Providence Sound Session '06

	Alixa and Naima Monday – July 17 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 9 pm Alixa and Naima are the Heart-Beat-Soul-Sister-Artist-Warrior spoken word duo “climbing poeTree.” On a mission to reshape the world through evolutionary art that speaks truth to power, they employ poetry as their weapon, their medicine, their voice, and their vision. Delivering explosive lyrics that leave listeners outraged and inspired, Alixa and Naima perform nationwide and abroad, and work with prisoners and young people through arts education. Equipped with ink and soul, “climbing poeTree” use their art to expose injustice, heal from violence, and generate vision to help us all imagine a more just and compassionate world. This duo—composed of Alixa Garcia, a 2001 HBO Def Poet, and Naima Penniman, a 2002 Harambe Slam Champion in NY—has performed with prestigious poets such as Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Nikki Giovanni, jessica Care moore, Talaam Acey, Crystal Williams, The Last Poets, and Dead Prez. Alixa and Naima’s poetry is both creative and inspiring, thought-provoking and engaging. http://www.climbingpoetree.com »
	Oveous Maximus Monday – July 17 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 10 pm Oveous Maximus is a native New Yorker who’s roots go back to the Dominican Republic. He started writing and performing in New York City in the summer of 2003 after he lost his only brother CARLOS "Ziiinc Blue" to suicide (thats who's on his shirt). Oveous’ presence on stage has become a symbol of honor in the name of his brother "Ziiinc Blue" who is the eternal driving-force behind Oveous’ work to uplift and rejoice the spirits of all people. Oveous has been seen on NBC and UPN for SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO, Current TV for a video performance titled "The Millions" and ESPN2s new reality hit series: ID DO ANYTHING. Oveous is also starring in a new film called "SP!T" due to be out in theaters late 2006. http:// www.mocaarts.com »
	jessica Care moore Monday – July 17 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 11 pm A true renaissance woman and one of the most anticipated published poets of this generation, jessica Care moore is making a literary, theatrical and musical impact on the world that will help define the art of words. jessica Care moore began her career in Detroit and made a name for herself performing at the famous Apollo Theater. The author of several books of poetry, including The Words Don't Fit In My Mouth, and The Alphabet Verses The Ghetto, this poet-publisher currently stars in, writes for, and produces the Black Family Channel’s poetry- and music-based show, “SPOKEN!” Her dynamic stage show fuses rapid-fire heartfelt poetry, rock, melodic vocals, acoustic guitar, house & electric hip-hop. A multifaceted writer, publisher, and actor, Care moore hits home with her soulful sound, rapid-fire lyrics and hardcore appeal. http://www.mooreblackpress.com »
	Osmany Paredes Monday – July 17 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 5pm - 7pm Tuesday – July 18 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 5pm - 7pm Wednesday – July 19 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 5pm - 7pm Osmany Paredes, born in Santa Clara, Cuba, is a pianist, composer and arranger whose style blends jazz with his Afro-Cuban rhythmic heritage by using a technique derived from years of classical education. A graduate of the esteemed National School of Music in Havana, Paredes has appeared at the renowned Havana Jazz Plaza Festival, the Caracas and Trujillo Jazz Festivals in Venezuela, numerous jazz festivals in Mexico, the Freihofer Jazz Festival in Saratoga, the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, the San Jose Jazz Festival, the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Earshot Jazz Festival in Seattle, and he has also made appearances in Austria, Germany, and Colombia. He has played or recorded with Israel “Cachao” Lopez, Jerry González, Giovani Hidalgo, Dave Samuels, Orquesta Enrique Jorrin, Celio González, Diego alias “El Cigala”, and “Patato” Valdés, Chocolate Armenteros, Fellove Valdes, Bobby Carcassés, David Murray, Richard Bona and Jane Bunnett. “Paredes is one of the best pianists that has left Cuba in the last 15 years.” –Luis Tamargo, Latin Beat Magazine “Steeped in the European classical tradition, enamored of jazz,…Paredes is a thrilling player who combines percussive attack with a vivid harmonic imagination.” - Andrew Gilbert, Boston Globe “Paredes is an aggressive stylist with a bright-sounding, percussive approach and penchant for fiery improvisations, yet time and again he revealed a sweet side…Heed the buzz: Paredes is not to be missed.” –Bob Young, Boston Herald http://www.sonicbids.com/OsmanyParedes »
	Spittin Images Monday july 17 @ the Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 8:30 pm Spittin Images is a dynamic poetry troop made up from Providences own Yunus Quddus, Lawrence Nunes and Christopher Johnson.
	Ras Attitude and Batch Tuesday – July 18 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 9 pm Ras Attitude and Batch are two reggae artists that have teamed up to create an exciting musical collaboration. Batch, from the island of St. Croix, is a talented drummer and vocalist who has been in several Reggae bands, including Motion. Batch is also the founder of a record label, Sound V.I.Zion Records. Ras Attitude, a Virginia-based artist with 3 full albums and several contributions to compilations under his belt, mixes chanting and sweet vocals (that remind many of the great Jamaican singer, Dennis Brown) to create his own musical style.
	Carlos de Leon Wednesday – July 19 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 9 pm Carlos de Leon, 57, had already been playing professionally for 5 years when he came to the United States 40 years ago. He was a full-time professional in New York and played with such Latin luminaries as Machito and Tito Puente, in places such as Yankee Stadium. When de Leon is on stage at the Black Rep, he opens your mind with jazz music. De Leon employs a huge Latin jazz band with a blaring horn section when he can, but the Black Rep version of his band, Clave Logic, is a smaller, more intimate ensemble, with a bassist, piano player and two percussionists, along with de Leon on the trumpet. This renowned artist likes to blend various influences such as music from the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Brazil. Since 1989, de Leon has been a resident of Providence.
	Mango Blue Wednesday – July 19 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 11 pm Mango Blue blends an exciting mixture of musical styles to create a refreshing new sound in Afro-Latin and World music through songs of celebration and social conscience. Mango Blue is a high-powered, all original music ensemble based in New York City that has delighted audiences and promoters alike with its infectious sound. Led by Ecuadorian composer, bassist and singer Alex Alvear, this invigorating hybrid playfully integrates a wide array of influences from Rhythm & Blues, Jazz, and Funk, to Caribbean Roots, with a strong rhythmical foundation that draws from diverse Afro-Latin musical traditions. The members of Mango Blue come from different parts of the world and are among the best instrumentalists in the region. Mango Blue received the Boston Phoenix's 2000 reader's Poll Award for best "World Music Act". http://www.mangoblue.org »
	Neon Soul Collective Thursday – July 20 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 9 pm Friday – July 21 @ Waterplace Park Pre-show festivities begin at 7 pm The Neon Soul Collective is an exploration of the sounds in the African Diasporic musical palette. The PBRC’s Artistic Director Donald King & Neon Soul Collective Musical Director, Daniel Day, co-curate, develop and arrange all the music played by the collective, which performs weekly in The Black Rep’s Xxodus Café, taking audiences on a weekly trans-continental journey and tour of Black music.
	King Britt Thursday – July 20 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 10 pm King Britt, a Philadelphia-based artist/DJ and producer since 1990, has made his career creating funk, acid jazz, hip-hop, and soul. Britt first achieved major recognition as the DJ for the Grammy-Winning band Digital Planets. Some of King Britt’s most well-known albums include When The Funk Hits the Fan and Sylk 130’s Re-Members Only, a semi-autobiographical tribute to the Philadelphia musicians that Britt listened to in his youth. Known for his eclectic taste in music and his talent with rhythms, beats, and grooves, Britt has remixed and produced the music of artists such as Macy Gray, Tori Amos, Donna Lewis, Keoki, Jazzanova, G-Love & Special Sauce, United Future Organization and Gilles Peterson. Britt is a lover of music who has made its production his life’s work.
	The Funk Brothers Friday – July 21 @ Providence Performing Arts Center Pre-show festivities begin at 7 pm You may not have heard of them, but you’ve definitely heard their music: these relatively unknown artists have played on more #1 records than The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones and Elvis Presley combined! The Funk Brothers are a collection of Detroit’s greatest musicians, brought together to record for the Mo-Town Label in the nineteen-sixties. The Funk Brothers performed on hit tracks such as “My Girl,” “Bernadette,” and “I Was Made To Love Her,” behind vocalists such as the Miracles, Marvelettes, Mary Wells, Martha and the Vandellas, Supremes, Temptations, Marvin Gaye and the Four Tops. Their music formed the backbone of the popular Mo-Town phenomenon. In 2002, The Funk Brothers reunited for a documentary, Standing in the Shadows of Mo-Town. Now they’re back in action, the influential musicians who helped launch a music craze—and this time they’re occupying the spotlight they deserve.
	Riders Against the Storm (RAS) Friday – July 21 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 9:30 pm Riders Against the Storm (RAS) is a great Providence-based hip-hop group. After several years of performing as local solo artists, Tiger Lily and Jbro teamed up in the summer of 2003 to create music together. The duo has been working hard over the last three years to write music and poetry that reflects a spirit of resistance to the dominant storm of music and art that exists today. Through music and performance the duo hopes to not only inform, but also to uplift and to create spaces where wounds from atrocities committed against the people of the African diaspora can begin to heal. http://againstthestorm.com/ »
	Meal Ticket Friday – July 21 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 10:30 pm Meal Ticket is a group of three talented MCs sharing their experiences through their art. The Meal Ticket trio of MCs, Jahsh Fiyah, Obese Flow, and Natch 1er, currently residents of Providence, RI, create great Hip-Hop music, cleverly orchestrated with innovative beats, prolific lyrics, and unprecedented energy. The acronym M.E.A.L. Tix signifies Music Entertainment And Life. Laying down the beats behind Meal Ticket’s lyrics are DJ Merc, of Boiler Room Productions in Providence, RI, and DJ Condadon, of Mandatory Entertainment in Miami, FL. These happening individuals are determined to share their talent and love for music with the world of Hip-Hop. http://www.mealtix.com »
	Masta Ace Friday – July 21 @ The Xxodus Café Foxwoods Stage 11:00 pm Masta Ace is a true hip-hop hall-of-famer and one of rap’s greatest lyricists. Ace’s most recent releases, Disposable Arts and A Long Hot Summer, are masterfully crafted collections of streetwise wordplay and bangin’ beats. Raised in the projects of Brownsville, Brooklyn, he made his rap world debut in 1988 on the classic cut, “The Symphony,” from legendary producer Marley Marl’s In Control... Vol. 1 compilation. Masta Ace is well-known for his lyric-crafting talents: the penetrating, hardcore rhymes of Disposable Arts blend intelligence and wittiness with clear-eyed observations of ghetto reality. www.mastaace.com http://www.mastace.com »
	SiSé Saturday – July 22 @ Waterplace Park* 6 pm New York based 6-member *SiSé made a splash 5 years ago with their debut album. They were heralded as one of the important purveyors of the emerging Latin electronica phenomenon. “More Shine” is the band’s second album and it delivers lush electronic songs drenched with Latin sounds and the siren voice of singer Carol C who sings in English and Spanish. Each track tells an urban tale of people trying to connect amidst the chaos of city life. The brainchild of DJ Carol C. and U.F.LOW (Cliff Cristofaro), SiSé* was born from a desire to express their diverse styles of and tastes for music. A mélange of Latin, Electro and Hip-hop, their sound has been blessed with the pristine grit of the city’s underground. "We’re a band from New York, so we try to blend all of the city’s musical traditions including hip-hop beats, Latin rhythms and down-tempo electronic,” adds Carol. “Those are the sounds that we hear every day of our lives – it’s a prelude to the future.” http://www.sisenyc.com » Sound clips available at: http://www.fuertegroup.com/record.cfm »
	NEA Jazz Master Chico Hamilton and Euphoria Saturday – July 22 @ Waterplace Park 7:30 pm Chico Hamilton has been a vital player on the jazz scene for over 50 years. He has worked in an extraordinarily wide variety of contexts- from backing singers and playing in big bands to leading his own innovative ensembles. Chico played with Count Basie, Lionel Hampton and T-Bone Walker in the 1940s. From 1948 through 1954, he was with Lena Horne and toured throughout the world. Chico recently released Thoughts of? It's a swing, swing, swinging affair featuring Chico and his "Euphoria" group- Cary DeNigris on guitar, Paul Ramsey on bass, Evan Schwam on tenor sax, Erik Lawrence on alto and soprano sax, and Karolina Strassmayer on flute, alto and soprano sax . At 81, Chico Hamilton is still swinging with youthful vigor and old school panache. http://www.chicohamiltondrums.com »
	Black Stalin w/ The Sunshine Band featuring Roy Cape Saturday – July 22 @ Waterplace Park 9 pm Black Stalin, an artist from San Fernando, California, has spent his life playing Calypso music and writing songs for pan. Since his debut in 1959, he has performed in Helsinki, New Orleans, London, Toronto, Denmark and the US Virgin Islands, and he was crowned Calypso King of Kings in 1999 for his rendition of "Black Man Feeling to Party.” Black Stalin will be performing with The Sunshine Band, a Calypso ensemble, and Roy Cape, a great bandleader from Trinidad and Tobago. Cape has been in the music business for over 40 years, having bought his first pan at the age of 11. He has since made his career playing alto saxophone. Black Stalin and Roy Cape are personal friends as well as musical collaborators.
	What Cheer Brigade Saturday – July 22 @ The Backyard Stage Following the Parade Brooklyn isn’t the only place with a raucous modern marching band. Providence’s own What Cheer Brigade storms the streets with their slapdash sound of Renaissance City ruckus. Their name comes from the ancient English greeting the Narragansett Tribe supposedly gave Roger Williams, and though they don’t need many wires to perform, the impression they make is anything but old-fashioned. From College Hill to Olneyville, this group combines the sounds of the streets of Providence to create something uniquely reflective of the city and rip-roaringly entertaining. http://www.providencestreetband.com/ »
	Certified Bananas Saturday – July 22 @ The Backyard Stage Following the Parade Certified Bananas is a pair of forward-thinking party DJs who reject genre boundaries and rock wildly eclectic sets of thought provoking and superfun music. The two play a fast-paced whirlwind of musical styles anchored by hip-hop, but mixed up with healthy doses of pop, dancehall, reggaeton, electronic music, rock,their own exclusive remixes and just about anything else. The only requirement is that it sounds good and keeps the people moving. Hear samples and more at www.certifiedbananas.com or www.myspace.com/certifiedbananas »
	The Hungry March Band Saturday – July 22 @ The Backyard Stage Following the Parade The Hungry March Band proclaims itself “the greatest brass march band of all time”—and while it may not have conducted an exhaustive worldwide search, it certainly seems to win the title for its home of Brooklyn, New York. The band serves out a multicultural gumbo mix of the New Orleans krewes, European traditions, the songs of the Roma, jazz classics, and the many musical styles of New York. An ever-changing, festively costumed 20-piece outfit, the band has played their funky, howling jams everywhere from Coney Island to the Museum of Modern Art. In 2004, the Village Voice awarded them one of its highest honors: “best anarchist parade group!” http://hungrymarchband.com/ »
	Lightning Bolt Saturday – July 22 @ The Backyard Stage Following the Parade Providence’s two piece drum and bass outfit that is louder than many NASCAR events. The most complicated music imagineable played by costumed super heroes with hockey gloves. http://www.loadrecords.com/bands/bolt.html »
	Edwin Pabon Saturday – July 22 @ The Westminster Street PEDP Stage Following the Parade Edwin Pabon & Orchestra consists of twelve members. Fronting the orchestra is Edwin and the Salsa Mix Dancers. Edwin performs all the lead vocals of the band, while the Salsa Mix Dancers and members of the percussion section provide chorus vocals. The Orchestra is divided into three sections: the brass section (two trombones and two trumpets); the percussion section (congas, timbales, bongos, and piano); and the string section (electric and baby bass). Edwin Pabon & Orchestra perform a wide range of music. While audiences usually demand salsa and merengue, the Orchestra also plays mambos, cha-cha, and boleros. In the last decade, Edwin and the Orchestra have performed throughout the East Coast, as far north as Canada, at concerts, festivals and other community events, dances, weddings, nightclubs, colleges, and on television programs.
	Utopia Pan Soul Saturday – July 22 @ The Westminster Street PEDP Stage Following the Parade Utopia Pan Soul is a New York based steel drum group that has been entertaining crowds of all ages for several years. Sheldon Elcock and Curt Rogers, respected as masters of their instruments, founded the group to promote steel pan music and to introduce listeners to the history and theory of their specific art form. Utopia Pan Soul’s diverse collection of musicians allows the ensemble to go beyond its base of traditional Calypso and Soca music; its repertoire includes different genres of music and poetry that contribute to the creation of a unique style. Utopia Pan Soul has impressed television audiences through an appearance on “Food Nation with Bobby Flay,” and is now returning to Sound Session for its third year, once again bringing its dynamic sound to delight Providence audiences.
	Drums of Freedom Saturday – July 22 @ The Westminster Street PEDP Stage Following the Parade What would happen if you mix roots with culture? You will come with a soul inspiring aggregation like Village Drums of Freedom. In fact, when the group of spiritual brother first got together this was their intent—to wake up roots and be creative in arts and culture. For the past 30 years they have stuck to their original blueprint with their unique blend of music which uses conventional instruments, African drums and the only musical instrument invented in the 20 century—The Steel pan. During those two decades their roots have spread over land and sea with a band based in Trinidad and Tobago and one in New York City.
	XAXE Saturday – July 22 @ Xxodus Café Cape Verdean & Brazilian Stage presented by Protown Music In USA, Xaxe was discovered not only for his guitar skills but for his vocal talent as well. His music is a mix of the traditional (Coladeira, Funana, Mornas) and new (Zouk, AfroBeats). Today, Xaxe , is one of the most sought after bands in the Cape Verdean community.
	Rome Saturday – July 22 @ Xxodus Café Cape Verdean & Brazilian Stage presented by Protown Music The Artist “Rome” blends different styles including: Coladeira, R&B, Latin, “Zouk Love”, Caribbean riddims, Middle Eastern, to create a new Cape Verdean style. Rome is currently promoting his fourth CD “Reflection” which includes his hit songs “Take a chance” and “De vegar, de vagar.”
	Sandra Peixoto & Banda Saturday – July 22 @ Xxodus Café Cape Verdean & Brazilian Stage presented by Protown Music Sandra Peixote & Banda blend an eclectic mix of Samba, Axe, Pagoda, and Sertaneja.
	Return to top