Suzanne has smooth, mature and trained voice that delivers sultry, sophisticated, and dynamic jazz, passionate, moving Gospel and a truly vast repertoire of familiar and less well known standards, jazz tunes, R&B pop and a little Country in her own style and arrangements.
Suzanne has worked/recorded with an array of talented musicians, including Reggie Graham, noted Sacramento jazz/Gospel musician and good friend who co-wrote the song “Lasting Impression." Musician, jazz educator Michele Weir contributed the arrangement of “Listening to the Radio.” In 2003, she formed the Jazz Generation, adding a unique style to the Sacramento scene.
Just released in 2008 are "Aurora," the official theme song of Women of Color Day (March 1st annually) and "Lasting Impression," a song about her one date with Miles Davis in Philadelphia's Showboat sparked by Kenny Garrett's "Simply Said." She records on her own label, Women of Color Day, and in her own studio. New literary and music projects are ongoing, with more originals.
Besides songwriting, Brooks writes poems, stories, essays,show scripts and has her own online column, Women of Color" in The Black Commentator (blackcommentator.com). She sings in Spanish, French and Hawaiian and is originally from Philadelphia, PA and is now collaborating with Sergio Ortuño, Director of the Mundo Afro Candombe Drum School in Montevideo, Uruguay.
REGGIE GRAHAM, Keyboardist, was introduced to Bay Area audiences as an organist in jazz legend John Hendricks very successful production, "The Evolution of the Blues". The exposure he received from this musical brought him into contact with Casablanca recording artist Jimmy Goins, lead vocalist for Latin-rock group “Santa Esmeralda" who chose Reggie as the group's multi-keyboardist. Reggie toured Brazil Mexico, Japan, Canada, Kuwait, Jordan and extensively in the US with this group.
As talented in Gospel music as in jazz, Latin and rock, Reggie has performed with Gospel artists Helen Stevenson, Angella Christie and Arthur Jones. He has toured with the popular disco group “Two Tons Of Fun" also known as "The Weather Girls".
The Reggie Graham Quartet has performed widely, including in concert with Dizzy Gillespie, The Ellington Orchestra, Stanley Turrentine, The Charlie Hunter Trio, George Benson, and The Dirty Dozen Band. Blues legend Jimmy Witherspoon added Reggie to his band for one of his Bay Area engagements.
He handled the keyboard duties for DO WOP LOVE the hit musical for New York City and was the Musical Director for the Gospel at Collonus, a California Musical Theater production. He has furnished his expertise in the development of local musical productions and new groups.
SERGIO ORTUÑO, Percussionist, is a master drummer and director of the Mundo Afro Candombe Drum School in Montevideo, Uruguay. He has just released a new book about Candome at the 2008 Festival at the National Theater in Montevideo.
Performing widely in Uruguay and internationally and recording with numerous other artists, Sergio's recent work includes contributions to the recordings of Gylchris, Gospel and Operatic Singer in Washington, DC and a concert and drum workshops in Berkeley and Oakland, California.
Candombe (can-dome-bey) is a unique Afro–Uruguayan rhythm, African derived,that has been an important part of Uruguayan culture for over two hundred years. Uruguay, with a population of approximately 3.2 million, is a small country located in South America, bordered by Brazil and Argentina. This rhythm traveled to Uruguay from Africa with black slaves and is still going strong in the streets, halls and carnivals.
Candombe is what survives of the ancestral heritage of Bantu roots, brought by the blacks arriving at the Río de la Plata. The term is generic for all black dances: synonymous with and evoking the rituals of that race. Its musical spirit sums up the experiences of the slaves. During colonial times, the newly arrived Africans called their drums tangó, and used this term to refer to the place where they gathered to perform their candombe dances; by extension, the dances were also called tangós. With the word tangó, they defined the place, the instrument, and the dance of the Afro Uruguayan.
The tango developed simultaneously in Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Although typically regarded as the creation of Italian and Spanish immigrants, the tango's music and dance movements were deeply influenced by African dance and music, according to experts. Today, the African population of Argentina has all but disappeared.
The candombe rhythm is created by the use of three drums (tambores), tambor piano, tambor chico and tambor repique. When these three drums heat up, it's like nothing you've ever heard before.
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