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| Charles Walker Band Radiates Energy And Entertainment The Charles Walker Band, appearing for the first time at The Drake July 30th, brings an electrically charged performance of various roots music to Burlington, Iowa. The Milwaukee, WI based five piece band performs funk, R&B, and blues, while completely blurring the lines of all three genres and promises excitement in every note they play. This female fronted band, though unique in style, sounds like Sly and the Family Stone meets Sharon Jones and keeps the audience on the floor in every city they hit. The band is on tour for the exciting release of their fifth CD 'Used and Defiant, ' which has been described in Soul Bag magazine as '[An] entire album [that] grooves deeply and there is never a dull moment, proving the band's tremendous genius...An album with diversity, spontaneity, and wholly gratifying, this album appeals to a wide spectrum of listeners.' To sample the band's sound or order any of their catalogue, check out www.walkerband.com which hosts a streaming player of their latest work. Charles Walker, tenor saxophone, keyboard, songwriter & band leader, received formal jazz training at UW Eau Claire, playing saxophone for over 20 years. He has played with such greats as Big Al from New Orleans and JJ Johnson at BB's in St. Louis and his band has opened for BB King, Earth, Wind and Fire, Aaron Neville and Booker T. Muziczine describes him as 'Particularly inventive, Walker is a musician bursting with talent. Well capable of building a melody line, his tenor sax thrusts through the mix powerfully' (4/6/09). Porsche Carmon, lead vocals, was born and raised in Columbus, OH. Porsche's vocal talent was first discovered at the age of twelve during her first musical theater audition for The Me Nobody Knows. After a decade of musical 'silence, ' Porsche re-discovered her passion for musical performance in 2001 and began performing on the Milwaukee scene, eventually sharing the stage with notable talents in New York, Chicago, and Milwaukee such as Jon Pairs, Vic Valenti & Walters Chicago Bands, and the Milwaukee Bucks house band Streetlife w/ Warren Wiegratz. In 2010 she joined the Charles Walker Band, where she sings both lead and backup vocals, and plays congas & percussion. The Door County's Peninsula Pulse said of her talent, 'Carmon's soaring gospel-soul singing, recalls the days of Motown.' The band's first appearance at The Drake at 8:00 promises to be energizing and dance oriented. write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Jazz News :: home page |