Gabrielle Aimee, is on the rise!

Gabrielle Aimee is like a tremor, about to become a major rumbling!
The Singer/songwriter and actress has just released her latest single "I Know Better"

Gabrielle Aimee "I Know Better"

After a hectic few weeks for me, I caught up with Gabrielle last week in NYC.
...and this wonderful young lady took time to answer some questions so you , my readers could get to know her....and you need to know her, and her talents.

As an actress she has an accomplished resume.
...but her real fire burns for her music.

To start I asked Gabrielle the two questions I ask everyone...

1. If you were leaving the planet and you could only take one album with you, which would you take?
Gabrielle: That is the most impossible question!  It’s almost cruel to ask that.  It would have to be something I could sing along to. I’d say Trio, by Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt.  Paul Simon’s Graceland, is a close second.

2. If you could perform with anyone who would it be?
Gabrielle: Dolly Parton.  She is a beautiful singer, a beautiful songwriter, and she has this vibe; you just know she’d be warm and open, and she’d really make music with you, really connect with you.

Then I asked, because you have shown talent also as an actor where does the fire burn brightest in you, acting or music?
Gabrielle: Singer/Songwriter, without question. I’ve been singing since I was three. Growing up, I was terrified to act. Now that I’m more comfortable in my own skin, acting is this amazing, in the moment, kind of experience that you have with your fellow actors. I wouldn’t want to give either up, but music will always be my first and deepest love.

Gabrielle admits that advice from her great friend, Nadia Ackerman, who has had a remarkable year in the business, helped keep her music career on track. http://www.nadiaackerman.com/

Gabrielle's latest single "I Know Better" is a wonderful tune, the words are a universal story, the melodic line is so brilliantly simple it sneaks into your physique and you find yourself carrying it around with you for days!  Check it out..http://0314e76.netsolhost.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/I-Know-Better-10-6-11_01.mp3

So get out New York, and catch Gabrielle Aimee...
her next gig is; Saturday, Nov 26th, 5 PM at Rockwood Music Hall, NYC.

You will be hearing lots more about Gabrielle here, I will have a live review coming soon!!

 Gabrielle:
http://0314e76.netsolhost.com/site/ 



I'm Pete, follow me at: www.twitter.com/petecarma 



 

Gio Moretti's "Meeting Point"

...has your heart ever been broken? Do you sometimes wonder if you will get over it and find another? Or as Gio Moretti puts it on the first cut of this CD "To Say Goodbye" (in the Moonlight)...
"don't want to feel the same again today, I will find a better place, along the way" 

Gio Moretti, CD, "Meeting Point"

 I sat down to write this review three times before, I could not begin.

...I always listen to the work as I write, Gio's lyrics and enchanting voice took me back to times in my life ...and I sat here reminiscing of my loves and losses, holding back tears. You see I have come to know Gio and I see how these words she is sharing with us all are so heart felt to her. I told her that and she said..
.
"Dear Pete, thanks for your words, I'm glad that I still can move some hearts with my music and that is the main reason I'm still making music, to try to give something special for the soul.."

Special for the soul...how fitting for this wonderful CD, "Meeting Point".
...and yes Gio you have found a better place, stay with us and keep the music coming!

The CD has several duets with Ernesto Leite, who after writing with Gio via email and skype, met in New York, thus "Meeting Point".
Ernesto and Gio are a perfect blend. Their Brazilian touch fulfills the romance of this great work.
Cut ten "Still Walking Alone" puts them together with a jazzy Latin rhythm...Perfect!!

"Another Star Falling" cut 3 on the album is a simple, but brilliant tune. It speaks of falling in love, but experience show it's head and the doubt arises, as Gio puts it .."Let's dance to the rhythm that is moving my world...If you can't say it, the words I want you to say, I'll just keep looking to the stars in the sky."

Cut #7, "Otherwise We'll Fall" is a song with a message for us all "You can create a miracle...It's time, 
to know who we really are...Through the voice of your heart...It's not too late to hear the call. The world is reaching out for us all"


...and if you just want to hear a tune that will let your imagination take you where ever you desire, Gio's "Freedom" is the one, it's cut six.

This work is truly a work of "love" the songs and the dedication of Miss Moretti, bursting out to tell us of love and it's ups and downs. Miss Moretti's words to conclude her thanks to all involved say it best......................
     "Thanks always to my family and old and new loves that keep inspiring me."                                                ***************
I wanted to review both of Gio's CD's...she was very smart she gave me "Animacoustica" first you see, she loured me in with the "passione" of that CD....see that review here: http://streetcredmusic.blogspot.com/2011/05/animacustica-soul-of-gio-moretti.html

....and now she breaks my heart with "Meeting Point".

....you can also see my interview with Gio here:  http://streetcredmusic.blogspot.com/2011/09/gio-moretti-artists-in-new-york-part.html

...Gio, https://www.facebook.com/pages/AnimAcusticA/149449901756523

I'm Pete...follow me  www.twitter.com/petecarma

Mary C...a must see!

Mary C, at Rockwood

I did manage to catch a peek at one performer I had not seen live yet on my trip to NYC this time....
...Mary C, and she was DYNAMITE!

...just want to give you a heads up about her, I'll have a full review of her CD coming...

...if you're an R&B, Soul, or knock 'em down kick 'em in the chest Blues lover like me, and you want to see a beautiful lady takin' some of it and putting a 21st Century touch on it, get out and see Mary C!

She told me it would be an "acoustic" set, well if that was acoustic, I can't wait to see the full band!
They had the room jumping, with a solid sound and Mary's wonderful pipes... her stage presents makes you think you are back in the Golden Age when R&B ruled the charts....but at the same time she hits you with some 2011 energy and style.

Thoroughly Enjoyable!!
 check out her great web site:  (make sure your speakers are on!)
http://home.marycmusic.com/ 
......stay tuned here for more from Mary C..

Mary C will be at: Pianos, NYC, December 13th!

by Pete Carma, follow Pete..twitter.com/petecarma

Abby Ahmad, "Curriculum"

I recently came across a very talented young songstress named Abby Ahmad,
her CD is "Curriculum".

Abby Ahmad, CD "Curriculum"

...First things first, this is a beautifully packaged CD, one of the best I've seen. A great cover shot, complete lyrics, and the insert contains even more wonderful photos of Miss Ahmad in various New York City locations, and one of her as a child. The photos were the work of Erica Simone.

Reading through Abby's facebook, I see her #1 influence is Dylan. I go further, Dylan tweeted me a few months ago when I did a feature for his 70th birthday, it said "we are on the same page Bro"...well Abby has jumped on the same page as Mr. Dylan, and I've never said that of anyone before.

I'll stick my neck out here and say Abby's tune, "Landing Gear" is as good as any protest song, or political critique or as prolific a statement that has ever been put to music!
Written in 2005, it fits in my top three with Dylan's "The Times They Are a-changin" and Barry Mcguire's
"Eve of Destruction".

This composition could very well be the theme of the "Occupy Wall Street, 1%" protesters. It tells of all the division in our Nation today.

"Everyone's now at attention, since a nation's been derailed...Divided we stand, United we failed"

"So I brace myself for the breakdown, With wings barely intact, Desperately decoding candor,
Weeding out the fiction from the fact"

This is how Abby wrote "Landing Gear"...
Abby... "Landing Gear was written in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I had just moved to NYC a week before and was exploring parallels between our uncertainty as a nation at the time and my uncertainty being a NEW New Yorker seeking my individual and musical identity. It was a scarily transitional time both personally and politically."

                                                                    ******  

It took me a couple of days to listen to the rest of the CD, I was captivated by "Landing Gear".
Not only the lyrics but the crescendo of the melodic line that makes you "feel" the impending turmoil, of which Abby speaks. What a great commentary this tune is.

"Habit" is a cut that speaks of the "habits" of passion we can sometimes fall into.
"I want you when I'm hungry, but I crave you when I'm full"...
"You're two chocolate bars and a cigarette away from being lethal"

"Lost On Me"...Abby slows it to a ballad, but the lyrics are just as powerful...
"I cannot stand here, Awaiting the day...That your actions match the words you say"

Ten original tunes on the CD, all are wonderfully done.
....take away the melodies that match each composition, and Abby's powerful voice that leads you to the meaning of the lyrical content, and you have what you have with Dylan tunes...insightful social commentary, and prolific prose!

                                                                 **********

I asked Abby the two questions I ask everyone when I write about them...

1. If you were leaving the planet and could only take one album with you which would you take?
Abby... What an excruciating scenario! My tastes are so eclectic, the thought of narrowing it down to 1 album seems impossible. I suppose it would come down to a standoff between Nina Simone's "The Blues" and Led Zeppelin "III". Both have had significant longevity/relevance in my life and musicianship. Patty Griffin's "Living With Ghosts" would be up there too...

2. If you could perform with anyone who would you choose?
Abby... If I could perform with anyone currently alive, I think I'd choose Thom Yorke. His magnetism and presence are inimitable. Deceased: John Lennon or Howlin' Wolf.

               .......Welcome to New York, Abby!!

http://www.abbyahmad.net/

....you can catch Abby at:  
River Street Cafe, Wilkes/Barre Pa.  Oct 28th, 8 PM
Rockwood Music Hall, NYC, Nov 9th, 11:30 PM

get the CD...http://abbyahmad.bandcamp.com/ 

by Pete Carma, follow Pete....www.twitter.com/petecarma

Solitaire Miles at The Jazz Showcase

Wednesday night Chicago's Solitaire Miles took the stage at The Jazz Showcase, to deliver her new CD..."Melancholy Lullaby"....

It was JAZZZZ, no holds barred, pure and passionate.

...It was one of those show I dread, a nightmare for me...
You know, when the show is sooooo good you can't take you eyes and ears off the stage, so you can't take notes, and then when you sit down to write about it, you wonder how you will tell the readers just how terrific this show was!

Solitaire Miles, CD "Melancholy Lullaby"

It was a CD release show for Solitaire's new CD "Melancholy Lullaby".
...the room was packed...

The best way to explain is  E=mc2..
That's right, I remember from my school days hearing Albert Einstein
explaining his theory...The Universe is like a speeding train moving at the speed of light...if humans could travel as fast they could jump on or off the train at different points in the history of our Universe.

Wednesday night Solitaire Miles was the engineer of that train.Taking us from the 1930's to the twenty first century, with a few stops in between, and a brief stop over in Brazil.

Surrounded by a sextet for set one that grew to an octet set two, Solitaire presented a wonderfully diverse cross section of the American Song book.

Starting with her opening number "Exactly Like You" set one, I knew I was in for something special. "The Night Wind" another gem from the 40's was done in set one to a wonderful chart, that would have made lyricist Eugene Field stand and applaud.

Solitaire's "style" if you can call it that, I kinda think she is actually living the songs she sings...and singing them with a passion for jazz, and...the history attached to each and every number...is one that literally takes you on and off that "train" that covers jazz history.

Song after song, taking tunes from the 30's and 40's and treating them to a "massage," with love and respect.
..."Two Close For Comfort" ...was swung with a wonderful up beat rhythm, not to fast as most do, but this wonderful group of musicians hit it dead center!
..."Tenderly"...this evergreen was a showcase for Solitaire's range...and again a perfectly done chart!

...if that was not enough, Solitaire and the band took Duke Ellington's "Nothin But The Blues"
right down to where it should be, and stomped on it! (this was the show stopper for me).

...the show closed with "Bye Bye Blackbird"...swingin' and jumpin'... 

...the band? I would need two more columns to tell you how great they were ( I may do just that).
Riff after riff, solo after solo, they were showered with exuberant applause from the crowd. 

Drums.. Mike Raynor, Piano..Dave Gordon, Bass..Marlene Rosenberg, Sax/flute, Jim Gailloreto, Trumpet/flugelhorn..Art Davis, Guitar..Neal Alger, Bongos..Heitor Garcia...also guitar and vocals, Paulinho Garcia. A joy to listen to all of them!

"in my 67 years I have seen ALL the jazz greats, this show was as entertaining as any of them".

The CD contains these and a few other renditions of  more jazzzz classics.

have a listen here; http://www.solitairemiles.com/
get the CD here; http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/solitairemiles2

The delightful, "Solitaire"

"the venue"  it was my first visit to The Jazz Showcase. Best venue I've been to here in Chitown so far...
every seat has a great view of the stage, even the bar, and the sound was as good as it gets...
we had wonderful service from Jennifer, or hostess, get out to the "Showcase" you will love it!

http://www.jazzshowcase.com/

by Pete Carma   ...follow Pete..www.twitter.com/petecarma

"Artists In New York" Part VIII... Kalen.

 I have been listening to music for a long time, when I heard Kalen's hit single "Rabid Girl"

it became one of my all time favorites. It "is" New York City. She paints a picture I have seen so many times in Da Apple with her words, and a melody with a rhythm of the Metropolis.

http://kalenmusic.com/

Here is a review of Kalen, I did some time ago...http://streetcredmusic.blogspot.com/2011/03/kalen-lister-rabid-girl-by-pete-cataldo.html

Kalen is about to start her fall "gigs", after a summer of work and fun!

.....here is a bit about her and her music as a New Yorker, and life in the city.

Q; Your lyrics, especially your great hit "Rabid Girl" ooze great words of New York City, how much does the city and it's adrenalin influence you and your work?

Kalen...I’m very influenced by environment. NYC is an overwhelming place, rich with poetry and profanity, at once exhilarating and exhausting. I am a country girl at heart and find that I continually return to themes of sea and sky. I long for the natural world when I am in the city because of the contrast with the cacophony of the urban center. Being in NY day in and day out, though, I am consistently driven to try to capture and comment on the experience. I feel a connection with the thousands of artists in the city and those artists who have come before and who have tried to capture the shifting, ephemeral essence of NYC. “Rabid Girl” is a piece about a young lady who is an extreme product of her environment. She reflects the city that has shaped her as well as being a player within its scenery, perpetuating its madness. Painting a picture of place was essential to capture the essence of the song. 

Q; You are from New Hampshire, a graduate of Penn, but I know from experience living in Brooklyn is an education in itself. What were the things about living there that surprised you the most?

Kalen...Observing how quickly things can change and shift in NYC and Brooklyn has been fascinating. People and place really can reinvent themselves here. There is an incredible regenerative life force coursing through the city at all times. There is a dark side to this opportunism, however. If one is not careful, he’ll get swept up in others’ talk and veer off course from one’s own dream and integrity, talking the thieves’ talk and walking a wayward walk. The constant metamorphosis of place and peers can catalyze an unconscious personal distortion, which I’ve seen in many and caught in myself, but is also an opportunity for personal and creative innovation and refinement.

Q; Looking at your music FB "favorites" I didn't see any classic artists, are there any you admire or who had an influence on your work?

Growing up in the country, I had a different relationship with music than

 many of my New York peers. So many of my friends were savvy about the music they loved from a young age and were avid listeners and collectors. That’s closer to how I was with fine arts. Improvising on the piano with little vocal melodies was an organic expression of what I was feeling and thinking about. I wasn’t trying to emulate or appropriate in any conscious way as a young girl when I first fell in love with music. I would, however, listen to my mother’s Motown and classic rock along with jazz piano albums my piano teacher recommended to me. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Bill Evans, Dina Ross and The Supremes were favorites. Through later chapters of my life, as I got more seriously into collecting music, I began to add funk, trip hop and Afro-Cuban music in my regular rotation.

Aside from music and other music artists, however, traveling, nature, books and fine artists influence me most. My family lives on the ocean in Maine and I’m inspired by the sea, though I love being outdoors in general. Traveling and seeing new things (which happens in New York City constantly) is another never-ending source of inspiration and experience outside of myself. Italo Calvino’s wacky book, If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler and James Baldwin’s short story, Sonny’s Blues are two of my favorite books. On the art front, I absolutely love Austrian and Germany Expressionist painting.

Q; What's next for Kalen? New releases, gigs, anything we should know about?

Kalen...Presently, I am building a band around my solo work, creating a live experience that moves beyond the singer/songwriter sets I have been doing this last year, returning to a bit more of the performance zaniness from which I temporarily retired with my last project, Ladybug Stingray. I am recording my next EP, "Fallen From The Sun" that will include the spoken word single, “Rabid Girl”. I am also collaborating with some great young producers and songwriters around NYC, some on live shows, others in the studio.

Q; The next time you walk past a coffee shoppe will you get a black&white cookie and take a big bite and think of me?

Kalen...Happily. Though, I must share that my favorite New York cookie is the chocolate chip cookie that hails from the heavenly City Bakery.

                                                  **********

Kalen is one of those people who make me smile, if I hear her music or see her, I just smile.

Kalen will be at;  Caffe Vivaldi, NYC, Sept 28th, 7 PM...

                              Parkside Lounge, NYC, Oct 13th 8 PM

and she will perform at...https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Singin-4R-Sisters/159143457484041?sk=wall 

                                                                  

 

Nadia Ackerman..."Mary Jane" & "Ebony Road"

From the versatile musical talents of Nadia Ackerman, some amazing new work!
 ...the sound track to a new film with an exciting new director "Ebony Road"
 ...and the first single and video, from her new album "The Ocean Master" ..."Mary Jane"
 ...will be available on Sept.11th from,  ITUNES ....

see the details here...and a link to her site...  http://nadiaackerman.fanbridge.com/campaigns/show.php?id=769030&sid=161812196 

The first singWORL09/11/11


The first single and music video from "The Ocean WORLDWIDE 09/11/11

Gio Moretti, Artists in New York Part VII

Gio Moretti, photo by Monica Castiglioni

Gio Moretti, "life" is her inspiration. And it is the driving force in her beautiful music!

Gio's wonderful CD, "Animacustica" was my first connection with her. An inspiring work that I enjoyed very much...
here is that review...http://streetcredmusic.blogspot.com/2011/05/animacustica-soul-of-gio-moretti.html

From Bergamo, Italy and now an American citizen, Gio has made New York City her home. Here are her thoughts of life in the Big Apple.

Gio speaks many languages including Bergamasque and her accent is charming, so I left the dialogue exactly as she told it to me...enjoy!

Q; Talk about New York City and how coming here has changed your life?

Gio...New York City...where the dreams may come true. Just say it, I guess I was bored, needed inspirations, motivations, fresh air...but now I feel that I pay every single day, this air...not so fresh anymore.
I love NYC but it's a tough place to be, make a living, raise a child, try to be successful...I don't know...after 11 years I'm still try to figure out why I want to leave NYC..
I guess I'm still waiting for "That Day" happens.

Q; You just became a citizen, how does it feel?
Gio...Finally done with the immigration! No more questions, no more lies...and I can hear a voice..."Welcome back to the United States".And I can finally vote...Obama, oops, can I say that???

Q; How do audiences respond to you here in NYC?
Gio...I got inspired from my audiences, they always warm and curious, doesn't matter what language I sing
I feel connected to them, that probably why I love to give everything I have or that I can give that night.

Q; Any experiences you have that are unique to NYC, that you want to share with us?
Gio...Oh my God! so many...1. From running away in the middle of the night from a room I was renting in the public houses in Harlem...I was on the 18th or 19th floor, with all my stuff, including an entire sound system
and the elevator stopped working...I had to use the fire escape stairs!
 2. Singing an entire solo of "Take Five" for Al Jarreau. And 3...I fall in love (unfortunately or fortunately we are not together anymore)

Q; Your wonderful son, and how NYC effects his life?
Gio...I think NYC it's a place where he can get lots of opportunities, he is still so young...he already know what he really like to do, play drums and be a musician! I like the effect that he has a chance to live in a Cosmopolitan City that embraces different races, style of music, different foods, and girls...(maybe this for his future).

Q; Anything in the future we should know about?
Gio...I don't think at the future, I can't. Tomorrow is the far future that I can think about it!
Today is a new day, let's focus on today in this moment, everything can possible change, how can you make plans?

Q; You are a very inspired artist, where does it all come from?
Gio...LIFE! I love my life, I like to take chances, take risks, try new things. I see a lot of colors in my life, and everything around me keeps inspire me. LOVE! I like to write about LOVE, because I LOVE!!! And I will always LOVE!  I don't trust as much as I use to, I got some deep scars, but now I see myself in a new chapter of my life, so I am very optimist and sure, I am always open to learn something new, or looking for something new.

Gio thank you for you candor and I will see you in NYC soon!,

Gio will be at...our benefit https://www.facebook.com/pages/Singin-4R-Sisters/159143457484041?sk=wall

Gio's music..Enjoy:: This video:

Gio's page:: AnimAcusticA
 

follow me::  Pete Carma