Dee Dee's Jazz Diary

Dee Dee McNeil

Dee Dee McNeil, born in Detroit, Michigan, spent her early musical life as a contract songwriter for Motown Record Company. Her music has been recorded by Nancy Wilson, Jonah Jones, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Gladys Knight & the Pips, David Ruffin, The Four Tops, Edwin Starr and the wife of late, great Reggae master Bob Marley, Rita Marley, to name only a few. Although she is successful commercially, McNeil's roots and real passion have always embraced jazz music. She's a diverse writer, poet, plays piano, sings professionally and has written a number of plays and children's stories. Her freelance articles & CD reviews have appeared in Essence, Pathfinders Travel Magazine, Cadence Magazine, All About Jazz and many more publications, both in this country and abroad. She was the original lady who recorded with the historic Watts Prophets spoken-word group in the early 70's. Their "Rappin' Black in a White World" LP was nominated for an NAACP Award long before rap became popular. Her original song, "What Is A Man" (sampled from that LP) was used in the motion picture "Higher Learning." As part of the first spoken-word group to put danceable music to poetry, she became opening act for Roberta Flack, Les McCann, Richard Pryor, and many others. Ms. McNeil is currently producing jazz concerts in hopes of keeping jazz music alive; raising the pay scale for jazz musicians; introducing jazz to a younger audience and at the same time, sharing historic facts about some of our great jazz artists, who are too often taken for granted. In 2001, Dee Dee won the National BET (Black Entertainment Television) Jazz Discovery Contest, competing with vocalists all over the country. When she is not performing at jazz clubs, she is a part-time vocal coach at the California College of Music and also teaches Songwriting and Artist Development. www.deedeemac.com

CD Review: James Zollar's "Zollar Systems" and Derrick Gardner's "Echoes of Ethnicity" (Jul 31, 2010, 3:54 PM PDT)
"'I'll take the Subway Home' is a catchy offering with a melody that sticks in your mind like bubble gum to a shoe."
CD Review: James Zollar's "Zollar Systems" and Derrick Gardner's "Echoes of Ethnicity"

CD Review: James Zollar's "Zollar Systems" and Derrick Gardner's "Echoes of Ethnicity"
James Zollar has wrapped American Jazz roots around international influences to produce a tightly mixed, musical package entitled "Zollar Systems." As explained in the liner notes, this CD is all about life connections and spirituality.

The first tune "Chicago Preferred" (a Daniel Jackson composition) is full of fervor and enthusiasm. The horns swing at a straight-ahead tempo. Zollar on trumpet and Stacy Dillard on tenor saxophone play aggressively but keep the melody intact.

This is followed by a Basia composition, "The Prayer of a Happy Housewife". Basia is a Polish pop artist whose music I have always enjoyed. Her unexpected song on this Zollar CD becomes a nice platform to showcase Ugonna Okeywo on bass. Zollar uses a classical spin at the top and then settles into something that sounds like it could be played as background music behind any number of motion picture scenes.

"I'll take the Subway Home" is a composition by the groups' singer/songwriter, Nobuko Kiryu and is a catchy offering with a melody that sticks in your mind like bubble gum to a shoe. Kiryu manipulates her sweet, alto voice to deliver an addictive melody. Good song!

Hoagy Carmichael's "The Nearness of You" is performed by Zollar with the necessary tenderness and charm. I like the little Thelonius Monk twist that pianist Rick Germanson added during his very creative solo.

Zollar's original composition, "Slick" gives drummer Bruce Cox free range to set the tempo and create invigorating energy. The rest of the band follows suit. Pianist Germanson also contributed an original song to this CD titled "Black Winter." Cox fuels this piece with his amazing percussive energy, edged on by Zollar's prodding horn lines.

Hank Jones' beautiful song, "Angel Face," is performed as a lovely ballad and becomes one of my favorites on this album. Over all, this is a pleasurable listen that encompasses a worldwide spectrum of flavors meant to tempt the ear's selective palate.

On another note, Derrick Gardner and the Jazz Prophets (out of Michigan) recently won the Jazz Indie Award for their CD "Echoes of Ethnicity" on their Independent label, Owl Studios, LLC. I was very impressed with the sample that's on the Indie Awards Site. You can check out their winning CD here.