The Adventures of Mz. Dee
Oakland born, Mz Dee has lived all over the East Bay, from the hills of Berkeley to her favorite home, a houseboat floating upon the Oakland/Alameda Riviera. As a youngster, she was extremely shy and withdrawn, yet often dreamed of being on stages around the world, performing her favorite songs. Overcoming her shyness, Little Dee would entertain the neighborhood children in the family garage by putting on a one woman show. From this early beginning, Mz Dee developed a burning desire to pursue her art, and the passion to share her music. Over the past 15 years that Mz. Dee has been blessed with the opportunity to sing with some of the best musicians anywhere, performing in many of the great venues both here in the S. F. Bay Area and internationally, most recently at the Umbria Summer Jazz Festival.
Mz Dee shows both her performing and writing skills on her recently released debut CD, Real Woman, Real Soul. a journey through the worlds of Blues, Funk, R&B and Jazz. The songs spring from many diverse origins including everyone from the renowned Etta James, the poignant "If I only had one friend of Ira Walker, to originals from Mz. Dee's own book of poetry.
Over the years, Mz. Dee has played with many great musicians. Below is a list of some of the greatest with whom she has played, learned from, and who she wishes to honor. Above all others, Mz. Dee puts her mother, Rochon Hemmans, noted as one of the Bay Area's top church organists and arrangers, as her first influence and
greatest inspiration in the music world. She is not only Mz. Dee's first mentor but her greatest fan, yet still a mother first of all. Mz. Dee remembers sitting on her lap while she directed and sang with the church choir, laughing as she recall: "She also threw a pretty good hymn book at us from the throne of the organ pit if we acted up in church.." Also a noted vocalist, Mz Dee relates how her mother's "....voice would, and still can, fill the church with love, and assurance that there is a God. Only God could bless such a voice to put the good news into song."
HONOR ROLL MUSICIANS
Rochon Brooks Hemmans -MVP
Ruth Brown, Vocals
Garth Webber - Guitarist
Lady Bianca
Willie Riser - Bassist
Musashi, (Moose) Guitar, Vocals, Bass
Harold (Paquettz) Logwood - Drummer
Gail Muldrow - Guitarist, Vocals, & more
Johnny Otis - Pioneer, Artist, Spiritual Leader
Zigaboo Modeliste - Drummer, Pioneer, Multi
Ron-E-Beck - Drummer, Vocalist
Daniel Castro - Guitarist, Vocalist
Michael Griggs - Guitarist, Vocalist, Multi
Geno Blacknell - Bass, Keys, Drums, Arranger
Myron Williams - Bass, Vocalist
Chris Cain - Guitarist, Vocalist
Linda Wiggins - Keyboard, Vocalist
Michael Peliquin - Harmonica, Saxophone
Michael Rinta - Trombone
Dave Bell-Guitar- Vocalist, Multi
Anthony Paule -Guitarist, Vocalist
Patrick Ford - Drummer
Mark Ford - Harmonica
Robben Ford - Guitarist, Vocalist
Myron Dove - Bass, Vocalist
Mark Naftalin - Keyboard, Radio Personality
Ron Thompson - Guitarist, Vocalist
James Cotton - Harmonica
Jackie Payne - Vocalist
Freddie & Derrick Hughes - Vocalist
Rusty Allen - Bassist
Kelvin Dixon - Drummer
Lorenzo Hawkins - Keyboard
Jimmy James Page - Keyboard
Jimmy Pugh, Keyboard
John Lee Saunders, Keyboard, Horns
Chris Sandoval, Keyboard
Tommy Castro, Guitar
Gary Calvin, Bass, Multi
Steve Gannon, Guitar
Wilton Rab, Guitar, Multi
Big Bone, Harp, Vocals
U. C. Buu, Rap
Taylor P. Collins, Vocals
Paul Dorr, Keyboards
Michael O' Neill
Tony Macaroni Lufrano, Keyboards
James McKInney, Vocals, Keyboards
Paul Revelli, Drums, Vocals
Tim Wagar, Bass
Eric Swinderman, Guitar
Bill Norwood, Drums, Vocals
Bobby Young, Guitar
Billy Johnson, Drums
Ruth Davies, Bass
Tammy Hall, Keyboard
Simon Russell, Keyboard, Vocals
Leroy Shyne, Bass, Sound, Recording
Rusty Zinn, Guitar
Steve Freund, Guitar
Johnny Ace, Bass
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