Born and raised in Tanner, Alabama, Dee Lucas had
always loved listening to music, and many genres of music were often
played in his family's home. However much he wanted to play an
instrument when he was younger, he had instead gone into sports, and
then later graduated from the University of North Alabama in 1988 with a
degree in Marketing and concentration in Computer Information Systems. A
year later, he moved to Atlanta and after a couple of years of getting
settled in his corporate job, Lucas suddenly got an urge to pick up the
sax for the first time - at the age of 28. Once he had picked up the
horn, he knew that his years of listening to music from his personal and
family collections would pay off. Dee
often visited local jazz clubs to get a feel for the pulse of the local
scene. "Listening to some of the talented sax players around the city
was education enough to build a thirst to go home and mimic what they
did," says Dee. "With the combination of listening to a plethora of
music on CD while going to see local cats like Darien Emory, Antonio
Allen, Sam Skelton, Jimmy Brown (Brick), and trumpeters Melvin Miller
and Milkshake, that was truly enough to develop a personal vote of
confidence." In
1997, Lucas got his start as a musician playing as a sideman in a local
band, Between 9&7. The band recorded a CD, which was a moderate
regional hit. Although he got performances, both rhythm and solos, Lucas
felt it was time to develop his own by ensemble to demand more
challenges within himself as both a musician and entrepreneur. So, on
New Year's Eve of 1999, Lucas formed his own contemporary jazz trio,
Xpressions. They produced and recorded a CD titled Footprints, which
gained notoriety in regional markets. The record contained the classic
hit People Make the World Go Round. All of the compositions were
produced and arranged by friend and keyboardist Karey Davis and assisted
by the saxman himself. DEE LUCAS
Although he now calls Canada home, Maple Blues Award
winner David Vest is an authentic, Southern-bred boogie-woogie piano
player and blues shouter. Born in Alabama in 1943, David grew up in
Birmingham, not far from Tuxedo Junction. He played his first paying gig
in 1957, and by the time he opened for Roy Orbison on New Year's Day
1962, he was a seasoned veteran of Gulf Coast roadhouses and honky
tonks.At the age of 17, David went on tour with Jerry Woodard
and the Esquires, some of whom later became key members of the Muscle
Shoals Rhythm Section and the Muscle Shoals Horns. While still with
Woodard, he jammed with Ace Cannon, Bill Black's Combo and the Jimmy
Dorsey Band in clubs along the Florida Panhandle, where fellow Alabaman
James Harman would soon make his mark.He had seen Carl Perkins,
Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash in the 1950s. He saw Bo Diddley, Jimmy
Reed, and John Lee Hooker in the prime of their careers. Sam Cooke,
Clyde McPhatter and Hank Ballard, too. About the time he turned 21 he
found himself onstage backing Big Joe Turner, who said that David Vest's
playing made him feel like he was back home in Kansas City.He
had also worked the southern gospel circuit, appearing on programs with
the Statesmen and the Blackwood Brothers. His first recording featured
the last song written by Alton Delmore. David himself wrote the first
songs ever recorded by Tammy Wynette, as detailed in Jimmy McDonough's
bio of the country legend. He also dated a sister of the Louvin
Brothers, toured with Faron Young (who threatened to kill him), backed
Red Foley in a show where all the stars got robbed, worked in a theatre
with Fannie Flagg and became the first American artist to record an
album in Romania, after his appearance at the Sibiu Jazz Festival.Later
David would receive the "direct laying on of hands" from piano legends
like Big Walter The Thunderbird and Floyd Dixon. He would tour
extensively with Jimmy T99 Nelson and Miss Lavelle White. Katie Webster
told him, "I knows it when I hears it."From 2002 through 2006,
he shared lead vocals and frontman duties in the Paul deLay Band,
culminating in his performance on an award-winning live CD, which
reached the Top Ten on Billboard's national blues chart. During his
years in Portland, David won five Muddy Awards from the Cascade Blues
Association, including Best Keyboard Player.After deLay's
untimely death, Vest joined forces with Kenny 'Blues Boss' Wayne and
various other pianists, including Ann Rabson, to form the supergroup
Northwest Pianorama. DAVID VEST
Miles
Cabeceiras writes songs that accurately describe his vision of
experiencing life in South East Louisiana, from hit and miss love
affairs to the simple pleasures of life on the bayou. His band of
seasoned musicians, The Pontchartrain Wrecks, lend credence to his
musical mission and his goal of recreating the vibe of his influences
which include Tom Petty, Gram Parsons, the Rolling Stones and others.The Pontchartrain Wrecks have a great name, albeit a slightly
cringe-worthy one given recent events, which unfortunately hits a little
too close to home on their debut. The South span of their
meat-and-potatoes radio rock can jostle you all over the place, as on
“Anyway, Anyhow,” but it can also hypnotize you with its sameness; they
don’t sound locked in a groove so much as stuck in a gear. PONTCHARTRAIN WRECKS
Michael Bellar has performed music on six continents but being a native
of North Carolina, he stands by his slow, southern roots. Along with
creating music and touring with his group, the AS-IS Ensemble, Michael
has also toured and or recorded with Amos Lee, Art Garfunkel, Howie Day,
Wheatus, Jump Little Children, Teddy Geiger, Euro pop superstar Giorgia
and Jay Clifford’s Rosebud. His national TV appearances include Late
Night with David Letterman, the Late Show with Conan O’Brien Show, the
Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Ellen Degeneres Show, TRL, Good Morning
America, Regis and Kelly and the CBS Morning Show. Michael has produced
and scored music for CUT Music (LA), Fluid (NYC), Bang Michael is the founder, composer and keyboardist of the AS-IS Ensemble.
This highly excitable, alt-jazz group has performed at such venues as
Avery Fischer Hall at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington
DC, South By Southwest and the JVC, Bell Atlantic and New York City
Winter Jazz Festivals along with being the former house band at the
world-famous Blue Note jazz club in NYC. They have opened for John
Scofield, Tea Leaf Green, Medeski Martin & Wood, Grant Green Jr. and
JFJO. In a review of their first ever performance in New York City,
they were hailed as “Generation Next” by Billboard Magazine. The group
has recorded three studio CDs – “Turned On Turned Up” (2009), “Like It
Is,” and “REACT!”Music and
Razorhead. MICHAEL BELLAR
Eden Brent piano playing and singing style ranges from a melancholic whisper to a
full-blown juke joint holler. She's simultaneously confident and
confiding, ably blending an earthy meld of jazz, blues, soul, and pop as
she huskily invites listeners into her lazy, lush world.That world lies just north of Greenville, Mississippi on the two-lane
Highway 1, which follows the twists and turns of the river through
fecund swampland, time-forgotten plantations, and
blink-and-you'll-miss-'em communities like Rosedale, Beulah, and Stovall
before it dead ends into Highway 61 just south of Onward.It was there that Brent was able to develop her gutsy vocal-and-piano
chops via family sing-a-longs and a 16-year apprenticeship with the late
blues pioneer Boogaloo Ames, who ultimately dubbed his protégé "Little
Boogaloo.""Music school taught me to think, but Boogaloo taught me to
boogie-woogie," says Brent, who appeared alongside her mentor in the
1999 PBS documentary Boogaloo & Eden: Sustaining the Sound and in the 2002 South African production Forty Days in the Delta.Where most 21st century roots musicians merely emulate their heroes,
Brent and Ames were both "soul mate and road buddies," says lifelong
friend (and acclaimed journalist) Julia Reed. "She was a young white
woman of privilege and he was an aging black man in the Mississippi
Delta, but theirs is a phenomenal story of mutual admiration and need."Yet much more than the blues flows through Brent's talented hands:
Critics laud her "Bessie Smith meets Diana Krall meets Janis Joplin"
attitude, compare her to jazz/pop dynamos Norah Jones and Sarah Vaughn,
and wax effusively about her "whiskey-smoke" voice, which serves as a
constant reminder that Greenville, nestled into a bend of the
Mississippi River, is located a few hundred miles north of New Orleans.Whether booked as a solo artist or bandleader, Brent's performance is
fresh and spontaneous, often filled with audience requests and
participation. Her unshakable talent and her carefree demeanor have
taken her across the country and around the world, but the 2009 Blues
Music Awards cemented Eden's place as one of the fresh voices propelling
this vital American music forward. She was nominated in four
categories, winning both "Acoustic Album of the Year" and "Acoustic
Artist of the Year" honors (joining Buddy Guy, B.B. King, and Janiva
Magness as the only multi-category winners for the year). As Chip
Eagle, publisher of Blues Revue, BluesWax, and Dirty Linen says, "in
Eden's huge playing and singing you can hear the ghosts of Mississippi
in a duet with the future of the blues." EDEN BRENT
Hunter
and The Dirty Jacks comprise a virtual all-star cast of Los Angeles and
Orange County-area musicians that have been playing locally and
regionally for over ten years apiece. Fronted by lead singer and
multi-instrumentalist Hunter Ackerman, and anchored by Jon Siembieda and
Carmelo Bonaventura on guitar, Aaron Barnes on bass, Moana Avvenenti on
vocals, and Brian Lara on drums, the Dirty Jacks put forth an extremely
high energy, emotionally compelling performance coupled with a rare
combination of soulful originals and tasty covers. The sound is rock and
roll with a bluesy edge, ala the Black Keys, Rolling Stones, Black
Crowes, and Jet. The band is very seasoned for all players being in the
late 20s and early 30s. The Dirty Jacks debuted at House of Blues Sunset
Strip on 9/29/12 to a resounding success and have played numerous
venues and have had numerous tours ever since. HUNTER AND THE DIRTY JACKS
Cathy Lemons is a vocalist, songwriter, song publisher, band leader, and
show producer who has been a staple of the blues scene in the Bay Area
for 25 years. She has been described as “the finest light-skinned
female blues vocalist in the U.S.” (Real Blues 2010) with a “velvety and
hypnotic voice—resonant of “a female Howlin’ Wolf” (Fulltimeblues
2010). Hailing from Dallas, TX she honed her chops with the likes of
Anson Funderburg and performed with Stevie Ray Vaughan. She has worked
with some of the great names in blues including John Lee Hooker (she
toured as his send-off singer in 1987), Tommy Castro, Ron Thompson, and
many others.Her current band is called "CATHY LEMONS & the blues xcentric" with
Stevie Gurr (of Elvin Bishop and Dr. John), Paul Olguin (of Maria
Muldaur), Kevin Zuffi (of Joe Lewis Walker), and Theron Petersen
(Primus) Cathy Lemons writes songs that are as haunting as they are
autobiographically revealing. She has 3 CD’s out: “Dark Road” (2000)
and “Lemonace” on Vizztone ( 2010). Her 3rd, “Black Crow” (Vizztone)
released March 25 2014.CRITICS:
"One thing is certain…once you hear her, you will be a fan for life.
This is music with a timeless quality that will have all the hitting
power twenty years down the road that it does today. " Bill Wilson "A dandy dose of hot stuff that just doesn’t quit, Lemons isn’t about
affectation and iconography, she’s the real deal .... Smoking, velvet
soul blues that’s right in the pocket throughout, Lemons impresses
throughout with this mighty release. A winner throughout." Chris
Specter (Midwest Record).
CATHY LEMONS
Leave the Door Open is the debut album from Multiplicity, a multi-cultural, genre-defying collaboration between Guggenheim Fellow and world-renowned American guitarist Joel Harrison and North Indian-native, virtuoso classical Sarodist and composer Anupam Shobhakar. The album beams with an amalgamation of styles influenced from the worlds of Indian Classical, jazz, blues and roots music, featuring a stellar cast of some of the finest contemporary creative musicians in the world: Gary Versace (piano, B-3 organ, accordion), Dan Weiss (drums and tables), Hans Glawischnig (acoustic & electric bass), as well as special guests David Binney (alto saxophone), Todd Isler (percussion), Bonnie Chakraborty and Chandrashekar Vase (vocals).The music was cooperatively developed and composed by the two leaders between 2010 and 2012 as a result of Shobhakar being featured in a multi-movement work Harrison composed for sarode, classical percussion quartet and jazz quintet. The two developed an immediate rapport, sharing an eagerness to learn about and experience as much music as possible. And it’s a natural pairing, as each leader has been involved with a remarkable amount of diverse music over the years: Harrison has released 15 albums to date, has won multiple awards for composition and is known for being a restless soul who is no stranger to taking risks with his music, while Shobhakar hails from the Maihar Gharana, a family whose contribution to the world of Indian instrumental music is unparalleled. Shobhakar’s ability to operate so far outside the usual confines of his instrument is remarkable, and he is known for his wide-ranging compositional palette as well, which has been influenced by his experiences performing in rock bands just as much as classical Indian music.Harrison explains, “We both added components to each other’s compositions and worked hard to figure out how to reconcile our different backgrounds. We felt strongly that we should include a ‘folk’ element, adding straight-to-the-heart simplicity with the thornier jazz pieces. As principles of Indian music slowly work their way into the jazz lexicon, alliances such as ours are becoming less rare. It’s a fascinating journey to be taking part in.” JOEL HARRISON & ANUPAM SHOBHAKAR
“Dana Robbins is Music City's saxophone MVP,with a fluent, commanding and original approachto R&B, blues, soul, rock, jazz, funk and off-the-cuff improvisation. And through it all her bold, warm tone is ever ready to shift from slow burn to utter conflagrance — whatever it takes to get to a song's emotional core." She is currently playing for DELBERT MCCLINTON and ARETHA FRANKLIN. She has also performed with CHAKA KAHN, RON ISLEY, JEFF LORBER, AL GREEN, CECE WINANS, RUFUS THOMAS, THE O'JAYS, BILL CHAMPLIN, JOHNNY LANG, JAMES BROWN, JOE SAMPLE, JEWELL, JIMMY HALL, LEROY PARNELL and STEVE CROPPER. Motown sound. Dana started studying piano at age four and saxophone when she was ten. Dana enjoyed the luxury of excellent junior high and high school band directors. Summers were spent playing in a jazz band program directed by the famous trumpet player, Louis Smith. Her father, a University of Michigan professor who loved jazz, and her mother, an accomplished classical pianist, showed her a wide variety of musical styles. She eventually studied music at the University of Michigan. Pursuing her love of jazz and blues, Dana left Michigan and enrolled in The Berklee College of Music in Boston. There she studied for two years. DANA ROBBINS
