline Horns had been working for almost 10 years towards their goal of becoming an in-demand horn section, that Jason Mraz came calling for the first time, asking the group to join him on a tour of Japan. They’ve been an integral part of Jason’s band ever since. In addition to writing and producing their signature horn arrangements for an ever growing list of musical luminaries, the group is currently in the midst of a world tour with Jason Mraz and squeezing in sessions to complete their debut album. The timing couldn’t be more perfect, as interest in Grooveline Horns has spread far beyond that of your ordinary sidemen. In fact, the band performed one of their own compositions, “Copchase,” on a recent episode of ABC’s hit television show “Dancing With The Stars.” If the public’s response to that appearance is any indication, Grooveline Horns have a very bright future indeed.