Published: August 31, 2009 4:03 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight September 2009 Edition
Yogi and the Yoginis
Yogi and the Yoginis
Jazz, Latin, and Samba music lovers will rejoice over the wonderful musical sounds of Yogi McCaw. He has created something that is unique, classical, and full of enriching tunes that can be heard throughout McCaw’s music. The best part to McCaw’s music is the infusion of so many different elements of genres that come out sound colorful and full of life. In this recent spotlight with this artist, McCaw speaks about his musical journey and where he is hoping to achieve through his music. Enjoy!
Isaac: What has been the best part of 2009 for you musically so far?
Yogi: Completing my CD, and being able to play so many gigs with my friends as well as my own band.
Isaac: What do you feel has been the biggest accomplishment for 2009 so far?
Yogi: The release of the Yogi and the Yoginis Terra Shivaiya album. It was over three years in the making, from the time of the first tracks recorded in India in 2006, recording the western instruments and the grand piano here in the States, until I finally got them all shrink-wrapped back last week. Two continents, four studios, fifteen total musicians---whew!
Isaac: Describe the music scene in Seattle.
Yogi: Seattle has produced many famous musicians, as you know, which would lead one to think the scene here is wide -open, but that it not the case. Musicians struggle for gigs, and for some reason, Seattle people tend to stay home a lot. Maybe it's the weather, or the traffic, I'm not sure, or maybe it's because it's a big gadget and technology town, people stay home, and play with their game boxes, multimedia set-ups and computers. I'm not sure what it is, but I have several friends that always turn out more people in other cities, and then play to less-than-expected turnouts in Seattle. On the other hand, you have a LOT of very fantastic players here. So you end up with hundreds of world-class-ability players competing for a small number of low-paying gigs. The venue operators of course love it. They get world class music for next to nothing on a regular basis. Such are the times in Seattle.
Isaac: What has been the best venue to perform at and why?
Yogi: There was a restaurant called Cafe Vignole that was owned by a couple, the guy was an Italian chef and the wife was from New Orleans - you can imagine the food - wow! And we always packed the place with people that loved what we were doing musically. Unfortunately, the economy put the squeeze on them, and they have temporarily stopped having music on the weekends. I am hoping we will be able to do more gigs there soon.
Isaac: Elaborate a little about whom were your biggest influences in the music industry and why?
Yogi: In my musically formative years (i.e. teenager), I was influenced by people that stretched the limits of the music - Hendrix and the Doors in Rock, Miles and Coltrane in jazz, and the 1970s fusion artists like Chick Corea, Weather Report. At the same time, I was influenced by Indian spirituality, enjoyed Zakir Hussain, Ravi Shankar, and a lesser known but fantastic Indian musician named Vasant Rai. I enjoyed also the famous pop music from those times, but really I was more interested in the musicians who were fusing different styles and cultures and thinking in unique ways about music.
Isaac: Let's talk about what you feel you will bring to the music industry?
Yogi: I bring my music. No one has done what I am doing before, even if they have done east-west fusion. The east-west fusion genre is still relatively unexplored, and there are a number of unknown musicians doing very interesting work in the field, all of it totally unique. I bring my musicians, some of whom are well-known already, and some of whom I feel deserve wide recognition because they are such fantastic players and good people.
Isaac: If you had an opportunity to work with one artist or group, who would it be and why?
Yogi: I'd like to open shows for John McLaughlin with my Indian/Jazz fusion group. I believe that audience would appreciate the new music we are making.
Isaac: How would you describe your music to others?
Yogi: We play original east-west fusions with the east-west group, and we play original danceable Latin and Brazilian influenced jazz, plus some repertoire of carefully chosen Brazilian and Latin jazz numbers.
Isaac: What type of feedback have you received from fans about your music?
Yogi: It's very, very good. We got a review from Steve Getz, who is the son of the famous sax player Stan Getz. We were featured on the Jazz Network Worldwide. The India tracks were used in a documentary featuring the Dalai Lam called Dalai Lama renaissance, which played in over 75 film festivals worldwide, usually to sold-out shows, and many times having to schedule extra showings. It did exceptionally well for an indie documentary. The music programming director for the well-known independent radio station KBCS here in Bellevue called our music "really beautiful - a joy to listen to."
Isaac: Where can fans locate you at online?
Yogi: www.theyoginis.com, Facebook under Yogi Terry McCaw (add me up and click on my band tab), www.myspace.com/yoginis, twitter is Yogismusic, and email yogismusic@gmail.com with "Add me up" in the subject and I'll put you on the music email list. The Terra Shivaiya tracks are available for download at Amazon.com, iTunes store (search yogi and the yoginis), eMusic, Rhapsody, and Digstation. I will have them on CD Baby in a couple weeks (hopefully by the time you publish this), but you can get an early demo of the Latin jazz stuff on CD Baby already.
Isaac: What can fans expect from you in the next five years?
Yogi: More records, and hopefully, live shows near them!
Isaac: Time for some shout outs to your family, friends, and fans…
Yogi: Look up and listen to the following musicians, who are also my friends: Jovino Santos Neto, a fantastic Brazilian composer/pianist and my teacher; Samia Panni, Yoginis singer and exponent of Brazilian music in the Pacific Northwest; Eduardo Mendonca, Brazil's musical ambassador to the Northwest; Techung, an incredible Tibetan singer who is also featured in The Dalai Lama Renaissance movie; Limitless Sky records, the company of my friend and producer Michel Tyabji; and JC Johnny Conga, Latin percussionist extraordinaire (also in the Yoginis); my friend Sanjeev Sharma, a man of many talents, including the photography and artwork of my album, and his wife Chandana Dixit, former Bollywood playback singer, and of course Vishal and Ujwaal Nagar, brothers and fantastic new rising stars in Indian music, and the co-composers of the east-west material on Terra Shivaiya.
Isaac: Final words…
Yogi: My philosophy is on my profile in Facebook, actually: music, friends, a good laugh, and the rest is just stuff...
