...creating music that has been called "New World Gospel"... heard/felt to "open a portal to correct many occurrences in the Universe...", deeply immersed in the language of the Ancestors, and with those, whose Spirits exist but have yet to achieve human form...
AFRICA. Birds, whales, WATER, wind, unflinching sincerity, loyalty, unbelievable acts of courage, astronomic phenomena; my Dreams, the SUN. The indelible harmonic alignment of Billy Strayhorn, the warm, smiling face of Billy Higgins, the easy genius of my daughter; the country grammar of Master Juno Lewis, the MOON... Dianne Reeves, Amel Larrieux, GHASEM Batamuntu, my GREAT Aunt - Frances Waller, Phoebe Snow, Zamzam, THE HOLY TRIUNE - Rita, Judy, and Marcia - also known as The I-Threes, The Pan Afrikan People's Arkestra and the Great Voice of U.G.M.A.A. (Union of God's Musicians and Artists' Ascension) - under the Supreme Leadership of Horace Tapscott, Dwight Trible, Natalie Cole, Lord TUBMAN Atnimara, Stevie, Hawai'i Nei, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Rage, David Hugo Boarman (9/0) R.I.P, Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Nancy Wilson, Ishmael Reed, my GRANDfather - William I. Lee, Jr., Robert Nesta Marley, Sarah Vaughn, James Baldwin, Boston & Shena - THE MuthaWit Experience, ISAAC Smith, Cheik Ante Diop, Chinua Achebe, Octavia Butler, Flora Purim, McCoy Tyner, Matt Lavelle, Surrealist Will Alexander, Clifford Brown, Dadesi Komolafi... the knowledge that I am a part of this grand experiment...
"Waberi - The Blues, The Muse, The Brilliant & Loosed
Waberi. Wa Beri - Starah Far I. A Giant? A Saint? A Diva? Simply - WABERI is the direct projection of the DIVINE MUSE.
The greatest (supposed) trouble of the Internet is that we (purportedly) can't really know the other person well enough... Well, true or not - I would like to let Y'ALL know who Waberi is for me:
* Waberi's music is ONLINE, FREE OF CHARGE. Don't be lazy - LISTEN; EXPERIENCE; TUNE IN AND UNTO THE SUPREME MUSE. Listen and thou shall KNOW; though shall REALIZE. Thou shall AWAKE!
Waberi is ENLIGHTENMENT MUSIC
Waberi is A Strange Fruit
Waberi is THE VESSEL
Waberi is On Top Of The World
Waberi is A Better Tomorrow
Waberi is DELIGHT
Waberi is Something Lovely
Waberi is Unspoken Love
Waberi is An Open Door
Waberi is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SUNFLOWER
Waberi is THE SUN KING
Waberi is LOVE; Waberi is LIFE.
In the end, she remains - all alone - in front of/with GOD. The backup musicians/music may be the best or the worst - you know what? It doesn't really matter at all... When Waberi VIBRATES, YOU FORGET WHO YOU ARE. The SICK & ILL find their REMEDY within HER VOICE. The dead AROUSE and RISE above to LISTEN! The poor forget how POOR they are - and become the richest. The molested souls FORGIVE & RECOVER through her HEALING MUSE. The forgotten FORGET and all of a sudden - are REDISCOVERED. All jazz-artists-giants-luminaries wake up from their ETERNAL SLEEP to ABSORB & APPLAUD. They humbly bow in front of Waberi, for SHE IS JAZZ. SHE IS THE BLUES. Her life is THE JAZZ and her CRY OUT is THE BLUES.
Humanity has become so cold and decayed that nobody may understand & appreciate her in this lifetime, but she will forever remain THE MUSE; THE LIGHTHOUSE for all of us who genuinely suffer, all of us who are in profound pain; all of us who desperately seek the DIVINE MOTHER.
Her womb is our asylum; her vessel is our shelter. Waberi is MUSIC; each and every part of her is an infinitely reverberated sound in the vast interplanetary cosmos.
A Beautiful REVIEW OF KPFK'S SPRING EQUINOX Benefit Concert @ CRASH MANSION, L.A. featuring Waberi - Voice, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson - Viola, Dexter Story - Drums, Ralph "Buzzy" Jones - Sax etc, and Nick Rosen - Bass
LOOK & LISTEN AS WE CELEBRATE 10 YEARS OF GREAT JAZZ ON THE RADIO IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA with RISE on KPFK and the BIRTHDAY of RISE's 'Humble Facilitator' Mark Maxwell... SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING (3/2/08 - 3/3/08)
"I began singing.. must have been while I was learning to talk, because I don't remember a time when I did not sing. Music and singing is a constant companion to all the memories I have."
- Born in Washington D.C., raised in Southern California, Waberi stood firm on her love for uniquely Black music @ a very early age. Being raised by her grandparents, who were straight-ahead Jazz enthusiasts (her grandmother was a tap dancer with The Nicholas Brothers) - some of the first music she witnessed was the recordings of such deeply-connected musicians as Coltrane, Ellington, Dizzy, Mahalia, Billie, Louis Armstrong, Betty, Sarah, Monk and Miles as well as the contemporary music of her parents' generation like the Divinely-expressive music of Earth, Wind & Fire, Parliament, Jimi, The Jones Girls, Phoebe Snow, Natalie Cole, Ohio Players, and more... The musical sensibilities of all these souls are firmly rooted within her musical reference.
Waberi studied music throughout childhood, from school choirs, to community plays, and local church and social groups. She was writing poetry and short stories as well. To remain connected to learning music, she chose music as a major course of study at Langston University in Oklahoma, specifically, Classical Voice.
It turned out to be the best experience any vocalist could have.
"The lessons I learned, both in terms of the language of music, and the mechanics of vocalizing were invaluable, and the disposition of a dedicated musician, the discipline it takes to be fluent with your instrument, is something I live with daily.
After college, Waberi lived in Hawaii on three different islands: Maui, Hawaii, and The Big Island, where her poetry became songs, and she played music in the local Jawaiian (Jamaican/Hawaiian music) scene, with island favorites SAHRA INDIO and Marty Dread. After four years, she returned to Los Angeles and was drawn back to the "Village".
The Leimert Park Village, the infamous community that is home to The World Stage Performance Gallery, founded by Billy Higgins and Kamau Daood...
- in Los Angeles, California, and is home to many prominent Jazz, Blues, Hip Hop, Spoken Word, Painting, Dance, Drum greats from the African diaspora, serves as a backdrop for much of her current musical mentorship. Billy Higgins himself would play drums for her sets at the Stage, "and then have a cup of tea with me after the set and play acoustic guitar... Billy Higgins was a Special Being. It was an honor to know him and to play with him and we ALL still feel him in the Village."
She has studied and/or played with notable performers and scholars like Dr. Art Hillary, Dini Clark, Phil Upchurch, Azar Lawrence, Nate Morgan, Bennie Maupin, Big Black, to name a few. "Being one of the Voices, a member of The Pan Afrikan People's Arkestra and The Great Voice of UGMAA (Union of God's Musicians and Artists' Ascension), with Horace Tapscott - world renown avante-garde jazz pianist at the helm, allowed me to meet and play with people like Pharoah Sanders, Abby Lincoln, Gil Scott Heron... I was at the feet of the greats, my she and heroes, and I was taking notes."
Waberi has performed around Los Angeles with various bands and ensembles, from SoulBop (an L.A. based collective of jazz musicians), R&B to West African Drum and Dance bands; 50-piece Jazz arkestras to solo acapella sets. After appearing on various recordings, including the Jazz CD "Living Water" by vocalist extraordinaire DWIGHT TRIBLE in 2002, and classic Reggae CD "Good's Gonna Happen" by appropriately named Jah's Jewel - Sahra Indio, Waberi is releasing her Muse; her personal musical expression.
Some have said her voice is reminiscent of Betty Carter, Shirley Bassey, Billie Holiday or Roberta Flack... but it has a particular sound that belongs to no one else. It has been called an enigma. Her delivery -Divine, her tone - enticed by the Spirits. Resonant and rich, it has a singular texture and is seasoned with life's experience; filtered through her, as a vessel.
Calling on the lessons from growing up with a deep love for Black music, consistent study and application of music and its mechanics, and a deep understanding of Ancestral legacy and obligation, Waberi is dedicated to upholding a standard of artistry that serves to UPLIFT, ENLIGHTEN and most of all EVOLVE Black music. "To help do for Black Music what Jazz did for America."
The Old, The New... Its the same Muse.
Jimmy Rage - "...you strive on two levels - you sing of war and warfare and you are at
war... with elements unseen and unheard - your only measure is the
pleasure you take in witnessing with your voice your heart and your
art. Simple."
We miss U soooo much in Leimert Park already U should have my cell n ya phone what up wit that huh? :) Here iz my cell # 917.476.3287 ok Luv & Light 4ever BSA Queen Goddess aka Happy 2B Nappy :)
I pray ya trip iz a tremendous success over in Europe U go Sistah Girl! & don't 4get ya chant Om Gum Shreem Maha Laksmeeyeah Swaha! Ya Heard! Luv & Light 4ever ya sistah in Leimert Park BSA=Best Selling Author Queen Goddess aka Happy 2B Nappy :)
