FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Featured on The Jazz Network Worldwide and The Not Just Jazz Network: Bill Warfield and the Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra Bring “The Fool on the Hill” to Life

The October 7 single features Jasia Ries on vocals and Cecilia Coleman on piano, revealing another side of an orchestra whose repertoire moves through jazz, funk, soul, Latin music, and popular song.

NEW YORK, NY — Bandleader, trumpeter, and arranger Bill Warfield returns with a fresh take on Lennon and McCartney’s “The Fool on the Hill.” The Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra’s second single from Eclecticism, on Blujazz, arrives October 7th, 2026 and is being featured on The Jazz Network Worldwide and The Not Just Jazz Network.

Where the orchestra’s first single, “Love Potion #9,” brought together Chrissi Poland’s vocals, Dave Rickenberg’s tenor saxophone, and Paul Shaffer’s Hammond B3, “The Fool on the Hill” takes a more reflective turn. Jasia Ries delivers a graceful, expressive vocal, followed by a thoughtful piano solo from Cecilia Coleman. Warfield’s arrangement carries a touch of the buoyant spirit of Sérgio Mendes’s 1967 version, along with a few subtle, good-natured political references for listeners who catch them.

That range is central to the Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra. Warfield has built a musical life that crosses the borders between hard bop, funk, soul, Latin music, Broadway, and the recording studio. A Baltimore native, he studied with arranger Hank Levy and trumpeter Lew Soloff, and earned a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music with a Maynard Ferguson Scholarship. His career has included work with Bob Brookmeyer and Rayburn Wright and collaborations with artists including Ornette Coleman, David Liebman, Dave Stryker, Randy Brecker, and Gary Bartz. Across recordings such as New York City Jazz, The City Never Sleeps, Le Jazz Hot, For Lew, Time Capsule, and Chesapeake, Warfield has followed his curiosity wherever the music leads. Eclecticism continues that journey: familiar songs become new conversations in the hands of Warfield and an orchestra at ease in more than one genre.

“Bill Warfield and the Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra have shared a special relationship with The Jazz Network Worldwide and The Not Just Jazz Network through the years. We stand behind Bill’s artistry and the way this band moves so naturally between jazz, funk, soul, and beyond. ‘The Fool on the Hill’ shows another side of that musical imagination, and I’m delighted to share it with our worldwide community.”

~ Jaijai Jackson, Founder, The Jazz Network Worldwide and The Not Just Jazz Network

“The Fool on the Hill” will be available on streaming platforms, CD Baby, and at billwarfield.net.

Single: “The Fool on the Hill”

Artist: Bill Warfield and the Hell’s Kitchen Funk Orchestra

Release date: October 7th, 2026

Featured musicians: Jasia Ries, vocals; Cecilia Coleman, piano

Arranged by: Bill Warfield

Album: Eclecticism

Label: Blujazz