Cairo born and raised brothers Moataz El-Gohary and Moe Gohary faced their fair share of challenges in trying to get their music both seen and heard in a region where Arabic pop reigns supreme. There's an old saying that necessity is the mother of invention. As the brothers confronted the problem of booking venues while facing an uphill battle of trying to fill seats, they came up with their own solution for reaching a much larger audience, global in fact. The answer was IWantJam, a website they designed together and are ready to share with artists and fans around the world.

IWantJam is a very unique and innovative music site that connects a global network of musicians and fans through live shows, video streaming, and social media. Utilizing IWantJam, an artist's performance at any venue can be seen live and in real time by fans worldwide, with the potential to exponentially increase the scope of their fan base. Fans no longer have to "wish they could be there," as they're seeing the entire concert from beginning to end right in the comfort of their own homes or anywhere their laptop or digital device allows. And, at the end of the show, viewers can provide feedback to the artist, making it a more personal experience. Artists get immediate gratification from comments, or a strong signal to give their act a much needed "shot in the arm" with the hope of having better luck the next time around.

Moataz commented, "I thought it would be a great idea to be able to set up "where" and "when" I wanted my live event to happen. I can even promote the live event. In other words, I can simply organize and promote my events and also receive feedback without the need of any third party involvement. I believe these tools are very powerful for the exposure of any musician."

Though Moataz lives in Cairo and Moe now resides in the U.S., the pair says that it doesn't cause any problems with their collaboration on IWantJam. "Nowadays, businesses are based on long distance communication, using phones, emails...etc. Nothing was complicated."

When asked about working with his brother, Moataz said, "It's more about the right partnership than just being brothers. We believe we are the right match for this project since we both are very enthusiastic and have a shared vision for the big picture of the project, but still don't think alike. I started the idea from scratch and Moe helped in adding some ideas. Some close friends gave their advice too."

Even the development of IWantJam couldn't steal the brothers away from their passion, however - making music. "At the moment I am collaborating with two friends/former members of MelanColie. Amir Khalaf: Guitar/Other Instruments, Muhammad Salah: Bass Guitar. I won't say it's exactly a career, but I would love to get my music or music I co-wrote out to be heard through the projects I am part of." Moataz stated, "None of the bands I performed or collaborated with were very famous and none are active at the moment. In Egypt, I played drums and co-wrote songs with the band MelanColie, and some of our songs were played on 104.2 Nile FM radio. Our song "Honey" won 2nd place in a homegrown bands contest and was performed live in a concert organized by the same channel. We also performed live in the "Nokia Music Festival" and "SOS Music Festival". In London, I played drums with the band "Could Be Heroes" and performed live in a couple of music venues."

So what does the future hold for IWantJam? It's quite simple according to the Gohary brothers: "Making IWantJam an essential music platform for all musicians and music enthusiasts." Only time will tell because thanks to IWantJam, place is no longer a factor.

Legendary drummer Mike Clark of Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters, Woody Shaw, Wallace Roney, Joe Henderson,Chet Baker, Wayne Henderson, Tony Bennett has assembled some of New York's finest and hippest working jazz 'n' funk musicians for vocalist/hipspokenword artist Tony Adamo. Clark dug up these cats for Adamo's recordings and live shows.

Tim Ouimette - Trumpet/Trombone/Music Arranger (Ray Charles, Jon Lucien, Ben E. King, Ray Barretto and Mike Clark)

Benny Russell - Tenor Sax/Music Arranger (Manhattans, Richard "Groove" Holmes, Otis Rush, Four Tops, Mike Clark)

Jerry Z - Organ (Mike Clark, The Headhunters, Delbert McClinton, Hiram Bullock, John Scofield)

Marvin Horn - Guitar (Mike Clark, Elvin Jones, Jack McDuff, Stanley Turrentine, Freddie Hubbard)

Website: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musi...
Music: http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazz...

Robert Lauri is back with a new album to be released by the end of the summer: State of Mind.

Robert Lauri takes us to a surreal world… the upshot of an international pooling of musical talents, Mitch Hiller and, of course, Robert Lauri. A dozen tracks in all!

This is not the first time that Robert Lauri and Mitch Hiller have joined forces. These two friends of long standing decided to get together yet again to share their creativity and immense talent with us. Their combined talents have produced sheer magic. Very present, almost spellbinding, Robert Lauri’s voice is like a key that opens the door to an authentic and original world created by Mitch Hiller’s lyrics.

The album moreover features sterling collaborative performances: three original duets that are bound to enchant us with the power of talented musicians.

American jazz singer Diane Marino performs two duets with Robert Lauri, singing intense lyrics by Mitch Hiller. Two new powerful tracks bring together Diane Marino and Robert Lauri in a collaborative work between Paris and Nashville. Diane Marino and Robert Lauri sing in perfect harmony. The listener cannot but be overwhelmed by their strong, captivating voices. Mitch Hiller’s hard-hitting text enhances the mystery of their performance even more.

In another original duet, Robert Lauri and Mitch Hiller enchant us with the exceptional color of their voices. The album unveils a brand new world of melodies, entrancing musical arrangements and interpretations that have the power to touch our hearts. Mitch Hiller, a Londoner, has for many years deployed a wide range of talents in various collaborative works and productions that have always been successful.

And that is not all. The album hits a cord also thanks to the flawless communication between Frank Marino on bass, Pierre Chereze on guitar and Diane Marino on piano in the duet with Robert entitled In My Mind.

The twelve tracks provide a range of different moods, mixing country, country-rock, Euro pop, and country pop to cite but a few. The musical accompaniment is dazzling and the passion becomes increasingly contagious with each number we listen to.

The wealth of Robert Lauri’s musical creativity is characteristic of this musician and his openness to the world. He stimulates the association of different musical genres to offer us unique, always harmonious moods.

In sum, it could be said that Robert is a visionary melodist unlike any other. Each of his musical moods bears his “stamp.” Driven by a magical inspiration, Robert Lauri creates and produces without respite at an exponential pace.

Robert Lauri will share the songs in première with friends and fans on his Facebook page and You Tube channel. “Oh No” is a single from the new album now available on the main download stores.

Website: http://www.robert-lauri.com

Contact Media Enquiries :
Linda Vranken
info@sensitivityandwords.com