$5 Cover @ the Door / Start 7pm / Doors 6:45pm / Seated Show
Iyeoka Okoawo
She began her musical career by founding the group The Rock by Funk Tribe, a collective of musicians that enabled her to interweave her poetry with jazz, blues, funk, and gospel. In 2004, she released her first solo full-length album of poem songs, called Black and Blues, through Phanai Records. Then she began to tour and appeared on other artists’ albums, including The Press Project's Get Right album and Memoirs of the Tempo by Tempo Valley.
In 2008, Iyeoka released her second album of poetry and music fusion, Hum The Bass Line, again on Phanai Records. That same year, Iyeoka made a cover of U2′s hit song "Desire" for a compilation of U2 covers called In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2. The album featured Grammy Award-winning/nominated African artists, including Angelique Kidjo, Les Nubians, Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars, Vieux Farka Touré, Vusi Mahlasela, and the Soweto Gospel Choir, with proceeds benefiting the Global Fund.
In 2009, Iyeoka decided to transform her sound and songwriting approach and began working with producer David Franz (in collaboration with her original producer, Francis Phan) to create more traditional song forms. Iyeoka released two EPs that year: This Time Around and Run Into the Rain. The new music infused more pop, R&B, dance, and hip hop into the mix, creating an “electronic soul” sound.
In November 2010, Iyeoka released her new album, Say Yes, containing nine songs and two poems, through the Underground Sun artist development company. It is the first “Evolving Album” where purchasers will receive added content for free as the album evolves. Before the album's release, the first song, “The Yellow Brick Road Song”, was featured in an episode of the new hit HBO series How To Make It in America. "The Yellow Brick Road Song" is being used as the theme song for the series "Fairly Legal" that premiered January 20, 2011, on USA Network.
In January 2011, Iyeoka was nominated in The 10th Annual Independent Music Awards for her song "This Time Around" in the R&B Song category.
Iyeoka is currently touring in support of the new album and her poetry. In the past, she has toured in support of artists such as Femi Kuti, Zap Mama, and Soulive, as well as playing musical festivals, including Bonnaroo. The buzz surrounding her poetry has also garnered her national attention through performances at the TBS Trumpet Awards, the Sullivan Honors Awards at the Kennedy Center, and Russell Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam on HBO.
Jeff Robinson
Jeff Robinson, St. Louis Missouri native, saxophonist, composer, radio disc jockey, actor, director, playwright, and poet, Jeff started the Jeff Robinson Trio in 1995 as a bridge between music and theatre. The "Trio" accompany poets at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, MA, and have a weekly residency that has lasted nearly 20 years. The Jeff Robinson Trio has performed with some of the best poets in the United States of America, including Patricia Smith, Amiri Baraka, and Quincy Troupe, amongst thousands more.
Jeff is an alumnus of Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where he studied with saxophonists Bill Pierce and George Garzone. He's studied theatre with Oleg Tabakov, Artistic Director of the legendary Moscow Art Theatre Company, and Shakespeare scholar Kristin Linklater. Jeff's one-person show about jazz legend Charlie "Bird" Parker entitled "Live Bird" has appeared off-Broadway and Charlie Parker's hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. "I knew Charlie as a man and not simply as a musical genius. Jeff portrays the Charlie I knew." Widow, Doris Parker
He has directed several plays, including Pearl Cleage's "Blues for an Alabama Sky," He received an Independent Reviewers of New England Awards (IRNE) nomination for Best Director. Robinson directed Craig Lucas's "Reckless" for Theatre Zone and also his self-scripted "Alley Cats" at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in Boston, MA, with the Baldwin Theatre Company.
He received an IRNE Award nomination for Best Actor for his portrayal of the 'Stage Manager" in Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" at the Wheelock Theatre, as well as his portrayal of Charlie Parker in "Live Bird" for the Baldwin Theatre. His radio show "Poetry Jam" was aired on WMBR 88.1 FM in Cambridge and streamed live. He has recorded for Rounder Records and is working on a new recording with his trio.