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ROSS VALORY is regarded as one of rock’s best bass guitarists and an original member of the multi-platinum band Journey until his 2020 departure. Today, he shares the dazzling, imagery-rich surreal video for “Wild Kingdom.” Brimming with Latin-fired intensity, the track will be available at all streaming platforms this Friday, March 1. It marks the second single from his debut solo album ALL OF THE ABOVE that’s due out April 12 on OID Music. Watch the video HERE.

The video for “Wild Kingdom” was directed by Michael Cotten, who did the same honors for the album’s first single and video “Tomland.” Watching the “Wild Kingdom” video—premiered earlier this week by Ultimate Classic Rock—is an engaging experience as it takes the viewer, through the eyes of a young girl, on a mysterious train ride into an exotic and colorful world where all kinds of animals live and thrive. The imagery is fascinatingly intertwined with the music that VALORY has written with collaborator Eric Levy, an alumnus of Garage Mahal who’s currently a touring member of Night Ranger. The track’s credits are as follows:

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“WILD KINGDOM”
(Ross Valory, Eric Levy)
Ross Valory – Caliope, Bass Guitar
Eric Levy – Rhodes, Synth Flute, Singing Bowl
Karl Perazzo – Percussion
Walfredo Reyes, Jr. – Drums
Marc Russo – Alto Saxophone

VALORY says that “Wild Kingdom” is “definitely a good example of the variety of songs on this first album. I wrote the piece on a Calliope in the mid ‘80s and had the privilege of developing the arrangement with Karl Perazzo, master percussionist with Santana, in 2012. ‘Wild Kingdom’ became my first venture in recording with authentic Latin rhythms.”

Perazzo brought his Santana bandmate, Cuban drummer Walfredo Reyes Jr., to hold down the groove, which keyboardist Levy and saxophonist Marc Russo gently take slightly outside. But the calliope riff is always there to bring them home. Russo would be one of the key contributors to the VALORY sessions. Veteran of jazz-rock specialists Yellowjackets and for the past 25 years, a member of the touring band of the Doobie Brothers, Russo brings his fierce, angular sax style to the blend, perfectly suited to pair with Levy, who has played with jazz-rock fusion band Garage Mahal since 2000.

ROSS VALORY always had pieces of music tucked away that he had written, although songwriting contributions to Journey slipped away after the first three “experimental” albums. As a member of Journey, VALORY concentrated on shaping the rhythm section and contributing his baritone vocals to the background blend.

During the band’s second coming following the 1995 reunion album Trial By Fire, VALORY began sorting through his files and polishing up some of his old notes. In between tour dates, he pulled together a tight-knit group of collaborators and slowly began to finish what he started. After a lifetime in music, VALORY scrupulously etched ALL OF THE ABOVE. The album was produced by VALORY and co-produced by Jacob Stowe and Eric Levy.

VALORY developed a repertory company of musicians over the years that came together at his studio. He cultivated individual numbers like sprawling projects, experimenting with different arrangements played by an assortment of musicians. Sometimes spending years jamming on these ideas, the pieces took shape slowly. Different ideas were tried and discarded, remodeled and refurbished. The basic concept was to find the heart of the material and expand upon it until VALORY could refine and shape the music’s path to his supreme satisfaction. He cast specific musicians to specific parts. The studio became his laboratory and the compositions his experiments.

From the Latin-fired intensity of “Wild Kingdom” to the ethereal dirge of “No One Wins a War,” the raucous party on “Low Rider” or the brilliant reprise of Santana’s “Incident of Neshabur,” the album presents an evolved artist fully in command of his vision, a lifetime of experience behind the project, augmenting his core associates with guest musicians such as Gregg Errico of Sly andamp; the Family Stone, drummer Steve Smith, and saxophonist Marc Russo. The nine tracks on the album represent the full maturity of VALORY’s musical gifts, cutting a broad swath through the instrumental territory the music travels. He plays keyboards, guitar, and, of course, many basses in a display of cultivated virtuosity across a palette far broader than could be found in his work with Journey. He is stepping out from behind his bass and, for the first time in his more than half-century as a professional musician, representing his vision and his compositions.

VALORY left Journey in 2020 and the band members worked out their issues in a peaceful mediated settlement. VALORY, who spent most of his life as a member of Journey, has no regrets. He counts his blessings at having spent an amazing career with a remarkable group of musicians who succeeded beyond their wildest dreams.

The ALL OF THE ABOVE track listing is as follows:
Wild Kingdom
Nightflower
Tomland
Touched, Part II
Windmill
Incident at Neshabur
Low Rider
No One Wins a War