A benefit for the Fountain Project CURE THE BLUES with Wendy De Witt and Lloyd Gregory

November 09, 2009

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WENDY DEWITT
Wendy performs solo blues and boogie piano/vocal, and with her band. Husband Dave Workman (guitar) and Wendy recently started a blues organ trio with Wendy playing Hammond B-3, and additional member Jimmy Hobson on drums. Based out of the San Francisco bay area Wendy travels around the US and to Europe. wendydewitt.com has all the information you need!

LLOYD GREGORY

When you think of that certain style of classic jazz guitar that is smooth, soulful, melodic, flowing and immediately likeable, you think of names like Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessel, George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Earl Klugh and Larry Carlton.  Lloyd Gregory has taken his place on that list of illustrious jazz guitarists.  On his fourth album, Free Fallin, Lloyd Gregory tips his hat to those who influenced him while carving out his own distinctive style that also includes hints of his R&B roots.

Winner of several Bay Area Top Star Awards and the Bay Area Blues Society Jazz Artist of the Year, Lloyd Gregory entertains audiences with his wealth of Jazz, blues, popular favorites and standards.

“Music is comprised of traditions, even when mixed with innovations,” Lloyd Gregory says, “so, of course, every musician is building upon sounds that came before.  I admire and respect those jazz guitarists and I learned a lot from them.  But my influences also include early soul innovators like Curtis Mayfield, many of the guitarists in the various Motown artists’ bands, and Ike Turner.  Going even further, I have been inspired by rock’n’rollers from Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley through Hendrix to Eddie Van Halen.  And on the other end of the spectrum I have been influenced by acoustic players who bridged between jazz, Latin and classical like Django Reinhardt, Bola Sete, Andres Segovia and Manitas de Playta.  Even so, I never sat down and simply learned other guitarists’ solos off their albums.  Instead, I studied and absorbed their styles in a more general sense.”

Lloyd Gregory, a popular entertainer on the San Francisco/Bay Area music scene for several decades, has an instrumental sound that may be the epitome of smooth, but it also contains subtle elements of classic soul music due to his early career as an R&B performer, especially the years he spent touring extensively while serving as the musical director for The Ballads, Natural Four and Jesse James, and performing on their albums.

Gregory also has recorded with Martha Reeves, MC Smooth and Freddie Stewart ( Sly & The Family Stone); and has performed onstage with Rodney Franklin, Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Gerald Albright, Lenny Williams (Tower of Power),  Freda Payne, The Dells, and Lowell Fulsom.

Lloyd Gregory has played on several albums by upcoming blues artists including Zakiya Hooker (John Lee’s daughter), Sugarpie Desanto and Maxine Howard.  In addition, Lloyd Gregory studied under Warren Noones and took a Masters Class Seminar from Barney Kessel.  On Lloyd Gregory’s first two albums he had musical guests that included Felton Pilate, Rodney Franklin, harmonica player Norton Buffalo (Steve Miller) and top session percussionist Ken Nash.  When Lloyd Gregory tackled his acoustic Solo Guitar album, he found inspiration in the music of Bola Sete, Christopher Parkening and Juan Serrano.  Other influences through the years have included Al Dimeola, John McLaughlin, Mel Brown, Oscar Peterson, Lester Young, Chet Atkins and Stanley Clarke.

FOUNTAIN PROJECT

The Fountain Project was originally formed in June 2001 and became a secular nonprofit organization in 2005. The Fountain Project Foundation, Inc., consists of volunteer health workers from Eastern and Western traditions striving to provide free medical treatment to the underprivileged and those with low income. The health workers include acupuncturists, chiropractors, surgeons, family doctors, osteopaths, optometrists, dentists, physical therapists, exercise instructors, massage therapists, nurses, acupressure therapists and herbalists. Together, they not only treat illnesses, but also educate the community on preventive care and holistic well-being. The Fountain Project Foundation aims to build a retreat healing center that will enable people to nourish their body, mind, and spirit through exercise, culture, arts, and natural medicine. The center will house an art museum showcasing fine traditional Chinese brush paintings and calligraphy from renowned artists.

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