Press release -
Charles Unger, a San Francisco Jazz Legend, announces Kickstarter for the Around the World Album
Charles Unger, a saxophonist, composer and bandleader of Charles Unger Experience, launches a Kickstarter for the Around The World album. A major force in the music scene of the San Francisco Bay area for the last 40 years, Charles Unger is a musical institution. He is known for his exuberant style and talent, and for a stage show that’s unforgettable.
With 9 days to go, the Charles Unger Kickstarter campaign aims to fund the release of a new album called Around the World featuring elements of Jazz, Blues and R&B. The music is inspired by musicians Charles has performed with and his many travels to different places around the world.
“This music that I’m doing is a lifelong desire to bring unity to the world through music,” says Charles.
Charles has spiritual views on music: “I look at music as a catalyst for bringing different people together and breaking down barriers that separate us from our oneness and our humanity. I try to put that into my music as a way of relating that we all share this beautiful planet together and that we are all on the same road, are all the same people, and are all family. If I can break down barriers through music, then I will have fulfilled my destiny.”
The Around the World album will have nine original compositions already recorded, several of which will be re-recorded, and five additional tracks to be recorded. New songs include “Just Another Day in LA,” mixing the sound of the ocean with the bustle of city and the “Song for Nelson,” with South African influences.
Says music writer Anthony Torres, “with jazz, they say it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.” Charles and his musicians “swing, and they do it in a way that incorporates a range of influences. The music moves and is inflected with a Latin groove and a Middle East undercurrent that creates a melancholy feel so sensuous a person can’t help but be moved.”
The Kickstarter campaign offers rewards from $15 and up including music, ringtones, lessons, t-shirts, VIP Release Party, artwork, concerts, a dinner for 10 people and more. For those who already have an Amazon account the backing process is fast and easy. Those who don’t have an Amazon account will be directed to create one.
The goal is to raise $5,000 to finish recording, mixing and mastering these songs in San Francisco. The funds will be used to pay for studio recording (rental/time/engineer), musicians, mixing, mastering, artwork, manufacturing, duplication and packaging. Any additional funds beyond $5,000 will be used to enhance the recording and for promotion.
More information can be found at AROUND THE WORLD KICKSTARTER.
Related links
Topics
- Music
Categories
- charles unger
- kickstarter
- charles unger experience
- jazz
- r&b
- blues
- san francisco
- les joulins jazz bistro
About Charles Unger Experience - Short bio
A major force in the music scene of the San Francisco Bay area for the last 40 years, saxophonist Charles Unger is a musical institution. He is known for his exuberant style and talent, and for a stage show that is unforgettable.
A regular performer at various San Francisco clubs, Charles is an innovator in the genres of Jazz, R&B and World Beat. Charles, who plays alto, tenor and soprano saxophones, was deeply influenced by the seminal works of artists such as Coleman Hawkins, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Grover Washington, Kenny Garrett and Lester Young, but has also drawn on a lifetime of experience playing with top level musicians the world over.
Charles brings an undeniable sense of joy to his performances, with a smile that welcomes even the most recalcitrant listeners to the party, then proceeds to open up avenues of music that are enjoyable for the uninitiated and the aficionado alike.
In San Francisco, Charles plays every Wednesday and Friday evening at Les Joulins Jazz Bistro (where he has performed for 19 years), leading a jazz band that includes his wife Valencia on vocals on Friday evenings. His band has also performed at the Sheba Lounge, Rasselas, Yoshi’s San Francisco, Intercontinental Hotel San Francisco, 57th Street Gallery in Oakland and many other places in the San Francisco Bay Area.
During the last three summers, Charles Unger Experience has performed in Sweden at the Gothenburg Cultural Festival, in Båstad and at the Kristianstad/Åhus Jazz Festival. He has also performed with the Swedish group Wavemakers in the musical ”A Dream of a Better Life” at multiple locations. During the summer of 2011, Charles toured Europe for the first time since 2005, and performed in Sweden, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris and in the South of France.
More information can be found at AROUND THE WORLD KICKSTARTER.
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/charlesunger/around-the-world-cd-project/
www.charlesungerexperience.com
www.facebook.com/charlesungerexperience
