Month: May 2013

Anticipation and Fascination

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Grammy award winning George Duke is a keyboardist, producer, arranger, and composer. Like many other artists, he began playing in his church. His love for piano began after he saw Duke Ellington in concert when he was very young. Over the years, George Duke has clearly established himself as “one of the best.” His legendary career will forever have a place in music history. George is set to release his latest CD “DreamWeaver” July 16th. He made the album after the passing of his wife, Corine. He collaborated with a wide variety of vocalists on this project with backgrounds in different genres of music. I’m looking forward to the song he recorded with the late Teena Marie before she passed.

Aside from the new album I’m sure we’re all looking forward to, I have discovered that George and I have a couple of things in common. Most obvious, of course, is music. However, the common thread that fascinates me is our admiration for Jean Luc Ponty, a violinist. Somewhere between 1967 and 1969 (around the time I was born), George heard one of Jean Luc Ponty’s records. He knew immediately that he had to work with him. Fortunately for George, Jean Luc came to California to record, and the connection was made. They worked together until 1976. As for me, I discovered the violinist as a freshman in college and have been a huge fan every since. Matter of fact, I still have many of his cassette tapes that I can’t part with because they represent countless hours of listening and analyzing his music, as well as priceless memories. I guess it’s true what they say: “great minds think alike.” If you want to learn more about Jean Luc Ponty, visit http://www.ponty.com.

Did you know??

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There’s nothing better than acquiring more knowledge. Having said that, Rob Bacon shared a music “GEM” with me today. I have to share it with you. We all love Stevie Wonder and can more than likely sing along with most of his songs. Well, take a moment and listen to “All I Do.” Pay close attention to the back ground vocals. Guess who???  It’s a young Michael Jackson. You’ll never hear it the same way again. Shout out Rob for spreading your knowledge with me.

Excited about new music

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I am excited and pleased to announce the highly anticipated upcoming CD from my friend Rob “Fonksta” Bacon. He’s promised to deliver music that fuses his funky style with contemporary jazz. He’s currently in the studio completing the CD that can be expected by the end of this year. To sum it up Rob says, “imagine Maxwell playing guitar like George Benson, and was produced by Sly Stone or Prince.” I think that says it ALL.

You can see Rob touring with @Boney James right now on “The Beat” tour.

Rob Fonksta Bacon
Rob Fonksta Bacon

I finally released Pink and Blue Notes to

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I finally released Pink and Blue Notes to the public via Facebook and Twitter. It’s such a pleasure to share what I love with everyone.  I hope you can learn a lot and share a lot with me.

An evening with INNERTWYNED, Shelby J, and Jeff Bradshaw

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What a beautiful evening it was in Charlotte. The backdrop for the evening was Club Label at the NC Music Factory.  The Jazz Diva Tammy Greene once again gave guests a show to remember. INNERTWYNED opened the show for Jeff Bradshaw.  They featured vocalists J’Vito  and Shelby J. Shelby J brings to the stage her amazing vocals. She’s not only an artist in her own right, she’s also a a back-up singer for Prince.  Their on stage energy is amazing.  The vocals were POWERFUL.   INNERTWYNED is undoubtedly the BEST band in the area.  They’re not just a band, they are REAL musicians playing REAL instruments.  They’re so good, they recorded their debut CD “The Takeover” in one day.  When asked, they describe their music as universal, timeless, labeless, feel good, old school quality with a new school groove, soulful, authentic, and sexy because it comes from the heart.  Reggie Graves, the base player in the group has a Gospel CD out titled “The Time Is Now.”  J’Vito, lead vocalist of the group is working on his debut R&B CD.  I can’t leave out the very important fact that INNERTWYNED is Grammy Award winning artist Anthony Hamilton’s band.

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INNERTWYNED

Then Mr. Jeff Bradshaw takes the stage and brings energy that has the audience on their feet, and dancing in their seats.  He doesn’t just play the trombone, he entertains.  I had a chance to sit down with Jeff after the show and ask him a few questions.  Jeff realized at age 23 that he wanted to be a trombone player for a living.  His father was a trombone player as well as a singer. He was raised in the United House of Prayer Church where there was brass instrumentation and trombones all around.  Growing up he listened to the music his Father loved, old funk and gospel.  Artist such as James Brown and Fred Wesley.  He says, “once I met Fred Wesley, that was it for me.”  Some of his other musical influences are Prince, Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Michael Jackson, Jackie Wilson, and the legendary George Clinton. This year he is celebrating the 10 year anniversary of his first CD “Bone Deep.”  He’s also in midst of celebrating the 1 year anniversary of “Bone Appetit” which earned him an NAACP Image Award Nomination.  He’s working on a new project that includes some major artists, and should be released later in 2013 or early 2014.  He told me “This album will be my BEST work.”  It was an honor to interview Jeff.  I’m looking forward to his new project, and i’ll definitely be seeing him again.

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Jeff Bradshaw

Click on the link below to watch a clip of my interview with Jeff Bradshaw.