Yogis Gigs Thanksgiving Weekend

Hi Music Lovers,

I have two very nice gigs coming up this weekend that you can enjoy. I will be playing keyboards with the Martin NTerry Beneere Band. Martin hails from Burkina Faso, West Africa, and sings his powerful songs of social change and love in the African Reggae style. Highly danceable, and you can practice up on your French, as he sings many of the songs in French.

Then on Sunday I will be on keys with Babu Kaju, that's Alex Kajumulo of Tanzania. That will be in Bellingham at the Wild Buffalo, and is a benefit party of the Slum Doctor organization, which has helped thousands of people fight poverty in Africa. We played last summer for Slum Doctor to a sold out crowd of several hundred and expect to so the same in Bellingham.

Here's the scoops:

Martin N'Terry Beneere Band
Fri Nov 28th 9pm
Waid's Haitian Café
1212 E Jefferson St (between 12th and 14th aves)
Seattle WA 98122
$10 at the door

Sun Nov 30th 8pm
Babukaju Alex Kajumulo
Slum Doctor Benefit
The Wild Buffalo
208 W Holly St
Bellingham, WA 98225
(360) 752-0848
$16 and $8 students

Yogi's June Gigs

Hey everyone,

Wanted to shout out the Yoginis June gigs
There two opportunities to see the Yoginis, and I have a sideman gig with the Jet City Rock band (yes, I play rock'n'roll too!)
Also, we are on Reverbnation as well as MySpace
And now, we're on The Jazz Network too!

Yoginis:
Fri and Sat June 20-21 9:30pm -12:30am
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Regatta Bar and Grill
1113 6th Ave Seattle WA 98101
No cover, donations to musicians accepted

Yoginis Quintet in Crowne plaza's five-star hotel lounge
No Cover, full bar, nice, non-greasy bar menu
Great room for our jazzy sambas and chill bossas

Friday June 27th 7pm- 10:30pm

Cafe Vignole
9252 57th Ave S (cnr of Rainer Ave)
Seattle WA 98116
No cover, donations to musicians accepted

A new jewel in Seattle south end
Elegant, yet casual, Cafe vignole is where "Tuscany meets the South."
Good food, good vibes, good folks.
Always a joy to perform in this place.

What folks are saying about The Yoginis:

"Thank you for a most amazing evening of music! Your gigs are always so full of great music and beautiful friends."
-Jeannie - owner of “Bossa2Nova, #1 Bossa Nova Internet radio www.live365.com/stations/bossa2nova

"It was an enormous pleasure to hear you and especially to sing with a musician of your level. Thanks Yogi!"
- Brazilian Singer Nilza Lessa

"We love you guys!" - Rebeqa Rivers, La Familia Art Gallery, Seattle

Yogi on Keyboards with
The Jet City Rock Band
Friday June 6th 9pm
Highliner Pub
3909 18th Ave W
(Interbay near Fisherman's terminal)

Stones, Beatles, Cream, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Spirit, Heart, etc...plus a few originals
These guys are all veteran rockers who know how to get the sound...so check it out.

New Music clip with slideshow

Here's a new music clip from the Indian/Jazz fusion sessions. The song is DDA Flat Nine. The Indian tracks in the song appear in the movie Dalai Lama Renaissance
The song title has many meanings. We stayed in the DDA (Delhi Development Association) flats while I was in India. The raga the song is based on has what we jazz musicians call a "flat 9" built into the scale. Finally, the rhythm of the songs is a 9-beat clave structure, which we created , since there is no such concept as "clave" in Indian music. "Clave" is a rhythm structure found in Afro-Cuban music. Most clave is for four beat cycles, but this one is a 9-beat clave. Enjoy!

Yoginis Spring 2008

Hi everyone,

I have joined the ReverbNation musicians network, and will be using their tools to help me manage music emails and stuff. They have an opt-in form to make sure emails are received by people who want to get them. So, if you want to receive Yoginis info on gigs and projects, please opt in:

Opt-in link for Yoginis email list:
http://www.reverbnation.com/yoginis?add_email=true

The Yoginis are working completing the Indian - Jazz fusion album Terra Shivaiya. it should be ready in the fall. IT consists of combining music I recorded in Delhi India in 2006 with the western Yoginis musicians to make a seamless East-West music experience.

Meanwhile, the India tracks are being used in the film DalaiLama Renaissance and has been playing worldwide at film festivals to sold-out shows with some festivals even having to make extra showings to accomodate demand. There will be a soundtrack released as the movie opens in theatres in Europe and the USA in May.

You may also have heard about the violent protests and resulting Chinese crackdown in the Tibetan provinces of China. I want to urge you to show support for Tibet and also urge China to use restraint when restoring order by signing this petition over at Avaaz.org. Over 360,000 people have signed it and they want up to 1 million, and it will be delivered to Chinese officials.

It's important to support the Dalai Lama who has requested the Tibetans to stop rioting and destroying Chinese property, and requested that the Chinese use retraint when dealing with the Tibetan protesters. Please help out.

Avaaz.org homepage (Tibet is listed as top issue right now):
http://www.avaaz.org/en/

We have shows coming in April at Egan's Ballard Jamhouse on April 11th (the weekend that the Dalai Lama will be in Seattle - website here - and in May at Crowne Plaza and at the Northgate Community Center in the Neighbor Power project Finale, an event sponsored by Seattle City Light.

I'll send out emails and post up the details on those as they near.

You can also get on the Yoginis email list using this widget:

Crowne Plaza, Cafe Vignole

Hi Everyone,

The Yoginis will be in a quartet configuration at Seattle's Crowne Plaza Regatta Bar and Grille this weekend. I'll be on keys, Samia Panni on multi-lingual vocals and Brazilian Percussion, Burt Boice on contrabass and JC Johnny Conga on Afro-Cuban percussion. We'll be exploring our samba-jazz/fusion/ Yogistyle grooves for your listening/drinking/dining

/socializing pleasure.

Crowne Plaza has a luxurious international hotel lounge and a great grille menu along with a well-stocked bar. Entertainment manager Paul is the consummate gracious host, and he loves jazz. So it's always a good thang down at the CP. Hope to see you there.

Yoginis Quartet
Fri - Sat, Feb 29 - March 1
9:30pm - 12:30am
Crowne Plaza Hotel
1113 6th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101

no cover

Cafe Vignole!

The Yoginis Quartet will be at Seattle's new Cafe Vignole, and elegant Italian/Southern Cuisine Restaurant in Seattle's Rainier Beach. They have an excellent wine selection, and have newly remodeled their space, AND have started having jazz every weekend!

We are excited to be invited to play our music there, and it will be on Friday March 7th, from 7-10 pm. We hope you come out, enjoy dinner and wine, meet the folks at Cage Vignole and hang out with us too.

Yoginis Quartet
Friday, March 7th, 7-10pm
Cafe Vignole
9252 57th Ave S (cnr of Rainer Ave)
Seattle WA 98116

Yoginis Shows, Dalai Lama Movie, and Babu Kaju "Never Before"

Hey Everyone,

News in Yogis Music World:

We had a very nice time playing an invite-only Singles event at an the La Familia Art Gallery in Pioneer Square last night, and The Yoginis Rhythm (Yogi on keys, Burt Boice on Bass, Ed Mays on drums) section backed up Trumpeter Harvey Leonard at a Mardi Gras celebration in Tacoma to a very, very appreciative crowd at St Mary’s Episcopal Church. Thanks to all who made those events possible or attended one of them!

I am still continuing to plug away at the Yoginis Indian-Jazz fusion project. The tracks from India have, as you know, if you know me, been included in the new documentary Dalai Lama Renaissance, now doing quite well in film festivals worldwide and due for release to theatres in Europe in May, and later in the States. Here’s a trailer for the movie.

Next shows include full band Yoginis at the Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park on the North side of Lake Washington, and Crowne Plaza’s Regatta Bar and Grille in downtown Seattle no cover for any of these shows, so come on out and say hi to the band:

Fri Feb 15th 7:30 -9:30pm
Third Place Books
Lake Forest Park Towne Centre
17171 Bothell Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
Tel: 206-366-3333
http://www.thirdplacebooks.com

Feb 22-23,9:30pm-12:30pm
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Regatta Bar and Grille
1113 6th Ave
Seattle WA 98101
http://tinyurl.com/2dawxa

Finally, I want to mention that my collaboration with Tanzania’s soccer-star/musician Babu Kaju (Alex Kajumulo) is entering a new phase. Babu Kaju’s new record “Never Before” has been getting good press in Africa, Europe, and the USA. He has a song, “Maza Africa,” that is one of 16 finalists in the International Songwriting Competition (chosen from over 15,000 submitted songs!) The song has Jamaican singer Selassie I-soldier and Seattle violinist Joel Gamble on it.

Listen to the songs of the finalists here, and vote for one of them (hint, hint!) They want a valid email address (which is not published) and you can vote once a day, so you can vote for Alex’s song every day (ok, you can vote for others, too!)

We will be premiering live shows in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya in March and April. Hopefully that will lead to shows around here you can attend later on too.

I will send out an email just for the Babu Kaju Never Before project in a few days.

Yogi's Gigs Jan - Feb 2008

Here's the rundown for the next several weeks. In addition to this I'll be doing more in the recording Studio on the album Terra Shivaiya, the Indian/Jazz fusion record from which the India tracks were pulled for use in the Dalai Lama Renaissance film.

Also note that The Yoginis will start having their rehearsals at the Ugly Mug on Monday nights. This a chance to hear the "behind the scenes" with the rhythm section working out on our original songs, and bringing in the Yoginis Horn players and Singers when available, and the occasional guest performer.

And I'll be alternating the Ugly Mug Sunday Jam Sessions with Mike Yasutake. He leads on the 13th and 27th, I lead on the 20th. That's always a hoot with lots of good players.

I'll be sitting in with a bunch of blues/rockers at the Celtic Bayou in Redmond on Fri the 11th of Jan. Gotta play that roots rock every now and then.

And we return to Soulfood Bookstore Sat the 12th, Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park on Fri Feb 15th, and one of our favorite gigs, The Crowne Plaza Hotel, on Feb 22-23.

Here's the scoop:

Fri Jan 11th 9:30pm -1:00am
Sitting in on the blues/rock jam at
Celtic Bayou
7281 W Samm Pkwy E
Redmond, WA 98052
(425) 869-5933
www.celticbayou.com

Saturday Jan 12th 8-10pm
SoulFood Books and Cafe
15748 Redmond Way
Redmond, WA 98052
Tel: (425) 881-5309
All Ages Smoke-free
No alcohol
http://soulfood.booksense.com

Sunday Jan 13th, 20th, 27th 7-9:30pm
Ugly Mug Jam Session
(20th w/Mike Yasutake)
http://myspace.com/uglymugjazz

Monday Jan 14th, 21st, 28th
Yoginis band practice
The Ugly Mug
11425 Rainier Ave S
Seattle, WA
http://myspace.com/uglymugjazz

Fri Feb 15th 7:30 -9:30pm
Third Place Books
Lake Forest Park Towne Centre
17171 Bothell Way NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
Tel: 206-366-3333
http://www.thirdplacebooks.com

Feb 22-23,9:30pm-12:30pm
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Regatta Bar and Grille
1113 6th Ave
Seattle WA 98101
http://tinyurl.com/2dawxa