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Ms. Monét & Friends
Ms. Monét
Whether she is performing for former President’s Joe Biden, Bill Clinton or Barack Obama at his historic Inaugural Ball, and his 2012 re-election by lending her voice alongside Jennifer Hudson on the Al Green classic “Let’s Stay Together”, or singing the classic “The Way We Were” for the 2012 Primetime Emmy’s memoriam segment, harmonizing alongside Joe Satriani’s guitar for the United Nations’ thematic song simply titled “Song Without Words”, Ms. Monét continues to accomplish sold-out shows all over the world. She’s mesmerized the people “down under” while touring Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines, the famous Blue Note Jazz clubs in New York and Japan and Hawaii as well as well as the world famous Blues Alley in Washington, DC, Ronnie Scotts in London, the Jakarta Jazz Festival, the Playboy Jazz Festival, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, the North Sea and Montreux Jazz festivals in Europe as well as a historic 8 show “sell-out” at the hip “Joe’s Pub”, in New York. The 2012 Soul Train Awards, standing room only shows at the popular “Bourbon Street” club in Sao Paulo, Brazil, a mesmerizing performance in Macau, China for the United Nations High Level Multi-Stakes holders Strategy Forum, and a successful “sold-out” 7 week run of her first residency in Las Vegas in 2021, Ms. Monét continues to leave the crowds in awe. And it doesn’t stop there, by contributing her vocals on 2 Grammy Award winning projects, 1998’s “Song of the Year” “My Heart Will Go On”, recorded by Celine Dion, and 2016’s “Best Classical Engineered Record” “Ask Your Mama” as well as being honored by the 2015 ASCAP Pop Music Awards for her songwriting contribution to the platinum hit single “Don’t”, by pop phenom Ed Sheeran, selected as a performer at the WORLD EXPO 2020 in Dubai November 2021, a re-occurring featured artist on the annual “Smooth Jazz Cruise” series, a resident artist at Las Vegas’ #1 supper club, “Delilah” inside the prestigious Wynn casino, and one of the top 24 and first ever “Super Saves” on season 24 of NBC’s award winning show “The Voice”, Ms. Monét has only scratched the surface of her career.
Ms. Monét & Friends
Friends on stage will be George Whitty, keyboard, Michael O’Neill, guitar, Joel Taylor, drums, and André Berry, bass
GEORGE WHITTY
www.musicgwhitty.com | |Watch video.
Grammy-award winning keyboardist George Whitty has spent 30 years playing on the road with the Brecker Brothers, Herbie Hancock, David Sanborn, Richard Bona, Chaka Khan, Sadao Watanabe, and a dozen others, and his resume as a session musician and producer includes some of the best-selling records of all time: Santana’s “Supernatural” (with Dave Matthews), Celine Dion’s “Falling Into You” and “These are Special Times”, and more than 300 other CDs.
As a producer/keyboardist, his Grammy-winning streak began with Chaka Khan’s “The Woman I Am” in 1992 and extends through 3 award-winning releases with the Brecker Brothers, most recently Randy Brecker’s “34th and Lex”, 2004’s Grammy-winner for Contemporary Jazz Record of the Year.
MICHEAL O’NEILL
As a young aspiring guitarist, I was motivated by the classic groups like The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones and the Blues Masters BB King, Albert King & Freddie King as well as Motown music. Going forward I fell in love with Stevie Wonder ( who I would later work with for 2 years ) Donny Hathaway, George Benson ( who I’ve spent over 40 years working with ).
In 1979 my first major opportunity came in the form of touring with The Crusaders on the Street Life tour featuring Randy Crawford. Along the way I’ve written and produced several projects as an artist and have learned much in the process. I offer many options to clients whether it’s playing guitar on their projects, producing entire tracks, co-writing, composing scores for film or tv. When it comes to film scoring because I’m also a vocalist I often also write, produce and perform the end credits song in some of the films I work on.
ANDRE BERRY
Bass guitarist Andre Berry played his first jazz gig with Rick Braun in ’95 and has since toured with David Sanborn, Dave Koz, Tom Scott & the LA Express, and the Deep Fried Funk Society.
Drummer Joel Taylor has toured and recorded with artists Josh Groban, Herb Alpert, David Foster, and Bobby Caldwell. He says, “I hit things for a living, but I’m a softy for kitty cats.”
JOE TAYLOR
Joel Taylor, drummer for Gloria Estefan, Jeff Lorber, Herb Alpert, Josh Groban, Bobby Caldwell and a top recording choice of producer David Foster. Studied at Berklee College of Music, focusing his attention on the drums and recording engineering. Alan Dawson and Gary Chaffee were his private drum mentors during this period. Since moving to Los Angeles in 1985, Joel Taylor has been in demand as one of the most versatile drummers in the L.A. studio and touring scene.
He has toured and recorded with a diversity of artists that span the whole stylistic spectrum of the music world, such as Allan Holdsworth, Rick Springfield, Joe Sample, Michael Bublé, Gloria Estefan, Andy Summers, The Jazz Crusaders, Robbie Krieger, Stanley Clarke, Al Dimeola, Robben Ford, Ernie Watts, Eric Marienthal, Jeff Lorber, Herb Alpert, Michel Legrand, Frank Gambale, Diane Schuur, Victor Wooten/ Steve Bailey, Chris Botti, Colin Hay(Men at Work), Josh Groban, Micky Thomas (Starship), Bobby Kimball (Toto), Vesta Williams, Phil Perry, Bobby Caldwell, Brian Bromberg, Yanni, Freeflight and Banned From Utopia (Zappa Alumni Band).
