Edgewater Group: Artists
ASHANTI | Latin jazz
One of the Midwest's hottest, busiest and longest-lived Latin jazz groups, Ashanti is a polished 6-piece combo with an amazingly wide-ranging repertoire. The group's beginnings date back to 1983 when Berklee College of Music students from Mexico, Switzerland, Chile, Japan, and Connecticut launched a new musical project. Their Latin jazz combo, led by Gabriel Espinosa and dubbed "Ashanti" to recognize the African roots of their music, performed regularly at a host of Boston-area clubs and concert venues, and appeared on the local CBS and NBC affiliates. In 1984, Ashanti relocated to Cancun and enjoyed steady work in the city's finest hotels and clubs.
Ashanti has been featured at the Coleman Hawkins Jazz Festival in St. Joseph, the Iowa City Jazz Festival, the Rootabaga Jazz Festival at Knox College, the Jazz at Corporate Woods Festival in Kansas City, and has opened shows for the legendary Havana-based Cubanismo! and jazz vocalist Kevin Mahogany. The group has performed with Italian singer/composer Chiara Civello, Brazilian composer/pianist Jovino Santos Neto, drummer Antonio Sanchez, Grammy award-winning composer/arranger/producer/keyboardist Gil Goldstein, Grammy award-winning vibraphonist Dave Samuels, Peruvian drummer and percussionist Alex Acuna, Mexican composer and pianist Eugenio Toussaint, and legendary Swiss saxophonist George Robert. Ashanti even presented a command performance concert for Princess Margriet of the Netherlands.
For more Ashanti info, visit the group's web site: www.ashanti-online.com
FRED GAZZO | crooner
In a recent profile article, Des Moines Register writer Jane Schorer Meisner mused, “If the day ever dawned that Fred Gazzo ruled the world, it would be filled with music.” Gazzo’s musical dream—which he is pursuing with the help of his rock-solid backing quartet called "The Metropolitans"—is to re-inspire widespread passion for the great music of his childhood. "We had a huge Zenith console- everybody had consoles back then - but from 8 a.m. to 1 at night, it would blare Tony Bennett, Mario Lanza, Eydie Gorme, Vic Damone," he says. And you can hear their distinctive influences in every one of Gazzo's scintillating performances.
Following a successful stint in the cast of "Jubilee!" at Bally's Hotel, Gazzo began fronting Las Vegas big bands where he could breathe his own life and charismatic character into the songs he sang. "When you're in a show, you're really not allowed to put much of yourself into your performance. It's the same song, done the same way with the same timing twice a night for six nights a week," he says. "So singing with big bands was really where I wanted to be."
After nearly a decade there, Gazzo grew weary of the gritty Vegas lifestyle and returned home to the Midwest where he delights audiences of all ages with polished nightclub-style performances featuring a sophisticated and wonderfully broad repertoire of mega-popular hits from the songbooks of all of his childhood crooner heroes, punctuated with popular romantic ballads.
For a private party, corporate celebration event, festival concert or even an upscale backyard cocktail party, Fred Gazzo and the Metropolitans is a guaranteed hit! You'll be transported to another time and another place...where all the glory of The Great American Songbook is alive and well.
ROXI COPLAND | chanteuse
Roxi Copland performs throughout the US, entertaining with an engaging combination of original songs and innovative pop-infused arrangements of jazz standards. Copland’s unique jazz/pop genre is probably best described in the words of one reviewer as “a possibly schizophrenic but absolutely brilliant concoction of jazz, pop and soul.” We’re not quite sure if she’s better described as “Norah Jones with bite” or “Amy Winehouse sober.” Either way, this talented singer/songwriter won’t disappoint.
In addition to her own tours throughout the Midwest, Roxi has opened for a number of prominent national acts, including most recently pop sensation Vanessa Carlton, jazz virtuoso Jason Lindner, and the acapella powerhouse the Manhattan Transfer.
Copland released her debut EP, ‘Streetwise’, in December of 2008. ‘Streetwise’ is a perfect representation of Copland’s virtuosity, with tracks ranging from a funky blues to a jazz/hip hop remix. In a review of the album, the Des Moines Register urged its readers: “Listen to the mature timbre of her alto vocals, astute lyrics and sophisticated compositions."
PETER K | guitar
Peter K is a prolific writer, composer, producer, and performer of cutting-edge music. He impresses his audiences with his sophisticated, contemporary compositions of Latin, Jazz, and Funk all with a modern groove. Peter K's musical style has become his signature, and whether performing as a solo artist, with digitally engineered accompaniment, or performing with world-class talent, this is one musician you do not want to miss.
To see and hear more about Peter K, visit his web site at: www.myspace.com/peterkconbrio
THE REYNOLDS FAMILY | Bluegrass to Broadway
From the moment the first pair of blue eyes appears on stage, your heart will be warmed by this delightful family. Their energetic voices, dancing feet and musical hands provide every audience a living picture of love and togetherness. Ranging in ages from 11 to one, this family of nine brothers and sisters performs a repertoire of music, dance, poetry, recitations and stories of family life. Their program program also features colorful costumes, humor and surprises along the way. And their recently released CD titled "Just for You" reflects the happiness and joy they receive--and share--as they perform together.
GAYLA DRAKE PAUL | songwriter/guitarist/singer
Gayla Drake Paul has been playing and writing guitar music for over a quarter of a century. One of a tiny handful of guitarists to master both fingerstyle and flatpicking guitar techniques in multiple genres and tunings, she is rarer still for her remarkable singing voice, prolific songwriting and compositional skills.
Acoustic Guitar Magazine chose her project titled "How Can I Keep From Singing" as one of the top 4 contemporary acoustic guitar CDs of the decade of the 1990's. The prestigious Web organization "Simply Folk" ranked Gayla’s the number-three female songwriter CD of the 1990's. Gayla is listed on several music-oriented Web sites in "Top-Ten" style lists for songwriting, favorite or essential CDs, and for her guitar virtuosity, including www.digitaldreamdoor.com, which ranks her among the top 100 acoustic guitarists in the world.
If you seek an awe-inspiring concert performance, Gayla will deliver...every time! Take one listen and you will understand.