Teedra Moses & Noel Gourdin

30 September 2012 at 19:00–22:30
Jazz Cafe

Teedra Moses was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana to a gospel singer mother, Shirley Moses. She later moved to Los Angeles, California with her mother and three siblings after her parents’ separation.  Prior to becoming a recording artist, Moses worked with her best friend Nonja McKenzie as an assistant wardrobe stylist for artists such as Will Smith, Kelis, R. Kelly, and No Doubt , just to name a few. It was after breaking her leg on a video set that Moses decided to follow her heart and begin making music.

Following this epiphany, Moses teamed up with producer, Paul Poli and signed with the then Number 1 Indie Record Label, TVT Records to release her debut album ‘Complex Simplicity’ in August 2004. ‘Complex Simplicity’ included fourteen tracks all self-penned by Moses with dominant production by Poli; which lead to the well deserved executive production credit by both Moses & Poli. The album underperformed on the U.S. chart, debuting and peaking at number one hundred and sixty-eight on the Billboard 200.

However, the album was “Critically Acclaimed” and otherwise found success on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, the Top Independent Albums, and the Top Heatseekers, reaching number twenty, number eleven, and number ten, respectively.  In addition to executive producing and penning all the lyrics on her own project, Moses has written songs for other artists including hits like Christina Milian’s ‘Dip it Low,’ Trina feat. Kelly Rowland ‘Here We Go,’ songs for Mary J. Blige, Macy Gray and a host of others. She was featured on and co-wrote two songs from Raphael Saadiq’s 2004 album Ray Ray, ‘Chic’ and ‘I Want You Back’. Moses’ songs have been showcased in the Logo series Noah’s Arc as well as in the HBO hit show Entourage, movies such as Never Die Alone, Beauty Shop, and Be Cool.

After a long break due to label legalities within the now defunct TVT Records, Teedra Moses relishes in her recent affiliation to Rick Ross’s Maybach Music Group and a schedule complete with performance at the Essence Festival 2012, a 10 City Fall US Tour followed by multiple overseas dates in London and Birmingham in support of the long awaited sophomore album The Lioness scheduled to be released late third quarter of 2012.

NOEL GOURDIN

Originally from the South — Mississippi, to be exact — soul and R&B singer Noel Gourdin honed his skills in Brockton, MA, and by the age of 24 scored a deal with Sony and had his first album in stores. His first exposure to the vocal arts came in church, and he was introduced to the larger canon of soul music by his father (who introduced him to the classics, such as Otis Redding) and his brother (who turned him on to the sounds of new jack swing). As a high-school student in the Boston-neighboring Brockton, Gourdin performed in talent shows and did work (and shows) for the Boys and Girls Club. With his work as a performer and role model to draw from, Gourdin signed a management deal with Stalin Entertainment in 2002. A 2004 request by Kay Gee to have Gourdin contribute a track to the soundtrack of The Cookout (the song “Family Reunion” was Gourdin’s contribution) led to Gourdin exploring new musical territory, which would result in a large portfolio of songs ready to go. A meeting with Sony Urban in 2005 led to a summer showcase, which in turn led to a deal for the singer to start recording for the label. His debut, After My Time, was released in 2008.