Chances are, you already know Derek Lassiter.
For the past 15 years, Lassiter has been a fixture on the San Francisco arts scene, acting in an assortment of well-received plays (including James Baldwin's The Amen Corner, and Erin's Hope by local playwright Ian Walker), fronting bands (from hard rock to soul-jazz), rocking crowds at top SF venues like Slim's and The Great American Music Hall, teaching poetry to inner-city youth through the legendary Glide Memorial Church (under the guiding hand of SF Poet Laureate Janice Mirikitani), exhibiting groundbreaking photography at various galleries, producing solo cabaret shows, conducting readings and lectures on the Public Library circuit, and writing for a number of local and national publications. All this, while holding down a demanding day gig at one of the music industry's most popular magazines, Keyboard.
In 2000, Derek's renaissance-man activities began to earn him national recognition, after he was featured in Face Forward, Julian Okwu's expansive book focusing on distinguished Gen-X African-American men. Just as the buzz about Lassiter began to spread outside of the Bay Area, Derek mysteriously ceased all performances and public appearances, left his position at Keyboard, and went underground, announcing that he was going to work on a solo album which would sound nothing like his past musical projects.
He kept his word. Witness, Derek Lassiter's debut EP on Beevine Records, sounds unlike anything he's done before. Sensual, spiritual, and poetic, Witness is the sound of Africa and Africa-America: rootsy soul music powered by the sound of the drum.
Helmed by maverick producer pc muñoz, Witness bristles with an earthy, organic energy. Latin, Asian, and African percussion abound, along with jazzy guitar, bass, keyboards, and Lassiter's church-evoking, poetic vocals. Special guest musicians include bassist Tom Freund (fresh off of a tour with his former songwriting partner, Ben Harper), Louisiana blues legend Lady Mem'fis, San Francisco guitar phenom Marc Weibel, and Lassiter's longtime collaborator Paul Ruxton, who co-wrote the closing tune, "Keep Me", a modern classic-in-the-making about love and longing, a popular theme with Lassiter.
"Well, I had an unusual upbringing," Lassiter muses when asked about his lyrical content. "I was born in the South Bronx, but after a series of dramatic family events, I soon found myself bouncing around the foster-home system in rural and suburban Pennsylvania. Reconciling those hugely influential, yet vastly differing environments has been the task of a lifetime. With Witness, I feel I've finally made the soundtrack to my life."
Get to know Derek Lassiter all over again. Witness is available at CDbaby.com or Amazon.com
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