WHITE PLAINS --- The "Local, Live, Original" CD release
party is coming to "Vintage" in downtown White Plains, Friday, April 22,
at 10:30 pm. Featured artists include Gil Parris, KJ Denhert and Natalia
Zukerman, all of whom live locally and perform their own original music.
Organized by DTG Productions of Cortlandt Manor, the event highlights exceptional
talent on the Westchester
music scene.
The event also celebrates the release by DTG Presents new CD entitled Local,
Live, Original, Vol I. , containing
some of the best original music that
this area has to offer. The CD, which is free and will be distributed
throughout
Westchester through music stores, independent shops and venues, highlights
the subtle style of
singer songwriters, as well as the intricacy of jazz
and the hard hitting groove of funk rock.
"There is really something for
everyone" says Andrea Bloome
"We're determined to showcase artists who live in the area but aren't heard
often enough," says DTG's
Leslie Bloome. "This area is rich with great musicians
who are making names for themselves across the
country. DTG is proud to be
bringing them home in this first of a series of "Local, Live, Original" musical
events and recordings."
Guitarist Gil Parris is very comfortable in many musical idioms. Gil attended
Berklee College of Music on a
Jazz Masters scholarship and toured Europe
for three months with "Jesus Christ Superstar." He has
performed and recorded
with Billy Vera, Bill Doggett, Dr. John, David Mann, and Toni Braxton, to
name but a
few. His critically acclaimed 1998 solo CD, "Gil Parris," featured
guests such as Dave Sanborn, Bob James
and Harvey Mason. Sax, piano and pedal
steel players influence his playing, which gives him a very unique
and fresh
style. His creative solo arrangement of "Pop Goes the Weasel" garnered him
a Grammy nomination
in 2001 for Best Folk CD. Currently, Parris can be found
on tour with rising sax star, David Mann
(Tower of Power). They recently
appeared together on NBC's "The Today Show", which was followed by
a sold
out performance at Jack Rose in New York City.
KJ Denhert calls her music urban folk and jazz, though it is rooted in funk
and R & B. "The jazz," she
explains, "comes from people's perceptions
of my guitar voicing and the structure of the tunes
themselves…". KJ and
her band, The NY Unit, a group of musicians with rock-solid credentials,
have a
regular standing room only gig at The 55 Bar in NY's West Village.
KJ has also performed in such legendary
rooms as The Bitter End, The Bottom
Line, Fez and The Living Room. She has opened for such greats as
Roberta
Flack and Loudon Wainwright. She appeared at The Bottom Line's prestigious
Nightbird series, and
headlined for a 6-day stint at the Blue Note in Las
Vegas. The song "Violet," from Girl Like Me, has secured
KJ a 2003 Independent
Music Award and a 2004 Out Music Award nomination for singer/songwriter of
the
year.
Natalia Zukerman's distinctive style has been described in
Velvet Park Magazine as having "jazzy flourishes,
while nevertheless tipping
her pick to the blues with her smoky slide guitar and sweetly seductive
come-hither
vocals." The daughter of classical musicians Eugenia and Pinchas Zukerman,
Natalia grew up in
New York City surrounded by both classical and jazz music.
Natalia has performed at numerous festivals
across the country and in Canada
and has been touring relentlessly in suppor t of her second album,
"On A
Clear Day" since its release in November 2003. Says Andy Friedman of City
Salvage Records,
"Her bright vocals can send an orchid into bloom, while
her delta-slide guitar can open a beer bottle with its
teeth." From jazz,
to blues, to folk, to pop, there's a little of something for everyone in
Zukerman's music.
"Vintage" is located at 171 Main Street, across from the Galleria in White
Plains. There is a $5
coverage
charge for the event, which promises to be
a night to remember for all those who attend.
