Tower of Power has built an enthusiastic following for their vibrant music based on their collective love of soul music.
Jon R. Luini / Chime photo

When you need a killer horn section, who are you going to call? Most likely, Tower of Power.

Among their many fans, they can count Elton John, Carlos Santana, Rod Stewart, B.B. King, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt, who all have invited the band’s five-piece horn section to contribute to their albums.

Among the many artists they have recorded with, founding saxophonist Emilio Castillo was amazed to be invited to back Neil Diamond.

“To be honest, I couldn’t believe it,” Castillo recalled. “He actually came and hung out with us after the session, telling us all these stories. Many years before that he would do 18 sold-out nights at The Forum, and I never thought I would play with a star like that.”

Another favorite memory, “I really enjoyed working with Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville,” he said. “They recorded ‘When Something Is Wrong With My Baby,’ and Greg Adams, our trumpet player, did an amazing horn arrangement. Then they got the Grammy. So that was really great.”

Tower of Power’s horns most recently backed the Stylistics on their latest album, “Falling in Love with My Girl.”

“That was a real thrill to work with them,” Castillo said. “We did four songs, and they flew us back, and we did another song.”

Hailed as one of the world’s greatest soul-funk bands, Tower of Power has been entertaining audiences for more than 55 years with their exuberant music. Initially becoming a fixture in the San Francisco Bay music scene in the 1970s, their hot hits include “What is Hip?” “Don’t Change Horses,” “Soul Vaccination,” “So Very Hard to Go” and “Down to the Nightclub.”

“I thank God every day for the amazing career he blessed me with,” said Castillo, who helped found the band in 1968. “When I started out, I thought, ‘If I got to Sacramento, I would have made it.’ That was how limited my vision was. So I far exceeded my wildest expectations.”

Originally known as the Motowns, Castillo and co-founder saxophonist Stephen “Doc” Kupka began playing in San Francisco’s East Bay in the mid-’60s, building an enthusiastic following for their vibrant music based on their collective love of soul music.

“I was consumed with soul music and I was consumed with the band,” he recalled. “I was having dinner with my family last night and they were telling me, ‘I never see you solo.’ And I go, ‘Because I can’t solo. All I do is play parts.’ I said, ‘My instrument is the band,’ and it was that way from the beginning. I learned to play sax. I learned to play guitar. I learned to play organ. But I only learned enough so that I could teach the band how to do these songs and sound like a band. Over the years, I got pretty good at that, but really my love is working with the band.”

Tower of Power has weathered shifts in musical taste, surviving the disco era, punk and rap, while staying true to what they describe as original soul.

“It’s a unique style of music,” said Castillo. “We’re not like the others. I remember there was a time in our career when we thought that was a curse because the record companies were telling us, ‘If you can sound like the other bands, we can get you more airplay.’ I would have liked more airplay and I would have liked some No. 1 hits, but I think I like better having a 58-year career.”

Castillo remembers in their early days when they opened for Aretha Franklin for three nights, captured on the historic album, “Aretha Live at Fillmore West.”

“That concert was amazing,” he said. “My greatest memory was before the show and Aretha was arriving, wearing that white tight dress with the turban. She was coming to go through the door, and there were so many press people and hangers-on in the dressing room that it was too crowded to go in. I was standing in the doorway, and she turns sideways to squeeze through the door. The next thing I know, I’m nose to nose with Aretha, and she goes, ‘Tower of Power, my favorite band.’ I just melted.”

Tower of Power released “50 Years of Funk & Soul: Live at the Fox Theater” in 2018. “Step Up” followed in 2022. In 2024, they recorded the funkiest Christmas album (“It’s Christmas”) since James Brown’s “Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto.”

“We’re very proud of that record,” he said. “It came out great. We just went down to L.A. to record an additional track, another Hebrew song called ‘One Light.’ We’re going to make a 45 that will be inserted in the vinyl disc for all the Jewish people out there because out of all the songs on the record we got the most action on the Hebrew song (‘Maoz Tzur’).”

The band’s latest lead singer, Jordan John, is a multi-instrumentalist who plays drums, keyboards, guitar and bass.

“It’s a prestigious honor for someone who has been a lifelong Power fan,” John said. “You get to sing music that you love, and in this day and age, for people from my age demographic, that’s not too often. You get to sing great songs. You get to hear the woodwinds and brass and this rhythm section that you grew up with driving you every time. To be able to just stand in front of that feels like the first time each time.”

Tower of Power will perform at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21 in the Maui Arts & Cultural Center’s Castle Theater. There will be a dance floor. Tickets range from $37 to $97 with a limited number of Gold Circle seats available for $147 at mauiarts.org.