Happy New Year! In 2018, our virtual musical globetrotter Rosie G. spotlighted artists from a wide variety of genres and locales, and this month is no exception. Our December Featured Artists were New York's funky-rockers Snarky Puppy and classical/Flamenco guitarist Andreas Arnold (by way of Germany). For Two fer Tuesday, Rosie featured Joyce Santana's Latin Hip-hop for Puerto Rico, and after this editor's technical difficulties were solved, we went on to properly feature

We kicked off November with two new Featured Artists, Canadian pop singer Kiki Ireland and the Brooklyn-based funk ensemble, Pimps of Joytime. Each month playMYmusic.FM gives a little extra attention to these featured artists, with additional music resources so our readers can check out both audio and video for these talented up-and-comers. For the Jazz Cafe, we began with Massachusetts native, guitarist Mary Halvorson and checked out Richmond, VA’s Butcher Brown. We headed b

Massachusetts native and jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson has been performing and recording for well over a decade. After studying at Wesleyan College, she relocated to New York City and also attended the New School. Quickly digging into the local music scene, she studied with composer/saxophonist Anthony Braxton and joined several incarnations of his bands, from trio up to twelve-piece. She’s also lent her talents to Trevor Dunn Jason Moran, John Zorn, and Marc Ribot, among ma

In October, Rosie G.'s playMYmusic.FM continued to mine the global indie music scene to showcase the unknown, unsigned and unheard. Our Jazz Cafe artists were found in Cuba (Dayme Arocena, Japan (Toki Asako), and of course, the UK (Alfa Mist) with trumpeter Yelfris Valdes figuring in both the first and last locales. All mixed jazz with a little something extra, be it pop, hip hop or Afro Cuban traditions. Our Two fer Tuesday features spanned continents and genres. Included

As we continue to highlight emerging talents from the UK jazz scene, the focus this week turns to singer Yazmin Lacey. The Nottingham-raised chanteuse melds various influences into a lush and satisfying sound. At first listen, her songs feel like classic soul, but the jazz and electronic characteristics begin to materialize, and the result is captivating and fresh. Lacey didn’t plan on being a singer.  She would sing for friends and family, but an earlier calling was acting.

A linchpin of the Washington, DC music scene, Priests is a band and so much more. Not content to write, perform, and release their own music, the members of Priests started indie label Sister Polygon Records, home to many of DC’s up and coming artists. Stamped with the labels punk or post-punk, the band isn’t really interested in being pigeon-holed.  These four musicians play music and write lyrics based on their interests and let listeners make up their own minds. Singer Kat

The Big Moon is an all-girl indie rock band from London. In 2014, Juliette Jackson was a bass player and songwriter in search of a band. Three ladies answered the call: Celia Archer (bass & vocals), Soph Nathan (guitar & vocals), and Fern Ford (drums). Jackson became the frontwoman -- while also assuming guitar duties -- and The Big Moon was born. The foursome first gained exposure while on tour, where they co-headlined with VANT and Inheaven in 2015. That same year, The Big

It isn’t often that one comes across a jazz bandleader who is playing the tuba.  Another fixture on the smoking hot London jazz scene, Cross brings the funk to traditional New Orleans jazz, with definite flourishes of hard bop as well. The musician/composer has earned many plaudits since he self-released his debut EP, Aspirations in 2015. The Guardian noted, "Theon Cross crucially embraces the bass and rhythm role with exuberant inventiveness." Aspirations is a five-track rec

Shame is a five-piece post-punk band from South London. The group naturally exudes an attitude one would expect from the name, and the music is also infused with an atonal guitar sound (heavily influenced by the Fall) and the requisite amount of sarcasm necessary for a proper English punk outfit. Shame is comprised of vocalist Charlie Steen, guitarists Eddie Green, and Sean Coyle-Smith, Josh Finerty on bass, and drummer Charlie Forbes, yet another instance of school-fellows g

French native Hervé “RV” Salters works under the name General Elektriks. And work he does, as a keyboardist, singer, composer, and producer, creating his own music and working with many others in the realm of funk, hip-hop, and pop. Making San Francisco his home since 1999, he has worked with Blackalicious, Pigeon John, Femi Kuti and Mayer Hawthorne. He formed Honeycut in 2003 with singer Bart Davenport and drummer/programmer Tony Sevener, a trio with whom he has toured and r

With a moniker like Tenderlonious, you’re sure to raise some eyebrows. The London saxophonist, composer, producer, and bandleader connects his exploration of jazz with genres like electronica, hip-hop, and afrobeat to create a compelling soundscape. The frontman for Ruby Rushton, Ed Cawthorne as he is also known, is also co-founder of the indie collective, 22a Music. He recorded three albums with Ruby Rushton, Two For Joy in 2015 and Trudi's Songbook: Volumes One and Two in 2

If Iggy Pop says a band is going places, people should stop what they're doing and take notice. False Heads is that band, providing a much needed shot in the arm for real rock and roll. This trio of rockers hails from East London, and their songs are punchy, punky, and rumble around in the brain long after the last note fades. Like many English bands, these gents met at school. Luke Griffiths (guitar and vocals), Jake Elliott (bass) and Barney Nash (drums and vocals) formally

Johnny Flynn has a busy schedule. When he’s not acting in TV, films or the stage, he is singer/songwriter and bandleader, fronting Johnny Flynn & The Sussex Wit. Born in S. Africa to a family immersed in entertainment--dad was a singer/actor, half-brother Jerome is an actor as well (Bronn to Game of Thrones fans) and actor Daniel--it’s no wonder he had a hard time pursuing just one art form. Johnny’s first recording, A Larum, was issued in 2008. Since then, he has been steadi

A growing phenomenon known as the “sisterhood of the saxophone” has brought attention to a new generation of female sax players. And now, a new star is emerging from the epicenter of a rebirth of the cool, the revitalized jazz scene flourishing in the UK, bandleader and composer Nubya Garcia. Growing up in a musical family, her first instrument was a violin. She also played the recorder, a woodwind many of us remember from childhood.  Garcia also tried the clarinet and the pi

English dream pop group Anteros is an eclectic ensemble known for their edgy, dream pop stylings. Vocalist Laura Hayden grew up in Barcelona with her Spanish mother and English father, started out as a DJ and MTV Spain personality. Bassist Joshua Rumble was a graphic designer. He and Hayden first got together in 2014 and released a single before adding guitar and drums to the line-up. The current band also includes Jackson Couzens on guitar and drummer Harry Balazs. The gr

London-based R&B singer Bassette took a rather modest path to her art. It wasn’t until she heard a recording of herself from a friend’s karaoke machine that she realized she had a voice worth sharing. Singing in the school choir, she honed her craft and had performed for the first time at the age of 17. Thought at first gripped by stage fright, her audience helped her through, and she debuted one of her own songs at the show. Spending part of her childhood in Bermuda, she mov

The London jazz scene keeps producing amazing new talent. The quintet Ezra Collection is one of the many ensembles that are reinvigorating the journey that is enjoying a rebirth throughout the UK. Combining solid hard-bop horns with deep grooves of hip-hop and afrobeats (with a hint of reggae at times), Ezra Collective is a prime example of jazz’s resurgence. The five-piece group is comprised of Dylan Jones (trumpet), James Mollison ( tenor sax), Joe Armon-Jones (piano ), and

New Zealander Alistair Ross Deverick is an electronic musician, producer, and drummer who goes by the stage name, Boy Crush. The West Auckland native has made a name for himself with electro-pop recordings as well as his prolific work as a sideman. He has released both solo recordings and has been a member of The Ruby Suns, recording and touring with them in support of Flight Softly and Christopher. His own recordings, EPs Everbody All the Time (2012) and Girls on Top (2014)

Slow Pulp is a four-piece from Madison, WI. The dream punk band create music that has a pop-edge one minute, dreamy jams another, and relies on singer/guitarist Emily Massey’s airy vocals and Henry Stoehr’s sometimes dissonant guitar sound. The rest of the team is bassist Alex Leeds and Teddy Matthews on drums. Many of their songs also have a dreamy, psychedelic quality. By incorporating these disparate different elements and putting a great live show, the band has steadily

New grooves are rippling through the UK jazz scene. Jonny Mansfield, based in London, works his magic with the vibraphone, drums, and other percussion instruments while leading a quintet playing contemporary, funky jazz. At just 21 years-old, Mansfield already has already received recognition for his playing. He received the Tebbutt Exhibition Award when graduating from the renowned Royal Academy of Music as well as the 2018 Kenny Wheeler Jazz Prize. The son of two musicians