Meet the Band
SPICE formed in 1988. The experience and musicianship of the artists' within have an appeal that earned them recognition from music lovers and contemporaries alike. Their style is simplicity, accuracy and uniqueness. Every performance is executed with such precision that even the most critical ear would be appeased. No matter the genre they ensue, audiences will be astounded by the quality of the sound and the professionalism from the members of, SPICE. Meet the band:
Victor Frierson, Vocals
Born in Louisville (KY), Vic Frierson is 6’, 8”, 280 pounds of smoo-o-o-th! In a career that has spanned more than 2 decades, Vic has amassed an impressive résumé that includes regularly appearing at the finest hotels, supper clubs, and entertainment centers from New York to Florida, and throughout the southern United States.
Vic’s debut CD is appropriately entitled, Th'owback*. Th’owback features nine songs written and composed by Vic, as well as, uniquely original renditions of Brenda Russell's venerable classic, Get Here and the timeless gospel standard, His Eye Is on the Sparrow. The album has enjoyed rave critical acclaim in the U.S. and abroad, earning for Vic an honorable mention as vocalist of the year from veteran music critic Howard Dukes (see soultracks.com/vic-frierson-tho-back), and for the album the Akademia Music Award for Best R&B Album (http://www.theakademia.com/january2016_bestalbum_rbsoul2.html).
*- “Th’owback” is available for purchase at BigVix.com.
Johnny Jones Jr. Drums
Percussion/Trombone. School of Performing Arts (Montclair, NJ); New York School of Music (New York, NY); School of Jazz Mobile (Harlem, NY). Studied under Charlie Persip, Freddy Watts, and Carl Wolf.
Johnny has performed with various well know musicians throughout his musical career such as: Roy Ayers, Ronnie Laws, Gary Bartz, Dizzie Gilespie, Jimmie Magriff, Mulgrew Miller, John Patton, Charlie Mason and Leo Johnson. He has opened for George Duke and Rachelle Ferrell.
His unique talent and experience has allowed Mr. Jones to be exceptional as a performer and as an accompanist.
He has performed with Visions/Jerry Gordon Quintet, Spice and O'donel Levy, Blue Note Jazz Ensemble, Aesthetic Police and C.C. Rogers & Co. et al. He has toured Europe, Iceland, Germany, France and Holland for the Dept. of Defense. Recordings include Eric Howard, ANIMA The Spirit, The Soul, THe Life-Force, THE FORCE OF LIFE, Jerry Gordon, Soft and Warm Saisaa, Saisa Live et. al. Versatile in all styles of music.
Dawoud Said, Keys
Dawoud is a world class pianist/keyboardist with both the tools and the talent. He plays impeccable grooves that audiences demanding a good musical foundation could appreciate.
Dawoud has played with groups such as Walter Beasley, Marion Meadows, Angela Bofill, Najee, John Scofield, Kenny Lattimore, Michael Henderson, Joe McBride, MeShell Indegeocello, The Graingers, Stacey Lattisaw, Marcus Johnson, MSP, Spur of the Moment and a host of others.
His alluring style gradually captivates, while his voicing and technique open your mind to all the subtle colors and emotion
music has to offer.
His diverse background has allowed him to have the flexibility to not only play, but also compose in many different and varied styles of music.
Dawoud was born in Baltimore, Maryland. About age four, his journalist father moved the family to the Washington, DC, area, where Dawoud and a younger brother were raised. His father and brother, as well as his interior‐designer American mother live in Washington, DC. Born in America, Dawoudʹs multi‐ cultural African roots, through his father, stretch from Kenya to Ethiopia and Somalia. He has visited the Continent in his teens.
He has been playing the piano since the age of seven, and has played professionally since the age of fifteen. He was formally trained in Classical and Jazz Piano. His training began with private instruction in Classical Piano. He attended High School at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where he received further Classical instruction.
Dawoudʹs influences are a derivative of many of todayʹs great jazz artists, including Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, George Duke, Bob James, Jeff Lorber, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michel Camilo and Joe Sample.
Jesse L. Powers Jr. Bass
Born September 14, 1951 at Ft. Eustis, VA. Yep, he was born an Army brat! Jesse was the firstborn to two incredibly strong parents, during a complex period in the history of the U.S. He is the oldest of four siblings (a special bunch) and the father of five wonderful adult children, and the grandfather to seven even younger, stronger, super beings with super powers!
Jesse's professional musical career began in 1971 upon volunteering (during the draft, and the war in Viet Nam) to join the U. S. Army as a professional euphonium and trombone player. During his first enlistment in the Army, he taught himself to play the electric bass (1973), to assist in the much needed addition to the unit's big band.
Another important career enhancing experience initiated early in his military career was being entrusted to serve as a Human Relations specialist, which would later be called, Equal Opportunity Noncommissioned Officer (NCO). Good stuff!
Stepping back, Jesse's music education actually began at age 9, in junior high school, playing the trombone and subsequently, the euphonium. Upon entering high school, he won an audition to play in the prestigious, award winning, Hampton High School Band. Fast forwarding back to his career in the Army, he completed the Army's Basic Music Course and after several years, the Advanced Noncommissioned Officers Army/ Music Course. The U.S. Army's music courses are taught at the JOINT EXPEDITIONARY BASE, Little Creek-Ft. Story, Virginia Beach, VA. It is through this education and experiences, that significantly helped shape his ability to arrange and compose music.
The first 15 years of his musical career in the U. S. Army Band field, was spent serving in various wonderful and incredible, Army bands. In 1986 Jesse joined the prestigious Special Army band, the U. S. Army Field Band, from Washington D.C., serving for the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs (OCPA), Washington, D.C. where he served for the remaining 19 years of his Army career, until retirement. OH HAPPY DAY!
Today, Jesse continues his musicianship, taking it upon himself to relentlessly perfect the canon of musical literature that all of the masters before him have successfully embraced. The result; a successful musical career!
Jesse has toured musically in every state in our great union (including Alaska and Hawaii), and abroad in Portugal, Mexico, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Cuba, and Nicaragua.
Jesse's inspirations in music come from a plethora of professional artists, and from practically every music genre. It is the spirit of music itself, that captured and mystified him since early childhood. And so it continues with current uniquely gifted members of SPICE.
Truly, with all the challenges in life and depending on where you choose to live, life is what [you] make it! Your personal peace, is [your] responsibility. So if you're searching for that special something in your life, to come from Lord knows where, to lift you up, just look in the mirror, and choose to make it happen! https://jessepowersjr.com
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