Yogismusic News June 21 2009

We greatly benefited from and enjoyed our space as featured artists on the Jazz Network Worldwide, and now the CD review by Steve Getz is still featured there below the current artists of the week profile.

I also have an interview coming up on KBCS Bellevue Daily Planet Show hosted by Sharon Stevens.
I will be on at 4pm this Tuesday, June 23rd. Check out KBCS Radio online streaming or at 91.3 on your dial. They also archive the shows now. There's a wealth of world music from all countries and traditions there. It's really quite amazing what they have there.

I am also working on setting up an interview at KAOS independent radio in Olympia WA sometime in July, before our August 1st show at the 4th Ave Alehouse there.

And my sideman shows:

Looking forward to appearing with Alex Kajumulo at the Black Community Festival in Judkins Park on July 4th at 4pm.

And I am very happy to announce my appearance with African guitarist/composer Guillaume Mpacko on July 8th on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, at the sports field by the new Microsoft Commons shopping area. I am not sure if you have to be a "Softee" to attend - more on that as the time approaches.

I also have my appearance at the Sunday Jazz Jam at Seattle Mobile Espresso, this time hosted by singer Nelea Lloyd, and we are known as Jazz Montage.
Jazz Montage and Jam session
with Singer Nelea Lloyd
Sunday 7:30pm - 10pm
Seattle Mobile Espresso
13000 Linden Ave N (1 block west if Aurora)
Seattle WA

As usual, I will be at the Ocean City this Friday with Chinese pop singer Shanel Hsu, dishing out the Chinese ballroom faves. It's a nice event - you should attend. No cover, but you are expected to buy dinner. Although famous for their lunchtime dim-sum, I can tell you dinner is really excellent there too!

Shanel, Yogi and Don play
International Ballroom Dancing
Friday 7:30 - 10pm
Ocean City Restaurant Ballroom
609 S Weller St
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 623-2333

The Yoginis featured this week on The Jazz Network Worldwide

I want to thank Jai Jai Jackson for her awesome work over at the Jazz Network Worldwide and for allowing us to feature our music there for a week! She is providing an invaluable service to the indie-jazz community.

Visit THE JAZZ NETWORK WORLDWIDE


I also want to thank Steve Getz (son of Stan Getz, one of the world's most famous jazz musicians), the staff reviewer there, for writing a very nice review of our new CD Terra Shivaiya, which I am reprinting here:

Yogi McCaw, leader, composer and keyboardist presents here his new release:" Yogi and The Yoginis- Terra Shivaiya: Six East-Six West". Yogi has assembled a diverse and talented group of multi-cultural musicians, all in one superb recording offering an esoteric,unique collage, a fusion of jazz and multi-cultural music! Seattle native Yogi McCaw has taken exceptional care in putting this project together, which was recorded over a course of several years on two continents-In the US and in India. The musicians come from the traditions of Jazz, Latin, Brazilian, Indian Classical, Reggae and African music! This is truly a one of a kind recording! This writer does not know of another recording offering such a rich infusion of multi-cultural music which blends different, diverse music, all together in one CD!

Congratulations, Yogi McCaw, on a fine and most unique recording!

Steve Getz
Writer/Reviewer
The Jazz Network Worldwide
June 2009

Yogi with Alex kajumulo plus more weekend gigs

Hi everyone,

I'm very happy to be appearing with Alex Kajumulo at the 4th Ave Tavern in Olympia this Saturday Night 10pm (or so).

We will be filming a concert video, so come be a part of it. This is a rare opportunity to see Alex's band before we start our international touring schedule this fall and winter. The next chance will be July when we headline at the Black Community Festival





Yogi with Alex Kajumulo and Original Sound
Alex rocks Olympia and we'll be making a concert video - BIG FUN!
Sat 10pm - closing
The 4th Ave Tavern
210 4th Ave E
Olympia, WA 98501
360-786-1444

ALSO: I will be on the following gigs in the Seattle area this weekend:

Yogi and Shanel Hsu and Don Zuniga
Friday &:30 - 11pm
Ocean City Restaurant
International Ballroom Dancing with a Chinese Flair
609 S Weller St
Seattle, WA 98104
(206) 623-2333

Sat AM Private Party
Seattle's Aloha Inn, nationally recognized successful program to assist homeless people, celebrates its Birthday.
As always, the African Knights Reggae Band led by program Alumnus Ahmed Tarawally, plays

Sunday evening 7:30 - 10pm
Jazz Montage and Jam session with singer Nelea Lloyd
Chill, friends, a nice cuppa and some jazz
Seattle Mobile Espresso
13000 Linden Ave N
Seattle, WA 98133
(206) 420-4719

Yogi with Alex Kajumulo

Hi folks!

I am now playing keyboards with the Band of Alex Kajumulo. Alex is a former soccer star from Tanzania, who, in retirement from soccer, has been traveling the globe teaching soccer to kids and selling a sporting clothes line called Babukaju. He also has done some music along the way. A couple of years ago he decided to release music and promote it around the world, and to form a touring band. His website is http://www.alexkajumulo.com

I am happy to say that I was one of the first musicians he called to help form his band. Now Alex has released five records, and he is ready to start touring. Here is some info from Alex's Myspace page www.myspace.com/alexkajumulo:

Hello everybody. My name is Alex Kajumulo. I am a recording artist and producer. I have a record label called Babukaju Records and have so far produced five albums. Never Before, Justice for Mankind, Searching for Love, I'm Kool Like That, and Bushman Vision. Never Before has been playing all over the world. One of my songs, Maza Africa, was a finalist in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition. Other songs in the Never Before album have so far been licensed by several organizations.

The first scheduled tour is of Africa in Dec 2009 and January 2010. We will return to Africa in May 2010. We are also arranging tours in Canada and possibly Australia/New Zealand.

We are warming up with a couple of local shows. We will play May 30th 9pm at the 4th Ave Tavern in Olympia. 4th Ave is the premier club for music in dopwntown Olympia. We played there last fall and they told us we brought more people to the club than they had ever had in there before.

We will also be the headliner band at the Black Community Festival on July 4th in Judkins Park in Seattle.

The music is available on iTunes, Amazon, and CDBaby also.

So look for me at Alex's shows.

Yogi's projects update

Yogi's projects update:

Here's the projects I am currently involved in and what's going on with them:

Alex Kajumulo (aka Babukaju) we are playing at the Bellevue Community College on April 20th, a Monday, at 10pm. We seem to be getting a lot of airplay on college stations around the world. We will also be in Olympia at the 4th Ave Pub again on May 30th where we played a packed house last month. Be there for the live concert video we will make. July will see us headlining at the Black Community Festival at Judkins Park in Seattle.
He has music on the Alex Kajumulo myspace page where he has passed the 700,000 listeners mark. The song "Global Warming" seems to be attracting attention as well.

I rehearse and gig occasionally with Martin NTerry's soul reggae group. He is also working on some international promo here, in Europe, and Africa.

I have started to be the keyboardist every Friday night at the Ocean City Ballroom in Chinatown, part of the Ocean City Restaurant enterprise. I back the well-known Chinese singers Shanel and Yadong. Come prepared for some international ballroom-style dancing and great Chinese entrees. The ballroom usually is filled. We start 7:30pm

And I have the Sunday night jazz/world jam session at the Navya Lounge in Seattle's famous Rainier Square center. We start at 7:30pm.

Those are the things I occupy my music time with these days.

After our memorial show for Mike Deasy at the Navya Lounge, we had so much fun, and the place is so nice that we decided to do it every week! So...we are hosting a jazz/world music jam session Sundays 7:30 - 10pm at Navya. Drop in for listening, eats, or if you are a player, some jams!

Usually it will be me on keys and Burt Boice on bass and Ed Mays holding the rhythm section. Of course there will be guests on all instruments at different times.
(We are hoping that some of the players that came last week (Beth and Jim Wulffe, Tim Romain, Hilary Harris) will grace us with their musicianship, and aim to attract the likes of Trumpeter Harv Leonard and Sax Man Mike Yasutake - and ---YOU!
Horns and Singers bring your charts and let's make some joyful noises!

Sunday Jazz Jam with
Yogi and Friends
Navya Lounge
1333 5th Ave (in Rainier Square Center)
Seattle Wa 98101
206-623-4111

I'm ba-a-a-ck!

Hi Everyone,

I am Back after a blog hiatus . I am going to try to re-invent this place. I had wanted to list all the gigs I thought were good in town, but that became overwhelming as I am playing in four different configurations of musicians right now plus holding a full time job! One side effect of that is my time to go to other group's gigs has become more limited since I'm always working on one of the projects I am involved in.

I will still try to get some gigs listed, but the listings won't be as comprehensive, and the blog is going to have to be more focused on the music I am involved in directly. So...PLEASE check the band sites on the right sidebar - I will try to keep the links updated. Also - bands are sending me their gigs in email, on facebook and myspace, so I will try to get listings out ion emails every couple of weeks or so like I was doing before.

I expect to be traveling some more over the coming years, so I will use the blog as a travel log too - send pictures from farway places and all that...

So...slow;y, slowly, I'll startre-establishing my presence on the scene again. Next post will be gigs and then a newsletter.

Cheers everyone and happy 2009!