Tag: Soulmine

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Artists Worth Checking Out Get it or Forget it Reviews Women in Entertainment

Get it or forget it – S U M, The Venus Fly Trap, Teddy Glass, Frank Gambale Soulmine, David Lumsden and Friends

As the period for consideration for the LA Music Critic Awards for the second half of 2018 draws to a close, it is getting pretty hectic here as we try to complete reviews for all the submissions.  We’ve got five more for your consideration today, and hope you enjoy checking out new music with us.  If you do, please subscribe to our blog, like us on Facebook, and tell your friends.

Artist Name:  S U M

Album Name:  S U M

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Jazz/Pop/Soul/Funk

Track Listing:  1.  Welcome to SUM; 2.  Power Anthem; 3.  Last Prayer for a Change; 4.  It’s Alright to be Me; 5.  Test the Waters; 6.  Free Style (Interlude); 7.  Sinking Sand; 8.  Funk Hip Nasty; 9.  It’s Alright to be Me (Reprise)

Publicist:  EMPKT PR

Review:  S U M (pronounced SOOM) is a new collective of musicians created by Steve Belvilus, with lead vocals by Patryce Williams.  They combine the best of jazz, pop, soul and funk to create their own brand of awesome, making their sound available to the vast world of indie music lovers through a style of jazz that is more personal and which promotes freedom of self.  Just one listen to the introductory tune “Welcome to S U M” and it will become quickly evident that this is not your mama’s jazz.  This is jazz that makes you want to dance, expand your mind with the cultural excellence that is jazz and to simply enjoy the moment while these incredible rhythms and harmonies take hold of your ears and mind.  Take this one in again and again.  It will definitely improve your self-image.

Recommendation:  Definitely Get this one!

Artist Name:  The Venus Fly Trap

Album Name:  Icon

Label:  Glass Modern Records

Genre:  Electronic

Track Listing:  1.  Icon; 2.  Vitesse; 3.  Voodoo Voodo; 4.  Flashback; 5.  Deadly Nightshade; 6.  The Genesis of the Daleks; 8.  Puppet; 9.  In the Moonlight

Publicist:  Shameless Promotion PR

Review:  Finally, an indie band for nerds, that is lovers of British pop cultural icons like Doctor Who.  This electronic outfit uses sound clips from BBC shows to create music that will stimulate your brain as you try to remember which episode the clip comes from.  It is truly different from any other UK band we have previously reviewed.  “Vitesse” sounds like it is sung by Rocky Horror’s Riff Raff as a segue from “Time Warp.”  This one will keep you on your toes and make you yearn for the dance floor.

Recommendation:  Definitely check it out.

Artist Name:  Teddy Glass

Album Name:  Nights and Weekends

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Pop/Soul

Track Listing:  1.  Lean On; 2.  Genevieve; 3.  Nights and Weekends; 4.  Stereo Field; 5.  Doveskin; 6.  Grindin’ It; 7.  Carrion; 8.  Rich Kid

Publicist:  Noisy Ghost PR

Review:  The music of Teddy Glass is a combination of southern smoothness and charm with Detroit soul, resulting in a form of music that is sonically soothing while also being stimulating to your dance sensors.  It is feel good music that goes well with comfort foods, balancing out your life and separating you from the cares of this world.  All eight songs are fun and worthy of your attention, but we think you will be playing the title cut and “Stereo Field” over and over again.

Recommendation:  This one is worth it – Get it today!

Artist Name:  Frank Gambale Soulmine

Album Name:  Salve

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Jazz

Track Listing:  1.  My Soulmine; 2.  Fear of Flyin’; 3.  Checked Out; 4.  Love is Always the Answer; 5.  Slipstream Cowboys; 6.  Through the Darkness; 7.  The Day Everything Changed; 8.  Within my Borders; 9.  Let’s Just Talk About It; 10.  Dream Love

Publicist:  Self-promoted

Review:  SNEAK PREVIEW – Twelve years ago when I was writing for Music Connection Magazine, I had the opportunity to review a young artist named Boca.  She impressed me then and she continues to impress since she hooked up with her guitarist husband Frank Gambale to form Soulmine, an amazing jazz collective vocal experience that we simply adore.  With several members on lead vocals, and an amazing array of stellar musicians creating the music, this band is one of the best jazz bands in the world.  They add in a touch of funk and soul and leave the listener with an earful of sonic sweetness that will never be forgotten.  “Slipstream Cowboys” will bring back memories of classic Steely Dan.  Sit back and put this one on repeat while the music melts away the cares of the day.  The album will be available on October 28.

Recommendation:  Run out and Get this one.

Artist Name:  David Lumsden & Friends

Album Name:  Hues of Blues

Label:  Self-released

Genre:  Blues

Track Listing:  1.  You Got to Lose (ft David Lumsden); 2.  Further on up the Road (ft Bill Evans); 3.  You’re Ruining my Bad Reputation (ft Wayne Carter); 4.  Brush with the Blues (ft David Lumsden); 5.  What’s the Matter with the Mill (ft Reggie Britton); 6.  Raised me Right (ft Mary Jo Curry); 7.  On Bended Knee (ft Steve “the Harp” Mehlberg); 8.  Thrill is Gone (ft Wayne Carter); 9.  Cut you Loose (ft Steve “the Harp” Mehlberg); 10.  Rollin’ and Tumblin’ (ft David Lumsden); 11.  Georgia on my Mind (ft Wayne Carter); 12.  Rain Song (ft Andon Davis)

Publicist:  Blind Raccoon

Review:  There are a handful of great blues guitarists, and David Lumsden is definitely one of them.  He has assembled a group of similarly amazing guitarists to create this stellar collection of blues songs that will get you on your feet and in the mood for great music.  You can’t go wrong with any of these songs, and they will satisfy your most severe blues cravings.  Grab yourself a drink and let the sound of David Lumsden and his friends fill the night with some of the best blues jams ever recorded.

Recommendation:  If you love the blues, you owe it to yourself to Get this one.

 

 

Categories
Women in Entertainment

Women in Entertainment: Boca Gambale, jazzy perfection

Our second women in entertainment feature of 2016 focuses on Boca Gambale, Canadian born singer and songwriter, wife of jazz legend Frank Gambale and lead vocalist of the smooth jazz fusion band Soulmine.

I first met this amazing artist almost 20 years ago when I was writing for my first major publication, Music Connection Magazine.  I received an assignment to review a show at The Temple Bar, a legendary LA music venue in Santa Monica.  At the time she was performing with a trio called Boca.  I immediately fell in love with her music and had this to say about the performance:  “Boca has the whole package that includes solid songwriting, looks, voice and killer arrangements. This rising artist has a promising future.”

Boca is the youngest of four children and had a deep desire to play the piano at an early age.  Her father recognized his daughter’s innate talent and found her a private teacher, setting her career path into motion.  From the time she was 10, Boca composed songs that gave voice to her inner-most thoughts and allowed her to explore her innate sense of rhythm.

Life’s negative circumstances fueled Boca’s artistry and her need to escape into the world of music and expression, and she began to sing.   Her strong, confident voice suggested a singer who was much older than 13 and she began to perform professionally at both corporate and public functions like the Young Teens Woman’s Awareness Conference and the CHIN Radio Benefit for the Homeless.  She continued to perform and write with original groups in the Toronto are all through her high school years.  “It gave me the opportunity for self expression and helped me determine my own sound,” explained Boca.

She attended the highly acclaimed Jazz Program at Humber College School of Creative and Performing Arts in Toronto, graduating with high honors.  Although she was initially accepted to study voice and classical theory background, she thrived on studying composition and arrangement and spent her free time performing and recording with the school’s premier 13-piece R&B funk ensemble.   She also began to sing and dance with various authentic Latin jazz groups, performing in many summer festivals, including the Harbourfront Latin Jazz Series in Toronto, the Concert of Colors in Detroit and the Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles, where she displayed her chops comfortably in three to four languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, and African dialects.

Boca feels that songwriting is a direct channel to the heart, that to enter the realm of musical creation is to tap an endless flow of inspiration.   Boca’s songs provide her with an intense experience of catharsis and release.  “It’s a process of osmosis” she explains, “I deal with raw emotion. That’s where the strength and power is.”  Her creative strength lies in her intuitive approach.  When she writes, she allows an emotional propulsion to lead her to the final result.  Each song is imbued with her fiery, yet subtle energy.  “The best compliment someone can give me about my music, is that they feel it,” she says.   Boca blends elements of blues and jazz into an organic , soulful mix.  The sound is accessible and passionate, what she likes to call “a little bit a this, a little bit a that, mixed with a lotta somethin’ somethin’, and then you get me!”

She released her first CD, Edge of the Night in 2005, joining forces with long time friend and Juno Award winning producer Marco Luciani, who co-wrote the song “Overdrive” on the multi-platinum Dirty Dancing.  The CD received rave reviews from both the press and fans, and  her single “Morning, Noon and Night” received steady airplay on smooth jazz stations.  The title track was also chosen as the featured theme song for the documentary Unsung Heroes, and was produced by Antonio Soave (Capistrano Films) and Doug Deluca ( Producer- Jimmy Kimmel Live), with instrumental score by Bruce Miller (composer of the theme song from TV’s Frasier.  She also performed on Canada AM, the Canadian version of Good Morning America.

It was shortly after this that Boca first met Gambale at the renowned Baked Potato jazz venue in Los Angeles.  She began touring with his band in the summer of 2010 throughout Europe, performing to large audiences and delivering memorable shows.   Their first CD together, Frank Gambale Soulmine feat. Boca was released in 2012.

When asked about her work on Soulmine, Boca replied,” Soulmine is a reflection of all the best parts of me.  It is always an enormous pleasure for me to record an album.  To write and record an album with such a phenomenal talent as Frank, and write about life, love and hope . . . is exceeding my expectations of ‘love in action.’   My present life is nothing short of being ‘in dreams awake’”

Boca is currently working on her sophomore solo release, as well as the next Soulmine album with Frank Gambale, set to be released in the summer of 2016.  Upcoming shows include appearances at The Baked Potato and Catalina Bar and Grill in Los Angeles, as well as concerts in Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and China.

For more info about this amazing artist, check her out on Facebook and her soon to be updated website.