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Gemma Genazzano
Gemma Genazzano - Si Me Quieres (2009) "If you easily dig the adult contemporary slow jams of Sade and Prince's latest protege, Bria Valente, you may find a resting place in Gemma Genazzano's sensual bedroom jazz. Her erotic vocals, mostly seductive cooing and breathy whispers, filter on a breeze through the bulk of Si Me Quieres (If You Love Me). On this ten-track production, Genazzano lyrically alternates between Spanish verses and English choruses..." [Soul Tracks]... "Gemma is a singer/songwriter based in Europe with multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, Joe Scott (Lauryn Hill, Peter Gabriel, MC Hammer). After traveling around the world, Gemma and Joe now reside in Spain where they are writing and performing their new album. Gemma and Joe’s music is all original, drawing from Joe’s background in deep soul music and combining R&B influenced melodies with sensual lyrics and funky grooves." Lastfm.com


Links: LinkedIn, Reverbnation, Amazon Music, YouTube Channel and DC Bebop page.

MUSIC CD ARCHIVE: ONECD

Mem Shannon
Mem Shannon - I'm From Phunkville (2005)  "For his fifth album, Mem Shannon continues the mix of funk -- well, soul, really -- and blues that's been his trademark. Along with his own work, he turns in a delightful, heartfelt and bluesy cover of "Eleanor Rigby" that does full justice to the song and adds a tasty midnight-tenor sax solo from Jason Mingledorff. On the way to that cut, there's plenty of meat, like the opener, "The Reason" and "Perfect World," both of which bring political overtones to soul, and the humorous "I'll Kiss a Pitbull" whose spoken opening harks bark to the quiet storm years of soul music in the 1980s. Shannon doesn't exercise his powerful guitar chops a huge amount on this disc, but at this stage he doesn't need to; a decade into his recording career he has nothing to prove. But when he does crank it up, as on "No Religion," it's obvious he means every note. Instead, it's his singing that's front and center, and he's never sounded better, with more depth and resonance in that warm voice. The closer, "We Going," has his guitar sounding more than a little like B.B. King, his most obvious blues influence, but the horns give the whole piece a Memphis swing and he leaves on a good workout. Once again, Shannon hits the bullseye" ~ AllMusic by Chris Nickson

Links:   Website, Wikipedia, Discography, YouTube.

MUSIC CD ARCHIVE: DOUBLECD

Lou Donaldson
Lou Donaldson - Sophisticated Lou (1973) "A really unique album for Lou Donaldson – especially for his early 70s run on Blue Note! The session lives up to its title by offering up a batch of soulful ballads from Lou – tunes that really focus on his sweet lines on alto, yet set amidst some larger backing arranged by Wade Marcus – which also feature some wonderful Fender Rhodes from Derek Smith in the mix! The groove is relatively gentle, and has a nicely laidback sort of feel – the kind of lush yet soulful sounds that Marcus could do so well almost a CTI/Kudu vibe, but a bit more easygoing overall. Titles include a version of Lou's "Blues Walk", plus "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life", "The Long Goodbye", "Stella By Starlight", "You've Changed", and "Autumn In New York". " Links:   ~ Steve Huey - AllMusic.com, Website, Wikipedia, YouTube and Discography.

Lou Donaldson - Lush Life (1967) "Lou Donaldson's Lush Life is the sort of mysterious lost session that inexplicably fell through the cracks from time to time at Blue Note Records during their wildly productive 1960s and the sort of collectable that used to make vinyl hawks salivate. This January 1967 session, unreleased until 1980 when it debuted in Japan under a different title (now getting the Rudy Van Gelder Edition treatment), seems to have gone against everything that was happening in jazz (and American culture) at the time. With Coltrane in his final six months of life and Miles about to enter his electric phase, you can understand why Alfred Lion may not have thought the time was right to issue an album as gentle and luxuriously orchestral as this. Even the players gathered in this octet (including Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter and McCoy Tyner) seem to be harking back to styles they left behind several years earlier. "   ~ JEFF STOCKTON - AllAboutJazz.com


MUSIC ARTS: SESSION

Music Arts Music Arts session - Concert, Station, PBS, NPR and other live mini concert sessions and interviews.

Maya Hatch, Maydenfield - "Close Your Eyes. Fly" [2025 Single track]
"Maya Hatch is an international singer-songwriter from Seattle, Washington currently based in Japan. As a child, she began acting and singing for various educational programs, television stations and musical productions. Most recently, she has collaborated with the legendary singer-songwriter Babyface on her newly released single "Fly Away.” She is also one half of UnMe, a Hip-Hop/R&B duo consisting of her and her husband, MC BOODAH."
Website: About

Website, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Facebook, Spotify Pandora, Amazon Music and DC Bebop page.

BOOK RACK: FEATURED BOOK

Alberto Moravia - The Conformist (1951), "an influential Italian author. First published in 1951, the book delves into the psychological complexities of its main character, Marcello Clerici, as he navigates through the political turmoil and societal pressures of Fascist Italy. Through its exploration of conformity, identity, and the struggle between individualism and societal expectations, "The Conformist" offers readers a profound and thought-provoking literary experience... set in Italy during the 1930s, a time when Fascism was on the rise and Benito Mussolini ruled the country with an iron fist. The story follows the life of Marcello Clerici, a young man who is plagued by feelings of insecurity and a desperate desire to fit in. Determined to conform to the norms of his society, Marcello joins the Fascist Party and becomes an informant for the secret police."   bookbrief.io and Kobo Books

BOOK RACK: FEATURED SERIES

Ben Okri - The Famished Road series "The story is told by the protagonist (and potential epic hero), Azaro, who lives with his Mum and Dad in a compound of small houses with several other families in an unnamed African country. He is an abiku, a spirit child, who has chosen to be born to “make happy the bruised face of the woman who would become my mother” (5). The plot is loose and non-linear, consisting mostly of Azaro’s wanderings and various abductions, Dad’s outrageous exploits, and Mum’s mostly quiet suffering. It also features the outsized character of Madame Koto, whose bar is the setting for many a scene and whose growing wealth and influence stand in stark contrast to the continued impoverishment of nearly everyone else in the village." ~ Supersummary Books: Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, Woken Furies. KOBO Books

MOVIES: FEATURED MOVIE

The Conformist (1970)

"Near the end of Il Conformista or The Conformist is an inward mirror aimed at societal norms and the want of men to fit in. It marvels at the lengths to which they will go to attain it. Being different, though considered a virtue, is scoffed at. Only those that follow the herd mentality are truly accepted. In such a cold atmosphere, if you don't conform, you may have a hard time at your hands. Director Bernardo Bertolucchi's feature film, based on 1951's eponymous novel, is yet another one of his politically charged satires that question the institutions, the established orders, and most of all, the motives of men in power."    Hubpages.com  

Link: The Conformist (1970) - Watch online

CUISINE: FEATURED RESTAURANT

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que - "Founder John Stage began Dinosaur Bar-B-Que with two partners as a mobile concession unit in 1983 with a 55-gallon drum cut in half. The idea was hatched at the the Harley Rendezvous, a massive motorcycle gathering near Albany, NY because they believed that bikers deserve a good plate of food. For five years the road was our home, doing motorcycle shows, fairs, and festivals throughout the Northeast. Burned out from life on the road, we settled in downtown Syracuse as a quick service
lunch/dinner bar-b-que joint in 1988. In 1990 we tripled our size, adding a full bar, full service dining, and live music. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que opened its doors in Rochester, NY in 1998, Dinosaur Ba-B-Que Harlem followed in 2004 and we just opened our fourth location in Troy, NY on November 10th, 2010."  

Links: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Website

*The most recent featured musicians and play lists from the five Music listings on DC Bebop.   A musician listed on a DC Bebop page with an intro, is featured for 10 days with one of their songs.  Included in the play list are songs by nine other musicians in a table on DC Bebop. The songs are linked to a page (MySpace, Reverbnation, YouTube or where ever the song can be heard). The play list is not a top 10 list. It features songs I liked and think perhaps others might appreciate the music as well.

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