"Imagine a classic band fronted by a beautiful blond with a gospel voice and all the moves of Tina Turner. Get the picture?" The Working Musician CD Reviews

7 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Funky Blues, BLUES: Blues Vocals



Details:
THIS CD WAS JUST SELECTED BY THE LONG ISLAND BLUES SOCIETY TO COMPETE IN THE 2007 INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE FOR "BEST SELF-PRODUCED CD."

THE NRG BAND with NICOLE HART is the natural evolution in the Blues/Funk/Soul Genre, aggressively combining a seductive, funky feel with the soulful nuances of The Blues. Under the direction of producer, arranger, and multi-keyboardist Lance Ong (David Sanborn, Grand Funk Railroad, Pointer Sisters), together with co-writer & lead vocalist Nicole Hart (Billy Joel, Harry Belafonte, Michael Monroe), the original compositions & re-arrangement of classic Blues and R&B material can only be described as: "NRG-ized"!

NICOLE HART (Lead Vocals, Shakers, Tambourine)
Nicole's timeless, powerful, intoxicating voice is beautifully soul-sweet, silky then gritty; classic, yet absolutely contemporary. She is renowned for her electrifying stage presence & began her career hand chosen by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Shirley Alston, to become the first ever white singer for THE SHIRELLES. âI responded to an ad in the Village Voice for a black vocalist,â she recalls, âI ran through my qualifications for the musical director over the phone. When he invited me to come down, âJust one thing,â I said, â...Iâm not blackâ¦â Pause. âWell, come down anyway,â he said. I sang for Shirley & she hired me on the spot.â

Straddling the diverse musical terrain as defined by such icons as Susan Tedeschi, Sheryl Crow, Bonnie Raitt, & Janis Joplin, Nicole originally hails from Atlanta, GA, and composed her first song at age 11 on her old Conn guitar. âThereâs a piece of me in every lyric I write; emotion Iâve felt, situations Iâve experienced, even wisdom Iâve gained. I write what is true for me.â

Nicole has sung with Billy Joel & is featured on-camera in his "All About Soul" video from the River of Dreams CD. She has recorded & performed with many other artists, including Harry Belafonte, Michael Monroe & Michael Bolton, as well as having recorded for movies & television, including director Jonathan Demiâs âSomething Wildâ.

Lance Ong (Keyboards, Vocals, Musical Director) Lance's masterful command of the keyboards is undisputed, & he is absolutely one of the most exciting and versatile soloists on the scene today. He was part of a team that produced, wrote & arranged over 700 National Network TV commercials, & was nominated for two Clio Awards. He wrote, produced, arranged & performed music for the CBS Sports Series "Winterfest", as well as the score for the Bruce Landsbury/New World Pictures film, "The Initiation."

Lance can even be seen & heard on-camera in the film, "Carrie" playing keys in the band during the infamous Prom Scene! His record credits include a Grammy Award winning album by Andre Crouch, David Sanborn, The Pointer Sisters, Grand Funk Railroad, Michael Murphy, Frankie Beverly and Maze, Anne Murray, Johnny Halliday and Sylvie Vartan (French), Trini Lopez, Erykah Badu & many others, & his compositions have been performed by Liza Minelli & Rosemary Clooney.

Stanley Behrens, Harmonica & Tenor sax:

Stanley has toured with Ruth Brown, recorded two records with Willie Dixon, three records with Jimmy Smith, âFriends in the Canâ for Canned Heat alongside guest artists John Lee Hooker, Taj Mahal, Roy Rogers, Corey Stevens and Walter Trout, & recorded for more television shows & movies than we can name here. For more on Stanley, simply GOOGLE him!

Gil Parris (Guitars) This Grammy-nominee is one of very few artists who have nationally released albums in over four different genres: R&B, smooth jazz, traditional jazz and blues. He has solo albums on RCA/BMG ("Gil Parris shines through as the brightest star in the genre since Larry Carlton" -Guitar One Magazine), Okra-Tone/Koch ("Parris has the goods and all seven cuts here show it" -Vintage Guitar), and his own "Jam This" release ("When it comes to improvising epic, crowd-pleasing solos in an eclectic range of styles, Parris is more than qualified to deliver the goods" -Guitar Player);

Rich Cohen (Guitars) Rich steps to the plate with his multi-dimensional playing ranging from ripping blues solos to sensitive jazz nuances to funk & raw rock n roll. Performance and recording credits include: Rickie Lee Jones, Buddy Miles, Lucky Peterson, Billy Branch, Magic Slim, Don Was, Phoebe Snow, Gavin Degraw, Was (Not Was), Randy Jacobs & The Boneshakers, Ted Hawkins, Bill Simms, and numerous others.

Vonnie Hudson (Bass) - Professor of the Groove, Doctorate of Grooveology. Whether laying down his mesmerizing groove or enrapturing audiences with his exceptional soloing, Vonnie is one of the great bass talents to come out of New York. His playing undeniably personifies the 4 âTâsâ of great musicianship: touch, taste, tone & timbre, & rounds out THE NRG BAND Rhythm Section for a totally satisfying, funky finesse.

Joe Piteo - (Drums) Hard-driving rhythms, tight grooves, thrilling solos, Joe Piteo delivers all this and more. His playing is alternately spare, wittily complex, & always exciting. Locking tight with Bassist Vonnie Hudson, Joeâs playing makes an exceptionally firm foundation for NRG.

The mission of this consortium is to bring intense, provocative, & completely satisfying music to our audience.

The NRG Band is often asked how to define our sound. According to The Blues Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee, keeper of the official Blues flame, âModern Electric Blues is an eclectic mixture ⦠embracing both the old, the new and something that falls between the two⦠(and) pays homage to those vintage styles of playing while simultaneously recasting them in contemporary fashion. It can also beâ¦the most forward looking of all blues styles, embracing rock beats and pyrotechnics and enlivening the form with funk rhythms and chord progressions that expand beyond the standard three that usually comprise most blues forms."