Welcome Back
by Norman Hedman
(click photos to enlarge)

Hi, Everyone!

First, let me apologize for how long it has been since my last newsletter! Though it has been a while since I checked in, it is only because good things are happening and there is plenty to share.

At the time of our last issue (one year ago), Tropique's "Garden of Forbidden Fruit" was on the horizon. I am proud to say that it has been a great success, registering high on several international charts. You will find links to great reviews of the CD and one of our shows in this issue!

PowerLight Media, my record label, has signed a distribution deal with Sumthing Distribution, a company run by the great Nile Rogers, founder of Chic. This is very exciting news!

Last year, we released Marguerite Mariama's CD "Wild Women Never Get the Blues: Well, Not Anymore!" Click here to read a review!

This month, we released a new CD from Misha Tsiganov, titled "Always Going West." It is just hitting the airwaves now and is chart-bound for sure! Click here to read a review!

Many of you know Misha. He has performed with Tropique since 1998 and has also played with: Clark Terry, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Wynton Marsalis, Dave Valentin, Joe Chambers, Chico Freeman, and many others. Check out his Web site at www.mishatsiganov.com .

Music is still my main passion and there is plenty in the works.

I am currently co-writing material with Cuba Gooding Sr. and producing his next CD, which is untitled at the moment. Cuba was the lead singer of The Main Ingredient - whose hits included "Everybody Plays The Fool," "Rolling down The Mountainside," and "I Just Don't Want to Be Lonely."

Additionally, I am writing and playing on an upcoming Chico Freeman project. Chico is a brilliant multi-talented artist and instrumentalist on various reed instruments and keyboards.

Chico's resume includes: Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Charles Mingus, Jack DeJohnette, Art Blakey, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Hank Jones, Freddie Cole, Joe Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Roy Haynes, Von Freeman, Arthur Blythe, Billy Hart, Lester Bowie, Famadou Don Moye, Cecil McBee, Kirk Lightsey, John Hicks, Mal Waldron, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Eurythmics, The Temptations, The Four Tops, and many others.

A very exciting development: my Rhythm of Dreams project will start coming together later this year. This "neo-soul jazz" album will have a very unique sound thanks in part to two contributors who I respect very much.

The producer will be Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, an extremely talented person who has an ear for mixing the elements of "old school" jazz and funk with the most contemporary "new school" vibe of rap/R&B. "Krucial" is well-known for his work with Alicia Keys and they have earned nine Grammys together.

Speaking of Alicia, she will be contributing some piano and backing vocals to this project. Likewise, I will be contributing to Alicia's new project!

The yet-to-be-named album will be released in September or October and, so far, I am on six tracks. I expect to add a few more tracks in the coming months and I might even join Alicia's tour - more on that soon!

As you read through the newsletter, you will see that I also performed with Alicia at her annual "Black Ball." This was a wonderful experience and we have some great pictures to share (I'm the one with the grey beard!)

And, of course, 2006 brought me back to IAJE and NAMM. These are fantastic conferences and I really enjoy getting out to see old friends and meet new ones. I hope you enjoy the photos.

That's all for now. Make sure to check out my new MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/normanhedmanstropique . If you're a MySpace user, feel free to sign up as a friend!

All the best.

- Norman

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