 Marla is a diversely talented performing artist, producer and educator based in Santa Cruz. She is a musician and vocalist and performs and directs her original music compositions in her Funk/Rock/Jazz band, "Star La' Moan", that has shared the stages with the likes of Taj Mahal and Stevie Ray Vaughn.
She started playing classical piano and violin at 7 years and blues and R & B when she was 12. She began writing soon after. The natural progression for her was Jazz and then Opera! When in its existence she had the honor to perform in several operas with Bay Shore Lyric Opera Company in Santa Cruz (where she first met Remy & Pascal Le Boeuf) including "La Traviata", "Madame Butterfly, "Carmen" and "Die Fledermaus". All her writings and collaborations reflect her insatiable appetite for the live expressions of all styles of music. “Livin’ On the Edge” her premiere CD release is a “hot and sizzling music phenom” and features the amazing Le Boeuf Brothers, the incomparable guitarist, her brother Binney Stone, aka BeGroovEye, vocalist extraordinaire, Melody Price and Marta Sykes and including Scott Thompson, bass; Hamir Atwal, Drums; Dave Martell, Trombone; and John Worley, Trumpet in this all-star line-up.
Featuring:
Remy of the Le Boeuf Brothers on Saxophone and Piano…part of a growing New York jazz scene characterized by odd time signatures, shifting harmonies, and the influences of hip hop, R&B, and alternative rock. The San Francisco Chronicle describes their music as "a rich brand of modern jazz, with performances and compositions that display an impressive level of sophistication. Textured harmonies and shifting time signatures are handled with aplomb." In the molds of Chris Potter, Geri Allen, and Brian Blade, the Le Boeuf Brothers are on the cutting edge of progressive jazz.
Pascal and Remy were born in the California Bay Area where they grew up listening to the sounds of Charles Mingus, Dave Holland, and Danilo Perez. They began to study music, and at 18 moved to New York to play gigs and study with Kenny Barron Mike Abene and Dick Oatts.In their short musical career, the Le Boeuf brothers (pronounced "le buff") have accrued an impressive tally of over twenty national and international awards and accomplishments, the most notable being the ASCAP/IAJE Commission honoring Quincy Jones, which premiered at the 2004 IAJE conference and featured tenor saxophonist Chris Potter. The Le Boeuf brothers have also received awards from Downbeat Magazine, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, and the John Coltrane Foundation. Unfortunately, Pascal will be on tour for the CD release but Julian Pollack
will be playing for him on the CD date! Julian is another brilliant young
musician also now in NYC and I'm excited to have him! Binney Stone aka BeGroovEye – Lead Guitar and Vocals
Binney (Marla’s brother from Boston, MA) has his B.A. in Music Composition from Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA and has played and/or recorded with Bill Frisell, Gary Valente, D. Sharpe, Stan Strickland, Bob Moses, Leslie Gore, Johnny Heartsman, Jude Crossen, Adriana Balic (now with Pink), Herb Reed and the Platters to mention a few.
He is also the Creator and Director of the Nobles Guitar Ensemble at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, MA as well as the private guitar instructor at Nobles and Middlesex School in Concord, MA.
Binney is multi-talented – he is a vocalist, arranger and instrumentalist: solo jazz and classical guitar, guitar and vocals in jazz, funk, R&B, rock, soul and big bands in the regional Northeast.
Melody Price – Vocalist |
