N.E.D. recently rocked the house at Portland, OR’s Crystal Ballroom. Below are a sampling of the pictures from the evening - courtesy of photographer Joseph Boggess. We have posted the full set at our Facebook Page. Stay tuned for live video from this weekend’s GCF Race to End Women’s Cancer.

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Help N.E.D. save lives and see them perform live at the GCF Race to End Women’s Cancer!

Committed runners and a Surgeons Team consisting of over 100 gynecologic oncologists will run a half marathon through the streets of downtown Washington with the start/finish line on historic Pennsylvania Avenue, two blocks from the White House. They will be joined by patients, survivors, advocates, leaders and others committed to the cause.

N.E.D., who recently released No Evidence Of Disease to benefit the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation, will be performing at the post-race party on Sunday at 10:30am. Other celebrity appearances at the event include singer/actress Mandy Moore.

Sunday, November 8, 2009
Half Marathon/5K/1 Mile Walk
7:00 am – 11:30 am
Historic Pennsylvania Avenue Between 13th St, and 14th St. NW

More info on the race
More info on N.E.D.

Take a look at the new video from Painted on Water - “Mad Love” which features footage from their recent US tour.

All Music Guide had this to say about their self-titled debut:

“Demirkan’s own superb guitar skills are displayed across the set, and the musicianship throughout is extraordinary, as is Erener, whose vocals give every track just a whiff of exotica, and make this album a true Turkish delight.” -Dave Thompson, ALL MUSIC GUIDE

And here’s a little something extra for you…An ‘unplugged’ performance  of “ASHK” (which means “love” in Turkish). Look out for a digital release of this song in the Spring. In the meanwhile, watch this video:

Download MP3: Fortuna

More info on Roni Ben-Hur
Purchase Fortuna

While 2008 marked the “official” 50th anniversary of the bossa nova – a style first recorded in Brazil by guitarist João Gilberto on the 1958 song “Chega de Saudade” (No More Blues) - 2009 marks yet another key anniversary: the 50th anniversary of the release of Gilberto’s genre defining debut LP, also titled Chega de Saudade, with which he widely popularized and in many ways epitomized the emerging bossa style with his distinctive guitar styling, soft, almost whispered vocals and enchanting compositions.

In honor of this great master, Brazilian vocalist Ithamara Koorax, in collaboration with top contemporary Brazilian guitarist Juarez Moreira, has recorded Bim Bom – The Complete João Gilberto Songbook. Although Gilberto has been amply praised as a “legendary vocalist” and as the innovative guitarist who invented bossa nova, his contributions as a composer are often overlooked. With this tribute, Koorax and Moreira make clear that songwriting is indeed a valuable part of Gilberto’s legacy.

Download MP3: Minha Saudade

More Info on Ithamara Koorax & Juaraez Moreira
Purchase Bim Bom

On September 8th, N.E.D. celebrated the release of their self-titled debut CD and the release of drummer Nagarsheth’s new book, Music & Cancer: A Prescription for Healing, with a very successful fundraiser at Sushi Samba in NYC. Thanks to the generous donations of attendees, we raised $2,294 for N.E.D. Fund of the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation. Look out for Dr. Nimesh Nargarsheth’s guest blog on iVillage’s “Your Total Health” section as part of a feature on the band. Check out pics from the party below.

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The Lifetime Television Network has been  airing an N.E.D. Public Service Spot throughout September to coincide with Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month.  Take a look at the PSA below.

Babatunde Lea’s vast experience of nearly forty years as a master percussionist, as well as the spiritual depth and resonance he brings to everything he does, has made him one of the most esteemed musicians of the past half century. For his fourth Motéma release, and his sixth as a leader, Lea has recorded a tribute to one of his most influential mentors, the legendary jazz vocalist and composer Leon Thomas. The idea for the project, titled UMBO WETI after the yodeling singing style of the Twa People of central Africa which influenced Thomas’ signature sound, came to Lea shortly after the singer passed in 1999 and has taken nearly a decade to bring to reality. Lea’s ten- year labor of love reaches powerful fruition on UMBO WETI, which features a stellar and inspired band of improvisers – Dwight Trible (vocals), Ernie Watts (tenor sax), Gary Brown (bass), Patrice Rushen (piano) – performing the songs of Thomas and others led with passionate fire by Lea on drums and percussion.

Download MP3: “Boom Boom”

More info on Babatunde Lea
Purchase Umbo Weti: A Tribute To Leon Thomas

There is a growing epidemic of cancers of women’s reproductive systems. N.E.D. (which stands for “No Evidence of Disease”) is a new rock band, a new CD and a new movement started by six gynecologic cancer surgeons. The mission of the band is to enhance knowledge about gynecologic cancers to save lives, as well as to bring hope to women undergoing treatment. The doctors strongly believe that music heals. Here at Motéma we are extremely proud to be partnering with N.E.D. in their fight against cancer. The widget above will give you more details about the band and their mission as well as offering ways you can participate. We ask that you assist our efforts to support this cause  by re-posting the widget on your Facebook page, Myspace page, blog or any other social profile you may have. Simply click on the “Share” button on the bottom-right of the widget and copy/paste the embed code. N.E.D.’s CD No Evidence of Disease will be released on September 8th and proceeds will benefit the N.E.D. Fund, which is part of the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation.The CD can be ordered at the Motéma store. Find out more about N.E.D. at their Motéma artist page.

On her stunning third recording, Obsession, to be released by Motéma Music on August 11, vocalist Tessa Souter (soo-ter), born of Trinidadian and English parents, presents a multicultural banquet, that reflects her own conjoined African, Indian, Caribbean, and English bloodlines, as well as her American present. Experiencing Souter, you will hear “traces of Billie Holiday and Carmen McRae in her phrasing, and Julie London and Peggy Lee in her delicate breathing”; you will be treated to “a captivating voice” (Swing Journal Magazine, on Souter’s sophomore release Nights of Key Largo). Souter delivers every word with a “crystal clear voice and diamond cut phrasing”- The Philadelphia Inquirer.  From the opening notes of Obsession she displays the beautiful “ability to see the shape of a tune so the words seem to come from her soul” – All About Jazz New York.

Download Mp3: “Usha’s Wedding”

More info on Tessa Souter
Purchase Obsession

Babatunde Lea’s fourth release on Motema is a tribute to the late Leon Thomas. Umbo Weti features a stellar band of improvisers: Dwight Trible (vocals), Ernie Watts (tenor sax), Gary Brown (bass), Patrice Rushen (piano), and Lea on drums and percussion.

UMBO WETI finds Lea, and his “dream team” of musicians exploring pieces associated with Thomas’ blend of a spiritually passionate and socially conscious worldview with deftly inventive musicality and progressive vision. They re-imagine Thomas’ version of John Lee Hooker’s primal “Boom Boom Boom Boom,” his new lyrics for Horace Silver’s “Song for My Father,” and the timeless “The Creator Has a Master Plan” – the latter which inexplicably turned into an FM radio hit for Sanders and Thomas. “It was the kind of post-bop thing that happened, kind of the spiritual thing that [John] Coltrane started,” Lea explains. “It was a post-bop spiritual jazz that originated with Coltrane in the late ‘60s and that lasted through the ‘70s and early ‘80s,” Lea explains.  “Leon was a big part of that style and really moved it forward.”

In this video Lea and his band perform the material live at Yoshi’s and speak about the process of creating the tribute and capturing the essence of Thomas’ spirit.

More info on Babatunde Lea