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FUNKY 'TATERS

 

We are THE...FUNKY ‘TATERS!

 

The 'Taters play what has been called the "Music of the Gulf Coast Highway" where, as the Kennedy Center puts it, "the diverse styles of blues, choral music, cajun, zydeco, brass band, border music, and gospel meet and mingle."  The Gulf Coast route is Highway 90 that travels near Interstate 10 (I-10) and passes through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.  U.S. 90 also includes part of the DeSoto Trail between Tallahassee and Lake City, Florida. 

Mike Lewis is the leader and founder of the Funky 'Taters.  He is a singer, guitar player, band leader and songwriter.  The original name of the band when it formed in 2013 was "The Common 'Taters & the Turn-Ups."  Mike’s core group was bass, lead, and rhythm guitars, drums, and frottoir, but we added guest artists called "Turn-Ups" because they "turned up" to play.  When we traveled to Cuba to play in the International Jazz Plaza Festival for the first time in 2019, we went as "The Common 'Taters Southern Funk Band" because by that time we had added horns to the group and played more funky, danceable songs.

Funky ‘Taters guests have included Scotty Barnhart, leader of the Count Basie orchestra and trumpet player from Tallahassee; Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes, accordion player and vocalist from New Orleans; steel-pan player Derron Ellies from Trinidad, Derron Ellies; and many more.  In 2015, the band released a CD called "Wildlife Refugee," featuring Lewis’ original music.  One of the band’s goals is to work on a new set of originals for a second CD.

When asked when he became interested in music, Lewis answers that he “always was…as long as I can remember music has been the magic of the world, the thing that stirs my soul.”  When asked about his songwriting, he said “I try to write fun songs that make you smile, and that make you dance. I don't want to write dramatic sad songs... there is enough sadness in the world today.  I would like to give people a happy moment that is not necessarily profound, just enjoyable.  Some of my songs are more political, and show my frustration with work and with society and the way things seem to be going wrong these days, but even those songs, I try to make fun and dancable with silly lyrics and nice grooves.”

It is hard to classify the ‘Taters genre.  The band plays jazz, blues, funk, rock, country folk, and reggae.  Now that the band members have had the opportunity to travel to Cuba, their songwriting has changed.  They mix more Cuban rhythms into the music, and add Afro-Cuban instruments such as the shakere. 

 
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CUBA TourS

The band has played the Jazz Plaza festival each year for many reasons.  Although it was extremely difficult to obtain an invitation to this festival due to the U.S. Embargo against Cuba and numerous bureaucratic challenges and inefficient methods of communication, we were invited to play in 2019 by the founder himself, Bobby Carcasses.  He went to extraordinary lengths to get us on the program in 2019, and we have performed each year since then (except for one festival cancelled by Covid).

Each time we played the Jazz Plaza Festival we met Cuban musicians and audience members, and they met us.  We interacted with them and vice versa, both conversationally and musically.  Both the Cubans and the Americans are exposed to different performance styles, variations on music composition, and even differences in the way that music itself is viewed and appreciated.  For example, Cuban have no hesitation about jumping up and dancing in front of their seats or in the aisles if the music speaks to them. 

Our band members are taught about Cuban history and culture while on the trip, both by myself and my professor friend in Havana, Prof. Samuel Fure Davis.  What an opportunity of a lifetime for some of these musicians who had never been out of the country before.  What a benefit to young Cuban musicians to hear and play with us.  As one scholar wrote, both on and off stage, "Havana as a festival space encouraged musicians to defy genre conventions, explore cultural commonalities, and negotiate social differences.”

 

Cuban bands who perform at the same venues with us have come backstage to give us their CDs and talk about music.  We have made many musician friends this way.  We take musicians strings and other items for their instruments, as they are expensive and hard to get there. 

The band musicians stay with Cuban families and interact with them daily. The Cuban people are happy that we are there and want to get to know us and share their culture with us.  They are delighted when we sit at night on the porch and play music for them.  Many neighbors come over to enjoy the music.  Music is indeed a global language, and the opportunity to speak through music to people of another language and culture is indeed priceless.  The trip has changed lives.

JANUARY 21-28, 2024

From January 21-28, 2024, the 39th International Jazz Plaza Festival will be held in Havana. The Funky ‘Taters will again make the trip.

january 22-29, 2023

From January 22-29, 2023, the 38th International Jazz Plaza Festival was held in Havana. The Funky ‘Taters made the trip with nine band members participating.

january 19-23, 2022

From January 19-23, 2022, the 37th International Jazz Plaza Festival was held in Havana. The Common ‘Taters Southern Funk Band performed with eight members.

JANUARY 2021 WAS CANCELLED DUE TO COVID

JANUARY 14-19, 2020

From January 14 to 19, 2020, the 35th edition of the International Jazz Plaza Festival was held in Havana and Santiago de Cuba, featuring numerous jazz players from diverse countries such as Italy, Norway, Spain, Puerto Rico, Germany, Chile, United States, Sweden, Mexico and Venezuela, among others.

The ‘Taters played on January 16th (30 min. performance) at Casa de la Cultura de Plaza (9:00 PM at Calzada y 8, Vedado); on January 17th (30 min. performance) at Jardines de Coppelia (6:00 PM at Calle 23 esquina M, Vedado); on January 19th (30 min. performance) at 6 pm at Sala Tito Junco, Calle Linea entre H e I, Vedado and later the same night at the Fabrica de Arte (Art Factory) at 10 pm (Calle 26 and 11 in Vedado).

Jazz Plaza 2021 had as an official image a work by Nelson Domínguez, National Prize for Plastic Arts, which under the title of “The Scream” is inspired by the homonymous painting of the Norwegian Edvard Munch (1873-1944).

On this occasion, the event was dedicated to essential figures of Cuban music—the founder of Los Van Van, Juan Formell; the trumpeter Felix Chapotín and the Irakere group. It will be the artists Dayramir González, Carlos Miyares and Eduardo Sandoval who were in charge of the concerts that will pay tribute to these personalities.

The event also featured the XV International Jazz Plaza Colloquium, dedicated to Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo, to the sixtieth anniversary of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac) and the twentieth anniversary of the television show “A todo jazz.”

*La Fábrica de Arte Cubano is a huge art gallery and club in Havana. The Fábrica's gallery and stage were established inside of a former cooking oil factory, and has since become one of Havana's premier nightclubs and art gala venues.

January 13-22, 2019

The 34th International Jazz Festival of Havana, sponsored by famed Cuban jazz artist Chucho Valdes and ICM (the Cuban Institute of Music), was held in numerous locations throughout the Cuban capital from January 16 to January 20, 2019. The ‘Taters played on January 17th in the Sala Tito Junco at 6:00 PM (a 30-40 minutes performance), and Scotty Barnhart was featured as a guest artist at Bobby Carcasses’ January 16th performance at Sala Avellaneda in Teatro Nacional (9:00 PM). The ‘Taters performed at the Fabrica de Arte (FAC) on January 18th, Nave 4, and had an amazing time.

 

BAND MEMBER BIOS—2024

JACINTO CARTY, from St. Maarten (Dutch citizenship), grew up hearing reggae, calypso, gospel and Afro-Creole styles such as Zouk. His passion for jazz was ignited when he heard Bobo Claxton and Carlyle Barriteau on stage at a festival in St. Maarten. His undergraduate degree was in Music Education (University of the Virgin Islands) and now he is working on his graduate degree in Arts Administration and Jazz Studies here in Tallahassee at Florida State University. An accomplished musician, Carty has played with many musical groups in St. Maarten and in Tallahassee, including the Funky 'Taters.

Born in Apalachicola, Florida in 1951, JAN DECOSMO is retired Professor of Humanities at Florida A&M University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, where she taught for 37 years. As a lifetime member of the Caribbean Studies Association, serving as the organization’s president in 2015, she has traveled 16 Caribbean nations (30 countries in all).  After visiting Santiago, Cuba, in 2000, DeCosmo obtained a Treasury Department license to bring students to Havana in 2002, and has subsequently visited the nation many times.  She is an avid collector of music, film and art (primarily from Cuba, Haiti and Bahia), and currently runs Jan’s Gallery in Tallahassee.  She plays a variety of hand percussion, including the Yoruba talking drum and the vest frottoir, an instrument created by the Creoles of Louisiana in the early 40s, said to be “the only musical instrument invented in America.”

Born in 1997 in Tallahassee, Florida, JORDAN GREEN is a student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.  He is a musician, drummer, and band manager for the Disciples of Music, a band he helped found in 2016 along with Aaron Watson and Israel Campbell.  They all met at New Harvest Christian Center and have been playing together ever since. Over these past few years they have grown exponentially in their playing and musicianship. Green has been playing drums since he was two years old and has been been heavily influenced by many different styles of music. His grandmother and uncle really helped him mold his gift into what it is today. He loves playing music and spreading positive energy to people through his playing. 

AARON HAYDEN

Born in Orlando, Florida (1969), JOEL JOHNSON is Associate Professor of Music Industry and Modern Guitar at Albany State University, Georgia. Johnson specializes in innovative interdisciplinary curriculum design in the areas of Music Industry, Hip-Hop & Culture, and Modern Guitar Studies. A guitarist, he performs and records throughout the world in the styles of Jazz, Blues, Soul, R&B, and Gospel music. For over 20 years he has performed and toured with various internationally known recording artists such as Cody Chesnutt, Dr. John, The Platters, The Drifters, and Fred Wesley and the New J.B.s, just to name a few. Johnson lives in Tallahassee, Florida.

SAGE KHAN

MIKE LEWIS was born in 1964 in Bainbridge, Georgia.  He grew up in a small town in North Florida (Woodville), where he listened to country, blues, rock ‘n roll, gospel and pop music.  He has been a jack-of-all-trades, a computer programmer and a web designer. At the age of nine, he started taking drum lessons, but didn’t “take” to it.  Next, he played French horn in the marching band of his school from 6th to 12th grade.  He picked up the guitar at the age of 17 so he could accompany himself singing. Besides The Funky ‘Taters, Lewis has played in these bands:  Rear View Mirror, Feed the Kitty, Half the Kat, and September & Michael.  Presently he is a vocalist, sound engineer and musician. 

SARAH QUINTANA, from New Orleans, plays guitar and has a beautiful soft voice; she mixes the rich influences of cajun, jazz and folk music into her songwriting. Quintana has experienced a decade of music collaborations with Louisiana-based artists like Michael Doucet, Leyla McCalla, and The New Orleans Moonshiners. She is looking forward to releasing her next, full-length solo-album, in 2024. She joins the Funky ‘Taters for their performance in Havana in January 2024, where she will perform some of her original songs.

SHANICE RICHARDS, from Miramar, Florida, came to Tallahassee, where she currently resides, to study music.  She has a passion for singing and playing violin and guitar, and loves all genres, including classical music, jazz, gospel, rock, contemporary gospel, rap, hip-hop, and r&b.  She has studied Music and Music Therapy, and is currently an administrative assistant at Florida State University.  She is also worship leader in two locations, New Life United Methodist Church and Wesley campus ministry (Florida A&M University).  Richards plays with the ‘Taters and also with Edessa (a five member female band that plays original music) and other ensembles.

From Chicago, JUSTIN VARNES has been a bass player since he was 15 years old. He received an undergraduate degree in Music Education with a certificate in Jazz (double bass), and has taught middle school and high school orchestra and jazz. He attended the University of Colorado Boulder and graduated 2015. He is known as one of the funkiest bass players in Tallahassee.

2023

Mike Lewis, Jan DeCosmo, Belinda Bruno-Piverger, Tony Chapman, D’Arthur Godwin, Rene Arbogast, Jordan Green, Justin Varnes, Chris Seepersaud.

2022

Electric Guitar: Ken Gemmer is a blues, jazz, funk and R&B guitarist living in Tallahassee.  He was born in Eastern Michigan in 1949 and lived in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami before moving to Florida as a teen.  He studied psychotherapy at Florida International University and has worked as a social worker in Tallahassee.  He first picked up the guitar at the age of 8.  His musical influences are numerous; they include Levon Helm, Susan Tedeschi, Bob Marley, Bogazedi, Norah Jones, Ali Farka Ture, “Fats” Domino, Dire Straits, Sugarpill, Mary Wells, Sun Ra, Jimmy Reed, Jackie Wilson, Thelonious Monk, Ronnie Hawkins and more.

Back-Up Vocals & PercussionJan DeCosmo is retired Professor of Humanities at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, where she taught for 37 years. She is a lifetime member of the Caribbean Studies Association and has traveled to over 29 countries, 16 of them in the Caribbean.  After visiting Santiago, Cuba, in 1999, Dr. DeCosmo obtained a Treasury Department license to bring students to Havana and has subsequently visited the nation many more times.  She is an avid collector of music, film and art (the latter primarily from Cuba, Haiti and Bahia), and currently runs Jan’s Gallery in Tallahassee.  She first started singing harmony along with The Beatles in the early 60s.  Later she became back-up vocalist for Bennie & the Jets, the Kudzu Kats, and the Dadburn Varmints.  She plays the Yoruba talking drum and the vest frottoir, an instrument created by the Creoles of Louisiana in the early 40s, the only musical instrument invented in America. She directs the non-profit, Cross-Cultural Coalition of South Side Tallahassee, Inc.

DrumsAnthony Giles was born April 17, 1958 and is from Asheville, North Carolina. He is a modern drummmer who started out playing music in Atlanta, Georgia in the late 1980's with local bands around town. In the early 1990s, he started playing with local bands around town in the Tallahassee,  Florida area with a flavor for R&B, Blues and Pop for many years. Anthony has been muscially influenced by many artists such as, Art Blakely, Bernard Purdie, Jabo Starks, Buddy Rich, Max Roach, Billy Cobham and a special mention Earth Wind and Fire. Anthony brings a unique sound and enjoys playing many genres of music such as, Rock, Folk music, Jazz, and Funk. Anthony has been especially influenced by Cuban music due to its characteristic synthesis of percussion, Salsa, Jazz and various other styles of drum sequences and rudiments.

Stand-Up BassKaye Rhinehart

Vocals & Rhythm Guitar: Michael Lewis was born in 1964 in Bainbridge, Georgia.  He grew up in a small town in North Florida, where he listened to country, blues, rock ‘n roll, gospel and pop music.  He has been a jack-of-all-trades, a computer programmer and a web designer.  Presently he is a composer, performer, sound engineer and musician at Mojo Water Lizard Productions.  Before forming The Common ‘Taters, he played in Rear View Mirror; Feed the Kitty; Half the Kat; and September & Michael.  At the age of nine, he started taking drum lessons but didn’t take to it.  Next, he played French horn in the marching band of his school from 6th to 12th grade.  He picked up the guitar at the age of 17 so he could accompany himself singing. 

Congas: Zee Sawyer

Keys: Yazid Johnson

2020

Electric Guitar: Israel “Izzy” Agape Campbell was born in 1995 in San Diego, California. He grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana and Tallahassee, Florida. He picked up the guitar at the age of 13. In 2016, he helped found the band called “Disciples of Music” with Aaron Watson and Jordan Green whom he met while playing at the New Harvest Christian Center. The band has grown over the years, putting on concerts, performing in festivals and recording music such as his arrangement of “Four on Six” by Wes Montgomery.  Israel has also been a percussionist in several community organizations and performing groups, such as the TCC African Drum and Dance Ensemble and Koffi Kaza African Drum and Dance Ensemble. He earned his B.S. in music from Florida A&M University in 2018 and is going to pursue master’s degrees in both Psychology and Music Therapy.  He plans to develop a private practice in the future.

Back-Up Vocals & Percussion:  Born in Apalachicola, Florida in 1951, Janet L. (Jan) DeCosmo is retired Professor of Humanities at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, where she taught for 37 years. She is a lifetime member of the Caribbean Studies Association and has traveled to over 29 countries, 16 of them in the Caribbean.  After visiting Santiago, Cuba, in 2000, Dr. DeCosmo obtained a Treasury Department license to bring students to Havana and has subsequently visited the nation many more times.  She is an avid collector of music, film and art (the latter primarily from Cuba, Haiti and Bahia), and currently runs Jan’s Gallery in Tallahassee.  She first started singing harmony along with The Beatles in the early 60s.  Later she became back-up vocalist for Bennie & the Jets, the Kudzu Kats, and the Dadburn Varmints.  She plays the Yoruba talking drum and the vest frottoir, an instrument created by the Creoles of Louisiana in the early 40s, the only musical instrument invented in America. She directs the non-profit, Cross-Cultural Coalition of South Side Tallahassee, Inc.

Keyboard:  Keyboard and drum player, Andre Forbes, was born in New Jersey in 1976.  He is a musician, composer, songwriter, producer, sound engineer and editor.  He has played and composed music for over 30 years, composing music for several national artists and scoring several films.  After years of composing for songs and film, Forbes decided to explore film and animation.  In 2014, he released some small animated comedy sketches on social media, many of which went viral, some even reaching 4M+ views.  In 2016, Forbes officially decided to pursue a career in the film industry.  Since then, he’s been writing, filming, editing and producing.

Vocals & Rhythm Guitar:  Known locally as “Lyrical Lynn,” Lililita (Lili) Forbes, originally from Philipsburg, Netherlands Antilles, left St. Maarten to go to college in Curacao, and then came to the U.S. to study music at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.  She has worked for the city of Tallahassee, the Leon County Schools, and Music Man Dre Productions.  She is a vocal coach and teacher who has been performing music since the age of 12.  Besides R&B, jazz and funk, Lili performs Caribbean gospel music and is in several church choirs in Tallahassee.  Currently she is a writer for various up-and-coming artists, both locally and internationally. In her spare time, she enjoys mentoring young musicians and future leaders, and is currently working on her first book, a Singing & Sight-Reading Manual for Singers, Musicians, Praise Teams and Music Directors.  She is coordinator and producer for the non-profit, Cross-Cultural Coalition of South Side Tallahassee, Inc.

Trumpet/Trombone/Sousaphone: Kirk Erwin Gavin II was born in 1994 in Tallahassee, Florida. He began private trumpet lessons in the 5th grade in 2004 under the tutelage of Dr. Roger Duncan at Stubbs Music Center (Now Timberlane Arts & Dance Academy). Kirk has since performed in every musical ensemble available as he matriculated through Raa Middle School, Rickards High School, and Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University. Notably, Kirk has performed with local groups such as the Disciples of Music, Tallahassee Nights Live, Thursday Night Music Club, Redshirt Freshmen, and many others. He has also performed with Gospel artist Ricky Dillard, Grammy award winning group, Rebirth Brass Band, and has recorded on George Clinton's newest Parliament album "Medicaid Fraud Dogg" alongside Funk legend and trombone extraordinaire, Frank Wesley and his new J.B.'s trumpet player, Gary Winters. He has coined the title "Black of All Trades" as he is proficient in every brass instrument, saxophone, bass guitar, percussion, etc. Kirk is currently finishing his tour stint with a production called Drumline Live in which he was performing on trombone. Mr. Gavin intends to spread the joy, education, and love of music through his businesses and bands in order to give back to his community, support his family, and create a better future.

Drums:  Born in 1997 in Tallahassee, Florida, Jordan Green is a student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.  He is a musician, drummer, and band manager for the Disciples of Music, a band he helped found in 2016 along with Aaron Watson and Israel Campbell.  They all met at New Harvest Christian Center and have been playing together ever since. Over these past few years they have grown exponentially in their playing and musicianship. Green has been playing drums since he was two years old and has been been heavily influenced by many different styles of music. His grandmother and uncle really helped him mold his gift into what it is today. He loves playing music and spreading positive energy to people through his playing. 

Lead Guitar:  With 20 years of college teaching experience, hundreds of performances to his credit, Joël C. Johnson is a seasoned college educator and music artist. His professional focus is on music industry education and jazz and popular performance styles. A native of Orlando, Florida, Johnson is an Associate Professor of Music Industry, serving as the coordinator of Music Industry and Modern Guitar & Orchestral Strings Studies at Albany State University. He holds a BS in Music Industry from South Carolina State University, and a MM in Music Theory and Composition from Norfolk State University. He is presently a doctoral candidate for a PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanities at Florida State University in Tallahassee.  Johnson has performed in over 33 countries with world-renowned artists such as Dr. John, Fred Wesley & The New JB’s, The Drifters, Kirk Franklin, Cody Chesnutt and more.  He has recorded and arranged on several internationally released albums.

Vocals:  Born a twin on November 2nd on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten, Ilismo Johnson's smooth Jazzy soulful voice with a touch of Caribbean flavor promises to soothe the soul. Cece Winans, Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey are at the top of her list of influences. One of Ilismo's favorite genres in her vast repertoire is the fusion of Neo Soul and Jazz.  At the age of 11, Ilismo and her twin sister (Lililita, "Lyrical Lynn") began singing duets together at home and would eventually join the church choir. During the choir rehearsals, Ilismo and her sister would learn the harmonies of all the different sections to amuse themselves. Those antics impressed the choir director, who helped push their talents further, and would at times call Ilismo and her sister to the front of the choir to display their gift.  In 2004, after taking a break from singing to attend college, Ilismo graduated with a degree in Computer Information Systems and Video & Radio production, and then pursued the field of Visual Arts with a concentration in photo journalism and Graphic Arts. Using the skills she acquired in college, Ilismo has written and directed two of her own music videos: “I am Yours” and "Return."  Together with her twin sister, she released 3 award winning Gospel albums (1996, 2008 and 2009).  In 2009 Ilismo recorded her EP "I See Love," which won the Marlin award for best Jazz recording that year.  With over 15 years of experience in the music industry, she has performed throughout the Caribbean, the USA and Europe, sharing the stage with numerous renowned artists in the industry. She has been privileged to perform at special events hosted for presidents and dignitaries, both national and international.  In November 2016, Ilismo finished a seven-year effort by releasing her first solo album, "Movin' On."

Bass Guitar:  Most recently from Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, Louisiana before that, Osmond “Sam” Johnson was born in Tallahassee in 1983.  He attended Lincoln and Sail schools.  He became interested in playing music at the age of six, after watching his uncle play guitar.  First, he started playing the drums at age ten, then switched to guitar when he was 12.  He played his first gig in public at the age of 15.  He played bass for his first musical tour with the Florida A&M University Gospel Choir, when he was an eleventh-grader in high school. He has played with a variety of theater groups and toured nationally with Tank, Fantasia, Robin Thicke, Kim Burrell, the Clarke Sisters, the Manhattans, and local Tallahassee blues guitarist Randall “Big Daddy” Webster.  He is also an audio engineer and back-line and stage production technician.

Vocals & Rhythm Guitar: Michael Lewis was born in 1964 in Bainbridge, Georgia.  He grew up in a small town in North Florida, where he listened to country, blues, rock ‘n roll, gospel and pop music.  He has been a jack-of-all-trades, a computer programmer and a web designer.  Presently he is a composer, performer, sound engineer and musician at Mojo Water Lizard Productions.  Before forming The Common ‘Taters, he played in Rear View Mirror; Feed the Kitty; Half the Kat; and September & Michael.  At the age of nine, he started taking drum lessons but didn’t take to it.  Next, he played French horn in the marching band of his school from 6th to 12th grade.  He picked up the guitar at the age of 17 so he could accompany himself singing. 

Vocals and Saxophone: Aaron L. Watson III was born in 1996 and raised in Tallahassee, Florida. He volunteers at multiple grade-level schools, educating students about music.  He also has a deep passion for studying history. In the fifth grade he earned a full scholarship for writing an essay about how African-American inventors have helped society. He also discovered he wanted to pursue a career in playing the saxophone and later went on to attend Florida A&M University where he recently graduated with a degree in Jazz Studies. While attending FAMU he and his colleagues started a band called "The Disciples of Music." Watson sings lead and background vocals, plays alto and tenor saxophone, the clarinet, and the flute.  Watson also tours around the southern region of the U.S. playing for multiple bands as a horn player in a horn section called "Tallahassee Horns.”  His goals are to travel the world playing originals with his own band, spreading peace, love, and happiness, and obtaining his Ph.D. in music so he can teach at a major university.

Hand and Stick Percussion: Samuel G. Williams ("Baba Olusegun") is an educator, folklorist, historian, storyteller and musician.  He was born in 1946 and raised in Atlanta, Georgia.  He began playing flute and percussion in the 1970s in Miami, Florida.  At the same time, he co-founded “M” Ensemble, Inc., a professional community theater there, and was an on-air personality and music director for radio station WEDR (99.1 FM).  He was also a producer, recording studio manager and assistant chief engineer at WKAT (1350 AM).  While there, he worked on 12 episodes of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater with actor E.G. Marshall. He also worked as editor for CBS Radio Sports World Roundup with Wynn Elliot at Super Bowl X, in 1976. In addition, he was responsible for setting up the remote broadcast for the grand opening of the Miami Beach Theater of the Performing Arts featuring Lucy Arnez, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez.  He had the distinct pleasure of being the MC for the first George Benson Concert in Miami, and for jazz and blues singer Alberta Hunter.  In 1971, he was military escort to Sherie Crique, the first black semi-finalist in a Miss Universe Pageant. He was a featured conga player in the televised Opening Ceremony of the 1984 Miss Universe Pageant, which can be seen on Youtube.  He also has a solo acting performance, titled "How to Create A Nobody" in which he portrays all of the on- and off-screen characters, available on Youtube in two parts (approximately 28 minutes). Currently he plays kalimba (thumb piano), shekere, congas and bongos.  He has played with various bands including Black Exodus; Blazin' Fire; Mystic Revelation; Phoenix Uprising; Ital Stew; Work for Higher; Runaway Soul; The Palace Band; and the African-Caribbean Dance Theater.  Segun has traveled to Cuba several times, including a performance at the Fiesta del Fuego (XXIII Festival del Caribe) in Santiago in 2001.

2019

SCOTTY BARNHART (born in 1964) is an American jazz trumpeter.  A two-time Grammy winner, he has played since 1993 as a featured soloist with Count Basie Orchestra.  In September 2013, Barnhart was announced as the new director of the Basie Orchestra.  He has multiple recordings with pianist Marcus Roberts, as well as recordings with Tony BennettDiana KrallRay Charles, and Tito Puente. A solo CD, released with Unity Music, is titled Say It Plain and features Clark Terry, Ellis and Wynton MarsalisMarcus Roberts, Jamie Davis and Etienne Charles; it achieved number 3 in the Jazz Charts.  Also active as an educator and clinician, he is author of The World of Jazz Trumpet - A Comprehensive History and Practical Philosophy (published by Hal Leonard).  He is a professor in the College of Music at Florida State University.

Born in Dayton, Ohio in 1951, bassist JIM CROZIER grew up in Warren, Pennsylvania before moving to New York City to do musical theater. A show named “Touch” that he wrote some music for ran Off Broadway for several months and the original cast album was nominated for a Grammy in 1972. He moved to Tallahassee, Florida in 1976 where he finished a degree in Music Composition at Florida State University. Crozier is now back to music full time after a long career in Government I.T., but through all that time he continued to live and work in the Tallahassee area, playing bass with many local ensembles including jazz quartets, blues bands, and a classic big band. His latest recording is titled "What You Want" released in March 2017. Since October 2013 he has been the host and producer of a weekly invitational jam known as "The Wednesday Night Lab Session" which has featured dozens of North Florida musicians.

Born in Apalachicola, Florida in 1951, JAN DECOSMO is retired Professor of Humanities at Florida A&M University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, where she taught for 37 years. As a lifetime member of the Caribbean Studies Association, serving as the organization’s president in 2015, she has traveled 16 Caribbean nations (30 countries in all).  After visiting Santiago, Cuba, in 2000, DeCosmo obtained a Treasury Department license to bring students to Havana in 2002, and has subsequently visited the nation many times.  She is an avid collector of music, film and art (primarily from Cuba, Haiti and Bahia), and currently runs Jan’s Gallery in Tallahassee.  She plays a variety of hand percussion, including the Yoruba talking drum and the vest frottoir, an instrument created by the Creoles of Louisiana in the early 40s, said to be “the only musical instrument invented in America.”

Keyboard and drum player ANDRE FORBES was born in New Jersey in 1976. He is a musician, composer, songwriter, producer, engineer, and editor. He has played and composed music for over 30 years, composing music for several national artists and scoring several films. After years of composing for songs and film, Forbes decided to explore film and animation. In 2014, he released some small animated comedy sketches on social media, many of which went viral, some reaching 4M+ views. In 2016, Forbes officially decided to pursue a career in the film industry. Since then, he's been writing, filming, editing, and producing.

Known as “Lyrical Lynn,” LILI FORBES (originally from Philipsburg, Netherlands Antilles) left St. Maarten to go to college in Curacao, and then came to the U.S. to study music at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.  She has worked for the city of Tallahassee, the Leon County Schools, and Music Man Dre Productions.  She is a vocal coach and teacher who has been performing music since the age of 12.  Besides R&B, jazz and funk, Forbes performs Caribbean gospel music and is in several church choirs in Tallahassee.  Currently she is a writer for various artists, both locally and internationally. In her spare time she enjoys mentoring young musicians and future leaders, and is currently working on her first book, a Singing & Sight-Reading Manual for Singers, Musicians, Praise Teams and Music Directors

ANTHONY GILES was born in Asheville, North Carolina in 1958.  He grew up listening to all types of music, including Lawrence Welk, Bluegrass, hillbilly, and country.  His favorite music was R&B and blues.  He has been a truck driver and has also worked in construction.  He moved to Florida in 1988.  Now semi-retired, he has worked the last 10 years as a maintenance technician.  He started playing drums in the early 90s, and has played with these bands:  Nero & Company; Starlight Production Band; Chuck Robeson; and, more recently R.B. Johnson’s MTI Band and Bernadette and the Hot Flashes.

Born in Virginia in 1954, Robert Griffin is an Associate Professor of Music at Florida A&M University where he serves as Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Trombone. In addition to teaching, his duties include directing the Jazz Ensemble, Student Jazz Combos and the Trombone Ensemble. Mr. Griffin earned the Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education from Florida A&M University (FAMU), the Master of Science in Music Education from the University of South Florida (USF), and the Master of Arts in Jazz Performance from the University of South Florida (USF). Griffin has an extensive background of performances with jazz, rock and contemporary groups throughout the United States and has performed at jazz festivals in Italy, France and Japan. Additionally, Griffin has performed classical and sacred works in Ireland. Griffin has performed with many jazz and contemporary artists in the United States and recorded with the International recording artist Sulaiman Hakim. Griffin performs regularly as keyboardist and trombonist for Tribal Records’ contemporary blues group “21 Blue”.  His current jazz CD, “On the Way Up” produced by Tribal Records, Inc., has been well received. Griffin’s recent recording credits also include “21 Blue Live at Heartwood,” “To Louis with Love,” “Urban Jungle Music” and “When Lions Roar.” Griffin also performs as keyboardist and trombonist with “BluJaFunk”, a blues, jazz and funk project.

Born in Orlando, Florida (1969), JOEL JOHNSON is Associate Professor of Music Industry and Modern Guitar at Albany State University, Georgia. Johnson specializes in innovative interdisciplinary curriculum design in the areas of Music Industry, Hip-Hop & Culture, and Modern Guitar Studies. A guitarist, he performs and records throughout the world in the styles of Jazz, Blues, Soul, R&B, and Gospel music. For over 20 years he has performed and toured with various internationally known recording artists such as Cody Chesnutt, Dr. John, The Platters, The Drifters, and Fred Wesley and the New J.B.s, just to name a few. Johnson lives in Tallahassee, Florida.

MIKE LEWIS was born in 1964 in Bainbridge, Georgia.  He grew up in a small town in North Florida (Woodville), where he listened to country, blues, rock ‘n roll, gospel and pop music.  He has been a jack-of-all-trades, a computer programmer and a web designer. At the age of nine, he started taking drum lessons, but didn’t “take” to it.  Next, he played French horn in the marching band of his school from 6th to 12th grade.  He picked up the guitar at the age of 17 so he could accompany himself singing. Besides The Common ‘Taters, Lewis has played in these bands:  Rear View Mirror, Feed the Kitty, Half the Kat, and September & Michael.  Presently he is a vocalist, sound engineer and musician. 

SEGUN WILLIAMS (Samuel G. Williams, "Baba Olusegun") was born in 1946 and raised in Atlanta, Georgia.  He is an educator, folklorist, historian, storyteller and musician.  He began playing flute and percussion in the 1970s in Miami, Florida.  Currently he plays kalimba (thumb piano), shekere, congas and bongos.  He has played with the following bands:  Black Exodus; Blazin' Fire; Mystic Revelation; Phoenix Uprising; Ital Stew; Work For Higher; Runaway Soul; The Palace Band; and African-Caribbean Dance Theater.  Segun has traveled to Cuba several times, including a performance at the Fiesta del Fuego (XXIII Festival del Caribe) in Santiago in 2001.

 The Common ‘Taters Southern Funk Band performs in Cuba in 2019 and 2020