10:30pm $15
Yoshi's Oakland
MdCL is one of the most innovative producers and live performers you will find anywhere.
Whether you call him artist, producer, composer, pianist, performer, DJ, or selecta, titles are impartial to the marvel of Mark de Clive-Lowe (MdCL). Many try to classify this impressively fertile music journey, yet to identify with only one label belies the heavy scope of the ride. The piano set the course, the keyboard is the vehicle, and with the drum machine as the fuel, the...
10:30pm $15
Yoshi's Oakland
MdCL is one of the most innovative producers and live performers you will find anywhere.
Whether you call him artist, producer, composer, pianist, performer, DJ, or selecta, titles are impartial to the marvel of Mark de Clive-Lowe (MdCL). Many try to classify this impressively fertile music journey, yet to identify with only one label belies the heavy scope of the ride. The piano set the course, the keyboard is the vehicle, and with the drum machine as the fuel, the relentless skill of MdCL is underscored by a rare sonic sensibility. He’s an accomplished musician, originally sowing his oats in straight-ahead jazz, before taking the music far beyond. Anchored by the duality of his Japanese and New Zealand parentage and ignited by a love of playing piano at the age of four, it is no wonder this multi-national phenom has seen his explosive natural gifts blaze across the globe from NZ to the US, UK, Europe, South Africa, Asia and Cuba.
A devastating live performer, the MdCL experience is marked by impromptu studio production created on stage from scratch, using drum machines, keyboards, accapella tracks and effects. The end result: live remixes birthed on stage for each and every gig. With bold chops like this, to call him “prolific” is an understatement, having contributed to over 250 releases and being a first-call collaborator for a wide range of artists, including Jill Scott, Jody Watley, Leon Ware (Marvin Gaye/Michael Jackson/Maxwell), Dame Shirley Bassey, Sandra St. Victor (The Family Stand/Chaka Khan), and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (Suite For Ma Dukes),amongst a slew of others.
Now based in LA after a decade entrenched in London, MdCL has made an apt move back into the jazz world, becoming a first call piano player in his adopted hometown, and most especially by creating CHURCH a unique event with one foot in the jazz club and the other on the dancefloor, which is now a hugely successful monthly event in LA and NYC, and has been presented multiple times in Lisbon and St. Louis with promoters around the world regularly seeking more opportunities to present the one-of-a-kind flavors of CHURCH.
If that weren’t enough, MdCL has still stayed connected to DJ culture and dancefloors around the world, presenting REMIX:LIVE to packed clubs everywhere, using his man-meets-machine rig of keyboards, drum machine and effects + turntable to create live on-the-fly remixes all from scratch. Expect to hear MdCL classics next to Stevie Wonder next to Bugz In The Attic—all played live, but with the flow of a DJ set. Best of all, the format is open to the addition of live musicians and vocalists, making MdCL one of the most versatile artists to book whether it’s a live venue, dance club or lounge.
Following up his audacious album, “Renegades” (Tru Thoughts), MdCL’s next release brings the big band format into the new millennium. Recorded in collaboration with Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra, “Take The Space Trane” will be released on Tru Thoughts in 2013 and features futuristic big band arrangements of MdCL classics as well as new songs written especially for the ensemble, plus a next level take on the standard “Caravan”. MdCL is also readying the first official album release of CHURCH, featuring his interpretations and reimaginations of classic jazz recordings.
MdCL is ready to unveil his audacious new album, Renegades, with guest appearances that include Sheila E (Prince), Omar, Pino Palladino (D’Angelo/The Who), and Nia Andrews. It's the latest step in the evolution of MdCL, who has cemented his reputation as the go-to man for anyone wanting his unique take on club music, progressive soul and urban alternative. The new LP features club classics flavored from soul and funk, to tech-Afrobeat and Latin twists, all orchestrated by MdCL: a revolutionary Quincy Jones for a new generation, armed with the ability to meld the science of beat-making with the fluidity of composed music.MdCL’s potential is beyond convention. He’s one who can take it all on the road like no one else, with a solid fan base that bridges cities as far reaching as LA, NYC, Atlanta, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Tokyo and Sydney.