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| KCC Productions presents Jowee Omicil's release of "Naked" at Arts Garage, Sept 26, in Delray Beach  Be prepared to swing to the incredible sax and clarinet playing of Jowee Omicil at the release of his latest CD, "Naked, " at Arts Garage in Delray Beach. Start time is 8 PM. Accompanying Jowee will be Jeff Deen, tabla, halo; Michael Piolet, drums; Ti West, tambour; Carlos Alabaci, bass; and Harold St-Louis- keys/piano. More than a mere player, Jowee is a unique and prolific composer, producer, arranger, vocalist, band leader, and music instructor who has devoted much of his time to passing down his broad knowledge of musicology to students of all ages. On May 18, 2010, Jowee had the honor of being invited to President Barack Obama's White House to play his music for its inaugural observation of Haitian Flag Day before 150 VIP guests. With his latest release, "Naked", Jowee offers a work that is steeped in purpose yet listener-friendly and accessible to all. In essence, that is the only way he knows to approach the making of his music.Says Jowee: "NAKED was recorded at the Riviera area stage theater with the bare minimum. The nakedness invites the listener to participate. I see it as a jazz orgy, where everybody join in. Going forward, setting up your own standards it's a call and response to my musical ancestors Fela Kuti, Coltrane, Dibango, Toussaint Louverture, Jean Baptiste DuSable, Sonny Rollins, Ornette Coleman, Pharoah Sanders, Kenny Garrett, Branford Marsalis, Kirk Franklin, Kathleen Battle, Luciano Pavarotti ...what does that do to the listeners? It invites them to add their grain of salt and join the musical Fest. While listening to NAKED the people will want to jam with the record. This is the purpose of being NAKED musically." It's the continuation of his previous album, "Roots & Grooves, " which was naked too. Jowee is opening a dialogue with music lovers by releasing this Album. "I'm very satisfied with the outcome of this project. May the world face my nakedness, " he says. There is a Gospel medley, performed as a duet with Harold St-Louis, dedicated to his Dad which brings Jowee to his church roots. Ti West on congas/tambour is a master of roots folklore rhythms in Haiti. He's featured vocally and instrumentally. The eclectic sound of the halo, hapi and the tabla are all played by Jeffrey Deen, who's an Indian-rooted musician whose performances provide joy to listeners. James Quinlan on bass, Michael Piolet on drums, and Carlos Alabaci round out the personnel, all of whom were under 20 at the time. Jowee loves to promote the younger generation who will be and who are becoming the leaders of today's scene. Jowee's music is steeped in the spirituality set forth by his minister father. "I had the honor of producing music on the very last recording of Haiti's great Pepe Bayard, " Jowee reflects. "He was dying while we were making that record, but immersing himself in music helped him live a whole lot longer. That's the power of music... and that's what I want to bring back. I also want people to DANCE to jazz again. Jazz was once popular music and I want the world to groove once again." During the performance, artist Lou-Lou Davila-Hagopian will "paint to music, " with the finished product on display at the conclusion of the performance. " "This young man is a very talented and gifted musician, always in the lab working on his songs and practicing his instrument. He is a person we will be hearing in the future. Keep your ears and eyes open." –Kenny Garrett, Musician The Arts Garage is located at 180 NE First Street, Delray Beach write your comments about the article :: © 2014 Jazz News :: home page |