Darrius Willrich

Can't Get Enough is the third and eagerly anticipated release from Seattle-based singer/songwriter/keyboardist Darrius Willrich, affectionately known to his fans as simply Darrius. Can't Get Enough is 14 tracks of "sweet urban soul" produced by Darrius and Seattle super producers Vitamin D and Donyea Goodman.

Darrius is one of a few artists really pushing out good quality adult contemporary soul/jazz music these days. Can't Get Enough finds Darrius in a mid to slow tempo groove throughout. His signature vocal style glides beautifully over his soulful keyboard work. Darrius Willrich strikes a major chord with every track on Can't Get Enough. He has truly come into his own on this record musically and lyrically. This record is for all of you die-hard music lovers who have become disenchanted with the state of black music on the radio and in music outlets. Can't Get Enough has arrived and is truly the answer to your music deficiency. It promises to engage all of your senses, with the look, sound and feel of yesterday’s soul-today.

Darrius Willrich is on his way to becoming a major player in the adult contemporary music arena and we "Can't Get Enough" of Darrius here at OTV.

The "sweet urban soul" sounds of Darrius Willrich arrives just in tine for Valentine's Day. Order your copy today and preview the tracks from Can't Get Enough @ http://cdbaby.com/cd/darriusmusic
- http://www.onthe-verge.com/albumhighlightsdarriuswillrich.html

“Can't Get Enough� is a strong album built on some very firm musical foundations. We've had a number of albums from this gentleman and each release has seen a further development, refinement and evolution. This organic approach to the man's output has really captivated me and has always held me in anticipation for the next album. This being the case, this CD rates as his strongest and most consistent set to date. Darrius has not taken the Urban route neither has he exploited a retro revival. Ploughing his own furrow, Darrius is doing what he does best and that is to express himself. I was immediately won over with the initial song, “All I Want� - my only beef that it is woefully short. Another minute would have been preferable. “Hold On To You� is next on the menu and vocally Darrius echoes the likes of Donnell Jones or even Parkes Stewart. “Back To You� is something that is not far removed from the more chunkier efforts of Eric Benét, bass-rich, slinky in the beat department and quirky keys aplenty. If you happen to find this a bit on the heavy going side I think you will be better served by the more uplifting and melodic “Get It On�.

The title song, “Can't Get Enough�, really is a winner. A nice contrast is the slow, deliberately slow rhythm and the more acrobatic and animated vocals which contradict the rhythm. The 70s keys add another edge and bring a dream-like ambience to it. These songs may sound simple but there is quite a bit of thought and structure to it. There is a lot to listen to here and when you scratch the surface the more you discover. I have fallen for another song on here – now this is a real stonker of a track, folks! “Wild In Me� packs some clout and is a real fine effort containing some lovely melodies, riffs and warm 70s styled keys. Nice horns too. Imagine the best tracks from P J Morton's first set and there you have the track in a nutshell. “Why Fight� wears a similar face and the horns work very well. “Hold On To You� is my third real fave here – almost – almost! - does the flavour return to a 60s flavour. I think you'll love this, and for my two cents tracks like this are worth their weight in gold. If you're still unconvinced then head over to the piano led “Get Down To This Loving� and you should get a more complete picture. For me, though, it's a no-brainer – the CD is worth every penny.

Barry Towler
- http://www.soulchoonz.com/Album_Reviews/Darrius.html

On Can't Get Enough, Darrius Willrich does the musical equivalent of burying the lead. In journalistic parlance, burying the lead means that the most important, interesting and/or newsworthy information can be found in the middle or even the end of the story instead of at the beginning - which is where it's supposed to be.

Maybe the Seattle-based Willrich will argue that he's saving the best for last. I'm sure he feels that each of the 14 songs on Can't Get Enough is good, and he'd have a point. There isn't a bad song on the record. However, the tunes that figuratively grab the listener by his or her auditory lapels and yell ‘listen to me' don't come until the last five songs on the record. But boy are those last five songs GOOD!

Track 10 is a house party basement blue light slow jam called "All The Way Slow." In this tune, Willrich sings about inviting his lady to spend some time unwinding with him after a long day. I can see myself putting this on after wifey and I put the kids in bed. Willrich follows that song with "Hold on to You." This is actually an alternate version of a song that can be heard earlier on Can't Get Enough.

However, the musical and vocal arrangements are vastly superior on the second version. I mean, I usually listen to these CDs straight through whenever I get them, and I didn't even realize that I was hearing two versions of the same song until my third or fourth listen. The second version has a richer sound - especially in terms of the instrumental arrangement. Willrich notes that Stevie Wonder is one of his musical influences, and the second version of "Hold on to You" will remind the listener of late 1960s Stevie without sounding derivative. Stevie would be proud.

By the time I got to "Desire," which is Track 12 and the best tune on the album, I'm wondering why in the world am I waiting until the third to last song to hear THIS! This funky number is absolutely infectious. I mean, try to keep your hands on the steering wheel if this joint comes on while you're driving. Try not putting your CD player on repeat at the end of some of the delightfully fast 5:35 seconds in music.

Willrich showcases his vocal dexterity and his songwriting ability on "Where Are We," another slow jam. Still, don't sleep on the musical arrangement. Like the best slow records, "Where Are We" has a heavy jazz influence that can be heard in the interplay of the instruments. Willrich ends the record with a funky, mid-tempo head nodder called "Get Down To This Loving," which is probably a good way to end the record because you do want the listener's last impression to be lasting.

It would be wrong to say that there is no quality in the first two-thirds of Can't Get Enough. Notable songs include the title track, "Wild in Me," and "Get it On." One thing that distinguishes the last part of Can't Get Enough from what precedes it is the way Willrich varies the tempo. Just when the listener feels he or she has a handle on the flow, Willrich flips the script - moving effortlessly from slow to mid-tempo, from jazzy to funk and from innocence to sensuality. That kind of diversity gets and maintains the listener's attention. Can't Get Enough, is a good album, but at 14 songs, it may try the listener's patience. However, if you like to cherry pick, you'll get full. Recommended.

Howard Dukes
- http://www.soultracks.com/darrius-willrich-cant-get-enough

Darrius Willrich is a singer, songwriter band leader, and soul heavyweight. He plays keyboards in four different bands, including his own, called The Darrius Willrich Project, which holds court every Tuesday at the The Triple Door in Seattle.

Why should you care? Simply, he is one of the best soul singer/songwriters around. His songs ooze sexuality without trying to sound sexy. The music makes you dance uncontrollably. It should be required listening before every hook-up.

Disheveled magazine caught up with him to talk about his music.

You are playing all over the place in like four different bands. How�s it going?

Yeah, I play in my band, Choklate, Michael Wasserman, and Soul Provider. Just trying to make it happen, trying to believe in the scene that�s here with all the talent around.

Is it hard to play in four bands right now?

No, it�s not hard � at least not yet.

Are the songs in your band all yours, or do you collaborate on them?

The first record in 1999 were all my songs and were done live. All the songs on the second album were mine, but three of them were mixed and produced by others. Vitamin D is working with me on this third record. Some things are live and some are programmed, some are live with programmed music. It�s just a little more mixed. It�s going to be a good mix.

Do you create the sequences?

I did on the second record, I did most of those, and on this one I am focusing on song writing and singing more than playing � even though I do play on a lot of the cuts. What me and Vitamin do is, he�ll program the drums and I�ll play the chords and call in some other musicians to come in and play over those drum beats.

Do you get the same feeling, as if you played it live?

You don�t want the same feeling as playing live � if you are doing that. You are trying to have somewhat of a departure from that. That�s going to happen on the record too. I grew up loving hip hop and if you want that element, that kind of dirt in your music � that kind of grimy urban something, you have to get it where it really comes from.

How long have you been playing live with the band you have?

I�d say basically the past three years, but we played in other configurations and in other bands like Jambalaya, Source of Labor, or other projects that have happened in the Seattle area for the past 10 or 15 years. So we were familiar with each other even before we started working on my stuff.

There�s just a pool of musicians that you can use?

Exactly. You know, someone was asking me how I formed my band. You know I just wrote some songs, called people and said there were gigs and rehearsals and the people that made it most often became my band. It took a certain amount of fearlessness to do it. We were all lucky because we were part of a scene that, for a while, was all jam bands. Where there was no rehearsals, no preparation � in fact, sometimes you�d show up at a gig and not know who you were playing with. That gave me a lot of freedom to be able to let go of things having to be perfect, so you can allow something time to breathe and kind of form its own personality in its own time. It takes a certain amount of willingness to not be perfect for awhile.

Did being a part of that make you a better musician or were you ready for it?

All of those things kind of happened on different levels. In a certain amount, we were ready when we came in or we wouldn�t have been called for the job. Nevertheless in other situations, you can rehearse; we just didn�t have that opportunity to say we aren�t going to play, because we had to. There is a step that�s missing that you usually depend on to to make your music, that you start to realize isn�t that necessary once you start playing. It�s probably easier for me to understand than some of the other cats because I am a trained jazz pianist and improvisation is probably the one thing that makes jazz music jazz. I was more ready for the concept and ready to tackle it. I think the jam bands made the show the process rather than the product. So that�s what we were focusing on rather than how this is going to sound. We were just focusing on the process and what we were selling was this process.

People compare you to Stevie Wonder, but who did you listen to while developing your skills?

Well, early on it was a bunch of Stevie Wonder and Prince. I think they are the ones who inspired me to really try and play music, period. Feeling what I felt listening to them, I said I want to be a part of that � that feeling people get when they are listening to your stuff.

On your solo stuff, are you looking for a certain sound, or does it happen naturally?

It changes moment by moment, but now I am looking for something a little edgier, the sound keeps changing. I�m just trying to bring more energy because that�s how I am really hearing the music. A lot of people think that just because I write love songs they have to be soft, and that isn�t necessarily so.

So your band is also involved in creating music?

Absolutely. I let things happen so you can see who you really are instead of making yourself into something else.

- Paul Bennett - Disheveled

A natural musical chameleon, Darrius is adept at performing traditional and contemporary jazz, funk, hip-hop, electronica and R&B. He's an integral part of Seattle's live music circuit and often plays in the city's most popular and experimental projects like: the 9-piece funk improvisational group Jambalaya, the rotating cast of underground groove musicians in freeschool, the jazzy mix of Plush Safe, and Source of Labor - a longtime hip-hop cornerstone in the Northwest. Internationally, Darrius collaborates with Euro-Japanese electronica artist Chukimai creating unique, poly-continental sounds and co-writes with producer Brent Laurence on house beats for the UK club scene. Being one of Seattle's primary R&B artists, Darrius recently opened for Tyrese and has performed in bands sharing the stage with Earth, Wind & Fire, Dilated Peoples, Public Enemy, Ozomatli and the Pharcyde. In addition to his performance savvy, Darrius has composed scores to four full-length feature movies for Sankosa Filmworks including "Naked Life" and the award-winning short entitled "Rapture". Darrius devoted his life to music at the age of twelve and has never looked back. From teaching himself to play piano by ear to later graduating Summa Cum Laude with a degree in jazz piano from Cornish College of the Arts, Darrius has polished his musical skills to a level of lofty finesse and easy versatility. It is Darrius' mission to leave a legacy of music that inspires and touches people. "I want to make people feel the way I felt when I listened to people like Stevie Wonder and Prince... hearing and feeling dreams coming true, and through that knowing I could make my own dreams come true." CafeDeSoul Rating 5/5
- Cafe De Soul

The beauty of music has entranced Wichita Kansas born and Seattle raised Darrius Lamont Willrich since the age of twelve. At that time, Darrius’ desire to express his love for and through music was awakened by Lionel Richie’s legendary gospel song entitled "Jesus is Love". Darrius just had to learn how to play that song on the piano, and he did.

It wasn’t until the age of fifteen that Darrius received his first musical instrument, and since that moment he has never looked back. After teaching himself to play a handful of tunes from the radio and listening attentively at church, Darrius wanted to master his God given talent by taking piano lessons. With two years of piano lessons under his belt, he went on to jazz studies at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts, where he received a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Piano in 1994. While in school, Darrius began making a name for him as a much-requested sideman. He has opened for and played with national artists Gil Scott Heron, Gene Harris, Mos Def, Ice-T and Groove Collective.

Recognizably known for his musicianship, Darrius, a hometown favorite in the local jazz scene unleashes his singer/songwriter/producer ingenuity with a Rhythm & Blues/Adult Contemporary CD self titled – "Darrius". This is his first recording and an awesome testament of a rising new artist. Since the release party on March 24, 1999 in Seattle, the 1999 Northwest Music Awards nominated Darrius‘ 11 track release for Best R&B/Adult Contemporary CD. Darrius’ style immediately evokes comparison to a vocal trio of Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Brian McKnight all in one.


Currently Darrius is composing music for all genres. His musical instincts gives Seattle’s premier hip-hop band "Source of Labor" an explosive, hardcore sound. Latin sensation Omar Torrez collaborates with Darrius for a fresh new approach to latin/funk/flamenco flavors. Seattle film company Sojourner Entertainment has appointed him resident composer. - www.humanharmony.com

‘Seattle jazz pianist, Darrius Willrich explodes on the music scene with his self titled cd. ’Darrius’ is his first recording and an awesome testament to a rising new star. Earshot Jazz writes, ‘One earful of his sweet vocals is enough to have audiences shouting for more...’

This talented performer has quite a future ahead of him. His voice and music and the residue of influences like Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, take you back to a time when lyrics illustrated love and pain not sex and money. Darrius always provides a performance not to be missed.’
- www.cdbaby.com

‘If you fancy love songs sung in the spirit of Lionel Richie and Stevie Wonder, the kind of sexy soul music beats appreciated by soft whispers and candlelight, then you’ll definately dig Darrius Willrich. Heavy groove and lyric melodicism make Blissful, When She Comes For Me, and I Am Your Love the cream of the crop of 11 original compositions.

A promising vocalist with tremendous range, Darrius moves in and out of his sweet falsetto voice with ease!’
- Jason West

‘Willrich plays in a creamy harmonically sophisticated style on the Fender Rhodes that recalls Chick Corea in the Miles Davis electric band.
- Paul de Barros

‘Sensual, smooth, romantic, motional, sophisticated, beautiful, these are the words that come to mind. You hear a strong influence by Stevie Wonder on his first album, but this CD sounds more like himself. It is very beautiful - you go to another planet when you listen.’
- www.jazzdigger.com