BRIDGEPORT This Is Us! A Celebration of African-American Musicians

AN ALL-STAR GROUP OF BRIDGEPORT MUSICIANS COME TOGETHER IN A CELEBRATION OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH WITH MUSIC COVERING MANY STYLES AND GENERATIONS. IT FEATURES PREMIER MUSICIANS WHO HAVE PERFORMED AND RESIDED IN BRIDGEPORT FOR DECADES BUT HAVE ALSO TRAVELED, TOURED, AND PERFORMED THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. PERFORMING IN A VARIETY OF STYLES RANGING FROM THE ORIGINAL AFRICAN KALIMBA, TO JAZZ, FUNK, R&B, HIP-HOP AND SOUL, THIS SHOW WILL BE A SALUTE TO THE GENRES AND THE MASTERS OF THE GAME.

THE PROGRAM FEATURES JAMES MOSS (AFRICAN KALIMBA, PERCUSSION VOCALS), DARIAN CUNNING (VIRTUOSO SOLO GUITAR, VOCALS) MARK MATTHEW (HIP-HOP), THE STEVE CLARKE BAND WITH PAT MARAFIOTE, CHRIS STANLEY & THOM ADAMS (JAZZ), MDIII/MICHAEL DUNHAM FEATURING WORLD REKNOWN VOCALISTS JANICE DEMPSEY, TIFFANY T’ZELLE WILSON, AND DRUMMER NATE BARNES.

CONCERT ORGANIZER AND VOCALIST MICHAEL DUNHAM HAS PERFORMED ON SOME OF THE EAST COAST’S BIGGEST STAGES, THE CASINOS, THE APOLLO, THE KLEIN, THE BIJOU, PALACE-STAMFORD, MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, AMONG OTHERS. HE IS ONE OF THE STATE’S MOST VERSATILE AND COMPLETE VOCALISTS, A WALKING ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GREAT MUSIC.HE IS ALSO A RESPECTED VISUAL ARTIST, A PUBLISHED JOURNALIST, AND A RADIO PROGRAMMER AT WPKN WITH A SHOW APTLY NAMED, “REAL MUSIC, REAL TALK”. HE ALSO HAS A RECORDING ON THE SOUNDTRACK OF THE NETFLIX SHOW, “FEEL GOOD”. "AN AMAZING TALENT", SAYS SINGER/SONGWRITER JANICE DEMPSEY.

FEATURED PERFORMER STEVE CLARKE WAS BORN AND RAISED IN BRIDGEPORT BUT HAS FOR MANY YEARS TOURED THROUGHOUT GERMANY, THE CZECH REPUBLIC, POLAND, SLOVAKIA, ROMANIA, BULGARIA, AND ALL OVER THE USA WITH A WHO’S WHO OF GREAT JAZZ AND SOUL ARTISTS, SUCH AS, TOM BROWNE, SHERRY WINSTON, BEN E. KING, JEANETTE HARRIS, MARION MEADOWS, THE DRIFTERS, CAROL ALBERT, VICTOR FIELDS, VINCENT INGALA, ETC. BASS PLAYER MAGAZINE WRITES, “CLARKE’S FREE-FLOWING COMPOSITIONS SHOWCASE PLENTY OF FUSION CHOPS, BUT HIS RICH TONE AND SPACED-FILLED LINES STEAL THE SHOW”

FEATURED VOCALIST JANICE DEMPSEY HAS BEEN A STAR SINCE CHILDHOOD. SHE HAS WORKED WITH SOME OF THE LEGENDS: FREDDIE JACKSON, CHAKA KHAN, DARYL HALL, SMOKEY ROBINSON, NAJEE, ALEX BUGNON, TO NAME A FEW. AS A SOLO ARTIST, SHE HAS WRITTEN AND RECORDED THREE ALBUMS FOR GEFFEN RECORDS, EPIC RECORDS, AND JDP MEDIA. JD’S SONGWRITING HAS GARNERED HER A DOZEN GOLD AND PLATINUM AWARDS FOR ARTISTS LIKE CHAKA KHAN, SWV, AND FREDDIE JACKSON. DON’T FORGET THE WORK SHE JUST COMPLETED ON MELBA MOORE’S UPCOMING ALBUM. AS A BACKGROUND VOCALIST, JD’S SIGNATURE EFFORTLESS STYLE CAN BE HEARD ON DOZENS OF ALBUMS, COVERING GOSPEL, R&B, GOSPEL, JAZZ, POP, AS WELL AS TELEVISION AND FILM.

TIFFANY T’ZELLE WILSON IS FROM THE BRONX, RESIDES IN NORWALK, BUT HAS A HUGE NORWALK FOLLOWING. SHE HAS ALSO PERFORMED AND RECORDED FREQUENTLY WITH DEMPSEY AND DUNHAM, MAKING HER A PERFECT FIT FOR THIS PROGRAM. KNOWN AS THE “FAIRY GODDESS OF R&B”, HE GROUP LANDED A DEAL WITH QUINCY JONES’ QWEST RECORDS, JUST OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL. SHE THEN WORKED FOR PUBLISHING GIANT ZOMBA RECORDING COMPANY, HOME TO JIVE AND VERITY RECORDS. SHE HAS TOURED THE WORLD AS A SUPPORTING VOCALIST FOR DIANA ROSS, TEVIN CAMPBELL, CARL THOMAS, LEELA JAMES, BARBARA TUCKER, JUST TO NAME A FEW. NOW SHE TOURS THE WORLD, DOING WHAT TIFF DOES, AS SHE WORKS ON HER NEXT SOLO PROJECT, “CALL ME T’ZELLE”. ITUNES, SPOTIFY, AMAZON, GOOGLE PLAY, ETC, IS WHERE YOU’LL HEAR HER CAPTIVATING VOCAL GIFT.

ADDITIONAL PERFORMERS INCLUDE VIRTUOSO GUITARIST WHO IS ALSO A FANTASTIC VOCALIST, DARIAN CUNNING, FORMER FAIRFIELD COUNTY BEST SOUL SINGER WINNER, WHO HAS SUNG WITH JAHEIM AND OTHER CHART-TOPPING ARTISTS, MARK MATTHEW, A HIP-HOP ARTIST WITH A GREAT FLOW AND GROWN MAN APPROACH TO THE GENRE, WHO HAS OPENED UP FOR GOODIE MOB, JUELZ SANTANA, AND HAS BEEN FEATURED ON A DJ ENVY MIXTAPE. CHECK HIM ON ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS. HE STANDS OUT IN A ROOM FULL OF GIANTS.

KALIMBA MASTER, PERCUSSIONIST, EDUCATOR, INSTRUMENT MAKER AND VOCALIST JAMES MOSS OPENS THE PROGRAM. HE IS A MAN WHO EXUDES DIGNITY AND KNOWLEDGE, WITH A LONG CAREER RESEARCHING AND PERFORMING AFRICAN MUSIC WITH A RANGE OF PERFORMERS FROM WEST AFRICA, AS WELL AS VARIOUS JAZZ STARS.

Host or Publisher Bijou Theatre CT