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Dawn

People and Places

About Me

Dawn is an outstanding singer with a beautiful and powerful voice, a love for many styles of music, and the ability to sing anything that she thinks of. After growing up in Florida and graduating from the Berklee College of Music, in 1995 she moved to Los Angeles . Since then she has worked with Harvey Mason and Don Grusin, toured extensively with Sergio Mendes during the past six years, and been a greatly in-demand studio singer. People & Places is her long overdue debut. “The music on People & Places reflects my personality and the way I love different cultures,” explains the singer. “I don’t like to be confined to one genre so the ten songs tend to go everywhere.” Everywhere they go will greatly interest fans of high-quality music and highly expressive singing. The opening “People And Places,” which is in 5/4 time, discusses how important it is to “open your eyes” and learn from other people and cultures. Dawn’s jazz-oriented vocal mixes in well with the hints of Indian, Arabic and Latin music. “West Indian Brown” is a joyous blues that describes a woman who beats the blues by wearing a red dress. Bill Brendle’s accordion is a very nice touch. “Black Angel” is a tribute to singer Angela Bofill who has recently been paralyzed by a stroke. “Her recordings inspired me when I was a little girl in the mid-1970s. Her first record was so diverse, combining together r&b, soul, pop and various Latin styles including Afro-Cuban, salsa and Brazilian. I loved how she, as a young woman in her early twenties, mixed together all of the things she had experienced growing up in Harlem .” “Sunlight” had previously been recorded by Kevyn Lettau but Dawn gives it more of a pop/r&b feel, with hints of Al Green, India Arie and Kenny Loggins. “Wonder” shows off Dawn’s very attractive voice on a pop/folk ballad that contains heartfelt lyrics and some fine harmonizing by Bill Cantos on his background vocal. “One Less Bell To Answer” was made famous by the Fifth Dimension but Dawn’s version puts the song into triple time and is a lot slower and a little sadder than the original. “Late Night Special” is so catchy that it sounds like it should become a standard. “The chorus for ‘Late Night Special’ just came to me and I found myself singing it, thinking that I’d heard it on the radio recorded by someone else. But when I asked people about it, no one had ever heard of the song!” The powerful “Someone to Come Home To,” which features Dawn in a duet with bassist Hussain Jiffry, “Waitin’” (which says to follow your own dream and do not wait for other people to save you) and the infectious “Gonna Getcha” (observe the golden rule and know that bad behavior will be punished someday without the need for revenge or grudges) wrap up this continually stimulating program. People & Places is quite a debut for Dawn who says, “I am so grateful to have had the time to finally record this music. I cannot wait to perform these songs in concert.” Scott Yanow, Author of nine books on jazz including Swing, Bebop, Trumpet Kings, Jazz On Record 1917-76 and Jazz On Film
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Member Since: 11/21/2006
Band Website: [email protected]
Band Members: Here’s a list of people who helped get the cd off the ground: The Schurr High School Marching Band & Director Tony Castro,Bill Cantos,Jamieson Trotter,Arlan Shirebaum,Michael Shapiro,Bill Brendle,Carlitos Del Puerto,Roberto Montero,Meia Noite,Gibi,Asif,Nitya, Tablaman,Malin,Robert Kyle,Cristiano Novelli,Alexx Daye,Kala Balch,Robin Randle,Walter Rodriguez,Kleber Jorge,Eddie Resto,Hussain Jiffry,Devin Thomas,Steve Bach,Nigel Williams,Jude Crossen,Ramsey Kemp,Leonardo Nobre,Tristana Ward,Freddie Washington and Talley Sherwood. I’m so grateful to this team of wonderful people who shared their gifts and helped me carry the load. MOST OF ALL I MUST GIVE GOD THE REAL CREDIT. AS I SAID ONE TINY PRAYER, HE WAS SENDING THE ANSWER MY WAY. Remember when all other choices look slim or grim, go with God.

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Influences: Meet Dawn…I attended the Playboy Jazz Festival Press Conference in the year 2002. This is annual meet ‘n’ greet of all the artists performing at Festival venues in the greater Los Angeles area. In a quiet moment amide a bustle of activity, I spied the soft magnetism of a very pretty lady that I did not recognize standing in the middle of the grass area surrounding the famous Playboy Grotto. I made my way to her, introduced myself, and immediately asked her, “Now who are you and what do you do?” She said that her name was Dawn Bishop and she was a musician. “ I sing, play keyboards, write and arrange music.” I was impressed by the lack of flinch from a newcomer to the Playboy Mansion; I felt an aura of confidence exuding thru this lady’s skin.Her family is of Bahamian decent but she is a native Floridian. Her mother is a retired music teacher, so you see the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree. Dawn began “performing” for family and church at age five and hasn’t stopped since. She received a scholarship and graduated from Berklee College of Music. Dawn formed a band and took a gig on a cruise line cutting her teeth in the business for well over a year, then, after some more experience gathering adventures, crashed the state line of California and began the eclectic expansion of her sum total with more to come. So after we had gotten the formalities out of the way, Ms. Bishop invited me to her next performance and I was eager to her this lady’s music.The set was at a coffee house called Bean Town in the San Gabriel Valley of the greater Los Angeles area. This is when and where I became a Dawn Bishop fan. I was down for two sets, checking out her lyrics, her arrangements, her keyboard dynamics, her leadership and crowd control abilities, and please…let’s not forget her voice. It was a joy to see this young woman embracing the traditional values and structure of songwriting. Her songs are stories with beginning, middle, and an end. I didn’t have to wade through a sea of vulgarities to pick out nouns and verbs controlling the subject matter. Dawn has air-breathing musicians performing with her. It was nice to hear live musicians being able to improvise and take leads rather than a sole vocalist squeezing herself into recorded tracks. The music she writes has only three demographics to reach, the human heart, the human soul, and the human spirit. When Dawn begins to sing expect an experience. When she loads her throat-feeding blood vessel on the side of her neck, expect to be blown away or melted. Her singing style is not trying to fit in with the rest of the pack. I believe Dawn wants you to hear her! And I did. And I asked myself, “How has the industry overlooked this wonderful talent.” She has an excellent vocal range and commands it at will. Dawn’s stage presence involves you in the performance; she likes to get to know her audience and when that happens you will know about Dawn Bishop.Since that day in 2002 I have attended an uncountable number of Dawn Bishop concerts. Dawn has performed at many different type clubs here in the Los Angeles area: Stevie’s Creole Café & Bar in Encino, Spazio in Sherman Oaks, La Ve Lee in Studio City, Twin Palms in Pasadena, the Vic in Santa Monica, Hollywood Park Jazz Bar, now defunct Kingston Inn of Pasadena, the Cotton Club West in Long Beach…Just to name a few. Dawn has also performed at civic sponsored events for the cities of Arcadia, San Pedro, and in Pasadena for the Martin Luther King Day Festival and the Playboy Jazz at Central Park Memorial Day Celebration. She also has performed for churches in Lamert Park, Inglewood, San Gabriel, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and Glendale. I am elated by the caliber musicians who want to play with her: Robert Kyle, Brian McKnight, Bill Cantos, Don Grusin, Harvey Mason, Alex Acuna, Roberto Montero, Abraham Laboriel Sr., Steve Bach, Freddie Washington, Michael Shapiro, Alexx Daye, Arlan Shierbaum, Eddie Resto, Walter Rodriguez, and Nigel Williams…that’s just naming a few! Then there are countless alumni from Berklee that just love sitting in with classmate in a class act. They know Dawn Bishop knows music, musicians, and knows how to put it together.Over these years of knowing Dawn I have learned that she is a very spiritual, kind person who uses The Truth to light the pathway toward her goals…and the goals are very specific. She is a dedicated person who strives for the best performance of her work by trying new arrangements until it is right by her standards (I have heard Late Night Special done about eight different ways!!!). I think her revisions really reflect the depth of her writing, you know, like you feel something different when you hear what you said and it has grown into a greater meaning, more than your original intent. It’s all about continuing to grow, talent being driven by the Spirit. Dawn has traveled extensively around the globe amassing hungry fans that are impatiently awaiting the People & Places CD. So here we are at this plateau of growth and it’s feeding time. So get into your quiet space with your favorite taste and enjoy the eloquence and brightness of a new dawn….Carl E. Betts Entertainment Editor, the Pasadena Journal Dawn’s influences include:Minnie Riperton, Angela Bofill, Phylis Hyman, Take 6, Patti Austin, Ella Fitzgerald, Ester Saterfield, Carmen McRae, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Diane Reeves, Kevyn Lettau, Pauline Wilson, Shirley Horn, Michael McDonald, David Pack(Ambrosia) Earth, Wind and Fire, Wayne Shorter, Celia Cruz, Anna Moffa, Maria Callas, Leontyne Price, Nat "King" Cole, DeBarge, Switch, Toto, Elis Regina, Kenny Loggins,Yolanda Adams, Carole King, Roberta Flack, Catherine Marshall, Gordon Parks, Gustav Klimt, Billy Strayhorn, Clive Staples Lewis, Jimi Hendrix and more...
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the Word

Tonight I got this really strong need to read Hebrews 4:12-16. And, boy did it get some stuff going on inside of me. First, verse 12 says, " The Word of God is living and active." Some people may not ...
Posted by Dawn on Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:17:00 PST