Fats Gaines was a jazz musician and orchestra leader born in Kansas, who had a significant presence in the San Francisco Bay music scene from the early 1950s to the first half of the 1980s. He experimented with various musical genres throughout his career, including Rhythm and Blues, Soul, Funk, and Disco, but always maintained the guiding presence of jazz in his music.
His debut on record occurred in 1952, and although he had a prolific career as a live musician, his discography output was relatively limited and scattered. He recorded only half a dozen singles until 1983, which can be attributed to various reasons, including the volatile nature of the music industry and the difficulty in finding record labels willing to record jazz and other less popular musical genres.
Despite his lack of commercial recognition, Fats Gaines is remembered by many as a talented saxophonist and orchestra leader who significantly contributed to the San Francisco Bay music scene. His music and legacy continue to be appreciated by jazz fans worldwide.
Louisiana born and creed: Zorina spent her formative years in San San Francisco Hunter Point district. She aspired to be an all-around entertainer; though her parents couldn't afford dance lessons, she hung around dance schools until the opportunity arose to show her dancing ability. Soon thereafter, she began dancing with various troupes and graduated as a leading dancer-choreographer for KEMO channel 20's variety program. She also began modelling professionally and won the Top Bay Area Model Award and the Knights of Honor Beauty Pageant in 1972. Also, during this time, she began working at San Francisco's Playboy Club, hoping for more opportunities and exposure. Besides her dancing ability, she exhibited her singing and acting abilities as well, with notables Carol Channing, comedian Prof. Irwin Corey and songstress Randy Crawford.
Currently, Zorina continues her career as a singer, actress, and human rights activist in Taiwan.
Under exclusive licence by Carolyn London
credits
released March 20, 2023
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Producer – John Parrish
Executive-Producer – William C. Gaines
Arranged By [Horn & Rhythm] – K. Perkins (tracks: A3)
Arranged By [Horn & Strings], Trumpet – John Parrish
Arranged By [Horn] – T. Collins (tracks: A3)
Arranged By [Rhythm] – G. Wilkins*, L. White, Iz Kids
Arranged By [Vocal] – Zorina London
Arranged By [Vocal], Keyboards – Grady Wilkins
Backing Vocals ["Love At First Sight", "Rose Mari"] – Zorina
Bass – Brian Abbott , Gary Jackson, Melvin Coleman
Co-producer – Kirk Perkins (tracks: A3)
Conductor, Strings – Nate Rubins
Drums – Greg Gonaway*
Drums, Keyboards – Kirk Perkins
Guitar – Tony Crosley, Ethan Fox, Jerry Woods, Larry White
Keyboards – Percy Scott
Strings – Oakland Symphony Orchestra
Trombone – Kraig Kilby
Trumpet – Dean Boysen, Fred Berry, Tony Collins
Vocals [Male] – Donald Henderson (tracks: A1), Grady Wilkins (tracks: A4), Melvin Coleman tracks: B1)
Woodwind – Edward Lewis
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