From Southern California, a music graduate
of UC Santa Cruz. Mariah's music is described as blending "the driving rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz
with the entrancing, asymmetrical meters of East India." With the release of her first CD "Sangria", Mariah touches on the musical sounds of many cultures,
drawing special inspiration from Brazil, Cuba, Spain and
India. Her first instrument was the piano, but she "fell in love with the sound of the Santur" when she "heard
it drifting across the UCSC campus one day", and since has pursued the mastery of it. Mariah has performed with
numerous world music groups at festivals around the globe. From these associations, she has called on
musicians to accompany her on her debut 'Sangria" CD. Tracks from the
Sangria CD are available on
iTunes.
Links:
Website,
Facebook,
Reverbnation,
MySpace and
DC Bebop page.
David began playing the bass when he was 12. He played bass in school, church, local bands and participated in studio sessions with local gospel artists. He followed his musical dream, attending and graduating from the Berklee College of Music. After
which, he was the bassist for Saxophonist Walter Beasley. In January, 1989,
he was called to audition for Maurice Starr (Producer of New Kids On the
Block) and was hired as the bassist the for the show and eventually rose to
the position of musical director. Since then he's toured and worked with artists such as Kirk Whalum, Bob James, Chico Freeman, Tim Hagans, Terumasa Hino, Jonathan Butler, Me'shell N'degeocello, Rick Braun, and Najee to name a few. He can be heard backing many musicians on albums. Over the years, he has released a few albums of his own. He recorded "Soulmates" (1999), he also joined Trumpeter Tim Hagans and producer Bob Belden to write and record two CD’s in that same year. In 2004, he released "The Dawning," on his own label "Lohandfunk," and released his third CD “Unleashed!” in 2008. David often performs with Pieces of a Dream and is featured on several of their CD's. He performs worldwide. Catch a performance at a venue near you. Link to
Website,
Facebook,
Reverbnation,
MySpace,
YouTube,
Discography and
DC Bebop page.
From Bar River, Ontario, Canada, Adam got his musical calling at the age of
seven, he had wanted to the play 5-string banjo, but was told he was too
small to play it so he turned to the guitar. By the age of twelve, he was
performing at community events, became a member of the musician's union, and
was on the road, gaining valuable experience,
playing bars and weddings
around Northern Ontario when he was fourteen. To further his musical
evolution Adam moved to Toronto where he enrolled in the music program at
Humber College. While at Humber, he was introduced to the music of the jazz
greats, as well as to other types of music which heightened his appreciation
of the music of his country. Around this time, he began developing his
own style of Jazz.
Years after graduating from college he was
influenced by the work of the late Lenny Breau, whose style inspired him "to discard his flatpick to wield a thumpick
once again--a return to his youth." Adam's musical transition from the flatpick prompted
him to modify his guitar. To this end "he designed a seven-string guitar and had a local
luthier build it for him. Adam says, "With six strings, I felt a little boxed in. I now
have more flexibility with the extra string." In 2000 Adam released his first CD,
"Fun City" (CD Baby). In 2002 the Adam Smale Quartet placed 2nd in the renowned
Grand Prix de Jazz contest at the Montreal Jazz Festival. During his career Adam has
performed in South America, India, in the Middle East, as well as performing in the
Toronto area and in northern U.S. cities. In 2011, Adam
published "New
Approach to Scales for Guitarists: A Practical Modern Approach" wirtten for both guitarista and bassists.
You can preview the book.
He released "Out of the Blue" in March 2014.
Website:
Adam Smale Jazz
Buy:
Adam's Music,
Other Links:
FacebookReverbnationMySpace Music and
DC Bebop page.
Michael is originally from Pittsburgh, PA, and is a formally trained, award
winning, trumpet player, keyboardist, composer, arranger, lyricist, engineer and
producer and has been featured on close to 40 albums. Michael is a veteran session
musician, signed under numerous labels. As a producer, Michael hit
the Top Ten on Billboard's R&B charts with the Stanley Fields cover of "You, Me & He" (3C Records). He was the first musician to record live for WDUQ's Tony Mowad and Chuck Leavens in Pittsburgh, PA. He has worked with many production, mixing, mastering and engineers of note, including the Grammy-winning Phil Nicolo of Studio 4 Recording.
Michael's band, Michael's Karrtet features a rotation of top musicians.
As a band leader, Michael is listed as a Jazz Improv Magazine "Noteworthy Performance". Over the years, he has held several residencies at notable jazz venues in NYC.
Michael has performed with many music greats, sush as Harold Melvin & the
Blue Notes, The Drifters, Houston Person, The Whispers, The O'Jays, Billy Price and the Keystone Rhythm Band, The Human League, Jimmy Ponder, The Tommy Dorsey Band, Stanley Turrentine,
Freddie Hubbard, After 7, The Gap Band, Roy Buchanan, Maynard Ferguson, B.B. King, Mary Wilson,
Billy Joel and many more. Links:
Website,
Facebook,
Reverbnation and
DC Bebop page.
Takuya Kuroda - Rising Son (2014)
“Not only are the melodies and rhythms addictive, but the tune also features a hypnotic solo by famed African Guitarist Lionel Loueke. Kuroda also pays homage to Roy Ayers with a sultry rendition of “Everybody Loves The Sunshine,” which features Jose James adding his vocal touch. In addition to the eclectic musical choices, Kuroda has an interesting choice of instruments. He uses the trombone in his charts that give the music a strong punchy feeling. Even though this is not typically straight-ahead jazz, Kuroda’s musicianship is prevalent in such a way that the tunes rise above the typical smooth jazz clichés. If you are a fan of groove-laden music or the CTI recordings from the 1970’s, you will like Rising Son."”
~ Steve Bryant - iRock Jazz,
Discography,
Facebook,
YouTube and
Website.
Ronny Smith - Can't Stop Now (2013)"Guitarist Ronny Smith has been on the Smooth Jazz Therapy radar since 2007 and the release of his excellent ‘Simply Stated’. Two years later the equally good ‘Just Groovin’ hit the streets and now, after what seems way too long, Smith is back with ‘Can’t Stop Now’. It finds him in partnership with producer Eric Copeland and, with ten well-chosen tracks, is a superb example of the tight melodic style that categorizes his playing. "
~ Smooth Jazz Therapy,
Wikipedia,
Motema Music,
Facebook,
YouTube and
DC Bebop page
Ronny Smith – Just Groovin (2009)
“Baltimore-born guitarist Ronny Smith is back to the Smooth Jazz stage with his brand new CD ‘Simply Groovin,’ set to be released in May 2009. It’s his fifth album and displays great musicianship with a fine balance between sophisticated rhythmic grooves and fluid melodies. On this one you’ll find lots of original tunes and two covers. This CD, as his previous ones, has been a growing process for this talented guitarist. And this continuous quest for the best guitar sound results in a highly recommendable CD, which gets him closer to greatest jazz guitarists such as Wes Montgomery and George Benson. ”
~ Akbar Nour - Smooth Jazz Is Life
*The most recent featured musicians and play lists from the four 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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Ronny Smith – Just Groovin (2009)
