A singer who generates the passion, insecurities, bruises and
lionheart of truly iconic performers such as Billie Holiday, Janis
Joplin and Etta James.” – The Orange Press.Alex Hahn is an emerging soul star of Sydney, Australia's thriving music scene.Moving
to Ireland in 2005, Alex fronted the highly successful funk band
Electrogecko who, with their unique versions of classic jazz standards,
enjoyed residencies all over the country.On her return to
Australia in 2008, Alex teamed up with renowned jazz musicians, Charlie
Meadows and Nick Hoorweg. The trio enjoyed weekly residencies across
Sydney.In 2013, Alex produced her debut album The Wallflower – a
tribute to Etta James, with her 7-piece soul band The Blue Riders. It is
performed with the brutal emotional honesty that has come to define
Alex’s powerful voice and has received glowing reviews from audiences
and critics alike.Alex has recently relocated to the UK and is
taking her acclaimed Etta James tribute show on the road across Europe.
She performed the show at Oliver Plunketts in Cork, Ireland for the 2013
Cork Jazz Fringe Festival with great success.As well as her live
work, Alex has also lent her voice to numerous short films, television
commercials and notably, provided vocals for DreamWorks Acer Arena
Spectacular, How To Train Your Dragon."Soul singer Alex Hahn's
new release The Wallflower works like a voodoo charm. Hahn and her band
never hit a weak spot" – John Hardaker, Jazzscene."I hear hints
of the histrionics of Joplin and the soul-deep stylings of Aretha, but,
most of all, I hear a ripping, arsey, brassy, young singer. ALEX HAHN
Naomi Uyama has been steeped in classic jazz from the swing era since beginning her lindy hop career at the tender age of 16. After going crazy for swing dancing, winning international awards, and teaching around the world she began to focus more and more on the music. She began singing and studying, moving to New York City for more access to the growing traditional jazz scene there. After getting to work with some of the lindy scene's most prominent bands she decided to form her own project- the Handsome Devils.As the idea took shape the focus was on choosing the right guys. The musicians had to be great players, have respect for dancers, and work well together on and off the bandstand. The Devils were all hand picked from the top talent in the classic jazz scenes of New York and Chicago. Naomi considers herself so fortunate to get to work with her dream swing band line up, and is constantly in awe of the Devils' musicianship.Though formed recently the individual members have decades of experience swinging hard and keeping dancers happy. They have just released their debut self titled CD, and have played across the U.S. in renowned ballrooms and at pro competitions, and at the world's largest swing dance camp- Herräng, in Sweden. NAOMI AND HER HANDSOME DEVILS
Janiva pushes the roots, rock, and soul envelope with daring new album Original. Magness brings her songwriting skills and stunning range to the fore, with help from Grammy nominated producer Dave Darling. The new album stretches the artistic boundaries of roots, rock and soul music. Its 11 songs seamlessly weave all three genres into a highly original approach defined by nakedly honest storytelling and the live-wire emotionalism of Magness’ two-and-a-half octave range, buoyed by arrangements that effortlessly blend traditional sounds with the edge of experimentation.
Magness is among the premier blues and R&B singers in the world
today. Her voice possesses an earthy, raw honesty born from her life
experience. A charismatic performer known for her electrifying live
shows, Magness is a gutsy and dynamic musical powerhouse. She received
the coveted 2009 Blues Music Award for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year
(she is only the second woman to ever win this award, Koko Taylor being
the first). She also won Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year,
an honor she also received in 2006 and 2007. She has received a total of
seventeen Blues Music Award nominations, including one for 2012’s
Contemporary Blues Female Artist Of The Year. USA Today declared,
“Magness is a blues star,” and The Philadelphia Inquirer said, “Magness
sings superbly, with a scorching intensity. JANIVA MAGNESS
Christian Prommer is an american producer, Dj , drummer and musician who
has produced and composed genre defining and award winning dance music
for two decades. As founding member of Fauna Flash, Trüby Trio and
VoomVoom, as producer and co-writer for Kruder and Dorfmeister, Dj Hell
(their effort “Teufelswerk” was Echo nominated), Kim Sanders (they won
the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik) , The Dining Rooms,
Incognito and with his own projects Prommer and Barck and most notably
Christian Prommers Drumlesson. As a musician and collaborator he has
worked with Carl Craig, Patrick Pulsinger, Brian Ferry, Tony Allen,
Bugge Wesseltoft, Joe Sample, Til Brönner, Mousse T, Wolfgang Haffner,
Incognito, Klaus Doldinger and many more. With his band, solo shows and
dj sets he travels the world non stop from big jazz festivals to the
darkest after hour clubs. CHRISTIAN PROMMER
Eliza Neals is a dynamic front woman, multi-talented musician plus the
voice of the 'new blues' for a younger generation. Eliza is a 2013
Detroit Music Award winner for "Messin with a Fool" which received
"Outstanding Blues/R&B Recording (album)" and "Rock Songwriter!" In
2012 Eliza won "Outstanding Blues Songwriter" at theDMAs.National press and radio says "Eliza has such power in her voice that
she can take on a big song and do it real justice" DJ Phill Penny Radio
Trent UK. "Eliza Neals hits you right between the eyes…" Blues Blast
Magazine. “Eliza Neals “The Detroit Diva" is the name: This Diva has
claws and sharp teeth..." Wasser Prawda German Magazine. "This album of
“Stiletto Blues” first came out in January 2012, but it keeps finding
itself back in the news and for a very good reason… " The DirtyLowDown
"Neals' style is incendiary and unabashed." Real Detroit Weekly.Touring this year in Miami Beach, Las Vegas, Nashville, Chicago, Detroit
and New York to name a few stops Eliza Neals is "in her own lane with
the pedal to the metal!" The award winning sultry and powerful blues
rock vocalist, recording artist, performer and producer is being
compared to greats like Etta James, Amy Winehouse, Adele and Ricki Lee
Jones among others. This is a night for old and new fans to enjoy
something classic and cool from Detroit the city that drives your soul."Eliza Neals’s 'Messin’ with a Fool' is the record that people who have
seen Neals live will have been hoping she would release. Neals, for the
uninitiated is the sultry swingin’, croonin’ jazz Queen of the D. She’s
like Amy Winehouse without the obvious addiction issues or the hair. The
songs are certainly in place...." METROTIMES Jan 2012 ELIZA NEALS
“We’re in-betweeners, living along the musical hyphen lines,” says the
creative Ethiopian- born Meklit (Muh-Kleet) of her relationship with her
new record label. As both are open- minded and based in the Bay Area,
the partnership seemed natural to this emerging singer-songwriter. The
compatibility is evident as Meklit canvases a wide range of sounds on
her most inventive album to date, We Are Alive (Six Degrees Records).After being named a TED Global Fellow in 2009, Meklit cut her teeth on
her 2010 debut, On A Day Like This… Folk and jazz strains served as a
foundation for her elegant songwriting, setting her off onto a world
tour before settling back into her San Francisco home for a number of
collaborations. First she crooned sweet harmonies behind hip-hop project
Copperwire’s Earthbound, and then returned to her more soulful roots
alongside Oakland artist Quinn DeVeaux on 2012’s Meklit & Quinn. The
latter included ingenious covers of such artists as Arcade Fire, Stevie
Wonder, Talking Heads, MGMT, Lou Reed and Sam Cooke.Constant exposure to outside influences often causes musicians to evolve
quickly. It was in this frame of mind that Meklit re-entered the studio
to throw a world of flavors into a new cauldron.A few special guests emerge: famed author Walter Mosley penned the
album’s liner notes. Meklit met him while speaking together on the radio
show West Coast Live in 2010, and they forged a quick friendship.
Ethiopian piano sensation Samuel Yirga—a Real World Records artist whose
debut, Guza, garnered much international critical acclaim— adds a
beautiful solo on ‘Kemekem. MEKLIT
After fifteen years of writing, producing, and performing some of the
most influential sounds in the Los Angeles underground funky soul-jazz
scene, Miles “Music Man” Tackett is releasing his most personal album
yet, the soulful, guitar-centric The Fool Who Wonders, on July 8th.Miles Tackett is best known around the world as the creative mind behind Breakestra, a funk, soul-jazz band whose first record
the Live Mix Part 2 (Stones Throw Records) & live shows harken back
to the pre-sampling era of Bronx DJ performances in the 1970’s.
Breakestra has toured the globe on its reputation of restoring authentic
funk breaks from the sampled backgrounds of hip hop tracks to the
foreground of the live experience, while still paying tribute to those
same hip hop pioneers whose musical precision has always been an
influence. Breakestra quickly evolved to writing and performing original
funky soul-jazz compositions, releasing two LPs: 2005’s Hit the Floor
on Ubiquity, and Dusk Till Dawn released in 2009 on Strut Records.“Music Man Miles,” as he is known in the
underground DJ scene, also helms the longest-running funky soul party
in Los Angeles, FUNKY SOLE, spinning a globe spanning, all-vinyl set
every Saturday night. Influenced through his immersion in the
underground hip hop scene at L.A. club The Root Down, collaborations
with Mixmaster Wolf of Breakestra and renowned DJs like DJ Dusk, Cut
Chemist and DJ Egon, Miles was inspired to build a collection of some of
the finest deep funk, afro-latin, soul-jazz vinyl around & start
djing as well.Tackett’s musical reputation extends
well beyond the underground clubs of Los Angeles. He has performed and
collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Macy Gray, Blind
Melon, B.B. King, Little Feat, and legendary soul singer Syl Johnson.
Now, after years of focusing on a purist funk style and sound with
Breakestra, Tackett has finally taken some time to reflect, write new
songs and return to his first love, the electric guitar. With an array
of influences that draw from vintage soul, rhythm and blues,
psychedelia, and blues/jazz influenced folk and rock, The Fool Who
Wonders’ new vintage sounds bring Tackett’s varied musical travels back
to where it all began. MILES TACKETT
Mixing equal parts blues, soul, and talent, with a dash of retro style,
The MacKenzie Blues Band has quickly proved to be a force to be reckoned
with on major festival stages and in clubs throughout Canada and the
US.Recognition for their hard working attitude has been paying off as they
are recent Winners of the 2014 Maple Blues Awards for Best new Artist/
Group, and 2x semi Finalists at the International Blues Competition in
Memphis Tenn.Their debut CD release Back Road Revelation was voted best Canadian
Blues Release of 2012, by the Blind Lemon Blues Radio poll and garnered
considerable airplay and positive reviews across North America, Europe
and Africa. It has been featured CBC radio 1′s Bandwidth program,
Crossroads Blues Program, BBC Blues, RTÉ to name a few.
In the time they’ve been performing together, The MacKenzie Blues
Band has rapidly – and deservedly – gained the attention of Canada’s
blues scene, performed at numerous club gigs and notable festivals,
including Mariposa Folk Festival, Summerfolk Festival, Orangeville Blues
Festival, Lighthouse Blues Festival and many more.A classically trained vocalist, Tara MacKenzie has been compared to Ann
Wilson, Katie Webster and Janiva Magness. Her powerful 3.5 octave vocal
range is paired perfectly with her unapologetic, ballsy, yet sultry
stage presence. Guitarist Trevor MacKenzie has been called “One of the
most dangerous guitar players in Canada” (Timmins Press). His versatile
playing easily shifts gears from style to style, while maintaining his
fretting hand firmly rooted in the blues genre. The rhythm section is
the glue that binds The MacKenzie Blues Band together, with snappy,
funky, pulsing grooves from bassist Joel Dawson and drummer Mike Weir.With a fresh take on modern blues and adding rock ‘n’ roots elements,
The MacKenzie Blues Band’s live performances put out the energy of a
small supernova- encouraging the audience to let loose, have fun and
enjoy wild electric rockin’ blues,taking the audience to a place where
positivity and joy are on the menu.
Their Sophmore Album “Slam! Bam!” is to be released in the Spring of 2014, parts recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis. THE MACKENZIE BLUES BAND
Every blues fan knows you have listen to the “old” to find something
“new”. It is a precious rarity when the opposite is true and such is the
case with Toots Lorraine and The Traffic. The band delivers a focused
blend of classic vibe that will drench your soul with the vintage sounds
of West Coast Jump Blues and Swing as you board the train for
destination “way back” where everything is “Easy”. Toots and her sultry
voice will take your ticket, let you on board and, as you roll down the
tracks, the band will keep your glass filled with just the right
measures of hollow body guitars, reverb tanks, upright basses,
harmonicas, pianos and organs. And, you will swear to yourself, “I ain’t
getting off this train”.This husband and wife team share the purest of love for the preservation of the blues. In their brand new album, Make It Easy,
a phenomenal follow-up to their first, Toots Lorraine expertly layers
her powerful yet velvety voice amongst the band’s vintage
instrumentation and gut bucket grooves. Along with classic blues covers
of Big Mama Thornton, Howlin’ Wolf and Big Joe Turner, you’ll also find
gripping new originals with a huge story to tell. Always rooted in the
blues, Toots Lorraine and the Traffic deliver a solid, energetic and
scintillating performance.Toots brings with her a background of dance, theater and jazz
to the rich yet simplistic purity of the blues, creating a vocal
presence of powerful elegance. Her singing style is influenced by
artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Eva Cassidy, Big Mama Thornton and many
more. Whether singing original material or drawing from a large
repertoire of classic blues and jazz standards, the charming and
vivacious Toots tells her story with every note, satisfying listeners,
dancers and good times.TOOTS LORRAINE
