Dawn drake & ZapOte

Dawn Drake & "ZapOte":
Female-fronted NYC bred global dance band. Taking its name from a luscious fruit in Cuba also known as "mamey", "ZapOte" is an original dance band lead by dawn drake, New York's female bassist/conguera/singer/songwriter and composer, who manages to wear several hats while setting the scene with her own brand of cool.
Her original music takes the listener and dancer into a zone where House, Funk, Afro-beat, Samba, Afro-Cuban and Jazz are right at home. Her poetic lyrics spread messages of universal consciousness, delivered with heartfelt vocals, and are joined with the irresistible grooves of latin percussion, funky bass, swinging hornlines and virtuosic improvisation.

ABOUT DAWN DRAKE and ZapOte:
"ZapOte", which takes its name from a luscious fruit in Cuba also known as "mamey", is an original funky latin samba soul band lead by dawn drake, New York's blonde bassist/conguera/singer/songwriter and composer, who manages to wear several hats while setting the scene with her own brand of cool.
Her original music takes the listener and dancer into a zone where House, Funk, Afro-beat, Samba, Afro-Cuban salsa, son and Jazz are right at home. Her poetic lyrics spread messages of universal consciousness, delivered with heartfelt vocals, and are joined with the irresistible grooves of latin and brazilian percussion, funky bass, swinging hornlines and virtuosic improvisation.
An active musician in New York City's African, Brazilian and Latin music scene, dawn drake started her career as an electric bassplayer and percussionist, but now she is known first and foremost as a singer-songwriter, composer and bandleader. She offers a lot to the stage with her inspired lyrics and her ability to combine all of the elements from her eclectic palate of musical experiences.
Originally from Virginia, Dawn first began traveling and studying world music through UC Berkeley's study abroad program at the University of Ghana, West Africa where she lived for a year. Upon moving to New York City, she started to play bass and percussion with groups which have included Obini Ashe; The Femm Nameless, who opened for The Roots and who toured England; Jojo Kuo, former drummer for Fela Kuti; Páprika who has opened for Patti LaBelle and Toshi Reagon, and Manmzel, who toured Canada and the east coast, with a hit single in the French Caribbean.
Dawn studied and played congas and batá in Cuba, and samba percussion in Brazil, where she played in Rio de Janiero's Carnaval. She has shared the stage with Me'shell N'degeocello, Cyro Baptista, Trey Anastasio, Mo'Guajiro, Los Jovenes del Barrio, Kokolo, Jorge Alabê and members of Antibalas.
She has appeared on The CBS Early Show, Telemundo, PBS, WBAI, and played stages such as Symphony Space, SOB's, The Zinc Bar, Rockefeller Center's Rainbow Room, Radio City Music Hall, BAM CAFE, The Walker Art Center, Michigan Womyn's Music Festival and the New Orleans Jazz Festival. She has also appeared in The Village Voice, Park Slope 24/7 and GO Magazine.
She and ZapOTe have recently landed a slot in the coveted Bluemont Concert Series in Virginia for the summer of 2008.(www.bluemont.org)
Dawn's full-length albums are available for purchase at www.cdbaby.com/artist/dawndrake

PRESS CUTTINGS:
"Dawn Drake and her band ZapOte are at the beginnings
of a fascinating journey to enthusiastically bridge
chasms of cultural and gender disconnect that plagues
so much of pop music's body politic.
To hear them is to imagine early period jam sessions
between Laura Nyro and Carole King with Sly Stone
and Sergio Mendes sitting in.
Theirs is a playfully intense dynamic that needs to be
seen more"-Darrell McNeill, Director, Black Rock
Coalition, Curator Brooklyn Academy of Music Cafe

"Dawn contributes heavy
Afro-Caribbean licks on
congas, bongós and
Brazilian caixa as a partial
list...and it's no amateur
hour..."
Jenny Lazar,
GO NYC Magazine

"Cuban, African & South American styles
mesh together into delicious jazz/pop fusion;
a wonderful backdrop for Dawn's sassy vocals.
She also arranged the horns (excellent job),
played bass and did all the percussion; a truly
multi-talented performer!" Brian Fox,
Meewsic Records