Dee Brown Tribute to Ray Charles + Bump City

Dee Brown is a singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist originally from Oklahoma City, who now resides in Albuquerque, NM and leads the band, The Dee Brown Situation. His musical roots began as a child in the Black church. He then studied music classically, broadening his range and skillset. He has taken his love for music and his faith into every part of his life and is now embarking on a three-album project he calls “Life, Love, and Faith”. The first album, Life, delves into the changes that we all go through and the added stresses of those things through the lenses of blackness, manhood, fatherhood, as well as a theme of hope and celebration throughout. For this concert, Brown pays tribute to the legendary Ray Charles whose body of work spans decades and still serves as a major inspiration for Brown and so many other artists today. He will be joined by Artha Meadors, bass; Paul Palmer, drums and vocals; Christopher Cushman, saxophone; Aidan Borunda, trombone; and Deyonka Geeter, vocals. Drawing inspiration from Tower of Power and other classic “horn bands,” Bump City is a newly formed all-star ten-piece aggregation of musicians dedicated to funk and soul. Lead vocalist Michael Matison, who is also featured in the Evolution of the Blues concert on June 20, has been a mainstay on the New Mexico blues scene, fronting groups like the Mother Ship and the Kaktus Kats. The engine that powers Bump City is a rhythm section stacked with heavy hitters including Dimi DiSanti, guitar; Brant Leeper, organ & keyboards; Milo Jaramillo, bass; and David Flores, drums. The horn section features Brad Dubbs and Paul Gonzales, trumpets; Sam Nesbitt, baritone sax; Aaron Lovato, tenor saxophone; and Musical Director, and tenor saxophonist Glenn Kostur.