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Guitar G-Force
TOURING PACKAGE FEATURING TIM BOWMAN, NILS & STEVE OLIVER
You know their music! It’s Guitar G-Force, the hottest new touring package on the smooth jazz scene featuring a trio of guitar masters with over 30 combined Top 20 radio hits!
Together, these 3 artists have multiple #1 chart hits at contemporary jazz radio, over 14 MILLION plays on Spotify with 128,000 monthly listeners, and countless national club, festival and international dates on their resume.
Tim Bowman
Renowned, chart-topping guitarist Tim Bowman has a way of making melding smooth jazz, gospel, soul and blues seem effortless as evidenced throughout his more than 30 years in music, including his 2017, seventh studio album, Into the Blue, on I.M. Records / Purpose Jazz. The Detroit native, who grew up playing guitar in church, attended the College of Creative Studies, and served as the musical director for gospel luminaries the Winans before embarking on his solo career in 1987, continues to carve a niche for himself.
NILS
One of contemporary jazz’s most well known and revered musicians, who for nearly 20 years as a solo artist has been a force to be reckoned with, achieving major accolades along the way, most notably from Billboard, scoring the esteemed chart’s “song of the decade” 2000-2010 with Pacific Coast Highway”, song of the year in 2011 with “Jump Start” and over 15 top 20 radio hits.
Steve Oliver
Steve’s career is one that has produced multiple #1 hits on the Billboard charts and countless radio staples over nearly two decades. He’s been a touring member of Acoustic Alchemy, has played countless club dates and festivals worldwide, and has written hits for other smooth jazz stars including Brian Simpson and Paul Taylor.
EPK available at: www.jazzygirlentertainment.com/guitar-gforce
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6:30pm
Sax player/vocalist and songwriter Paula Atherton has shared the stage with such contemporary jazz notables as The Rippingtons, Nick Colionne, Chuck Loeb, Cindy Bradley, Gail Jhonson, Karen Briggs, Althea Renee, Matt Marshak, Four80East, David Sanborn, Bob James, Marc Antoine, Hiroshima, Gerald Albright and Chieli Minucci. Paula has also worked in the traditional jazz field; one of the notable performances being a week long engagement at the Blue Note NYC with pianist and jazz legend, Hank Jones. . Paula also performed with Grammy award winning singer Dee Dee Bridgewater at the Annenberg Theater, for the Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Festival.
Paula’s 3rd CD, “Enjoy the Ride,” had 2 Billboard charting singles. The first penned and co-produced by Nick Colionne, entitled, “Sassy Strut,” reached #15 on Billboard, and was on the chart for 15 weeks. The second was the Herbie Mann influenced flute feature entitled, “Herbie,” which reached #22 and was on Billboard for 7 weeks.
Paula released her 4th CD titled, “Ear Candy” on February 17th, 2015 on the Kalimba Music label, owned by Earth, Wind and Fire. Special guests include Nick Colionne, Cindy Bradley, and Gail Jhonson, The single “Between You & Me” , featuring Cindy Bradley on trumpet, reached #21 on Billboard. Some tour dates include Jazz at Jack’s in Denver, Discover jazz Series Detroit, Spaghettini’s in Seal Beach, CA, Jazz in the Park in Birmingham, AL, Idlewild Music Fest MI, Smooth Jazz Festival in Atlanta, Suite Jazz series in Atlanta, Gallery Suite Jazz series in Lansing, Palm Springs Women’s Jazz Fest in CA, Las Vegas Jazz Festival, Capital Jazz fest and Low Country Jazz fest with Jazz in Pink, Smooth Jazz at Sunset in MI (opening for Marc Antoine), Southern Tier Jazz festival in Elmira (opening for Rick Braun), the 3rd annual Women’s Jazz festival in Huntsville, AL, and the New Brunswick Jazz Fest in NJ.
Her television work includes appearances on the Today show, Good Morning America, and Rachel Ray, with Michael Bolton, Paula also wrote the score for the independent film ‘The Definition of Insanity’. Paula released her 5th CD, “Shake It” on Feb 16th, 2018. It has many special guests, including Cindy Bradley (trumpet),, Nick Colionne (guitar), Bill Heller (keys) from the Rippingtons, Dave Delhomme (Keys) from the Tonight show band with Ricky Minor and American Idol, Schuyler Deale (bass, co-producer) who performed with Jeff Lorber, among many other great guest artists! The first single, “My Song For You,” written and produced by Nick Colionne, reached #6 on Mediabase, #12 on the Smooth Jazz Network, and #16 on Billboard, and was on Billboard for 12 weeks. Paula was featured on Cindy Bradley’s new single on Trippin’ ‘N’ Rhythm entitled, “Girl Talk.” It reached #2 on Billboard Oct 2017.
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3:30pm
Deon Yates began his solo career in 2009 when he competed against up and coming contemporary jazz artists from all over the United States at the Capital Jazz Challenge in Columbia, MD. Although he did not win the competition, he was named runner-up. This gave him the drive and determination to pursue his solo career further.
With the exposure garnered from the competition and being called on-stage to perform with Rick Braun and Richard Elliot at the Capital Jazz Festival, Deon sparked the interest of U.S. Music Enterprises, LLC. They asked Deon if they could feature his song, “Freeway,” on their “Jazz Infusion – Session 1” compilation album. The project was released on May 23, 2010, and marked the first time Deon’s music went international.
Deon spent the next couple of years performing and honing his craft. Thanks to his performances at the Capital Jazz Festival, Deon became a regular fixture with the house band on the Capital Jazz Super Cruise. With that experience and exposure, you could often find Deon on stage with artists like Nick Colionne, Paul Brown, Lin Roundtree, Marion Meadows and Marc Antoine to name a few.
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2:00pm
Tenth World is a group formed by Kevin Jones and pianist/composer, Kelvin Sholar through a partnership created back in 1999 in New York City. Together Jones and Sholar formed a collective of young talented master musicians on the cusp of realizing a new and creative sound that combined the harmonic sensibilities of Jazz and Soul with the rhythms of the African Diaspora. The nucleus of Tenth World formed around Kelvin Sholar’s group Esoterica which was a quartet. Other members were added; Saxophonist Brian Horton, Drummer Jaimeo Brown, Trumpeter Kevin Louis and both Bassists Damon Warmack out of Detroit and Joshua David Barrett out of New Jersey worked interchangeably.
Jones and Sholar’s first attempt at recording a project was a project called Land Of Eternal Tranquil Light which proved to be a bit too eclectic spanning to wide a variety of genres. Their next recording project was entitled “Tenth World” which was picked up by Motema Music (For more info: www.motema.com/artists/kevin-jones ) and produced by percussionist Babatunde Lea and Kelvin Sholar. This recording went on to be widely acclaimed and proved to be a seminal sound of the label and stands as a monument to the compositional and musicianship of the members. Included on that album were George Makinto; formerly Miriam Makeba’s musical director on flute, piano and percussion and acclaimed percussionist Luisito Quintero who both would join the band at different intervals during their tenure.
A second album was recorded called, “Tenth World Live” which drew even more acclaim for the group. During 2007 and 2008 many of the members left New York to pursue individual goals. Kelvin moved to Berlin, Germany where he now lives, Kevin Louis went back to his home town of New Orleans where he teaches, Brian Horton is now ready to receive his Doctorate in Music out of the University of North Texas and Jaimeo Brown has his own successful trio which is called “Transcendence”, Josh David Barrett has his own band called Judah Tribe and also plays with the Wailers.
More recently Kevin has relocated to Michigan and reformed this group with a variety of musicians both local and from afar. They have done a variety gigs from private functions to a few local specialty events such as The Loving Day Festival, The Lansing Jazz Festival, The Detroit Jazz Festival, Disability Advocates of Kent County Gala, GrandJazz Festival, Jazz In The Park and a host of clubs throughout the Midwest as well both East Coast and West Coast. The band is able to cross genres of music from traditional Jazz and R&B to Traditonal Latin, Rock and other forms of World Music.
The band is now set to record a forth album as the members have agreed to come together to break new ground. Some of the material for this album is already recorded they plan to finish this album in the coming months.
Other talented musicians that have played with Tenth World:
Babatunde Lea, Rudy Walker, Talib Kibwe, Vince Ector, Luisito Quintero, Anderson Quintero, Carlos “Nene” Quintero, Ozzie Simmonds, Chuck McPherson, Justin Robinson, Leo Blanco, Benito Gonzalez, Elio Villafranca, John Benitez, Patrick Rickman, Willie Martinez, Zen Zadravec,Teodross Avery, Marvin “Bugalu” Smith, Yayoi Ikawa, Rafael Alcala, Talib Kibwe, Alex Hernandez, Tony Cintron, James Zollar and Jerard Snell
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12:30pm
In keeping with tradition, GRandJazzFest will open its eighth annual festival on Saturday, Aug. 17, with the Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra featuring vocalist Edye Evans Hyde.
For over 40 years, The Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra has been one of Michigan’s premier jazz ensembles, featuring some of the finest musicians in the area playing swinging original compositions and arrangements as well as traditional favorites.
The musicians that create the live sounds are some of the area’s best soloists, sidemen, and educators available. Many have jazz projects of their own, yet dedicate time to fostering the performance of live big band jazz.
The band was founded in 1976 by the late Bruce Early, and has performed with many famous artists such as Clark Terry, Louis Bellson, Phil Woods, Pearl Bailey, Kenny Wheeler, Randy Brecker, Maria Schneider, Allen Vizutti, Phil Wilson, Bobby Shew, and has been enjoyed by thousands of people at concerts, dances, and festivals throughout the region.
Recognized as the 2011 West Michigan Jazz Society Musician of the Year, Edye Evans Hyde has been singing jazz, blues and pop music for more than 30 years in West Michigan, Los Angeles, Asia and Europe.
The GRJO performs for shows, concerts and private events and can be heard at Founder’s Brewery the 1st Sunday of every month.
Visit the website GRJO.com for more information on live streaming, performances, and CD’s.
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5:00pm
Bryan Lubeck’s fiery Spanish guitar and smooth urban grooves made him a Billboard Magazine critic’s choice in 2006 and since then he has become a regular on contemporary instrumental stations around the world. The Sirius/XM plays of his Christmas songs make him one of the top 20 artist played each holiday season. Averaging well over 30,000 listeners a month on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Play and Google, he is also proving very popular in the streaming services. Tuscan Sky – his most recent work – spent more than 14 weeks on the various adult contemporary instrumental charts with 4 songs getting regular radio play from the album which features five Grammy winners. His live shows are equally popular, performing 2 act shows with Mindi Abair, Rick Braun, Richard Elliot, Brian Culbertson, Euge Groove, Craig Chaquico and more. Bryan will once again be providing the family guitar tent at GRandJazzFest 2019.
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4:00pm
The GR All Stars is a high energy jazz group consisting of some of Grand Rapids most accomplished jazz musicians. Led by Chicago transplant, saxophonist Mike Frost the band also features Isaac Norris, Steve Talaga, Mike Hyde, Fred Knapp, Da Veonce Washington and Edye Evans Hyde. Each one of these musicians have stellar careers on their own including recordings that received national and international
recognition. They all have traveled the country and in some cases the world playing at jazz clubs and festivals. The one thing they all have in common is living in Grand Rapids, Michigan and a love of jazz music. The unique talents of each of these individuals will surely make for a memorable performance!
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1:00pm
You might notice of something different at an organissimo performance. The audience isn’t the typical homogenous “jazz” audience. You’ll see a healthy mix of people from all walks of life; young and old, black and white, from hippies to corporate professionals and everything in between. organissimo’s music skirts over fences and satisfies a diverse range of tastes. You’re as likely to see people dancing as a group of folks intently listening.
As American cultural critic Elvis Mitchell wrote after witnessing a show at Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, “The group’s toned, muscular playing keeps the crowd rapt, a condition noticeable by the fact that almost no one is talking.”
organissimo formed in November of 2000 with the goal of bringing jazz back to the people. organissimo’s sound is instantly identifiable yet constantly evolving, infusing elements of funk, gospel, blues, progressive rock, and Latin rhythms into a solid foundation of jazz. Shifting meters, deep grooves, melodic finesse and tight ensemble interplay are hallmarks of the organissimo sound.
organissimo’s music has received numerous awards. The latest CD, Dedicated, released in January of 2013, hit #5 on the JazzWeek charts and stayed in the Top 10 for 8 weeks. It hit #1 on the CMJ jazz charts and was named one of the Top 10 CDs of 2013. It received airplay on over 200 stations including Comcast’s MusicChoice and XM/Sirius Radio.
organissimo’s album, Groovadelphia, topped the CMJ Jazz Charts for three weeks at #1 and stayed in the JazzWeek Top 50 for 14 weeks, peaking at #22. It won two WYCE Jammie Awards for Best Jazz Album and Best Song and was also named one of the Best Releases of 2008 by WVPE, KJAZZ, CKCU-FM, and Jim Wilke’s Jazz After Hours program, syndicated on over 60 NPR stations nationwide. It is also nominated for a Detroit Music Award.
organissimo’s sophomore album, “This Is The Place“, hit #19 on the JazzWeek charts and a solid #4 on the CMJ charts. It also won two WYCE 2006 Jammie Awards for Best Jazz Album and Album of the Year , and was nominated for 2005 Detroit Music Award. Like its predecessor, it was named one of the Best Releases of 2005 by Jim Wilke ‘s Jazz After Hoursprogram in Seattle, WHRV in Virginia Beach, WBEZ in Chicago, WVIA-FM in Pittston PA, WBLVBlue Lake Public Radio, WLNZ in Lansing, WEMU in Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, KXJS in Sacramento, and WYCE in Grand Rapids, Jazz 90.1 in Rochester NY, Real Detroit Weekly Magazine , the Detroit MetroTimes and the Lansing City Pulse. NPR also featured the CD as a part of its Open Mic series.
The group also won a WYCE Jammy award for Best Jazz Album for their debut CD “Waiting For The Boogaloo Sisters…” (which features prominent New York saxophonist Ron Blake ). The CD was also named one of the Best Releases of 2003 by Jim Wilke’s Jazz After Hoursprogram, syndicated on over 60 NPR stations nationwide.
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2:30pm
Formed in August 2003 by reedman Paul VornHagen and conguero Alberto Nacif, this exciting Cuban jazz combo has released four critically acclaimed Cds of mostly original compositions that have been featured on all the major jazz public radio stations throughout the U.S.
Winner of the 2005, 2007 & 2013 Detroit Music Awards for Best Jazz Recording and Best World Music Band, this combo has performed at all the major Michigan jazz/music festivals including Detroit, Michigan, Lansing, Birmingham, Raisin River, Great Lakes Folkfest , Blissfest, Wheatland Dance and Ann Arbor to name a few. The title cut of their 2009 Cd was used as a soundtrack for the USA Network TV show, Burn Notice. In June 2012, the band released their 4th Cd, Casa Versailles, which was featured on the #1 syndicated jazz radio program, Jazz After Hours w/Jim Wilke as well as many NPR programs nationwide. Casa Versailles won the 2013 Detroit Music Award for World Music CD.
All band members have won or been nominated for individual Detroit Music Awards as well teach at U of Michigan, Washtenaw CC, Jazz Camps and music studios. Their library program, The Rhythms of Cuba, has been presented at over 15 public libraries throughout southeastern Michigan. Other music performance venues include Chicago, Toledo, OH, Windsor, CAN and Oklahoma.
Current band members include Paul Vornhagen (Sax/flute/piccolo/percussion), Alberto Nacif (congas), Olman Piedra (timbales/congas), Jonathan Ovalle (timbales), Pat Prouty (bass), Paul Finkbeiner (trumpet) and Brian DiBlassio (piano).
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5:30pm
Urban Jazz Coalition has been one of the hottest live performance ensembles on the contemporary jazz scene for many years now and 2019 marks the celebration of this ground breaking band’s 24th Anniversary as a performing group!!
UJC has electrified audiences over the years performing their unique and energetic blend of R&B/Jazz at many prominent festivals and concert venues around the world, including multiple appearances at The Seabreeze Jazz Festival, Capital Jazz Fest and Capital Jazz Supercruise, Jazz Fest West, Russian River Jazz Festival, Boscov/Berks Jazz Festival, Jazz On The Vine, Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival, and The Catalina Island Jazz Festival.
Jazz columnist Brian Soergel described the UJC sound as “flush with rhythmic grooves, funky bass lines, and beautiful melodies”. The band has made a strong impression at Smooth/Groove jazz radio by achieving “Top 30” status on multiple jazz charts during their career. The “One Step Closer” project generated two “Top 30” singles and was honored by the Groove Jazz Music Chart as one of the “Top 100 Records of 2014”. UJC’s 2017 release “XXII” garnered the band’s first ever “Top 10” single, with more music from the project currently moving up the charts.
UJC’s music has also been featured on network television, international film soundtracks, as well as national advertising campaigns, and as part of an eclectic Gospel/Jazz compilation project released by Universal Records.
UJC has certainly earned notoriety as a self contained group, but they have also become highly in-demand as side men in the smooth jazz genre, having performed as the backing band for many top contemporary jazz artists including Grammy Award Winners Norman Brown & Jeff Lorber, as well as Nick Colionne, Marion Meadows, Paul Taylor, Chuck Loeb, Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters, Brian Simpson, Althea Rene’, and many more top contemporary jazz artists.
When asked why this group has generated so much excitement in smooth jazz circles, former Radio & Records chart columnist Carol Archer was quoted as follows…
“A lot of artists aspire to sound as tight and as funky as The Urban Jazz Coalition,
But these gentlemen really do pull it off…”
With the success of their previous CD projects, and a reputation for presenting one of the hottest stage shows in smooth jazz, UJC continues to gain momentum as they kick off the 2019 touring season and ride the momentum created by their 11th CD…
Urban Jazz Coalition XXII
You won’t want to miss an opportunity to hear the group that everyone is talking about…Urban Jazz Coalition! Please visit our website at www.urbanjazzcoalition.net.