             
Musician
Featured this week,
David Gerald - Guitar, Vocals, Bandleader, Songwriter and Producer -
David is a blues guitarist. He is originally from Detroit, Michigan. Growing up in the "Motor City" and the home of Motown, meant that he was surrounded by the soulful sounds of R&B and the Blues. After many years of listening, at age 16, he began to learn to play the guitar. He attributed his interest to the musical influence of Prince and other 80’s rock guitarists. In Motown, the sound is soul and R&B, but somewhere along his path, David says "He rediscovered the blues" and began listened more seriously to the music of Albert King, ZZ Hill, B.B. King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. In the 80's David composed rock and pop tunes. At age 24, he began writing and composing tunes with the help of a computer program, and has continued to write and compose to this day. In 2009, David released his first album "Hell and Back" (CD Baby) containing 5 of his original tunes and a selection of cover tunes previously recorded by Blues greats. The "Thrill is Gone", "Red House", "Cold Shot", and the other cover tunes were recorded live at J. Dubs bar in Riverview, Michigan. David can be seen and heard playing at clubs and festivals in the Detroit area. |
    
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 Paul Anderson, Soprano, Tenor Saxes and Keyboards. Paul is from LaPlatta, Maryland, and he remembers growing up with music. His father sang, and received an Opera Scholarship to Columbia University. His mother taught Dance. One of his first remembrances of Jazz at age 8, was "Ray Charles and his Big Band: Sounds of the Genius". Paul's life-long association with music lead to his pursuing it in college, where he studied saxophone, improvisation and composition at the University of Miami. In his travels, he received encouragement from both Stan Getz and Wynton Marsalis. Health issues have prevented Paul from touring, but he continues to play in the Phoenix area, where he can be heard at local churches, clubs and sometimes on Saturday afternoons serenading the shoppers at Nordstroms. Between gigs, Paul can be heard on his radio show playing music on Tuesday and Wednesday late nights on KJZZ 91.6FM. Links:
KJZZ 91.6FM and Paul's MySpace page |
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  GG Amos -
Vocals / Lead Guitar (Gibson SG Custom). Born and raised in Sacramento, CA, GG is described as "A riveting blues, soul and funky jazz guitarist / vocalist with a
distinctive, expressive style.." GG has performed with such legends as John Lee Hooker,
Guitar Shorty, Jimmy McCracklin, Lowell Fulson, Johnnie Heartsman, Karen
Lawrence, Duffy Bishop, the great KokoTaylor, Sista Monica, Elvin
Bishop and Tower of Power vocalist Lenny Williams to name a few.. She is currently recording new songs for release this year and next. Look for GG at festivals and clubs around the country. Link:
MySpace Music, and
DC Bebop |
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 Guitarist David Gallegos
has played since picking up an old guitar at the age of 13. He has been playing rock and metal for the greater portion of his career, but David began listening to and writing music with a softer, more emotional touch and in 2003, he began working on his first full-length Latin new age CD. David took his experiences from working with many bands and decided to write, record, design, and release his solo CD completely on his own "Mis Recuerdos", was self-released at the end of 2004. With the CD completed, David moved from San Antonio to Dallas to begin showcasing his music. In Dallas, David met guitarist Sammy Echeverry, bassist Rick Read and drummer/percussionist Ross Young, and they began playing together as the "Power of Omens" band. 2009 culminated in the release of David's most recent project, "Mi Rosa Blanca", which he says was "inspired by love and passion". The CD "combines traditional flamenco rhythms with serene new age melodies to create an ambient soundscape with a Latin flare". Link:
MySpace,
Website, and
CD Baby. |
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Mads Tolling, Violinist, Violist and Composer - Mads was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the age of 20 he came to the United States to "pursue jazz studies". He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts where he graduated summa cum laude from the Berklee College of Music in 2003. While at Berklee, Mads was recommended to join Stanley Clarke's band by renowned jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. "Since then, he has performed more than 100 concerts with Clarke worldwide, including the Newport Jazz Festival and the Hollywood Bowl." Mads
is a member of the Grammy Award-Winning "Turtle Island Quartet". Mads "has received Denmark’s Sankt Annae’s Award for Musical Excellence as well as grants from Queen Margaret, the Sonning Foundation and the Berklee Elvin Jones Award. He has performed with Paquito d’Rivera, Kenny Barron, Joe Lovano, Stefon Harris, The Assad Brothers and Leo Kottke." He is an accomplished composer with three recordings of original material, one features the well-known pianist JoAnne Brackeen. Another with vibraphonist Dave Samuels and the third on RMB singer Teena Marie’s recording “La Dona”. He has contributed numerous arrangements and compositions to the Turtle Island Quartet’s repertoire.
Mads is viewed as "a thriving force in the educational aspects of jazz and improvisation. He has been active as a Yamaha clinician and has been involved in workshops, coachings and master classes throughout Canada and the U.S." Links:
MySpace Music,
website,
his music and DC Bebop page. |
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  Guitarist, producer, songwriter and composer Travis
Vega from Lodi, California. Travis began learning to play his grandfather's guitar "by ear" at age 11. While
learning, he "would read and play the licks" in the guitar magazines. He and a friend would
"comp a lot from CD's and radio". In his junior year in high school he joined the jazz band and was
also taking lessons from a local guitarist, Mike Simone who, he said "taught him a lot" during his
high school years. After graduating, Travis said he "headed to Hollywood to study formally at the
Musicians Institute". He can be seen and heard performing at venues and festivals in California
and Nevada. Travis has released three CDs, "Through the Valley" in 2004, "Just Let It
Flow" in 2007 and his latest "Smooth Urban Night" in 2008. Links:
MySpace,
Website,
CD Baby, and DC Bebop Page. |
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Matthew Montfort - Multi-instrumentalist: scalloped fretboard guitar, Godin Glissentar (11 string fretless guitar), electric guitar, flamenco guitar, sitar, charango, mandolin, gamelan and composer.
Matthew holds a B.A. in World Music and Composition and an M.A. in Arts and Media Technology from Antioch University and has studied with the master musicians of many world music traditions. He is on the faculty of Blue Bear School of Music in San Francisco, where he teaches all styles of guitar as well as rhythm classes based on his book "Ancient Traditions--Future Possibilities: Rhythmic Training Through the Traditions of Africa, Bali and India." He is the leader of the world fusion music ensemble "Ancient Future" and a pioneer of the scalloped fretboard guitar (an instrument combining qualities of the South Indian vina and the steel string guitar). Looking towards the future Matthew says "I want to record new music live in concert for release on DVD and CD. There is a new program we are now unveiling: the
Archive of Future Ancient Recordings." Links:
MySpace, Website, Ancient Future "Planet Passion" CD, "Seven Serenades CD", DCB Ancient Future and DCB Matthew Montfort. |
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Anna Fisher - Oboe and English horn, singer, composer,
arranger, teacher and producer. Originally from
Concord, Massachusetts, it has been written that Anna began learning music
from birth. Her father was a child prodigy pianist and MIT Physicist. Her
gravitation to music was a natural transition, as was her career as an
educator - her mother was a teacher. Anna has "always had a love for the
classics" and has studied with legendary classical musicians - Leonard
Bernstein, Isaac Stern and Seiji Ozawa during her musical career. She has
studied music her entire life in her quest to be the best at what she does.
Anna's musical repertoire is extensive. In addition to the classics, she
plays Jazz, Reggae, R&B, Pop, Latin and Hip Hop. Anna has released her
third CD titled "Focus". Leroy Downs “The
Jazz Cat” of KKJZ pens Anna's
liner notes for the CD and says her music "visits the familiar as well as
new and exciting ways to make that familiarity shape and mold into sounds
that soothe from different perspectives". She also has two earlier CDs
available on CD Baby, "Renaissance In Formation" and "Yin Yang".
Links to Anna's
MySpace
page,
website, and DC Bebop Interview. |
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 Adrian Xavier, Lead Vocals, Guitar & Percussion.
Born in Seattle, he grew up surrounded by the music played by his father, a radio DJ, in the 80's. Adrian's musical background gave rise to an environment which allowed him to create songs that appeal to a broad cultural range of people.
Adrian has been a performing artist for more than 20 years and has shared
the stage with many well known musicians. While a member of the "Pure Water
Band", they opened for
"The Wailers (of Bob Marley fame) and also for the famous Jamaican ska
and reggae musician Jimmy Cliff. Adrian formed the "Adrian Xavier Band" in 2000, and has been performing in and around Seattle, various cities in the state of Washington
and touring the world He has two CD's on CD Baby: "R-Nature" (2004)
and the "Adrian Xavier Band Live" (2006). Links:
MySpace, website, and DC Bebop Page |
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 Singer, Songwriter and Actress,
Amber Ojeda says she was mainly influenced by the great old school jazz artists like:
Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington and Billy Holiday. She likes to combine "old style"
jazz with an updated hip/hop beat giving it an "up-to-date" groove while incorporating
her own style. Her music is played on over 100 radio stations and pod casts worldwide.
Amber can also be heard on the New Hit Show for the Style Network "Dress My Nest", her song "All I Need"
is the theme song for the feature film “All That I Need" . She has a song on the soundtrack for
the feature film "Prayer before Murder". Some of her acting credits have included a recurring role
on "Veronica Mars", promo's for "Starz TV", a guest appearance on "Dress My Nest", the host
for the "National School Program for MADD", host for "Jitter fingers". which is an online community
for teen girls as well as many TV commercials and Feature Film roles. Amber's music can be heard and
downloaded for free on the trueAnthem website. trueAnthem is an advertising supported, online music
promotion and distribution company. Link:
MySpace and
DC Bebop
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Mariah Parker, composer and multi-instrumentalist. 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 and the Ancient-Future
website. Links to Mariah's
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MySpace Music, iTunes and DC Bebop |
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 Singer, songwriter Jessica Sonner,
grew up in Denver, Colorado. She received a degree in music business from
Anderson University in Indiana and then moved to Chicago, Illinois. While in
Chicago, she worked on and released her first (self titled) "Jessica Sonner"
EP in December 2005. Since then she's been traveling, performing and
gathering an enthusiastic fan base in her wake. During her career she has
shared the spotlight with artists such as Colbie Caillat, Tristan Prettyman,
Matt Wertz, Jon McLaughlin, and Kate Voegle; to name a few. In March of 2008 she released her latest CD, "All We
Need". In her bio, she says "The lyrics
to all of her songs are genuine and reflect a part of herself..." in
response to this, she said "It's all worth it for me when people take
something away from what they hear in my music". From review of "All We
Need",
Joshua Espinosa -Scene Magazine, writes "With her refined blend of country, pop and blues, she exudes a sense of distinctiveness that is rare quality in a genre full of repetitive melodies and predictable hooks." Links:
MySpace, Website and
CDBaby.com |
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 Singer, Songwriter and Band Leader,
Deborah Flores - Originally from San
Francisco, California, Deborah grew up surrounded by music - by the sounds
of Jazz, Soul, R&B, Gospel and Pop music. She says her "father sang and her
mother was possessed of natural rhythm", and these musical talents were passed on to her brothers as well as herself. She said her brothers were seasoned performers with the Mason and Kahn Studios in San Francisco when she was growing up. Like her brothers, Deborah was also groomed to be a performer.
She sang in high school, earning awards and then sang on tours around the
world. She has shared the stage with country music greats Red Merrill
and Buck Owens. She was hired by Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers
as a background singer. She found herself in the presence of high-profile
performers such as Dizzy Gillespie, B.B. King, Glen Campbell, and the king
himself, Elvis, to name a few. Through hard work and dedication
Deborah honed her skills and eventually formed her own bands, the latest of
which is the Deborah Flores Band. Deborah and her band can be heard
performing at various venues in the L.A. area. Deborah released her
first CD "Step Aside" (2008) on CD Baby. Link:
MySpace, Website and DC Bebop
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Ancient Future is a large musical family of world fusion music ensembles led by scalloped fretboard guitarist Matthew Montfort.
The group is dedicated to music termed by Matthew Montfort as "world fusion music". To date, Ancient Future is the world's first and longest running band dedicated to the creation of world fusion music, which blends musical ideas from many different cultures. The music is described as being "contemporary sounds of jazz and rock with the irresistible rhythms of African, Balinese, Indian, Middle Eastern and South American percussion, the rich harmonies of Europe, and the beautiful melodies of Asia". Their music is "an exhilarating fusion of exciting rhythms and exotic sounds from around the globe". It is worth noting that all of the members of Ancient Future have studied with or performed professionally with "master musicians of many world music traditions, from Balinese gamelan director Madé Gerindem to North Indian sarod master Ali Akbar Khan". Ancient Future is credited with having created "a musical world without borders". Link:
MySpace, Website, DC Bebop and "Planet Passion" CD.
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 Guitarist, Songwriter - Lawrence R. Strambi, Sr.
Larry grew up listening to Big Band/Swing era music. He remembers hearing the music of musicians like Glen Miller; Artie Shaw; Duke Ellington
and Stan Kenton. Also the Italian crooners, Frank Sinatra, Dino, Al Martino and Jerry Valle. This was the music he was constantly surrounded by when he was nine years old. Subsequently, this is the music that most influenced him. He says his parents were responsible for his initial interest in music.
Larry is trained in classical guitar and Jazz guitar. He plays primarily jazz these days, but also plays classic rock. He has written songs in both genres and has been playing rock and jazz for decades. He has a degree in music
education, graduated 1995 Magna Cum Laude from CSU Fresno. Currently, he can be heard playing with American Heritage Jazz Association in the Fresno area. Links:
MySpace Music and DC Bebop Notes |
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 Jazz Guitarist, Composer, Arranger, and Musical Director, Terrence Brewer.
Originally from Oklahoma, Terrence grew up in Pittsburg, California where his love of music started with the saxophone and clarinet and later evolved to the guitar. In college he heard and fell in love with the sounds of Jazz on the guitar.
Terrence lives in Alameda, California and is a mainstay of the the Bay Area
Jazz scene where he performs regularly at a number of restaurants and jazz
venues. Terrence guitar style has been compared to Grant Green, but it
is noted that he has evolved his own unique sound. Over
the years, Terrence has performed with legendary artists such as Michael McDonald (the Doobie Brothers), Mary Wilson (of The Supremes), Pete Escovedo, Babatunde Lea, Kim Nalley, Dave Ellis, Calvin Keyes, Bruce Forman, Scott Amendola, Tuck and Patti, Khalil Shaheed, Ed Kelly, Max Perkoff, Ranzel
Merritt, Herb Gibson, Rhonda Benin, and many others. He has studied
with musical greats such as Charlie Hunter, Duck Baker, and Mark Levine.
Terrence has released three CDs, the latest being "QuintEssential:
The Calling" Volume Three on his "Strong Brew Music" label. Notably, "QuintEssential"
has spent 10 weeks on the
Top 50 national jazz radio chart, peaking at #17. Links:
Website and
MySpace Music. |
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 Pianist,
singer. songwriter, Sacha Boutros -
A native of San Diego, California, Sacha is a classically trained musician whose voice has a four octave
range. She sings and speaks fluently in five languages. Her bio says, Sacha's "passion
for music resides in her writing and singing of Jazz". Notably, Sacha was introduced by Frankie Laine
(at his 90th birthday party) as his "Ingénue". She has performed with Julio Eglesias, Marvin Hamlisch,
James Moody, Red Holloway, Karrin Allyson and Patty Paige to name a few. Sacha is currently recording,
writing and performing jazz in local and national venues. Sacha has released her first CD,
"Simply
Sasha" (2008) on CD Baby, which features original songs and
several classic and contemporary jazz standards. Links:
Website,
MySpace and
All About Jazz article. |
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 Guitarist,
keyboardist, singer, songwriter, music producer, Felix "Flex" Carter
from Montgomery, Alabama. For Felix, "Music is the Key to Life". He grew up in music and continues to create, grow and evolve
with it. For the last seven years, he has been playing and singing in small clubs throughout the Bay Area.
Over the years, Felix has created and developed his own style of music. In his words,
"it's kinda like a Jazzy Hop, Latin, Reggae feel type of flavor".
Experience it, on his MySpace music page. You'll be glad you did. Link:
MySpace |
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Drummer,vocalist, songwriter and producer Jeffrey Lewis is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (the Soul and R&B
capital of the world), but now resides in California. Jeffrey's family was in the music business when he was growing up so the
sounds of music have been a part of him during his entire life. He began playing violin at the age of 6 (not his choice). He
later heard and saw drummer Gerry Brown performing with his brother (keyboardist Velbert Lewis) during a TV performance and
Jeffrey found his musical calling, his love for the drums. Over the years, Jeffrey has perfected his skills and has performed
with an extensive list of music industry greats - Dionne Warwick, Smokey Robinson, Sheena Easton, James Ingram, Peabo Bryson,
Gloria Estefan, The Spinners, Deniece Williams, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Olivia Newton John, Joe Sample, Ronnie & Hubert Laws
& Family and many others. Jeffrey has been touring with Dionne Warwick's Band for the past eight years (amid rave reviews) while
writing and producing music for a number of top smooth jazz artists. Link:
MySpace |
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