So where do I begin?  Well, if you’ve been keeping up with the Jazz Mafia’s travel diaries, you know I have been touring with the Brass, Bows & Beats Hip-Hop Symphony this summer.  Let me tell you, it isn’t always easy being one of half a dozen women on the road with four times as many goofy jazz-jock guys, but I held my own. If I have to give stage fashion advice to one more horn player or jump over rows of seats in a band van to clobber an ornery rapper I may have to pull the Diva Card.  Seriously though, these Jazz Mafia cats are like my family.

Turns out that two musicians in particular, Joe Bagale and Matt Berkeley, truly have become like brothers to me.  That’s why I enlisted them to help me write and produce my debut EP, “The KP EP.”  The three of us move on the same wavelength, and we are all influenced by great pop artists like The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Prince. We definitely wear our influences on our sleeves, and you can hear that in the songs we’ve made together.

Last month while we were on the road in Montreal, I released my first single “Want To” for free on my website www.karynpaige.com. If you haven’t copped your copy yet, stop by for a visit!  It will make you want to dance like you’re in a sweaty nightclub in Paisley Park.  Last time I checked it had been downloaded over 500 times, so somebody out there must like it!

The new EP, which will only be available on my website, also features my Jazz Mafia sister, Aima the Dreamer, and my dear friend, Steve Bradley, whom you may have seen playing trumpet with No Doubt (as well as Joe Bagale).  The whole journey this past year to finish “The KP EP” has been a labor of love, indeed, and I feel blessed to have created it with such close loved ones.

Now that we are winding down our Brass, Bows & Beats summer tour, I can’t wait to fall into Autumn 2010 and share “The KP EP” with you.  If it weren’t for my Jazz Mafia family, it would never have seen the light of day.

So without further ado, head over to my website www.karynpaige.com on Tuesday, August 31st to buy “The KP EP” and support this little tomboy-in-a-skirt, also known as Karyn Paige.

xoxo,

KP

This evening the band was honored to have Peter Apfelbaum join them on sax. He has a nice duet with Joe on the second half of the video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Shotgun Wedding Quintet has a new album coming out in late 2010/early 2011. Currently you can get their self-titled debut at jazzmafia.com.

Camera – Steve Reddell

While her performances with Brass, Bows and Beats and various Jazz Mafia bands have garnered her acclaim and notoriety, it is the release of her first solo project, ‘The KP EP‘, that has her the most excited. ”People will get a chance to hear me as a solo artist singing on my own terms,” states the vocalist.  ”Up until now I’ve mostly been known as a backup singer, but now I’m in the forefront.” The 5-song EP will be released digitally on August 31st, 2010 and includes a variety of material ranging from up-tempo, funk pop songs to low-key, ambient ballads.

Produced by Joe Bagale, Matt Berkeley and KP herself, the EP’s mood ebbs and flows smoothly with songs like “Big Top“, a toe-tapping, horn-laden tune about life, to the booty shakin’, melodic sounds of “I Still Wanna Believe”. “Feel Alright, Be Alright” is a smooth, mellow, mid-tempo track featuring fellow Bay Area vocalist Aima the Dreamer (The Mamaz) performing a powerful spoken-word performance. The song also features co-writing by Steve Bradley (No Doubt) who also lends backup vocals to the tune. The EP’s first single, “Want To” makes you want to dance with unbridled passion, fueled by the song’s driving beat and unbelievably catchy hook. Rounding out ‘The KP EP’ is the moody vibe of “Stay Away Tonight“, another  solid track full of Karyn Paige’s sultry and smooth vocals and the refined production of Joe Bagale and Matt Berkeley.

With the release of her first solo project Karyn realizes a dream she’s had since she first started singing, “It’s exciting, and I can’t wait for everyone to hear what’s been in my head for such a long time.“

The EP will be available at her website, www.KarynPaige.com on August 31st.

I started Saturday warming up and practicing parts for the band I was playing with at noon. I’d never played with John Ellis and Double Wide before and the music is not easy, so I set my alarm for 7:30 a.m. and started warming up the old trombone. Left the house at 9:30 for soundcheck with John and the band which includes Brian Coogan on drums, Derek Phillips on drums and the absolutely incredible Matt Perrine on Sousaphone. John Ellis, the sax player and bandleader is one of the baddest sax players out there because he has a full balance of the soulful New Orleans sound and is a shredding jazzer at the same time. His music is the same way, the perfect combination of both sides of Jazz. I had a great time waking up/playing with them on the mainstage and it was an honor to be asked to jump in like that with no rehearsal. I’m glad I can still read sheet music! I’d have to say that the Sousaphone player, Matt, is one of the most amazing freaks of tuba playing I’ve ever heard. He can play anything on that beastly instrument. My jaw had dropped in amazement most of the time I was listening to him.

After John’s smokin’ set we hung out with Maceo Parker who was on after us – very cool dudes. I only got to see their first song but it was big, loud and full throttle – Definitely “Festival Funk” as I call it but they sounded really tight and the horns were on fire.

Next I had a set with our very own Crystal Monee Hall at 3pm. I was glad that even though she was booked on the Blues Stage she still kept the set eclectic, dynamic and full of different ways of featuring her amazing voice, her songs and her band. Highlights for me included Crystal and Joe doing a cover of Ray Charles’ “Night time is the Right time”…I think that was the crowd favorite too. The band was layin’ it down and we all had a superb time with lots of smiles.

After Crystal’s set we all rushed over to the Rep Theater to set up for the Brass, Bows & Beats show at 6pm. The band before us ended at 5:45 and we were supposed to set up the entire orchestra, mics, monitors and everything and be playing at 6:00…hahaha yeah right! Much to my amazement we were on stage and ready to play at 6:30 which is still an unbelievable feet. Anyway, the set went smooth and it was a nice venue but a little small. The audience was capacity and very energetic and supportive of our eclectic neo-orchestral-jazz explorations.

Next up was Joe Bagale so we made our way over to the “Jazz Beyond” stage to set up and scarf down a quick bite of food with a large crew. By this point everywhere we went people were recognizing us as the Jazz Mafia; this felt nice because we never play San Jose, yet it’s so close to our home. Hopefully we’ll be able to be back down there soon to carry on the momentum we started. Anyway, Joe’s set started out looking like not many folks were gonna be there in the audience but as soon as we started tons of peeps showed up coming from all directions ready to party. We had a slammin’ set – it’s always fun to bring our music to new people and see how they react.

After Joe’s set many of us went to an afterparty that Felonious was playing – I made it about 3/4 of the 10 block walk there and fell dead in my tracks. I was done, fried, toast, kaput, useless, wasted, etc… I needed sleep and I went home and got it – 12 hours of non-stop slumber. Awesome. Success.

Many of our musicians were playing all over the festival as sidemen all day. Everyone worked their buns off and kept going all through the night as if each performance was their first. Very impressive and thanks for all the help everyone put in to make the Brass, Bows & Beats show the smooth-running concert that it was.

All the shows I was involved in at San Jose were a true pleasure and were very memorable experiences. I even went back Sunday to play with our violinist Anthony Blea’s band on the Salsa Stage which was yet another highlight to my weekend. After that we went and saw Tower of Power who sounded unreal – like an album but with more energy. I really do have love for the SJ Jazz Fest and if you haven’t been to it I’d put it on your to do list for next year. It’s a great mix of “real” jazz, jazz off-shoots and stuff like Maceo and Tower of Power that is “Jazzy” but fits because of the high level of musicianship that they posses.

I flew into New York on Wednesday, August 4th, stayed out in Brooklyn with our good pal/ guitarist Grey Macmurray. Grey showed me some new spots in Brooklyn and we had a great breakfast and it was ridiculously hot. Thursday night I did a really fun show with Crystal Moneee Hall at Living Room in the Lower East Side with Rich Armstrong, Yair Evnine and Ben Yonas. We had a terrific time and it had been a while since I’d played bass with Crystal, mostly been playing the bone with her, so that added some extra challenge for me which is always good to clear the cobwebs. After Crystal killed em’, we went a few blocks down to Rockwood Music Hall. Amazing spot, I’ve seen so much good music there and this time was no exception. Bay Area native Sahsa Dobson was in town for a few days on break from touring in Norah Jones’ Band – It had been years since I’d seen Sasha do her thing so it was great to get an update live. She brings a very unique blend of real jazz, with some old country, bossa and rock. Her band was smoking too. Perhaps the highlight of the night was stumbling into the “new” room at Rockwood which is much bigger than the tiny room and it’s right next door. Trixie Whitley was performing her weekly residency there. Apparently she’s the daughter of Chris Whitley who is a big deal but I knew nothing about until this night. Anyway, she kinda reminded me of a Fiona Apple for lack of better comparisons, low voice, talented on the piano but also really unique style on the electric and acoustic guitars as an accompanist. We got her CD and I’ve been bumping it.

By this point many of the Jazz Mafia musicians were showing up so a bunch of us got a dicsount room at the Marriott Residence in Times Square – Big ballin’ BUT not with 5 people in a room :  But that’s how we have to roll sometimes to save on the dough ya know? PLus it’s kinda more fun being cozy anyway, if you can deal with the epic, Earth shattering snoring of Joe Cohen!
We continued the night at a few more bars and made it to the beds at around 3 or 4. I think I slept on the floor but not sure.

in the days on Thursday and Friday I dedicated most of my time to being indoors rehearsing the NYC musicians who were joining 20 of us to make up the 45 piece Brass, Bows & Beats group for the Newport Jazz Festival Performance on Saturday. I was su pleased with all the musicians that we got on board and once again, dozens of new friendships and music connections were started because of our Symphony and the opportunities it has brought forth. We were especially lucky to have a few incredible musicians form Maria Schneider’s orchestra; Charles Pillow on flute and Greg Gisbert on trumpet. Success.

Friday after the rehearsals we cruised to Newport with about 12 of us in a van, got stuck in insane traffic going to the JFK to pick up “found” luggage; Thanks to Delta, they lost a huge box of all our CDs for the tour. After Ben calling them for 2 days and screaming they magically appeared. So, it took 6 hours to get to Newport from NYC but we had a lot of fun in the van playing Charades, The Movie Game and whatever else bands do when trapped in close quarters like that for hours.

When we finally made it to Newport Friday night, we quickly forgot about how crappy the drive was and were greeted by Joe Bagale standing on the porch of an incredible 7 bedroom house on the cliff of the Atlantic Ocean in Newport. YES! Joe had done all the shopping, fridge was stocked and we were RET TO GO! Joe’s high school buddies Jason and Theressa were so kind as to let us stay in their parents’ new place that was in mid remodel, perfect! Nothing we could do to mess it up really! There were up to about 20 people sleeping there by Saturday night and it felt completely comfortable. We saved thousands of dollars by not having to get hotels and we were able to stay for an extra day. We all felt lucky to get that kind of love. Jason and Theressa you guys are the best!

Going back to Friday night – Me and Pdub kinda wanted to get outside and cruise around the “downtown” area of Newport, which is really just a bunch of bars and shops on the Marina. Wait…did someone say MARINA? Hahaha, yes indeed the Mission invaded the Marina once again but this time it wasn’t SF’s Marina, it was New England Style! I was shocked at what I saw but like an overturned big rig, I couldn’t stop staring and people watching, It looked like literally dozens of wedding receptions had just finished and hundreds of drunk groomsmen and bridesmaids took over this 1/2 mile long strip of dozens of bars. I could be wrong, maybe they weren’t from weddings but it really reminded me of that vibe, Anyway, Pat and I cruised to many of the “hotspots” and managed to get some good ideas for the next “preppy” party, The best part was finding a tiny hole in the wall bar called “Sara’s Bar” connected to Rouchard’s Restaurant. We were chillin; there having a Sweet Tea Vodka Lemonade and some “Jersey Shore” dude was yelling at another dude screaming obscenities calling the other guy a “Jersey Shore dude”…Everyone in the bar was busting up. Priceless. No footage of that one unfortunately. Another funny thing is when we were at the bars talking to people we’d mention that we were playing at Newport Jazz Fest the next day, kinda like bragging I guess – but NOBODY in the Marina knew what we were really talking about. It’s like a different world.

On the way home Pat and I got lost and ended up going on an impromptu tour of some of the nicest neighborhoods at night. Super fun; I love the architecture, each house was totally different, even though all the people in the Marina looked exactly the same haha.

Saturday we woke up early and got to the festival early for soundcheck at the Newport Jazz Festival. The setting was breathtaking; Mainstage is out on a grassy filed at the edge of the Harbor with the Bay and Bridge behind the audience – Behind the band is a fort from the late 1800s which looked more like a castle. We were on the mainstage with one of the best Jazz festival lineups I’ve ever seen; Ahmad Jamal, Mariah Schneider Jazz Orchestra, Chick Corea/Kenny Garrett/Christian McBride/Roy Hanes…Oh and for the ladies….Jamie Cullum! The side stages were at times even better than the main. Scary good lineup.The highlight for me and many of the the others was Ahmad Jamal, who is one of my all time faves and he played the best I’ve heard him. Herlin Riley was on drums. Success.

The BBB set went off without a hitch, which is in itself a miracle. Getting that 45 piece band on stage, set up, soundchecked and running in less than 3 hours was something I’d thought impossible until this summer – We’ve got it down to a science now! I was expecting not that many people to be in the audience since we went on first but the crowd was there and gave us lots of love, it was much more than I had hoped for. The band smoked it and there were new features and talent that shone through from our guest NYC musicians. The rest of the day was spent listening to the aforementioned bands and us getting into all sorts of trouble and mischief. Dublin took a tour  of Fort Adams and got a little bit of a history lesson which he tried to explain to me in the van as we were leaving the festival but I couldn’t understand him because we had 17 people in a 13 passenger van WITH instruments. Awesome.

That night we went back to our giant house on the ocean took swims, ate home cooked meals from our hosts and enjoyed the perfect 75 degree at night weather, Me, Joe Cohen,Dublin, Erin and KAryn went to a highly recommended Seafood Shack to get a taste of the New England vibe; Lobstah Rolls, Clear Chowdah, Clam Cakes and many other fried delicacies were definitely an epic food success however, the Lobster Rolls didn’t live up to the expectations but still were yummy.

Midnight Saturday night brought the next crazy phase of our very action packed weekend – P DUB’s  BIRTHDAY!!!! Memory is spotty but some events included 15 of us stumbling around downtown at closing time causing trouble, lots of walking, Joe Bagale playing a new game invented by Rachel Hornaday called “TVDJ” (AWESOME) and all sorts of madness back at the house on into the early morning.

Sunday morning the “Lobsta” crew went to breakfast and had Crab Cake Benedeict; Yet another food success for the tour.

Sunday night Shotgun Wedding Quintet performed out NYC debut at the said Rockwood Music Hall. After seeing so much quality music there during my past few NYC experiences it was a real honor to be hittin’ there. We did a set with Crystal Monee first – Damn she always sounds so good – Even if the bass player (me) is messing up her songs! hahaha

Our Shotgun set was spirited; We played many new songs and featured NYC guests within our action packed set including Matt Nelson, Ryan Snow and a very talented singer who’s name I will work on getting, The owner loved us so we’ll hopefully be back soon!

After the show we continued celebrating PDubs Bday, stumbling around the East Village, Goodtimes. Another night with 5 of us crammed in a nice hotel room – Another night up til 5am and another night spent hanging out with some of my most funny,crazy and loudest snoring friends ever. I love you guys. Special thanks to our “Road Managers By Proxy” Rachel and Erin – Y’all helped out a lot and it was really special having y’all there for the journey.

Well, laptop battery is about to run out so I’d better send this off to Dylan before it’s too late. Hope to see y’all this weekend in San Jose Saturday when Jazz Mafia takes over the Jazz Festival! Checkout the lineup!

Stay Classy,
Adam Theis

A note from Jazz Mafia headmaster Adam Theis explains:

After 10 years of doing Jazz Mafia Tuesdays every week, me and the crew have reached a different perspective on the importance of our bands playing a weekly residency in SF. When we first started, our Tuesdays were more of an experimental night forming into our 5 piece band Realistic, with lots of jamming, often 10 or more horn players sitting in, lots of improvised music and experimental tinkerings with electronics, live sampling, looping and more … 
So what’s going to happen? One thing that seems clear is that having a weekly residency where many of our core bands perform is a little bit of over-saturation and it’s also a little TOO predictable.

Theis goes on to say that while he’s interested in a recurring improv/experimental session, the group isn’t looking for another Tuesday night gig. Instead, the Mafia is focusing on getting broader exposure. For the upcoming appearances of Jazz Mafia members, checktheir website.

To read more about Jazz Mafia Tuesdays and what’s the deal check out the article I posted last week HERE. Tonight, Tuesday July 20th is the last Shotgun Wedding Quintet Jazz Mafia Tuesday and we are SUPER excited because we will be featuring special guest Peter Apfelbaum from New York City. We just finished a 4 show run in Tahoe and played some incredibly inspired shows with Peter so I really hope you can come witness the magic of one of the most unique musicians we’ve ever worked with. He’ll be joining us for the second set. Also expect sit ins from many other accomplices.

A shout out to all our homies, new and old, up in North Lake Tahoe. The Shotgun Wedding Quintet had an unbelievable time up there playing music at nights and playing in the lakes and rivers in the day. We went out on a boat on Lake Tahoe Sunday, a true band bonding experience! A special thanks to our new friends Matt and Lindy who were so kind as to let us stay at their amazing home for 4 nights…and we succeeded in not letting the cat out : )

In the next few weeks there are a ton of exciting things coming up for the Jazz Mafia that I want to tell you about. We’re gearing up for another East Coast trip which includes Brass, Bows & Beats performing at the legendary Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island. We’ll also be piggy-backing some Shotgun Wedding and Crystal Monee Hall shows in Boston and NYC, so check our website for the details and holler at your friends out there.

On August 1st Realistic Orchestra will be performing in Pasadena at a sweet outdoor venue called Levitt Pavilion. It’s a rare occurrence for Realistic to travel to So Cal so once again, please tell your friends down there. We’re also planning a Jazz Mafia afterparty for that night after our performance.

The show this Friday at the Great American with Joe Bagale and Crystal Monee Hall opening for Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk will be a winner for sure!  If you haven’t seen Ivan’s band they are a funk phenomenon from New Orleans and highly recommended.

I just got asked to collaborate on a new project with Chief Xcel (Blackalicious) and the powerhouse Bay Area soul-singer Ledesi. I’m a huge fan of both of their work and the tracks that they sent me are definitely hot fire! I’m so excited to be working on this project that will feature the Jazz Mafia extensively! Also at the same time we’re working on the new Zion i record which is coming together quickly. A new Lyrics Born record which features a ton of Jazz Mafia is on the way and will be out this fall. It’s hard to keep track of it all!

Adam recommends: Thursday, July 22nd Foreign Exchange at Yoshi’s SF (Late Show). If you are a fan of modern R&B, Soul/ with Slumpy J Dilla style beats you will dig this all star band. I saw them about 6 months ago and it was one of the most impressive live Soul shows I’ve witnessed. I’ll be there and hope you will be too.

Thanks everyone for all the emails, facebook messages and good vibes at the shows. I can really feel things building and am so excited for what is to come for all of our bands as we continue to spread the message of the Jazz Mafia and the sound of San Francisco to people all over the World.

For this last month of shows we all invite you to come down to Coda and celebrate with us. We’ll be revisiting some of the  music that’s made Jazz Mafia Tuesdays special over the past 10 years. I’m also preparing slide shows that we’ll be projecting at Coda before the show and during the breaks. It would really mean a lot to all the musicians to have all of you who can come through and celebrate one of the longest running weekly live music series in the Country; Jazz Mafia Tuesdays.

After 10 years of doing Jazz Mafia Tuesdays every week, me and the crew have reached a different perspective on the importance of our bands playing a weekly residency in SF. When we first started, our Tuesdays were more of an experimental night forming into our 5 piece band Realistic, with lots of jamming, often 10 or more horn players sitting in, lots of improvised music and experimental tinkerings with electronics, live sampling, looping and more. As Jazz Mafia expanded into more groups I felt the need to feature those groups more and it’s been a great opportunity for our community to get to know us on an up close and personal level that would’ve been much different if we took the traditional approach of just playing one big hometown show every three months like many bands do. Our approach brought us some of the most awesome music-loving fans EVER, people who are so into it that they frequently come out on a weeknight, even though many of them work early in the a.m. Of course having so many opportunities to perform live has helped our bands immensely with premiering new material, trying out different ideas and getting super tight. One of my favorite things we’ve done is bringing in guest bands and featuring them and introducing them to our crowd. Some shows that stand out in my memory are: Kneebody, 2 Mex, The Park (who played many times), Garlando Nonet, Teeko & Mike Boo vs. Jazz Mafia…

I’m the most proud of the level of quality that we’ve managed to keep since the beginning. Me and the crew have never compromised and always put musical integrity, professionalism and passion first. I think most of you probably realize how much work goes into pulling off one concert – the phone calls, emails, writing new material, rehearsals, promotions, load-ins, soundchecks and then of course, the gig itself…well, imagine doing that every week for 10 years AND trying to make each one the best it can be. On top of that, add the dozens of other performances that our bands are involved in every month and you’ve got a challenging situation to say the least. You have to absolutely LOVE it and/or be CRAZY to make something like 10 years of JM Tuesdays work. I’m crazy for sure and I LOVE it.

So what’s going to happen?  One thing that seems clear is that having a weekly residency where many of our core bands perform is a little bit of over-saturation and it’s also a little TOO predictable. If people know that they can always just come see Jazz Mafia on Tuesdays, it can become a lower priority and other things take precedence (remember when American Idol was big? haha!) Some of our best shows have been when our Tuesdays were on a brief hiatus in between homes and we were able to focus on one or two big events in one month instead of 6-8. This will allow us to focus on important events rather than making Facebook invites and fliers for a million different shows etc….One of our main goals moving forward is to focus on key events for our bands, make each show especially unique and put on the best night of music we can.

We aren’t planning on moving JM Tuesdays to another venue at this time. I’m personally interested in some sort of recurring informal “Improv” night similar to our early beginnings at Black Cat 10 years ago; maybe a house band and just tons of guests sitting in. With that said I’m trying to focus on the big picture which for me and our crew right now, is trying to bring Jazz Mafia to the WORLD and it’s harder to do that when we’re spending significant chunks of our time on things like weekly jam sessions etc…So for now, we’ll be focusing on writing music for our new Jazz Mafia Symphony which we’ll be recording for our new album in the Fall. In addition we’ll be performing select shows with Shotgun, Joe Bagale, Spaceheater, Realistic Orchestra and many of our other projects. We’ll definitely be letting you know when and where. Oh and those shows will probably be on weekends, or maybe a Thursday : )