Tuesday, February 26, 2013


BLACK HISTORY EXCLUSIVE:
DIONNE FARRIS AND THE RUSSELL GUNN QUARTET BRING JAZZ, FUNK, CONSCIOUS HIP HOP TO YOSHI’S SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY, FEB. 27
Who: Dionne Farris & the Russell Gunn Quartet
When: 8 p.m., Wednesday Feb. 27th,
Where: Yoshi’s San Francisco, 1330 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA
Info: http://www.yoshis.com/sanfrancisco
Dionne Farris has performed and recorded the likes of hip-hop, pop, soul, gospel, and modern R&B and now adds jazz to her repertoire. Born in the land of the funk, (Plainfield, New Jersey), she grew up listening to everything from P-Funk to the song styling’s of the great jazz singers, (the latter influenced by her maternal grandparents), and with all that stirring inside, it was bound to show up at some point in her musical DNA.

A certified member of the hip-hop generation by age and geography (the hardcore ghetto of East St. Louis), Russell Gunn’s early aspirations in the world of rap music took precedence over the trumpet that he began playing in fourth grade. When he reached sixteen, the deadline he set for his hip-hop career to take off, his dedication to the art of jazz took shape.

When GRAMMY®-winning vocalist Dionne Farris and GRAMMY®-nominated trumpeter Russell Gunn, took the stage at the Atlanta jazz club Churchill Grounds on Oct. 12th & 13th, 2012’, the assemblage of music lovers that gathered to see them didn’t exactly know what they were in store for. The redefining of Farris’s music by Gunn on her new project, “Dionne Get Your Gunn: Featuring the Russell Gunn Quartet” is a complete departure from her last release, (2011) Lady Dy The Mixtape Part 1. Russell’s arrangement of Dionne’s #1 pop hit “I Know,” on DGYG is done in 5/4 time signature, which never misses a beat and neither does Farris, in her sticking of new landings for the song.

Dionne and Russell have embarked on a musical journey that will lift them higher along with inspiring those that support them.
Four interesting facts about Dionne Farris:
Her new CD, “Dionne Get Your Gunn: Featuring the Russell Gunn Quartet” will be available exclusively at the Yoshi’s San Francisco show.
She was a member of the conscious hip-hop group, Arrested Development, in the nineties.
She said that she cannot leave the building without preforming her signature tune, “Hopeless.” Farris and Gunn will put their own spin on the song at Yoshi’s San Francisco.
Iconic rapper Tupac Shakur said that Dionne Farris’ music comforted him during his incarceration.
 Visit Dionne Farris:
Like her on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Dionne-Farris/17902143117?fref=ts
Visit Russell Gunn:
Like him on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Russell-Gunn/107820329240504?nr

Wednesday, February 20, 2013





Black History Month Exclusive- Grammy Winning Vocalist Cassandra Wilson Live at Yoshi’s Jazz Club, San Francisco, Feb. 21-23
Who: Cassandra Wilson
Thursday, Feb 21 - Saturday, Feb 23 8pm and 10pm
Where: Yoshi’s Jazz Club, San Francisco,

Photo and Bio Courtesy of Ojah Media Group

Cassandra Wilson is a jazz musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Described by critic Gary Giddins as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack who has expanded the playing field" by incorporating blues, country and folk music into her work. She began playing piano at six, guitar by the age of twelve and was working as a vocalist by the mid-'70s, singing a wide variety of material. After moving to New York City in the early 80’s, Cassandra met saxophonist Steve Coleman and became one of the founding members of the M-Base Collective. She signed with Blue Note Records in 1992 and released a landmark album titled “Blue Light ‘Til Dawn” which would pave the way for a new generation of jazz singers seeking an approach and repertoire that challenges the supremacy of the American Standard songbook. Wilson has continued interpreting in fresh and creative ways vintage blues, country and folk music up until the present day. Her awards include: two Grammys (including one for her 1995 masterpiece, “New Moon Daughter”), the Django D’Or, The Edison Music Award, a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail, and the 2012 Echo Award for Jazz. She also performed one of the leading roles in Wynton Marsalis' "Blood on the Fields," the first jazz work to receive a Pulitzer Prize.
Cassandra Wilson Discography:
Point of View (1986, JMT)
Days Aweigh (1987, JMT)
Blue Skies (1988, JMT)
Jumpworld (1989, JMT)
She Who Weeps (1990, JMT)
Live (1991, JMT)
After the Beginning Again (1992, JMT)
Dance to the Drums Again (1992, DIW/Columbia)
Blue Light 'Til Dawn (1993, Blue Note)
New Moon Daughter (1995, Blue Note)
Rendezvous (with Jacky Terrasson) (1998, Blue Note)
Traveling Miles (1999, Blue Note)
Belly of the Sun (2002, Blue Note)
Glamoured (2003, Blue Note)
Thunderbird (2006, Blue Note)
Loverly (2008, Blue Note)
Silver Pony (2010, Blue Note)
Another Country (June 2012)
Like Cassandra Wilson on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cassandra-Wilson/361569243871752?sk=wall

Friday, February 1, 2013

Mike Phillips



I love the sound of a Saxophone. Mike Phillips plays the Sax so brilliantly. Mike Phillips is a talented and underrated Jazz Saxophonist. Mike Phillips has put out some amazing CD’s. His debut CD “You Reached Mike Phillips” shows his gifted sax playing and energy, it is so powerful. Mike keeps getting better. His second album “Uncommon Denominator” makes you want to take along drive or sit back and listen to this remarkable ability. Mike Phillips just keeps bringing his incredible talent to his fans. His third album “M.P.3” is a mixture of Jazz, Hip Hop and R&B. This CD has something for all musical taste. What I like about Mike Phillips is how he keeps his music fresh, it doesn’t sound the same. I don’t understand why Mike Phillips is not as popular as a Boney James. I think he sounds better. Listen to songs from Mike Phillips on Streetwise Radio. Also listen to Streetwise Radio on Pandora, iTunes, MyGen365, Athena365 and Live365.
LM