Uncommon Ground ^ Aguafuego

Aguafuego
Aguafuego
the brainchild of JBeatz, is an evolving coming together of unique combinations of musicians to interpret her music. This songwriter/lyricist/singer /instrumentalist is dedicated to developing a new sound, rooted not only in her South American heritage (Peru-Ecuador), but also encompassing her background in classical, reggae, rock, jazz, world, hip hop, latin and folk music. With original songs in Spanish and in English, Aguafuego brings a global mix of sounds that create a soulful blend, a tapestry for the timely lyrics and alluring melodies of JBeatz.

JBEATZ: Singer, songwriter, flute, pan pipe, tibetan flute, ocarina, piano, saxophone, guitar, producer and multimedia artist. As a vocalist and wind player for various groups, she has performed at numerous festivals, museums, universities and music venues since 1984 including the Turk's Head Music and Arts Festival, Make It A Night Wednesday Series at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Penn's Landing, Make It A Night in Wilmington Delaware and The Philadelphia Fringe Festival. She has performed internationally at Festival de Verano in Cantabria Spain and most recently with an international group of Italian and North American musicians forming The Delicious Life Orchestra in Bologna, Italy. While in Bologna, she performed at The Container Club and at LINK. JBeatz created "Women in Eclectic Music"series with shows in Philadelphia and Chicago. Past performances included opening with Tree of Life (West Chester, PA) for Yellowman and with Upper Dubland (Philadelphia, PA), opening for Black Uhuru. JBeatz has also shared the stage, worked with: Animus, Elliot Levin, Chuck Treece, Philly Gumbo, Disciples of Discipline and many other Philadelphia musicians. JBeatz has produced and created multimedia/music shows in Philadelphia and has performed these special shows at Highwire Gallery, Philadelphia, PA Tri-Tone, Philadelphia, PA. Other art gallery shows include: Reset art, Philadelphia. JBeatz is currently producing a concert at Meztli Gallery & Cultural Organization in Pilsen and has been invited to perform at El Dia de la Raza Celebration in Chicago.

CHRISTOPHER PERRI: Drummer, songwriter, producer, engineer. Well known Philly emcee, Oaxerai comes full circle and lends his drumming experience to this group. In addition, his background as a producer and beat-maker molds the strong rhythmic orientation of the music. Christopher strives to stretch the boundaries of what has traditionally been known as hip hop. His influences include jazz, reggae, funk, soul, R&B and traditional music of the world. A true do-it-yourselfer, Christopher could be described in countless ways. Over the last ten years, he performed in numerous groups as a rapper or drummer, and produced or co-produced eight CD releases. His poetic philosophy, production, and spoken words are experimental and innovative. His messages are both positive and provocative and his performances are energetic. Self-taught on the drums, Christopher s beats are steady, and his rhythms move with the mood of the music.

JOEL WANEK - bass. Joel is a photographer and educator in Chicago. For the past three years he has been studying upright bass and improvisation with Tatsu Aoki. Since then he has had the fortune of playing with some of Chicago s finest improvisers including Aoki, David Boykin, Nicole Mitchell, Dave Rempis, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Yosef Ben Israel, Josh Abrams and Greg Ward. He s currently a member of Boykin s Microcosmic Sound Orchestra and Ways & Means Trio. One of his newer projects is Sacred Round.

CHRIS ALFORD - guitar. Chris Alford is a creative versatile guitarist and composer that has performed in Mississippi juke joints as well as concert halls and major jazz festivals around the country. Alford earned his M.M. in Jazz Performance from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Tennessee. There he had the opportunity to study and, or perform with Kirk Whalum, Mike Smith,Henry Johnson, Regi Wooten, Jeff Coffin of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and Chester Thompson of Weather Report and Frank Zappa's bands. After graduating with honors Alford moved to his birthplace of Jackson, Mississippi and pursued music full-time. There he became interested in music education, teaching privately and at Holmes Community College. Alford has had the opportunity to play with legends of jazz and blues like Skeets McWilliams, Donnie(Motown records) 2Face( MTV award Winner) john McLean, Ezra Brown, Cassandra Wilson, Dr. London Branch, AACM member Alvin Fielder and many more. He also became a band member of national recording artist jazz songwriter Rhonda Rhichmond. In this band he had the oppurtunity to open for legendary jazz organist Jimmy Smith, The Yellow Jackets, Medeski, Martin, and Wood and jazz diva Cassandra Wilson, whom produced the bands debut album. Currently, Alford has relocated to Chicago where he is pursuing music full time. Recent performances include Atlanta Jazz Festival, Snowbird Jazz Festival, The Unbroken Circle, a unique historical performance concert featuring Cassandra Wilson, Herlin Riley, and Reginald Veal.

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Other artists in the Aguafuego 'hood
Laimas Muzykanti
Ethan Kaulas
Heather Hancock

Uncommon Ground Past Show Dates

2006-11-08 (605 days)