            
Musician
Featured this week,
Karl Sterling, Drummer - Born in Ithaca, New York, grew up in Syracuse, NY. Both of Karl's parents attended the Ithaca College School of Music. Karl's father is a drummer, composer/arranger, and has been a leader of several successful bands in the Central New York area. His mother majored in vocal studies at Ithaca College and is pianist. Karl was 9 years old when he first saw legendary drummer Buddy Rich perform. Karl KNEW the drums were his instrument and began seriously studying and practicing under his father. When he was 11 Karl met drummer Peter Erskine and began a friendship that has lasted over 30 years. By the age of 13 he was playing gigs with his father's band. While in college Karl studied percusion with John Barker. Over the years he has studied drums with Peter Erskine, Danny D'Imperio, Joe Morello, Mike Melito, Wilby Fletcher adn Mike Lewander. Karl has played with many wonderful musicians and bands in the Syracuse, Rochester, and New York City area's. He has performed with Ronnie Leigh, Bob Dibaudo, Mala Waldron, Eye Level, Prime Time, Seaflight to name a few, and more recently ESP, which has released a new CD "Time's Up!" (2009) on CD Baby.
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 Karl Sterling, Drummer
Born in Ithaca, New York, grew up in Syracuse, NY. Both of Karl's parents attended the Ithaca College School of Music. Karl's father is a drummer, composer/arranger, and has been a leader of several successful bands in the Central New York area. His mother majored in vocal studies at Ithaca College and is pianist. Karl was 9 years old when he first saw legendary drummer Buddy Rich perform. Karl KNEW the drums were his instrument and began seriously studying and practicing under his father. When he was 11 Karl met drummer Peter Erskine and began a friendship that has lasted over 30 years. By the age of 13 he was playing gigs with his father's band. While in college Karl studied percusion with John Barker. Over the years he has studied drums with Peter Erskine, Danny D'Imperio, Joe Morello, Mike Melito, Wilby Fletcher adn Mike Lewander. Karl has played with many wonderful musicians and bands in the Syracuse, Rochester, and New York City area's. He has performed with Ronnie Leigh, Bob Dibaudo, Mala Waldron, Eye Level, Prime Time, Seaflight
to name a few, and more recently ESP, which has released a new CD "Time's Up!" (2009)
on CD Baby. Link:
MySpace and E.S.P.'s Website |
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  Bill McGee - Trumpeter,
songwriter, arranger, producer, educator, musical mentor and quintessential musician. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Bill comes from a family of musicians. His grandfather was a former educator and became a top selling gospel music recording artist and pioneer. Bill became an educator and he is noted as being a top trumpet man in the music industry for well over thirty years. His musical credits are numerous. Bill performed with Evelyn "Champagne" King. He worked as a member of the New York based studio horn section "Chops". His group recorded all of the Sugar Hill Records rap classics (before samplers took over). He played lead trumpet on many of the original rap records by “Grand Master Flash, The Sugar Hill Gang, The West Street Mob and Sequence (Angie Stone) He also played lead trumpet on albums by The O’Jays “Out In The Real World,” Leon Huff “The Right
Stuff,” Patti Labelle, The Stylistics, and McFadden and Whitehead. Bill
performed as a musician with Lou Rawls and Ray, Goodman, and Brown (The
Moments.) After many years of recording behind the scenes for others, Bill
decided to begin recording his own CD's. On these CD's you'll find what he
calls the 804 Jazz All Stars, and in Bill's words, "essentially the best
musicians and singers that Virginia has to offer". Many of whom have their
own outstanding professional discographies and track records.
Link:
Discography,
MySpace Music and
DC Bebop. |
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 Bob Niederriter - jazz artist, composer, guitarist and arranger
- During his career he has studied and performed with great artists in jazz and modern classical music. All for
the purpose of achieving excellence in his pursuit of music. At the same time searching and finding
inspiration and instruction from masters of music. During the course of his life Bob has pursued
multiple art forms. His other artistic accomplishments include being a glass blower, painter, cook
and gardener. He is an accomplished artist in many disciplines. As a Guitarist he cites the dominant
influence of Wes Montgomery on his thumb technique, his tone and his compositional style. He also
points to the seminal recordings of Charlie Christian and Barney Kessel as having had an important
impact on his playing. As a guitarist he has also been strengthened through study with masters such
as Jimmy Rainey, Cal Collins, Jack Wilkins, Herb Ellis and Jim Hall With respect to chording and
texture , one hears in Niederriter's playing the influence of Farlow and Montgomery". Bob is very
active in the Cleveland jazz scene and can be heard at numerous venues in the area.
Links: Listen to Bob on his CD "Full Circle (2003) available on CD Baby,
MySpace Music and DC Bebop. |
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Guitarist Joe Washington III - born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. He was a
Chicago Police officer for 11yrs. Started playing guitar under the direction of
a local teacher by the name of Jack Cecchini, who he believes is still teaching
on the north side of Chicago. He studied with a classical guitarist by the name
of Paul Herman at the Chicago Music Conservatory, and the Chicago Musical
College. Says he has done some minor studio work, notably "with a great jazz guy
by the name of Bobby Irving". Joe sat in on an album by a singer named Susan
Osborn (produced by Bobby Irving), and he has played with a number of small
groups and bands over the years locally. Joe says "the one thing that has drawn
me to jazz and the guitar would most assuredly be my dad, who unfortunately
passed away last year, however he's the one who purchased my first guitar and my
first jazz guitar album, "Movin' Wes" by the late great Wes Montgomery, and that
album and albums by George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Pat Martino, Pat Metheny,
Ronny Jordan, Earl Klugh and many, many more has made me crazy for jazz. At this
stage of my life, I guess more than anything I want to play, but I want to play
with guys (and gal's) who want to play, and truly appreciate the only true
American music heritage, Jazz and all that goes along with that statement". Links:
MySpace Music and
YouTube.
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Rodney George Peacock - Rodney is a multi-instrumentalist,
poet and writer. He is an eclectic artist. He plays the flute, organ,
piano, bass clarinet , harpsichord and saxophone. In the late 60's into the early 70's,
Rodney lived and played music in San Francisco. A dedicated hard working artist,
Rodney is a self-described perfectionist. Over the years, he has contributed to
several albums on the Chicago's Audio 8 label, playing flute and saxophones. He
has recorded with Chicago hip-hop artists, noted jazz musicians and has written
poems and an opera. Artist of many talents, Rodney is also an opera man. In June
of 2006, Radio Free Urbana (WRFU-LP 104.5 FM) aired Rodney's "artist statement",
which was a two-hour program chronicling his history as a musician and poet. During
the program, he talked about his mythological opera, "Noontide Trilogy". Six actors
from the University of Illinois performed four partial scenes and one full scene
of the drama. Links:
MySpace Music and
Dolce Stil Nuovo CD (2001) - Audio8
Recordings.
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Singer, Sara Jones from the Maryland
Eastern Shore. Sara attained degrees in music from both St. Mary's College
of Maryland and her masters in music from the University of Cincinnati in
Ohio. She began playing piano at age 4 and professionally at the age of 14. She won first prize in the W.A. Virts Piano Concerto Competition in high school at 18. Critics have written that Sara's musical voice is "lush", that she "beguiles and charms" the audience with her "velvet embrace" of the music. These qualities won her the " Billie Holiday Vocal Competition" in 2004. Since then she has toured and performed through out the U.S. While a full-time singer, Sara also performs as a pianist and accompanies both
singers and instrumentalists on recitals. She is a featured vocalist on The Young Brothers CD "Tales of Time" (2007) on CD Baby.com. Links: website and
MySpace page. |
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 Mark
Mosley - Jazz and Blues Guitarist. Mark was Born in Arkansas, but saw a lot of the world because his parents were
career military. When he was old enough, Mark followed the military career path
into the U.S. Army from which he eventually retired, then served in a reserve
capacity for a number of years. Mark began playing guitar when he was 11, first
learning to emulate the playing of BB King. Later he played in school bands and
was part of R&B and Jazz bands. Through the support of his family members Mark
kept faith with his music, which has evolved into a mellow, smooth and characteristic
sound for him. He has performed with many musical greats. He toured with Lou Donaldson
and has shared the stage with Gary Bartz, Keter Betts, and many others. Mark has been
a band leader for several years, which also includes while living as a civilian in
the Heidleburg Germany region. Some of the major venues performed in
as a band leader in the DC and Baltimore area are Blues Alley, Montpelier Arts
Center, Twins Jazz, Md. Public TV, WJZ-TV ch. 13 (Baltimore), WPFW 89.3 FM radio
interviews/airplay, and various Borders Books and Music outlets. Mark writes for
Modern Guitar Magazine. Links:
Mark's MySpace Music page,
Website and
DC Bebop notes.
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"Sweet" Sue
Terry is an alto and soprano saxophonist, songwriter and writer.
Sue grew up listening to Jazz from her father's jazz album collection. She later pursued
the study of music while in High School, studying under pianist and educator John Mehegan. Sue began her musical
career performing at church functions and in musical theater at the age of 16.
She attended and graduated from the University of Hartford where she was a protégée' of the late great saxophonist Jackie McLean at the Hartt
School of Music, and the first graduate of the jazz studies program he founded. She began playing jazz gigs while
attending Hartt. On the advice of Jackie McLean, Sue moved to New York City where she was a featured soloist with
many bands. Sue has appeared as a Jazz soloist with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, with the New York
Pops at Carnegie Hall and with the Brooklyn Philharmonic at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She has performed at
numerous jazz festivals, at Montreux Jazz Festival, the Nice Jazz Festival, the Pori Jazz Festival, the Northsea
Jazz Festival and the Blue Note in Tokyo and many more. Link:
Website,
MySpace,
CD Baby Discography,
and on DC Bebop |
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Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Valve Trombone, Vocals, Actor, Songwriter, Kiku Collins
is from a little town in northern New Jersey. She was trained in the classics at the prestigious
Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan, and at the Manhattan School of Music. Kiku has shared the stage with
many musicians. Notably, she has toured with Beyonce Knowles and is currently touring with Michael Bolten. She
is one of the "Sugarhorns" (Kiku, elizabeth and Jessy J.), who play, sing and dance with Michael Bolton. Kiku
has "acted in 2 off Broadway plays and also sang and played in them both". The first was "Degeneracy" and
the second "'Fire Island". She is a "featured backup vocalist for Adama". Kiku's latest CD titled
"Here With Me"
(2007) was nominated for a Grammy. She is working on writing songs for her second album. Listen to
Kiku on MySpace.
Visit her website.
Buy her CD at CD Baby.com. |
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 Pianist Wayne Wilentz,
originally fron New York, moved to the DC area in 1989 and has played Brazilian Jazz in the nation's capitol since then. Before coming to DC Wayne was a keyboardist and composer for the '80's funk band "SKYY", and received a gold record commemorating their #1 Album "Skyy Line" on Salsoul Records. During his career he has performed with such famous R&B acts as Carl Gardner's Coasters, The Shirelles, The Marvellettes, and Jimmy Norman. Since moving to the DC area, Wayne has recorded on a number of CD's, many of which he co-produced. In 2004, Wayne released his first compilation of original material entitled "Break of Dawn". It featured vocals by four of DC's finest jazz singers, Pam Bricker, Patrick Desantos, Nicki
Gonzalez and Steve Washington. Over the years Wayne has done many sessions
for ESL Music and Thievery Corporation, and can be heard on remixes by them.
The Wayne Wilentz Quartet has released a new CD,
Recordar E Viver (2008) on CDBaby.com.
Link: MySpace |
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 Joel Harrison - guitarist, composer and vocalist,
a DC native whose medium is primarily jazz, but his music emanates from many sources:
African and Indian, contemporary classical, blues and R&B all have a place
in his unique voice. Over the course of his musical career, Joel has
involved himself in ever-inventive bands and
projects, including Free Country, Harrison on Harrison, and Harbor, but he
is best known for his composing and arranging skills. He has twice been selected as the winner of the Jazz Composer’s Alliance Julius Hemphill Composition Competition. He just
finished a new CD for Highnote Records entitled Harbor with internationally renowned guitarist Nguyên Lê, and just recorded his 60 minute chamber/jazz piece for double quartet entitled "The Wheel". Links: website,
MySpace and website music store. |
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Perry Conticchio, a musicians musician - plays all the saxes, a bit of flute and occasionally bass clarinet. Perry is also a band leader, mentor and teacher of music.
A New Jersey native, he studied music at Miami University of Ohio and Berklee College of Music in Boston, at Berklee he studied with Joe Viola, John LaPorta and Charley Mariano. In 1976 Perry relocated to the
DC area, where he performed with and learned from three multi-talented musicians - Don Cherry, Anthony Braxton and Sam Rivers. At one point, Perry was co-leader of a jazz quartet "Clarity". From this experience,
he started his own quartet. Perry plays all types of music, but he says his real
love is jazz. Perry can be heard performing at several local venues in the
DC area. Pick up his CD "Speak Your Truth" which you can purchase on his
website. Links: website and
MySpace page. |
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Guitarist, Singer, Songwriter and Producer Eban Brown from Newark, New Jersey. At the age of seven, Eban began playing guitar
and singing with a number of gospel groups. As a young guitarist and singer growing in the musical arts, he discovered that he also had a gift for songwriting
which he has also pursued during his career. Eban has performed with a number of well known R&B groups over the years. He was lead singer for
Ray, Goodman and Brown (also known as the Moments),
The Manhattans and The Delfonics. In 2000, he joined the Stylistics as their lead vocalist. He has produced two songs for Rap Artist Rob Base,
which features the Delfonics. Most recently, Eban’s vocals can be heard on NAS’ You Can’t Stop Us Now (Feat. Eban Brown). Eban has been recognized for his talents and his contributions to the music industry. He was inducted into the 98.7 Kiss FM
Hall of Fame in NYC, the NAACP Hall of Fame in Atlanta GA and received a NAACP award for his accomplishments as lead
vocalist for The Delfonics, just to name a
few. Eban has released four CD's through CD Baby, "Master Suite" (2002), "Restless Soul" (2004), "Exit 15" (2006) and a multi-track single CD titled
"Diggin' Everything About U" (2006). In 2008, Eban has completed his latest
soon-to-be-released album entitled "Determinism". Links: Website,
MySpace and
CDBaby.com. |
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Flutologist Arch Thompson began his musical quest at the age of twelve.
In High School he began playing flute. When he was 16, he said his father would take him to clubs where he would sit in with the band. He remembers standing
online with other musicians waiting to have a turn on stage. His father was his spokesperson at the clubs for his music and
the club "Jam Sessions" were his inspiration. Arch attended and studied music at City College in L.A. It was also around
this time that he heard the music of John Coltrane. He said Coltrane's "Love Supreme" raised his consciousness and he began
playing his own "music within". In the Army, Arch was a member of the Army Band, and while performing with them he had the
opportunity to play with a salsa band. He said this chance encounter introduced him to a number of Latin artists and
awakened an interest in Latin music. This interest launched him on a musical odyssey which took him to Puerto Rico,
New York and finally to DC. Arch can be heard performing in venues in the DC area with his groups Flute Visions, Visions
of Jazz and also solo. Links:
Flute Visions, MySpace Music and CD:
Flutevisions (CDBaby.com)
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 Flutist, vocalist. songwriter, Ragan Whiteside
is taking the Contemporary Jazz world by storm. With her
unique style and soulful vibe, this "triple threat" is bringing the flute
back into mainstream focus. After winning the 2006 Capital Jazz Challenge,
Ragan returned to the 2007 Capital Jazz Festival with a new critically
acclaimed album, "Class Axe", produced by Pianist/Arranger Bob Baldwin and
Engineer/Arranger Extraordinaire Dennis Johnson. Link:
MySpace, Website and Jazz Review Interview |
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Piano, Keyboardist, Songwriter, Arranger
Kne-O'chaw Hampton is (at this writing) a 15 year old prodigy from Willingboro, New Jersey, who has been actively engaged in creating and performing her own music. She began playing keyboards at age 8. By the age of 10, Kne had learned "to write songs at an advanced and accelerated level".
She wrote and arranged her first CD titled "The Other Side of Town". She created and released her second CD "From Deep in My Soul" at age 11. Kne released her third CD in 2005 titled "Planet 9ine". In addition to her original works, Kne
also plays Classical, Gospel, R&B and Jazz Standards. Links: Kne on MySpace. Buy "Planet 9ine" at CD Baby.com. |
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  Guitarist Ronny Smith, Originally from Baltimore, Maryland. Ronny is a self-taught musician who began learning to play the guitar, by ear, at age 12. Ronny has performed on stage with the famed Motown singing group, the Marvelettes and also with drummer and Philadelphia jazz icon Bobby Durham. He had the opportunity to share the stage with R&B singer and actress, Melba Moore who performed with the U.S. Army band. Ronny has recorded four CD's . His first, "Long Time Comin", "Laid Back", "Got Groove" and his latest (released in May 2007) "Simply Stated". Links:
About, MySpace & CDs
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 Nate "NateKid" Lombardi - Singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and dancer. Nate says he has "always been attracted to music with funk and soul" and it all started with his hearing the music of Stevie Wonder. "As a kid, I do remember sitting in my room listening to him.. it changed my life." From Stevie he says it expanded to his interest in Hip-Hop.
While in high school Nate performed for fun. In college he was introduced to
tap dancing and the ole movie musical. Nate saw "Singing in the Rain" with
Gene Kelly and was inspired by both the cinematic performance and the music
of the era. Nate has "been in Off-Broadway shows, modeled, done
TV and film, and sang with big bands". He says he "wants to bring brilliant
and still relevant tunes back that the younger ears have never heard,
(sometimes, with drastic interpretations, sometimes not) and write songs
that will be as immortal as the ones from the American Songbook."
Nate is cast in the role of a musical bridge that joins the past to the present. Classic jazz standards married to
contemporary interpretations of the music of both times. Links: About Nate, MySpace and Website |
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Composer, trumpeter and vocalist Nate Birkey. His style, described as a "subtle vocal and trumpet approach", is
often compared to Chet Baker, Miles Davis and Art Farmer. he studied music at Berklee in Boston, Seattle Pacific University and the University of California Santa Barbara. For a number of years
Nate was a "jazz presence" in Southern California and was referred to as a quintessential "west coat jazz musician".
He performed with a number of groups before forming his own Quintet and moving to New York City. Over the years,
he has contributed to and released a number of CDs. His Quintet released "Indelibly You" in 1998, "Mennonite" in 2001, "Ballads" also in 2001 and "Shortest Day" in 2004. All of Nate's efforts have received glowing reviews for his songwriting, composition, style of play and his singing.
Listen to Nate on MySpace. Visit his website. |
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 Singer, keyboardist, composer, arranger
Sali Oguri
is a Modern Pop Rock artist. Her emotionally gripping music is a
linking of ethereal and hard-edged elements. With her
smoky-angelic voice and high energy, blood-rushing performance, her sound is
juxtaposition extremes: heaven and hell, hot and cold. Sali has captured the
interest of top industry professionals and fans across the world. Link:
MySpace, Website and WUJ Productions |
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Kevin Peter Jones - Drummer, songwriter, producer, arranger and educator. Born and raised in
Chicago, Illinois, he began playing drums at the age of ten. During kevins musical career he has met and
performed with many music legends. Pianist Roger Smith; Grammy Award winning drummer William Kennedy;
percussionist Alex Acuna; Keyboardist Bernard White; Bassist Wayman Tisdale; Club Nouvou and Pianist
Dave Brubeck. More recently, Kevin is involved in recording a new CD with numerous Grammy Award winning
musicians from Pieces of a Dream, Sypro Gyra and the Yellowjackets. Kevin is also a dedicated drum
instructor and mentor to many promising musicians. Links to Kevin's website and
MySpace page. |
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 Lauren Hooker Jazz vocalist, composer and lyricist. from Teaneck, NJ. In her bio it is written that Lauren "was born into music ... as early as in the womb (kicking to the beat - my mother tells me)... hearing my dad jam with his fellow musicians in the basement ... starting piano lessons at age four ... meeting Bill Evans at the Vanguard whom my father recorded with in college ... being exposed to and singing most of the major classical oratorios with full orchestra ...shaking hands with Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck ...reaching for Sarah Vaughan's range, Ella's scat, Miles Davis' tone and Coltrane's intention. Lauren's talents were recognized and encouraged early in life and allowed her to develop her skills. Her critically acclaimed debut CD produced by Rufus Reid and Allen Farnham entitled: "Right Where I Belong" was released in May of 2007, with Rufus Reid on the bass, Allen Farnham
on piano and Tim Horner on drums and percussion. Lauren has been featured
and can be heard in many major venues in the New York metropolitan area. Link:
MySpace and Website |
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 Phyllis Beard - Bassist.
Born in Hot Springs National Park, AR, Phyllis started at the piano at age eight, but in junior high school she began playing the bass. Her talent earned here a music scholarshiop
to Stetson University in central Florida, where she majored in Classical Bass Performance. After college
she moved to Minneapolis MN,
where she earned her teaching license, and master's degree in education. On
one eventful night at the Dakota Jazz club in St. Paul, she heard Gerald Cannon of the Roy
Hargrove Quintet performing and it revitalized here interest in performing jazz. Phyllis left Minnesota eighteen months later to pursue here musical career. Since answering her
musical calling, Phyllis has toured Canada, Europe, Iceland, Greenland, Faroe and the Shetland Islands.
She performs with her trio in NYC. Link:
MySpace. |
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 Saxophonist, composer, arranger, band leader, and producer Paul Ahlstrand,
is considered to be one of the best saxophonist in the Boston area. He can
generally be heard leading his stellar quartet on Sundays in Cambridge, MA
performing at Toad in Porter Square. Paul has both performed and toured with
many well know musicians. He also arranged, produced and performed songs
with R&B Vocalist Tony Lynn Washignton. Check out Paul's most recent CD on
the Gibraltar label titled "Sunday Hang",
which showcases several original tunes by him. Read about him on
his
Website and
listen to him on MySpace. |
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 Bassist Kyle Spark
grew up south of Boston and has made his way around the country with two national groups. As a freelance bassist he did national tours with Blueground Undergrass (Atlanta,GA) and DJ Logic's Project (NYC). He currently is doing freelance bass work around Boston as well as working on his own solo and overdubbed bass compositions.
Link to
Kyle's MySpace Music page. |
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 Vocalist Maria Rochelle
- from Kansas City, Missouri. Singer and lyricist. Whether singing her combination of Hip-Hop with European soul or and Italian aria, her melodies and lyrics capture the essence of love for diversity, humanity and romance.
Link to
Maria's MySpace Music site. |
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 Rhythm guitarist Tom Reaves, Jr. from Richmond, Virginia. Known for his style of playing as the "Tonedoctor", Tom can be heard laying down the rhythm and soul on tracks with producers; Lamont "Hit.La" Fleming, Marcus “Bellringer” Bell, and Nate Smith. He can also be heard on CD recordings with such artist as Trumpeter; Bill McGee, and singers; Eric Dozier, Antoinique, and Jarrard Anthony. In addition he regularly frequents the Virginia club circuit with his band “The Krewe”, and others. Link: MySpace.
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 Freeport, Smooth Jazz, Jazz/Funk, and Jazz Standards -
Organized in 1981 in Philadelphia, Scott Marvill assembled a group of musicians eager to play the music they enjoyed. Jazz. Freeport has recorded and performed with Tower Of Power, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Special EFX, and Grover Washington Jr. to name a few. Several years ago Scott moved to Winston-Salem, NC where he
reorganized Freeport. The band has been performing around the Carolinas and has released a new CD "Freeport Open". Link: MySpace and Website.
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 Flutist Bill Haymon
- is a native of New York City living in the DC area.
Bill is currently rekindling his musical career and can be heard at venues around town. On most Friday evenings, he can be found and sometimes heard at the
Friday night Jazz concerts at the Westminster Presbyterian Church.
Link to - Bill Haymon's Information |
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 Atiba Taylor
is a saxophonist and vocalist with a distinctive style. He has shared the
stage with greats like Archie Shepp, Wallace Roney and Organist Jimmy Smith. Atiba performs with
the AJQ Jazz Quartet locally.
Link to Atiba's
DC Bebop Gallery |
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