Cassendre Xavier: Bandleader, songwriter and arranger, vocals, acoustic and electric lead and rhythm guitars, keyboards and piano.
Giscard Xavier a.k.a. JEE EYE ZEE: Keyboards, programming, production, engineering, arrangements
Guest musicians:
James Claiborne: Vocals
Felicia M. Webster: Vocals
Na' Tanya' Davina' Stewart: Vocals
Previous band members:
Tamara L. Xavier a.k.a. moon wisdom: Vocals, dance
B.C.: Percussion
Jeff Wuollet: Bass
Cindy Felice: Percussion
Dena Underwood: Vocals
Previous guest musicians:
Monica McIntyre: Cello & vocals
Susanna Calvin Thomas: Vocals
Previous recording session players:
Juan Avila: Guitar and percussion, arrangements, production, engineering
Ronny Crawford: Drums & percussion
Jack Kinslow: Upright bass
Chico Huff: Bass
Julia Haines: Celtic harp
Influences
Sade, Sting, Nina Simone, 70s singer-songwriter/acoustic folk-pop-rock, Billy Joel, Willy Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Barbra Streisand, Neil Young, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Moore, Grace Jones, R&B, James Brown, funk, lots of different kinds of music that get you in a sexy groove and keep you there and happy.----------------------------------------------------------
RUN TO YOU (CAPABLE OF LOVE) ORIGINAL SONG
---------------------------MONEY COMES TO ME (ORIGINAL AFFIRMATION SONG)
---------------------------------CASSENDRE'S MAILING LIST
"A cross between Tracy Chapman, Sade, and Enya" (Borders Music Expert Steven M. Wilsong). Also: Amethyste Rah (CX pseudonym), Tania Maria, Roberta Flack, Eva Cassidy, Joan Armatrading, Joni Mitchell, India.Arie, and many more fine female singers with sultry, natural voices.
THIS JUST IN! NEW CD/MP3 "CAPABLE OF LOVE", FIRST STUDIO ALBUM IN 5 YEARS! PRICED FOR TODAY'S ECONOMY AND AVAILABLE AT HTTP://STORES.LULU.COM/CASSENDRE-----------------------------------------------------------------BOOKING INQUIRIES (VENUES, HOUSE CONCERTS, ETC) PLEASE CONTACT: CXMUSIC@GMAIL.COM---------RECORDINGS IN PROGRESS. PLEASE HELP FUNDRAISE STUDIO COSTS! Hi, there. As you may know, under my name "Amethyste Rah", I released 2 spoken word guided meditation recordings in August 2007 (available at www.lulu.com/cassEndrE. One is called "Affirmations for Survivors: Self-Love" and the other "Affirmations for Survivors: Spirituality". In February 2009, I began writing the material for the final 2 of the Series "Affirmations for Survivors: Sexuality" and "Affirmations for Survivors: Life Skills". I hope to go into the studio this spring to record these for release in summer 2009, and from here on out record only guided meditation albums focusing on abundance and positivity. Please support the project of these last two albums by making a financial contribution as you are able. Every cent will go directly to the production of these albums. Thank you so much and here comes the cutest little Paypal button you ever did see :-)
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On December, 26, 2007, Philadelphia City Paper music critic M.J. Fine honorably mentioned Cassendre's CD, "Live at Tin Angel", as 9 of "Top 21 Local LPs of 2007"! See blog for details.] -----------------------------------------Cassendre Xavier (a.k.a. Amethyste Rah) is an acclaimed singer-songwriter, guitarist, and recording artist described as "a cross between Tracy Chapman, Sade, and Enya" (Steven M. Wilson, Borders Books & Music). ----------------------------"Her stage presence is one part sex kitten serenading in heels, two parts powerhouse kickass feminist troubadour poet. In concert with Cassendre Xavier, there is never a dull moment." (Debra D'Alessandro/Producer & Host of Amazon Country, WXPN 88.5). ------------------------------------------- "Cassendre Xavier has combined an unlikely mixture of contemporary and timeless influences to create a smooth yet distinguishable style beyond the usual singer songwriter pattern. It is hard to tell where her jazz, folk and rock influences inform her sensibility, yet informed by all of these she is. It is as consistent as it is memorable, soulful, and real." -David W. Wannop/Journalist and Concert Promoter------------------------------ Heather Corcoran of CoffeeHouse Tour says, "[Xavier] captivates the listener with her angelic voice, smoothed over with powerful lyrics and the affair she holds with her guitar."-------------------------- Xavier's songs span the range of the pop genre from folk to blues to rock. Her studio albums showcase her rich, sweet singing voice and inspired, impressive guitar picking, plucking, or strumming. Live recordings boast a particular gift for entertaining audiences with jokes and witty banter. She has also released guided meditation spoken word CDs and downloads under her self-assigned soul-name Amethyste Rah. These recordings featuring the beautiful, angelic music of Thaddeus (used with permission), and are currently available at http://stores.lulu.com/cassendre -----------------------A self-described "renaissance negresse", Cassendre is also an actress, a multi-genre published writer, and a former community cultural arts advocate. She is founder of Philadelphia's annual Black Women's Arts Festival (est. 2003), which is now directed by cellist/vocalist Monica McIntyre. Cassendre won the 2005 Leeway Transformation Award for her work in art and change. On December 31, 2007, Cassendre returned to her birth city of New York to begin putting her 16 years of independent artistry and recording towards the new goal of being a signed artist. ------Visit www.cassendrexavier.com for complete biographical information.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------[CAPABLE OF LOVE - 8th Album/2009] Cassendre Xavier just can’t make up her mind. If it isn’t love songs, it’s inspirational songs, or it’s songs just to make us laugh. The one thing this acoustic pop artist described as “a cross between Tracy Chapman, Sade, and Enya” (Steven M. Wilson, Borders Music Expert) does consistently is soothe, entertain, and inspire. Her voice is as light and sweet as it is deep and sultry. She can joke and cajole as well as comfort and uplift. Nowhere is all of this variety more expressed than in her latest effort, “Capable of Love” (released January 11, 2009). All but two tracks are new original songs – check out her haunting “Water is Wide” and uniquely peppy yet fervent “O Shenandoah”. And all but one, an emotional “Wanna Heal”, which features her hip-hop producer brother Giscard “Jee Eye Zee” Xavier (City High and C Knowledge of the Diggable Planets) on drums, features only Xavier’s multi-layered vocals and her own acoustic rhythm and lead playing. Humor is here in abundance, as “The Damn Dog Song” shows. A plea for owners to leave their pups at home when dining out or shopping for take-home movies, this song alone is worth the price of the CD/download. Xavier wanted to honor her self-described “Sapphically-inclined constituents” with a tune – that’s where “The Chapstick Lesbian Song” comes in. The song claims to speak to those who identify as neither “butch” nor “femme” but is sure to bring smiles to anyone regardless of gender or orientation. In addition to the soul-stirring, political anthem “I Am Free”, the motivational “Reach”, the unabashedly joyful “You Make Me Happy” and the aforementioned survivor’s theme “Wanna Heal”, all other songs on “Capable” are rich in her soulful expression of emotions. The usual angst around relationships and romance abound, but are enhanced by multi-layered, bell-like harmonic chanting not unlike Bobby McFerrin, and reminiscent of jazz composer/pianist/vocalist Tania Maria. When asked why some of the songs are so long (“Run to You”, for example, runs almost 10 minutes alone), Xavier says, “This album is for people who like to sing along. I often find that the end of a song is the most fun sometimes, and I am often disappointed when it ends. And I love to harmonize. I have always done a lot of harmonizing when I sing. To me, these are sacred chants, and I hope there are people out there who will enjoy singing and harmonizing along. If not, well, I figure you can always skip ahead to the next track!” Indeed, the lengthiness may not be for everyone, but at 10 songs totaling a little over an hour of her lovely music, most will be pleased and satisfied. Recommended.---------------------
CASSENDRE XAVIER: Live at Tin Angel
[7th Album/2006] "Recipient of Honorable Mention - 9 of Top 21 Local LPs - — M. J. Fine, Philadelphia City Paper. M. J. also says Live at Tin Angel is, "A fine example of why [Xavier is] so well-suited for the [live] format. Dig the groove-worthy 'A Little Bit of Love,' the bluesy a cappella 'Nothing Is All I Need' and a beautiful 'Beautiful'". (Recommended if you like James Taylor, Sting, Gary Moore.)
CASSENDRE XAVIER: The Cassendre Xavier Collection, Vol. 1
[6th Album/2004] 6 soulful originals plus 3 marvelous interpretations of American pop classics by Carole King, Pat Benetar, and Roberta Flack. An absolute essential for any fan of this gifted singer-songwriter-guitarist. (Recommended if you like Sade, Carly Simon, Carole King.)
CASSENDRE XAVIER: live at the kraftbrau, kalamazoo
[5th Album/2004] A great live show at the famous Michigan beer-lovers' pub featuring newly recorded originals "Your Eyes", "Don't Believe in Love," "One Lucky Girl", "Hope" & special bonus track. (Recommended if you like Tracy Chapman, Joan Armatrading, Corinne Bailey Rae.)
CASSENDRE XAVIER: Beautiful
[4th Album/2004/CD] Well deserving of its title, this stellar CD is Xavier's 2nd studio release. Most notable are Crow's "Strong Enough", Flack's "First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", originals "B.O.G.'s Song", "A Little Bit of Love", and "Beautiful".
CASSENDRE XAVIER: 4our: a sampler
[3rd Album/2003/CD] 4 songs taken from her first two CDs "The Whittenberg Sessions" and "Live at Cafe Improv"; a wonderfully affordable way to introduce yourself to this warm & gifted artist.
CASSENDRE XAVIER: Live at Cafe Improv
[2nd Album/2002/CD] Smooth, rich voice, guitar; humor & audience laughter. Highlights: Carole King's "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?", B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone", Neil Young's "From Hank to Hendrix" & wonderful originals.
CASSENDRE XAVIER: The Whittenberg Sessions
[1st Album/2002/CD] A debut beloved by the lesbian community, featuring Pat Benetar's "Love is a Battlefield", Nina Simone's "Four Women", funky original "Friend" & the redemptive a capella mantra "Nothing is All I Need".
Hey! Un jour viendra peut-être où les forces de la nature protègeront les visionnaires et défenseurs de l'humanité ! Petit hommage à Thomas Sankara, l'homme intègre...
Viens écouter SANKARA et donnes ta pensée...Kyembé red épi a ondot soley ! Véro.
We just want to let you know that our group, which is free and open to the public, will be meeting on 1st & 3rd Mondays, from 6-8pm beginning April 2009 at Essene, 719 South Fourth St (at Bainbridge) in Philadelphia. For details, please visit our ever-growing website at http://www.realrawlife.com. Thanks and be happy!
All of us at REAL Raw – Vegan Live Foods Support & Transformation Group www.realrawlife.com
We are REAL Raw (Real, Empowerment, Abundance, Love), a support & transformation group for people who are working towards a healthy, raw vegan, live foods lifestyle, beginning April/May 2009 Philly.
Hello lovely lady. so glad you are enjoying the guitar you should totally give it a name for me you know it better then i do. i am so looking forward to hearing your new album. you know i'm one of your biggest fans. glad to hear all is well. hope to see you eventually :) Alisa
Read your 10/9 blog -- you are a bold woman full of invention and the brave heart to carry it out. Nice videos, too. Good mojo to you. I see we like a lot of the same authors. Thanks for hipping me to Mr. Ferriere. -- Lisa
How's the subway treating you? We haven't run into each other since that first time at Union Square. I hope it means you are busy doing something wonderful.
Thanks so much for the add....I am friends with Roia and she is excited about playing with you....Your music is spectacular and I hope to get to meet you soon.
May 2008 bring you great gigs....good health and much success.
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