VINX (USA)
VINX (USA)
International recording artist and Berklee College of Music educator, Vinx is as close as you'll find to a 21st century Renaissance Man. He has lived a big life and has shown remarkable talent in multiple areas. Known to music fans as a percussionist and vocalist, his music is classified by some as jazz, by some as world music and by others as soul. What is certain is that it is loved by a wide variety of audiences for the very reason that it reflects the wealth of his experience and breadth of his interests. As Vinx’s mother once said, “You can’t sing of life unless you live!”
In the late 70s, Vinx was a scholarship athlete at Kansas State University, where he overcame incidents of local racism to post the world's second longest triple jump and was on his way to capture the world record at the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Although the US ultimately boycotted the Olympics that year, he went on to coach at the University of Texas and was later inducted into the KSU Athletic Hall of Fame.
While in college, Vinx was also a DJ and a member of the KSU Jazz Band. His passion for music turned into a career when he stayed in Los Angeles following the 1984 Olympics (an injury forced him out of competition) and found work as a percussionist for Ernie Watts and later as part of the traveling bands for Taj Mahal, Rickie Lee Jones, Teena Marie and others.
Forming an all drum band, Vinx went out on his own and toured with various acts over the next several years, ultimately hooking up with Sting for his Soul Cages album tour. This led to Vinx being signed to Pangaea Records and to the release of Rooms in My Fatha's House, a touching tribute to his father (who was murdered in 1989 in the Detroit suburb of Inkster) and a truly breakthrough album that garnered critical acclaim. Rooms treated the world to the dynamic voice, unusual beats, folkloric percussion arrangements, and risk taking that would symbolize Vinx's work. It was one of the finest albums of 1990 and certainly among the most distinctive.
Over the next few years, Vinx released I Love My Job, The Storyteller, and Lips Stretched Out, each one displaying more superb percussion work as well as intelligent lyrics and guest artists such as Branford Marsalis, Sheryl Crow and Herbie Hancock to name a few. He continued writing songs with and for other major artists and performing session work, including work with Stevie Wonder. In the mid 1990s he formed the dance band Jungle Funk and toured Europe for several years. He also had his first exhibition of original paintings.
Vinx entered the new century by releasing the independently recorded Christmas album, Little Drummer Boy, and The Mood I'm In, an impressive album of Vinx-ified covers of favorite standards, including great versions of "Georgia On My Mind," "Everyday" and "You Are My Sunshine". To highlight his original compositions, Vinx also released Grits & Pate a 32 track compilation of the singer/percussionist’s favorite and most popular songs.
Since 2006, Vinx has continued to tour in the US and internationally, expanded his work at the Berklee College of Music in Boston and has formed Dreamsicle Arts & Entertainment Group with his partner, Jennifer Lambert, to release new music and produce other artists of note. Vinx’s own current release is a collection of original ballads reminiscent of the original “crooners”. Titled Love Never Comes Too Late, the album will be released on April 2, 2013.
Perhaps most importantly, Vinx is working on improving his hometown and artistic communities with endeavors such as the Songwriter Soul Kitchen retreats and the Dreamsicle Arts Studio/Stage that help both his local community and independent musicians/songwriters through various collaborative and educational projects. www.songwritersoulkitchen.com.
QUOTES
"Vinx is the gift you give to someone that you really care about." ~ STEVIE WONDER
"Like the great balladeers of the '40s and '50s, Vinx boasts a dulcet-toned croon, which can envelop a romantic rhapsody or stretch into effortless volcalese. Add to that admirable quality an unparalleled talent for percussive invention, and an ear for moody sonic artistry and you have the unique mix showcased on Big 'n' Round...." "Imagine a classic R&B voice like those of Sam Cooke or Al Jarreau singing a cappella over a boisterous percussion troupe and you might get a hold on Vinx's magic...It's his yearning voice, alternately full of both anguish and joy, that makes you listen." ~ MODERN DRUMMER
"There is sometimes complexity in Vinx's simplicity...Vinx is a singer and percussionist, arranger and producer who calls his music "primal pop" because of the raw, stripped-down syncopation...and when Vinx wants to color his primal sounds with modern ones, he hooks up with the best. Aside from his ability to construct exciting rhythms, Vinx is a harmonious baritone vocalist with range, charisma, tounge-in-cheek humor and a fiery passion..." ~ THE WASHINGTON POST
"...Vinx is a remarkable musician who can croon in an ardent, enfolding baritone while tapping intricate, shifting patterns on hand drum..." ~ THE NEW YORK TIMES
"Imagine Bobby McFerrin's sunny disposition blended with tribal drum patterns, L.A.'s and Babyface's cool-headed approach to dance-pop juxtaposed with the instinctual elemental hooks of early Police. And Prince's harsh, minimalist backgrounds supporting vocals that rival Nat "King" Cole's for sweetness...a powerful effortless tunesmith and a vocalist of uncommon subtlety and understanding." ~ THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
"The first time I saw Vinx was in a little club in Santa Monica called "At My Place". I'd just been to the movies and was walking back to my car when it started to rain, so I stepped into the club, ordered a beer and sat down to wait for the rain to stop. At the other end of the club there was a guy with blue hair playing an African talking drum. Just him and a drum, no band; I could hear every nuance and inflection of his baritone voice swooping and soaring through melodies that had me open mouthed, gaping in that telling combination of wonder and envy that great artists sometimes provoke. The most interesting thing about his melodies was that within a single vocal line he was able to suggest the harmonic structure of the song without an accompanying chordal instrument. This is a rare talent. I stayed until the end of the set and introduced myself backstage. I asked if he had a record contract, he said he didn't; now he does. I wanted this record to produce the same effect on the listener that our accidental meeting had on me. He is unique. His music didn't need to be overly dressed up, it is already elegant. My job as producer was merely to be enthusiastic; you don't advise those who already know, you don't have to fire up someone who is already burning with passion. Vinx has something to say. Let him tell you himself." ~ STING