Jazz in the Schools: A Benefit Concert celebrates music teachers and their students keeping jazz alive in San Diego City Schools. Funds we raise will go directly to the Visual and Performing Arts Department to strengthen the jazz programs and inspire new generations of players and fans.

Jazz is a true American art form, and with our support, it will continue to thrive in San Diego.

Rose Royce is an American Soul and R&B band formed in 1973 in Los Angeles, CA, USA. The group is best known for several hit singles including “Car Wash,” “I Wanna Get Next to You,” “Wishing on a Star”, “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” and “I’m Going Down”. Their style varies over the years and also include: Disco, Funk, Urban and Quiet Storm. They were very successful in the mid to late 70s. According to their wikipedia page their last release was out in 1998.

Rose Royce — the Los Angeles-based group comprised of Henry Garner (drums), Terral “Terry” Santiel (congas), Lequeint “Duke” Jobe (bass), Michael Moore (saxophone), Rose Norwalt (lead vocals), Kenny Copeland (trumpet, lead vocals), Kenji Brown (guitar, lead vocals), Freddie Dunn (trumpet), and Michael Nash (keyboards) — was actually formed by Copeland and Garner. Both were preparing for graduation from high school, and contemplating their careers. Joined by Dunn and Moore, the two decided to go the route of the music business under the name Total Concept Unlimited (and later as Magic Wand). They auditioned for Edwin Starr, and he hired them as his backup band.

The group’s association with Starr enabled them to interact with numerous music industry personalities. One in particular was Motown producer Norman Whitfield. Whitfield gradually became associated with the group by hiring them for recording sessions; the group also worked with Yvonne Fair, the Undisputed Truth, and the Temptations through Whitfield’s influence. After a couple of years of seasoning, the group began production on their debut album under Whitfield’s supervision. Also during this time, MCA Records was seeking an artist for the soundtrack to the movie Car Wash. Whitfield convinced executives that the band was more than competent for the job. So the material that Whitfield had assembled for the group’s debut album became the soundtrack’s material.

The movie Car Wash and the soundtrack were big hits, and they also propelled the group, now known as Rose Royce, into national notoriety. Released in late 1976, the soundtrack featured three Billboard R&B Top Ten singles: “Car Wash,” “I Wanna Get Next to You,” and “I’m Going Down.” The former was also a number one single on the Billboard pop charts.

To offset any negative rhetoric regarding their legitimacy, the group released its follow-up album, Rose Royce II: In Full Bloom, and bloom it did. The group returned to the Top Ten with “Do Your Dance” and “Ooh Boy,” silencing all critics. In 1978, they released their third album, entitled Rose Royce III: Strikes Again!, and it featured “I’m in Love (And I Love the Feeling)” and “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore.” Both singles cracked the Billboard R&B Top Five.

The group followed with a string of hits that roamed the charts, but never gained the chart status that their previous songs did. They became very popular in England and remain a marquee attraction there.

Born and raised in East St. Louis, Phil Perry has spent most of his career as one of the most sought-after backing vocalists in the music business. His bright, multi-octave range has played a supporting role on dozens of albums by such acts as Anita Baker, Boz Scaggs, Rod Stewart, Peabo Bryson and George Duke. But he has also distinguished himself through five strong solo albums that have highlighted both his ability to interpret classic soul songs as well as his own songwriting skills.

Perry first came to the attention of Soul Music fans as the lead singer of the Montclairs, whose “Begging’s Hard to Do” was a moderate hit in 1972. In 1985 he married soul/jazz singer Lillian “Tang” Tynes, and began a marriage partnership that has lasted ever since. After a brief stint as part of the singing duo Perry and Sanlin, Perry went solo in 1991 with The Heart of a Man, an album most notable for Perry’s sheer guts (or some thought audacity) in releasing as a single a remake of Aretha Franklin’s “Call Me.” It was a real coming out for Perry, as he ripped through the song in bold fashion, even surpassing Aretha’s revered original version.

His follow-up album, 1994′s Pure Pleasure, was perhaps his best, and included fantastic remakes of “After the Love is Gone” and “If Only You Knew” and a seven minute cover of the Spinners’ “Love Don’t Love Nobody” that was sheer magic. During the 90s, Perry also received increased coverage on Smooth Jazz radio through his guest work on albums by Lee Ritenour, the Rippingtons and others, and inspired Windham Hill subsidiary Private Music to sign Perry, along with Barry White and Peabo Bryson, in an attempt to become the major label in the confluence of the Urban Adult Contemporary and Smooth Jazz formats.

His Private Music debut, One Heart One Love, was aimed straight at the Smooth Jazz market and hit the top five on the back of its killer title track, despite being perhaps his weakest album. His follow-up album, My Book of Love, received less attention, but was a far stronger album. Book was also the album on which Perry began to take a more active role in songwriting and production, putting his personal imprint beyond the vocal performance. This led to his lead songwriting role on 2001′s Magic, an excellent album on Peak Records that showed Perry in complete control over his music.

If ever an artist’s catalog has screamed for a solid compilation – both from his five albums and from his guest work – it is Phil Perry. However, this seems unlikely given the number of labels and artists that would be involved. And while the material and production on his albums have, at times, been uneven, his marvelous voice has made every disc a keeper, and should keep him in demand as a vocalist for years to come.

“An overnight success that’s taken 20 years…”
That’s how James Hunter describes the outpouring of praise and acceptance for his 2006 album, People Gonna Talk. Issued in March 2006 on GO Records/Rounder, the Grammy-nominated People Gonna Talk was the singer/songwriter/guitarist’s first stateside release after two decades of performing and recording in his native Britain.

In support of his new album, James and his skin-tight band performed everywhere from hole-in-the-wall clubs to the Hollywood Bowl; they headlined in smaller venues and supported the likes of Aretha Franklin, Los Lonely Boys, Boz Scaggs, and Van Morrison in larger ones. The Mellifuous R&B of People Gonna Talk with its affectionate echoes of Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson, became an airplay staple on some of the nation’s most influential radio stations. The Los Angeles Times praised James Hunter’s “extraordinary soul voice”; Rolling Stone called his album “a treat not to miss.”

By the year’s end, People Gonna Talk was among the Top Ten “Best Albums of 2006” as cited by Mojo, USA Today pop critic Ken Barnes, and the WFUV/New York listeners’ poll, to name a few. People Gonna Talk was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album and James himself was nominated as Best New/Emerging Artist in the annual Americana Music Awards.

No wonder James Hunter’s second U.S. album, The Hard Way (due out on Hear Music in June 2008), is among this year’s most eagerly anticipated new releases. In terms of both inspiration and quotation, James has taken much from the musical past – as he will be the first to admit. But it’s his own infectious sound and inventive songwriting, blessedly free of slavish mimicry or retrograde nostalgia, that today’s audiences are responding to.

James himself wrote all the songs for The Hard Way and recorded the basic tracks with his working band, just as he did on People Gonna Talk. But now the instrumental palette is richer, the arrangements more detailed, and James himself is singing with more power and nuance than ever before. “We got further into our groove,” explains the singer, “and in two opposite directions simultaneously.”

“On the one hand, the sounds got a bit more sophisticated, a bit posher. Our tenor saxophonist Damian Hand and our drummer Jonathan Lee” – both have played with Hunter for 18-odd years, some of them very odd years indeed – “did all the string arrangements and augmented the instrumentation with things like the vibraphone on “Tell Her” and “Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.”

“The upbeat tracks, meanwhile, are more rough ‘n’ ready, a bit wilder. I feel that on the previous album, we were a mite constrained. This time ‘round, we were able to let loose a bit more.”

These advances in sound were matched by James’ own progress as a songwriter. The real-life inspirations and emotions that fuel his writing naturally spur on the passion and commitment in his singing.

“A lot of the songs are composites,” he explains. “Like the song ‘Carina.’ There is a Carina, and she was a girlfriend of mine, but in truth ‘People Gonna Talk’ is more about her than the song that’s got her name on it.”

“’Jacqueline,’ however, I wrote for my wife – we’ve been together for about three years now – and the sentiments are quite literally how I feel about her. That’s the only instance where the real name has been retained to implicate the guilty!”

The swaggering Bobby Bland-style number “Don’t Do Me No Favors” emerged from “a time when someone lent me some money when I really needed it, and later I felt rather grubby about it. Half the song is kind of denying that I’m being a ponce – a moocher, as you say in the States – and half is admitting that’s exactly what I am!”

“That sense of ambiguity made me feel that my writing was starting to develop. It was important to me that I could get more than one point of view into a song, because often people don’t just feel cut-and-dried about things that happen.”

The Hard Way was produced, recorded, and mixed by Liam Watson at his Toe Rag Studios in Hackney, East London. James and the band worked their way through multiple complete takes right there on Toe Rag’s postage stamp-sized floor.

“We’ve been cutting the vocals live with the band and for James it really works,” notes Liam Watson. “You don’t want that kind of music to be thought about too much. You don’t want to be too careful – you want people to be on the edge.”

James adds: “We played the songs many times – this isn’t an album of first takes – but they were complete performances…Having too much leisure to take things out and put them back in, it can make you a bit complacent. The pressure of recording live was quite exciting rather than daunting.”

While gratified by the career-high sales and positive press earned by People Gonna Talk, James himself has felt a special sense of validation when praised by musicians he’d long held in high esteem. Among them was the legendary New Orleans songwriter/producer Allen Toussaint, who caught Hunter’s dynamic live show at Joe’s Pub in New York and then introduced himself backstage during the Americana Awards in Nashville.

To James’ amazement, Toussaint later agreed to fly to England and play on the Toe Rag sessions. His trademark acoustic piano lights up “The Hard Way” and “Believe Me Baby,” with a brilliant Professor Longhair-style solo on the latter track; Allen also played electric piano on “’Till The End” and added his unmistakable voice to “The Hard Way.”

Of the determinedly old-school Watson/Hunter style of recording, Allen Toussaint says: “The method is superb. I would say nostalgia, but not really because everything is much alive and wide awake…By all the instruments and the song being sung at the same time, you are playing the song and not just making a track that something is going to go on top of.”

As for the sound of The Hard Way, Allen calls it “music that you feel you know, but is very fresh today. There’s a lot of forethought in it, but it’s not a concoction of correctness, not a carbon copy of trying to do what has happened… [It’s] more of an extrapolation than an elaboration. And it’s truly, truly a joy.”

Green River Ordinance Josh Jeinkins, lead vocals Jamey Ice, guitar Joshua Wilkerson, guitar Geoff Ice, bass Denton Hunker, drums over the decade-long journey from their first incarnation as kids in For Worth, Texas to the upcoming release of their latest album, Under Fire, Green River Ordinance has evolved steadily. The powerful five-piece’s message on their upcoming release evokes the challenges and triumphs of its members as they continue to grow personally and artistically. In 2007, GRO’s debut album shot to no.10 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart and catapulted two singles, “Come On” and “On Your Own”, into the Top 40. GRO shared stages with Bon Jovi, Train, Counting Crows, Gavin Degraw, and other headliners; earned press coverage from CNN, Billboard and Alternative Press, and got their music played on 56 network and cable shows along with three films.

And then, in July 2010, they walked away to start anew.

Working with producers Jordan Critz, Chad Copelin and Jarod Evans, GRO recorded Under Fire at studios in Texas and Oklahoma. For this album, the band wrote all songs built on a foundation of strong, solid, high-impact music – walls of guitar, hushed and intimate acoustic moments and rousing harmonized vocals. Their search to find and communicate answers will guide GRO through years to come, beginning with their Under Fire North American Tour beginning Feb. 29 in Houston. But wherever their explorations take them, Under Fire may be the star that charts their course.

Music takes to the streets of Little Italy Saturday July 21st! THE CLASSIC Block Party in downtown, StreetBeat San Diego welcome headliners John Kay & Steppenwolf and Blue Oyster Cult for the event brought to you by Anthology and 101.5 KGB.

An upscale music festival, StreetBeat is filled with the best of local food, spirits, and beer. The party starts at 3pm and is for those 21 and over only. Two seating options are available, $49 General Admission and $69 Reserved Seating. VIP packages are available to make your experience extra special.

Don’t miss your opportunity to be a part of this year’s event on the streets of Little Italy!

THE DETAILS:

EVENT StreetBeat San Diego 2012, THE CLASSIC Block Party presented by Anthology & 101.5 KGB

DATE Saturday, July 21st

TIME Doors & Music @ 3pm

BANDS Headliners – John Kay & Steppenwolf, Blue Oyster Cult

LOCATION On India Street between Ash & A, including the parking lots

AGE 21+

TICKETS $49 for General Admission / $69 for Reserved Seating / $160 for VIP

SEATING Seating is available for any ticketed guest until 5pm when it becomes reserved seating. Reserved seating is first come first serve with the exception of VIP sections

VIP PACKAGE DETAILS
• Price: $160
• Valet Parking
• Premium Reserved Seating
• Access to VIP Anthology Lounge all night long
• 1 Drink Ticket
• Buffet in Lounge
• Special VIP Entrance

AFTERPARTY Head inside Anthology at 10pm to keep the night going with acclaimed classic rock cover band The Trip

NOTE: $15 Food and Beverage Minimum NOT applicable to this event.

Originally from England, singer songwriter Michael Muldoon began performing at an early age his musical spectrum ranges to all genres with many influences from Peter Gabriel, Lennon and McCartney ,to Joe Cocker and beyond.

Moving to America he performed with several bands including a spell with the legends tour of Woodstock where he performed the music of Joe Cocker and also touring with tribute band Mad Dogs and Englishmen, then in 2007 he recorded His first album Muldoon Which tells the story of a unique life and career of a very exceptionally talented and passionate man his award winning single Give a Meaning has won much acclaim.

Michael is making a return visit to Anthology to perform his new Walks of Life Rock string fusion with special guest Jamie Shadowlight.

Charlie Chavez is virtuoso percussionist performing on the full spectrum of percussion instruments. He also is a dedicated Educator and Bandleader. Charlie Chavez was born in Juchitan Oaxaca and grew up in Coatzacoalcos Veracruz, Mexico – which is rich with Cuban and Caribbean Rhythms.

He studied at the Conservatory of Music at the University of Xalapa Veracruz from 1996 to 2000 studying Trombone, Percussion and Piano. He moved to Tijuana in 2001 and began working there and in San Diego.

In 2001 he toured Europe and the United States with Lila Downs and Maldita Vecindad. He has performed and shared the stage with some of Jazz and Latin music’s greatest artists including Poncho Sanchez, Charles McPherson, Gary Burton, Chuchito Valdez, Raul Pineda,The Spanish Harlem Orquesta, Denise De Kalfe, Iraida Noriega, Israel Varela, The Celia Cruz Orchestra de Los Angeles and Paquito D’Rivera.

He has become one of the most important percussionists in Southern California performing with The Gilbert Castellanos Latin Jazz Ensemble, The Dave Scott Jazz Trio, The Orquesta Binacional de Mambo, B side players, The Allan Phillips Project and Agua Dulce. He heads his own salsa group “Afrotruko which has performed at major venues and festivals in Southern California.

He has performed in percussion clinics in Mexico City, Humbolt University and The Berklee School of Music in Boston. He has also organized master percussion workshops in San Diego bringing in World Class Percussionists Georgie Padilla, David “La Mole”Ortiz, Tomasito Cruz, Pablito Rosario and William Kachiro Thompson. He leads weekly percussion classes in Tijuana and San Diego. He is also a guest instructor at Mesa College in San Diego.

He has recorded with The TJ All Star Leyendas de Tijuana., Orquesta Pico de Gallo, “Vengo del Desierto”, Gene Perry “Mi Tambor Lo Dice Todo”, Oscar Aragon “Vida”, Sacha Boutros “Simply Sacha” and Taylor Hicks, “The Distance”.

Most recently he has formed his new group the Charlie Chavez Latin Jazz Quintet, and The Latin American Trio “Perla Negra”

Upon hearing the unique and refreshing sound of Nicki Bluhm, it becomes immediately clear why she is in the midst of a breakout year. Nicki has filled a void in music with her brand of vintage-tinged rocking country soul — music that’s like an enchanting friend you’ve known for a short while but feels like you’ve known forever.

Nicki’s story began at a New Year’s Eve party when she sang an impromptu blues song that caught the attention of musician/producer Tim Bluhm (The Mother Hips). With Tim’s encouragement Nicki began to write songs and perform in public, and soon was earning fans of her own. They went on to record Nicki’s debut album, Toby’s Song (2008), which appeared on Jambase’s top ten albums of the year. Nicki and Tim were married shortly after and formed her band with childhood friend and guitar player, Deren Ney. The band continued to grow with the addition of Steve Adams on bass (ALO), Dave Mulligan on rhythm guitar and drummer Mike Curry. Nicki has since shared the stage with Chris Robinson, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Steve Kimock, Jackie Greene, Pegi Young, Josh Ritter, and many others.

Her sophomore album, Driftwood (2011), shows an impressive expansion of Nicki’s natural talent and is well into its second pressing. The sounds range from the AM magic of Linda Ronstadt to the charming duets of Johnny and June Cash to smokey Memphis soul. Since Driftwood’s release, Nicki has become the “It Girl” of the San Francisco music scene — performing with her band, “The Gramblers”; as a duo with her husband Tim; and as a guest artist with an array of revered peformers. Her warm, strong voice and striking presence have undeniable appeal, confirmed by her sensational performances and rousing reception from music lovers at every show.

Vicci Martinez is a singer/songwriter from Tacoma, Washington, who was one of the finalists on Season 1 of NBC’s The Voice. At only 27 years of age, she has already opened for or shared the stage with notables such as Sting, Annie Lennox, B.B. King, the Doobie Brothers, and Jonny Lang. She draws strong support from her family – and the memory of her father, who passed away five years ago.