GAIAFEST

A celebration of
Mother Earth
with
Women in Jazz!

STRAIGHT AHEAD REVIEWS

Out of Detroit's lively jazz scene, which has produced some of the best musicians in the world, comes the ground breaking all female jazz group, Straight Ahead. A group of strong, inventive instrumentalists and vocalists, they have shown themselves to be powerful and imaginative composers and arrangers.

Widely recognized for their eclectic and soulful approach to creating music, the Straight Ahead sound ranges comfortably from mainstream jazz, R&B ballads, Latin to acid jazz. Their live performances are a dynamic celebration of power and joy. They delight in changing textures, moods and tempos.

Introduced as a product of their hometown's lively jazz scene, Straight Ahead was a finalist in the "Sony Innovators" national talent competition. They received their first international exposure when they were invited to open for the legendary Nina Simone at the Montreux-Switzerland Jazz Festival.

The group recorded their first album for Atlantic Jazz, in 1991, "Look Straight Ahead", which made the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart "Top 20". They followed that up with "Body and Soul." and in 1995 with their third album "Dance Of The Forest Rain," which received rave reviews that include Branford Marsalis, who called the group "a monster outfit that truly swings!" Their recent release "City Cuts" has won critical acclaim as " contemporary jazz at its very finest".

These Grammy-nominated Atlantic Jazz recording artists have traveled extensively in the United States, the Caribbean and Europe, garnering rave reviews. Recent appearances include a concert at the prestigious Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. where Ms. Sorab Modi wrote ". . .of all the groups, Straight Ahead was particularly impressive." (Jazziz, August, 1997)

Staff writer for the Kansas City Star says, "This tight, dynamic, outfit stole the show with its high-energy tour-de-force of musical styles." They were nominated to the Motor City Music Awards HALL OF FAME, in 1999, and voted “Talent Deserving Wider Recognition” by Downbeat Magazine.

Joy, Power, Love, Wisdom.......Magic! This is the sound of what is to come.

This is Straight Ahead!

MORE REVIEWS

"Straight Ahead has few if any musical boundaries: it's just as likely to take a John Coltrane composition into the realm of heavy funk as it is to turn a Stevie Wonder tune into a hard-bop blow-out. With bright costuming, highly engaging on-stage personalities and a spirit that is both feisty and friendly, the band has done more than most to get the jazz message out to an entirely new group of listeners, while holding on to dyed-in-the-wool purists." (Birmingham Observer & Eccentric)

"Straight Ahead took the stage at Walter's and for about an hour had the packed house, which braved a persistent drizzle, soaking up every phrase and every beat." (Gleaner, Kingston, Jamaica, W.I.)

"With consummate musicianship, carefully structured and passionately played arrangements and compositions, as well as a variety of rhythmic bags from which to draw." (The Grand Rapids Press)

"Each piece revealed a different facet of the ensemble's considerable jazz and pop appeal and the instrumental, vocal and compositional gifts of its members.  Arrangements of Monk's "I Mean You" and Coltrane's "Impressions", for example, were at once familiar and fresh, for they not only colorfully evoked the classic themes but also incorporated an unusual array of rhythmic, harmonic and vocal twists and nuances." (Washington Post)

"Straight Ahead swings, creates original compositions and puts a fresh spin on some of the standards. Their eclectic sound runs the gamut from straight jazz to infectious pop, with world music thrown in. Word is, you can't sit still during one of their concerts." (Ms. Magazine)

"At the recent Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival organized by the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. the Detroit-based group Straight Ahead was particularly impressive." (Jazziz)