Agachiko Record Release by Gabrielle Agachiko

Remind me

Agachiko - is a band made up of OUTSTANDING musicians creating new original music, in the tradition of the classics.

This is a project born of the love of friends. The musicians have known each other for a long as 30 years - but this is our first time working all together.

My own music career started in New York in the theater, continued in Paris in jazz, and settled in Boston in the late 80s rock scene of elusive record contracts and occasional brushes with the big time, but I left that world years ago. After traveling some of the roads of life that have little to do with creativity, returning to the realm of music was very difficult, and many things had changed during my absence. I decided that I wanted to return to my first love, jazz. I started singing jazz right out of conservatory, and though I was fresh and somewhat sophisticated, I had no real idea of the depth of meaning in lyrics like "I Want Some Sugar in my Bowl", or "No Regrets", or "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good". Now, at a 'certain' age and a couple of bad marriages later, I can DEFINITELY relate to this music with solid understanding and the personal depth needed to convey them.

My band, composed of some of the busiest musicians around Boston, has devoted much time, knowledge, ideas, savvy, and yes – friendship – in helping me create a sound that I feel is deeply rooted in another time yet very much alive right now. Our music is very clean and organic, and very soulful, allowing room for melody/groove/harmony/improvisation, while maintaining a crisp simplicity.

So yes, in a way this is my 'homage' to Nina Simone, Abby Lincoln, Sarah Vaughn, and all the other marvelous chanteuses/warblers/enchantresses who've touched me through to the bottom of my heart, with their passionate songs of love and loss, life and death, joy and anger. I seek to add my voice to their number, and hopefully, some of my compositions to the great American songbook... one day.

The Band is... Gabrielle Agachiko/vocals, Russ Gershon/tenor sax, Ken Field/flute, Scott Getchell/trumpet, Sam Davis/guitar, Blake Newman/bass, and Phil Neighbors/drums.

Songs

Yes! - words & music/Gabrielle Agachiko
Angel Eyes - words & Music/Matt Dennis
Love Isn't Easy - words/Gabrielle Agachiko, Music/Mulatu Astatke
Words - words& music/Gabrielle Agachiko
Since I Fell For You - words & music/Buddy Johnson
Four Women - words & music/Nina Simone
Now I Know - words & music/Gabrielle Agachiko
Unlovable - words/Gabrielle Agachiko, music/Paul Engle
When the Water is Gone - words/Gabrielle Agachiko, music/Cara Smith
Blue Winter - words/Gabrielle Agachiko, music/Phil Neighbors
Your Mama - words & music/Gabrielle Agachiko

All songs arranged by Russ Gershon except for 'Your Mama', which was arranged by Ken Field, and 'Love Isn't Easy', which was arranged by Mulatu Astatke, Russ Gershon and Ken Field.

Risks and challenges Learn about accountability on Kickstarter

We all know that the entire media business is changing rapidly these days, and the old systems no longer hold sway. Nonetheless, the challenges are the same as ever, especially for a new artist in a classic style. Getting our sounds in front of reviewers, radio/internet/cable programmers and of course, the public, will require financial resources and ingenuity. Another major challenge is booking in other cities/countries, as our nurturing scene here around Boston is just one medium sized pond, more of a music education than music business town, and we need new audiences in order to grow.
However, we do have on our side a few important music journalists who already love the band. Internally, we have the benefit of several band members who have toured their own projects nationally and internationally, and one, Russ Gershon who has released over a hundred CDs through his independent label, Accurate Records, who will put his knowledge and experience to work here.

I feel very confident in the quality of the "product,"; when people hear it, they like it. While we are in the jazz area, the solos are short and to the point and the focus is the songs. Of course our style puts us in a niche market – we're not shooting for mega-pop success. But we know there always has been, and there will always be, an audience for what we do: songs full of honest emotion played wonderfully by real musicians and sung without pitch correction and a lot of production noise.

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