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RAD.
Tracks 1. Make Every Second Count |
GREAT MUSIC HAPPENS LIVE! A natural entertainer as much as a fierce instrumentalist, rad. commands the stage from the very first minute of her show. And so the intro of "Make Every Second Count" instantly grabs our attention and leaves no doubt that we'll be in on something special. rad. has shared stages with some of the biggest names in music (incl. Prince, Sheila E. & Maceo Parker) and toured as a solo artist for over 15 years. She boasts a stage presence to prove it. Certainly the first ingredient to this Live CD is rhythm. The mean grooves and intricate interplay that rad. and her band weave through night after night lure listeners in effortlessly. But everything rad. does also begins with feeling, creating an experience that is truly personal beyond its artistic offering. To rad., music is about connection. "With jazz chops, it's easy to start showing off, showing how fast you can play, how high you can jump," she says. "Sure I strive to be a fit musician, but I never try to be all things, to play all styles just to show I can. I only want to be true to my emotions and sincere in my passion, even if it means messing up a phrase or singing off tune. I want to capture the best feeling that music can bring no matter what we're throwing down. Hopefully, what I channel outwardly will be received inwardly by someone, anyone. That's key to performing." Key is also originality. She knows how to create something unique and different and still make it resonate with the entire audience. She takes a tune as well known as James Brown's "I Got You" and twists the groove so it becomes her very own, very East Bay version of this classic. "I'm not a faux vintage piece you find at a chain store. As a person, - born in the P.I., having grown up in Oakland and come of age in Europe, - I feel beyond categorization, and that's the same for my music. I want to excite people and get them on their feet, show them my aggressive and soft sides, all the while challenging their conventions so that they will go home thinking about what they just experienced." This is band groove improvisation at its best. It's a heavy "tune in" session where everyone contributes their piece to the puzzle. And the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle come together to a perfect fit in the interaction between the musicians in rad.'s band. The band on this "Live in Japan" Album is like family and the deep friendships and genuine good times these musicians share on the road resonate in their live performance: Saxophonist Eric Leeds is best known for his extensive work for Prince in the 80's & 90's. He also headed Prince project Madhouse, besides playing at times in James Brown's and George Clinton's bands. He first shared a stage with rad. in 2001. Guitarist Ray Obiedo has a large body of work as a solo instrumentalist mainly for Windham Hill Records, a lot of which is Latin influenced. A contributor to the rad. project for some 15 years, he connects here with his funkier roots, indoctrinating rad. into the list of prominent keyboard players he has supported in the past including Johnny Hammond, Herbie Hancock and George Duke. Bassist Marc van Wageningen is considered rad.'s secret weapon. With the musical personality of a gentle Tsunami, he literally sweeps listeners off their feet. He has played with rad. for over 10 years and played in the past for Sheila E., Tower of Power and the Pete Escovedo Orchestra. Marc breathes the East Bay style finger funk as much as the tumbao and is a virtuosic soloist. Drummer Billy Johnson brings a well of experience to the mix: from Frankie Beverly & Maze and Carlos Santana to Booker T. Jones and The Original Family Stone - nobody wants to be without Billy's groove. His unconditional love for POCKET has brought about more than one hit. His playing and personality proved to be a natural match for rad. when he joined the band at the start of 2007, taking over the drum seat from Tower of Power's David Garibaldi. As much at home in Funk music as they are at in Latin and Jazz, all members in rad.'s band share a large common vocabulary to draw on. And it's the conversations they spin out of poly rhythm and melody that make a rad. show convincingly stand out. And this is why from Tokyo to Paris rad. is regarded as one of the principal protagonists of today's Jazz-Funk scene. Throughout her show, rad. never loses the audience, never allows them to drift or shift their focus. She's determined to have everyone in the room walk away with that "you had to be there" experience. It is this confidence, charm and humility that casts a spell long after the last note has been played, and after the last groove has been spent. The CD rad. - Live in Japan embodies all of these aspects. If you can't physically get to one of rad.'s concerts around the world, playing this CD is certainly the next best thing. "Catch the concert and enrich your existence" (Echoes Magazine, London May/07 - Jazz Cafe "Gig of the month") |
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