Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble - Groove in the Face of Adversity - Vinyl LP

2025

There are very few people making records right now who have that as part of their makeup. I thought ‘The thing that makes you different becomes your superpower – just be the best version of yourself that you can be.’”

Groove in the Face of Adversity finds Was finally unleashing that power with the help of a group of like-minded souls.

“The mistake most record companies make is that they sign artists they like and then try to change them into whatever’s popular in the moment,” notes Was of the timeless tale of squelched creativity. He knows as a producer and label head that, “instead, you should be accentuating the thing that makes your artist different from everybody else. It’s a good lesson and it has served me in good stead. That notion came up again when it was time to put this band together. I thought, all right, pick people who come from the same milieu as you. People who grew up listening to the same radio stations, going to the same bars to hear music, playing with each other. There’s definitely a Detroit sound.”

The Pan-Detroit Ensemble includes long-time collaborators like Blue Note Records artist Dave McMurray on sax and Eminem’s Oscar-winning collaborator, keyboardist Luis Resto. Additional musicians include trombonist Vincent Chandler, trumpeter John Douglas, drummer Jeff Canaday, percussionist Mahindi Masai, guitarist Wayne Gerard, and powerhouse vocalist Steffanie Christi’an.