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You are here: Home / Archives for Music

From the Streets to the Skies: Shyan Selah’s Café Noir Project Travels Across American Airlines​​​​​​​

July 19, 2016 by Dennis Beaver Leave a Comment

For the last few months Shyan Selah’s voice has been featured as part of the MasterCard Selections Channel on
American Airlines. He was chosen as part of an elite group of wide ranging music artists from Jordin Sparks to Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top to talk about his current project and tour, Café Noir, as well as give a little musical taste from the Café Noir Live album out now.

Before singing the “Pink Butterfly (Urban Remix)” – the funk/soul/R&B track that’s been permeating throughout select Starbucks stores around the country, Selah talked about the project and how his unique approach to music and communnamed-3unity outreach has allowed him to venture where few entertainers can go.

“[Café Noir] is a community experience project,” said Selah. “It’s all centered around sitting down, having conversations – community and conversation….because it’s a community project we wanted to make sure we could fuse music with the people right in the neighborhood and Starbucks became a really cool partner of ours.”

That community experience project which has been developed and featured throughout high schools, colleges, and live music venues in addition to select Starbucks stores throughout the country, has already resulted in a live album, Café Noir Live, recorded at the 23rd & Jackson Street Starbucks in Seattle; and a second LP album is forthcoming this fall. Selah’s recent interview and live performance for the MasterCard Selections Channel is just one example of how the project is expanding beyond the communities on the ground he set out to reach.

“I was raised in an airline family,” he says. “I grew up in airports and doing a lot of flying as a kid and, of course, as an Artist and Entrepreneur it’s a must. The whole experience of being on a plane is very sentimental to me because my very first memories in life are centered around flying. I can say without a doubt this experience with American Airlines and Master Card is truly a blessing. To do what I love the most and have it played on one of the world’s biggest airlines is a cool highlight indeed. It was a lot of fun doing the production for this and I am truly thankful to everyone that made it possible.”

Those who missed the interview and performance on American Airlines can listen now via the YouTube link below.

For more information, visit www.shyanselah.com.

Filed Under: Artist Spotlight, Arts, Entertainment, Music, Northwest, People

Black Violin: A Revolutionary Duo Performs at Tacoma’s historic Pantages Theater on March 7

January 11, 2016 by Dennis Beaver Leave a Comment

Courtesy photo Black Violin, two classically trained violinists who blend the sounds of jazz, hip-hop, funk and classical music, will perform before a presentation by Martin Luther King III, son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, in Sturtz Theater, Jefferson Community College, Watertown. There is no cost to attend; however, tickets are required for admittance. For more information, contact the JCC Student Activities Center at 786-2431.
Black Violin: A Revolutionary Duo Performs at Tacoma’s historic Pantages Theater on March 7

 

Black Violin is a revolutionary music group blending hip-hop, rock, R&B, bluegrass and classical music. This group of two classically trained violinists, Wilner “Wil B” Baptiste and Kevin “Kev Marcus” Sylvester are redefining the music scene. The genre-busting group shows that music does not exist within a box. They’ll perform at Tacoma’s historic Pantages Theater on Friday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale now.

Black-Violin-at-Tacoma-Broadway-Center-for-the-Performing-Arts-Pantages-Theater

Black Violin takes their name from a record by the preeminent African-American swing era jazz violinist Stuff Smith. Since forming ten years ago, the duo has collaborated with the likes of P. Diddy, Kanye West, 50 Cent, Tom Petty, Aerosmith, Aretha Franklin, and The Eagles. Live, they are often accompanied by their crack band, featuring ace turntable whiz DJTK (Dwayne Dayal), drummer Beatdown (Jermaine McQueen) and cellist Joe Cello (Joseph Valbrun).

Over the past decade, Black Violin has performed an average of 200 shows a year in 49 states and 36 countries, as well as appearances at Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration, three official NFL Super Bowl celebrations, and the 2012 U.S. Open. Along with these performances, Black Violin remains particularly committed to a series of school visits, where they bring the importance of arts education to the forefront, particularly for urban youth.

“We encourage kids to think creatively, to take what they love doing and try to come up with something no one has ever done before,” explains Will B. “And that doesn’t just apply to playing violin or even music, but whatever it is you decide to do. Expand your mind. Once we get their attention with the music, that’s the message we want to deliver.”

Tickets for Black Violin are on sale now and are $19, $29, and $39. Tickets may be purchased through the Broadway Center Box Office at 253-591-5894, toll-free 1-800-291-7593, in person at 901 Broadway in Tacoma’s Theater District or online at www.broadwaycenter.org/BlackViolin

Filed Under: Entertainment, Events, Music

Shemekia Copeland with Special Guest opener Naomi Wachira

January 11, 2016 by Dennis Beaver Leave a Comment

91.3 KBCS and the Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley welcomes 2015 Grammy-nominated blues vocalist Shemekia Copeland touring in support of her new release Outskirts of Love. Band members include Arthur Neilson (guitar), Kenneth “Willie” Scandlyn (guitar), Kevin Jenkins (bass) and Robin Gould (drums). Set times Thursday and Sunday at 7:30pm. Set times Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and 9:30pm. Doors open at 6:00pm Thursday and 5:30pm Friday through Sunday.

Shemekia Copeland released her 8th album September, 2015, Outskirts Of Love. Think fiery. Blistering. Soulful. With a hint of gospel. The kind of voice that gives you chills. Copeland reinvents the blues and makes them her own, especially on her new album. “Everybody is on the outskirts of something on this record, whether it’s love, justice, homelessness or whatever it may be,” Copeland said. “I bring what’s very important to me to my records and always try to find a positive way to help people.”

Whether she’s belting out a raucous blues-rocker, firing up a blistering soul shouter, bringing the spirit to a gospel-fueled R&B rave-up or digging deep down into a subtle, country-tinged ballad, Shemekia Copeland sounds like no one else. With a voice that is alternately sultry, assertive and roaring, Shemekia’s wide-open vision of contemporary blues, roots and soul music showcases the evolution of a passionate artist with a modern musical and lyrical approach. The Chicago Tribune says Copeland delivers “gale force singing and power” with a “unique, gutsy style, vibrant emotional palette and intuitive grasp of the music.” NPR Music calls her “fiercely expressive.”

Copeland has performed thousands of gigs at clubs, festivals and concert halls all over the world and has appeared on national television, NPR, and in newspapers, films and magazines. She is a mainstay on countless commercial and non-commercial radio stations. She’s sung with Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, James Cotton and many others. She opened for The Rolling Stones and entertained U.S. troops in Iraq and Kuwait. Jeff Beck calls her “f*cking amazing.” Santana says, “She’s incandescent…a diamond.” At the 2011 Chicago Blues Festival, the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois officially declared Copeland to be “The New Queen Of The Blues.” In 2012, she performed at the White House for President and Mrs. Obama. Afterward, Jagger (with whom she sang) sent her a bottle of champagne. With Outskirts Of Love and a packed tour schedule, Copeland has her eyes fixed firmly on the future as she continues to break new musical ground. “I want to keep growing, to be innovative,” she says. “I’m a lifer, singing about things that bother me, using my music to help people. My dad always said ‘we’re all connected.’ I’m an old soul marching to the beat of my own drum,” she continues, “And right now I’m making the most exciting music of my career.”

There’s no doubt that there’s a better future in store for Naomi, especially after her great breakout year in 2013. Named the Best Folk Singer in Seattle by alt publication Seattle Weekly and featured on their cover, Naomi became the toast of the town, which in turn led to a friendship with the much-loved indie songwriter Damien Jurado, who came onboard to produce this album. Other key collaborators that Naomi brought in, renowned Seattle bassist Evan Flory-Barnes, cellist Natalie Hall (Macklemore), drummer Darren Reynolds (Patrick & The Locomotive), and Latin percussionist Lalo Bello, all brought their own ideas to the accompaniment, guided by Jurado’s desire to keep the music as vibrantly alive as possible. The result is Naomi Wachira’s debut full-length, a portrait of a Kenyan artist at home in the Pacific Northwestern United States.

When you listen to Naomi’s songs, you’ll hear the lifelong influence of two powerful, groundbreaking female songwriters: Miriam Makeba and Tracy Chapman. Makeba became one of the biggest stars on the continent through her socially aware songwriting, something she shared closely with American songwriter Tracy Chapman. Chapman was a voice for social change as well, but Naomi loved her positive idealism, a concept that informs all the songs on Naomi’s album. Makeba’s also a personal icon for Naomi, who cites “the way she carried herself, her grace and character,” as influencers. “She was able to maintain her integrity as an African. She didn’t need to change who she was to fit with Western audiences.”

That’s why you won’t hear any stereotypical African music on Naomi’s debut. She’s making music inspired both by the music she discovered in America and the music she grew up with in Kenya, not a Western conception of how African music should sound.

The daughter of a Kijabe pastor, Naomi joined the traveling family band at five years old, spreading the good word through gospel song. This explains the beautiful harmonies on her album, for as she says “In my family everyone sang and everyone knew their part. Harmony was second nature for us.” Larger African concepts also play a part in Naomi’s music, like the Zulu idea of Ubuntu. This concept means “I am because we are,” and it’s a community-based worldview that focuses on caring for each other.

This is why the songs on Naomi’s debut album sound so alive. They’re plucked from her own life, powered by her Northwest musical community, and imbued with her own sense of hopefulness.

Filed Under: Entertainment, Music

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