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MUSIC DC Scene

Elijah Jamal Balbed - Saxophonist, composer -   Elijah is a native of Washington, D.C. In a Washingtonian Magazine article, he said he first wanted to become a martial artist, but in high school his enthusiasm and interest was captured by his desire to play music. He immersed himself in the pursuit of music as a career and the fruit of his efforts were realized. "In 2007, Elijah earned a Maryland Distinguished Scholar award, an Overall Best Soloist award in the Maryland Band Director’s Association Big Band Festival, and a Best Soloist award at the 2008 Festival Disney Jazz competition." Elijah was recognized for his abilities by the Washingtonian Magaine in 2009, and twice by the Washington City Paper, which in 2010 named Elijah "Best New Jazz Musician" and then in 2013 the paper named him "Best Tenor Saxophonist." In an interview on JazzCast, he says he began taking private lessons from Saxophonist Paul Carr while attending Albert Einstein High School, and with the encouragement of his private tutor and school teacher, Joan Rackey, he began taking his music more seriously and decided to actively pursue a musical career as a life goal.   Links: Website, Reverbnation, Facebook Bandcamp, SoundCloud, and DC Bebop page

MUSIC INTERNATIONAL

Maya Hatch - singer, songwriter. Maya is an international singer-songwriter from Seattle, currently based in Tokyo. As a child, she began acting and singing for various educational programs, television stations and musical productions. Her voice has been featured on several mainstream Japanese commercials, television shows and motion picture soundtracks. After graduating high school in Seattle, Maya went on to further her studies in jazz at The New School in NYC. While she was there, she was discovered by Spice of Life, through which she released two vocal jazz albums “My Foolish Heart” (2009) and “Li’l Darlin’” (2012). She has shared the stage with Jazz giants such as Ron Carter and Richard Bona, Hip-Hop icons such as ZEEBRA, R&B heroes BOYZ II MEN, Japanese Pop stars such as EXILE ATSUSHI and Shikao Suga, and most recently has collaborated with the hit-making living legend Babyface on her newly released single “Fly Away.” She has performed with a host of musicians over the years, as front and backing singer on numerous stages and many albums. Maya has performed with UnMe, Suga Shikao, on the Cheer Dan Movie Soundtrack, with Room56, Hiroko Otsuka, Exile Atsushi several tours, with the C.U.G. Jazz Orchestra, DJ53+84, Ayumi Unno, Taku Takahashi, N.O.B a.k.a. COCOSPIN, Kazuhiro Sunaga, Satoshi Yoshida, Inhyeok Yeo, Kan Sano, on the Kids meet Jazz album, with , Hiroko Otsuka, Shanti, JAZZ NOW, Caramel Jazz, No Regular Play and Guy Gerber. Maya can be heard performing with jazz giants such as Ron Carter and Richard Bona, hip-hop icons such as ZEEBRA, and Japanese pop stars such as EXILE ATSUSHI and Shikao Suga, Maya demonstrates her wide musical ability to seamlessly cross genres and win the hearts of her listeners with her unique and sincere voice. Check her calendar for performances near you. Links: Website, SoundCloud, Facebook, Spotify Pandora and DC Bebop page.

MUSIC US East 

Matt Cusson, Singer, Songwriter - Matt's entire life has been influenced by music. His bio says he started singing at the age of 2 and was performing publicly at age 11. In 1999, he took part in the "Amateur Night at the Apollo" competition in New York City and won. He won that award three times. Matt attended the Berklee College of Music, where in 2000, he met Brian McKnight, after Brian heard him perform. Brian was so impressed with Matt, he flew him to Los Angeles to begin a music collaboration. Since meeting Brian, Matt has performed with a host of well known music headliners such as James Taylor, Norah Jones, Jessica Simpson, Babyface, Christina Aguilera and many more. In 2008, Matt released his debut CD, self-titled, "Matt Cusson". In November 2010, the Spectra Jazz label released the maxi single "One of Those Nights" by Matt. The song is an "autobiographical jazz ballad (unanimously voted as the winner of the 2008 "John Lennon Songwriting Contest") and 2009 "Maxell Song of the Year", has been re-mixed and re-mastered to include orchestral embellishments, provided by composer/arranger Bill Meyers." " Matt is a three-time "Amateur Night at The Apollo" winner, and has a long list of television shows that he has made appearances on, including “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, "The View", “Rachael Ray Show, “Live with Kelly and Michael”, “Live with Regis and Kelly”, “The Brian McKnight Show”, “Christmas in Rockefeller Center”, and "Millionaire Matchmaker”. He was also a regular as the “one man band” and also a musical guest on VH1’s, “Big Morning Buzz Live” with Nick Lachey, where he co-wrote and arranged several bumps and songs for the show. He was a featured performer on the international "Michael Jackson - Man In The Mirror" tour in 2010. Matt's current single, "Leaving L.A." is receiving rave reviews and being played all over the world. His 2012 Christmas EP, “It’s Christmas Time”, is a regular play on Sirius XM Radio and numerous radio stations during the holiday season. His sophomore album, “Only Human”, is now available on iTunes, Amazon and everywhere else you buy/stream music online."   Links: Website Facebook, Reverbnation, Twitter, SoundCloud and DC Bebop page.

MUSIC US West 


Ray Obiedo, Guitarist, Bandleader, Producer and Engineer. - Ray is orginally from the San Francisco area, and grew up in East Bay. While music was a persistent influence in his early years, he "didn’t begin seriously studying guitar until his last year in high school." Ray became "focused on mastering his instrument and learning the craft of songwriting throughout the 70’s and 80’s". He began "performing with many of the jazz community’s most celebrated stars including legendary jazz organist Johnny "Hammond" Smith, trombonist Julian Priester, Azteca featuring Pete & Sheila Escovedo, Fourplays’ Harvey Mason. He toured the world in 1978-79 Herbie Hancock. As a bandleader, he "lead such popular local bands as the fusion ensemble 'Kick' and the funk-rock group 'Rhythmus 21' which showcased many of the Bay Area’s leading singers." "As a session player, Ray has worked with artists as diverse as Lou Rawls, George Duke, Brenda Russell, Herbie Hancock, Sheila E & the E Train, Freda Payne, The Whispers, The Delfonics as well as solo albums by jazz trumpeter Eddie Henderson, former Yellowjackets’ saxophonist Marc Russo, Meters drummer Zigaboo Modeliste and is highlighted on Grover Washington Jr’s last hit cover of the classic single 'Soulful Strut'. "Ray has contributed source music to major motion pictures "Internal Affairs" starring Richard Gere and "A Shock to the System" starring Michael Caine." As a music producer / engineer, he has produced his own album projects and has produced and or engineered a variety of major and independently released CD’s. Ray launched his solo recording career on the Windham Hill Jazz label, recording and releasing five contemporary jazz albums; "Perfect Crime" (1990), "Iguana" (1991), "Sticks & Stones" (1993), "Zulaya" (1995) , "Sweet Summer Days" (1997), His next release was "Modern World" (1999) featuring Pete Escovedo, Michael Spro and a number of San Francisco based musicians. More recently, Ray has released "There Goes That" (2015), "Latin Jazz Project Vol. 1" (2016) , and "Carousel" (2019) on the Rythmus Records label. For all of Ray's musical projects, he enlists some of the music industries top musicians and longtime co-horts for the performances." Links: Website, Last FM, Facebook, Youtube, Discography, Wikipedia and DC Bebop page

MUSIC BANDS

Mariah Parker’s Indo Latin Jazz Ensemble

"Parker and friends blend the rhythmic syncopations of Latin jazz music with the entrancing, asymmetrical meters of East Indian rhythms resulting in first-class world music. Intriguing melodies that draw musical inspiration from the tempos of Brazil, Cuba, India and Spain make for an uplifting serene yet passionate musical journey into an ideal world." - LATIN BEAT MAGAZINE"   A gifted composer and a visionary band leader, Mariah has gathered together a remarkable ensemble including Paul McCandless (Grammy award-winning woodwind virtuoso with the group Oregon), Matthew Montfort (pioneering guitarist with Ancient Future), Ian Dogole (global percussion), Brian Rice (Latin percussion), and Kash Killion (bass, cello). Mariah will be releasing a new recording January, 2017, “Indo Latin Jazz: Live in Concert," a recording project taken from concerts at Yoshi’s, Freight & Salvage, the Throckmorton Theatre, and TRI Studios over a seven year period. Of this upcoming release, Paul Liberatore of the Marin Independent Journal says “Like all the best jazz bands, this group is as disciplined as it is innovative, stopping on a dime when the composition calls for it and soaring into gorgeous landscapes of free association the next moment that are as pleasing as they are adventurous. This is sophisticated stuff, an album of global fusion performed by a group with character, charisma and the confidence that comes across when world-class musicians at the top of their games come together and create magic in the here and now of a live performance." - Links:   Website, Reverbnation Facebook and Mariah Parker - DC Bebop page.

BANDS EAST -

MUSIC CD ARCHIVE: ONECD

Kayla Waters
Kayla Waters - Coevolve (2018)  "Under consideration in first-round GRAMMY voting for Jazz Instrumental Album and Engineered Album, Non-Classical, Waters composed the material for “Coevolve” conceptually. To tell the story of a seedling’s evolution into a blossoming plant on “Full Bloom,” she collaborated with Michael Broening. The Washington, DC-based musician-songwriter-producer jetted to Broening’s Phoenix, Arizona studio for the session. The night before meeting with Broening, Waters doodled on a baby grand piano into the wee hours of the night eager to come up with something fresh. The next day, she presented her ideas, which became the essence of the song. " ~ Jazzhq.blogspot.com,  website and Facebook.

MUSIC CD ARCHIVE: DOUBLECD

CindyBradley
Cindy Bradley - The Little Things (2019) "Veteran Trumpeter Cindy Bradley has a new release for 2019. The album is called The Little Things, and it is her fifth studio album. Ever since she dropped Bloom in 2009, Bradley has been cranking out monster hits on each her of album releases. First off, there are not that many women that call the trumpet their main instrument. Bradley takes full advantage of this with her unique music style. If you are new to her music, one thing you will notice is that Bradley can do both slow jams and uptempo songs. Many artists specialize in one style, but after listening to this or any of her other albums, you will see that Bradley can pretty much do it all."   ~ TheJazzWorld.com,  Discography, Website, Reverbnation, and Facebook

Cindy Bradley - Bliss (2014) "Back in 2007, as if from nowhere (but actually from Buffalo, NY), trumpeter Cindy Bradley burst onto the contemporary jazz scene with her independently released debut CD "˜Just A Little Bit'. The recognition this fine eight track collection brought led to a touring engagement with the legendary Pieces of A Dream and a record deal with Trippin "˜n' Rhythm that initially garnered the critically acclaimed "˜Bloom' and then followed up with the equally good "˜Unscripted'. Both were built around the basic constructs of Bradley's velvety tones, stellar input as writer, performer and producer from Michael Broening and consistently excellent performances from Mel Brown on bass and Freddie Fox on guitars. Now (with Brown again in the line-up and bass from Kip Sophos) Cindy has reunited with Broening for her latest Trippin "˜n' Rhythm project, "˜Bliss'."   ~ Smooth Jazz Therapy

MUSIC CD ARCHIVES:
DOUBLECD  - SINGLES  - ONECD

*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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