Marc Esposito- Saxophones, Flute, Trumpet:
Fred Dileone- Keys
Anthony Bianco-Drums:
Jim McKeeman-Guitar:
Nick Defala- Bass, Bad Attitude
Influences
Steely Dan, Tower of Power, Miles Davis, John Coltrane and any other sounds that happen to catch our ears.
Sounds Like
Mokijam. We try to have as much our own sound as possible while playing our original music. The only genre we sort of fit into would be a Jazz/Funk/Fusion sort of thing. Our original music blends everything from jazz to heavy rock grooves to funk to latin. (Did we miss anything?)
Mokijam, a Connecticut-based band quintet has been a working group for 10 years now and is finally coming into its own as a formidable jazz-funk outfit. Melding the influences of Tower of Power, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, and many others, this tightly wound unit from New Haven injects a fresh twist into the jazz genre with a hard hitting energetic sound on their latest release, Clean House.
Formed by keyboard player-composer Fred DiLeone and saxophonist Marc Esposito, Mokijam’s sound is a combination of sophisticated harmonies and sly chordal voicings
topped with catchy hooks. Guitarist Jim McKeenan, a recent recruit, serves up some soaring electrified lines alongside Esposito’s urgent alto and tenor sax work. Grounded by the deep rhythmic hookup between drummer Anthony Bianco and bassist Nick Defala, another recent recruit, Mokijam has a potent formula that neatly straddles the funk-jazz divide.
For their 3rd record, Mokijam called on Grammy-Award Winning producer Jack Kriesberg to record them at Showplace Studios in New Jersey. In this ambitious outing,
Mokijam’s groove power can be heard in ten instrumentals tinged with dissonant edges, lyrical melodies, and high energy musicianship. “We worked collectively as a group”, says drummer Bianco. “Fred and Jim bring in most of the original material and we build off it from there. We don’t try to overthink this stuff, we just do it and make it ours.”
“Spontaneity is key in our music in both composition and performance”, explains DiLeone. “Clean House was recorded live in two days which I feel captures our spontaneous sound.”
Mokijam has opened for Kenny Garret, Brian McKnight, Jeff Lorber, Oz featuring Will Lee & Anton Fig, and Tower of Power to name a few. They have played many venues including Toad’s Place, The Palace Theater, Shubert Theater, Bitter End in NYC, and CBGB’s.
Come celebrate the "End of An Error" January 24 @ the Acoustic Cafe in Bridgeport, CT with Wandering Roots Duo Shawn Taylor/Jim McKeeman & also with Nick Harrison & Friends. This is a poly-partisan, nonpolitical, goodhearted celebration of W's retirement. Peace!
I love the Band.Best wishes for a warm and wonderful Christmas and a new year full of health and happiness. Marry Christmas to all of you. Love Marc and the band MOKIJAM
this Thursday @ Daniel Street in Milford-EULA goes on first at 8.
Local Takeover 3 Year Anniversary!!! Thu, August 14 Panther (Kill Rock Stars), FIASCO, Digital Leather, Eula, Murdervan, & Electric Bucket $5 / Show 9PM / 21+
This year Thursday, August 14, is the date that marks the 3 year anniversary of original music being presented at Daniel Street in Milford, CT. We are all very excited for this event and wanted to thank all of our friends, enemies, bands, families, pets, employees, & coffee watering holes for the support they have given us over this past year & The 154 shows we some how ended up doing. We will be honoring all of the bands that performed here over the last year with a commemorative T-Shirt designed by none other than Mr. Mike Falcigno, which will be available at the show.
In this years line up we have 3 great touring bands: Panther (Kill Rock Stars), Digital Leather(AZ) & Fiasco (NYC). In addition to these groups we will have 3 local bands: Eula, Electric Bucket, & Murdervan.
August, 14 2008 at THUR- PANTHER (KRS), DIGITAL LEATHER, FIASCO, EULA, ELECTRIC BUCKET, & MURDERVAN 21 daniel st, Milford Local Takeover 3 Year Celebration, Connecticut 06460 Cost : $5
Great set last night at the TD College Holiday Party! Master "T" has good taste in his music. I'm glad they have you back every year and it's always nice to hear some high quality music from a local act. Everyone thinks you're great. Hope to see you again soon. Happy Holidays!
Fantastic concert last night guys! You ROCKED Virgin Mega store. In fact, so much so I don't think they can call it VIRGIN anymore. It was intense and fun.
Hope the new cd does great, thanks for the copy and the t-shirt. Keep the feeling alive, and keep the music playing. And Thanks for participating in the Jazz Improv Live Convention!
October 26 th and 27th Jazz Improv weekend at Virgin Mega store union square cafe 52 East 14th street New York 10003 Mokijam Is playing the 27th there. Come on down. Web site virginMegamazine.com www.Jazzimprov.com
