New York state of mind

Perhaps it's the sweltering heat. Or maybe it's the camaraderie of five musical talents coming together.

Whatever the reason, the members of Shegroovee are joking and bouncing off each other with the ease and good nature of a group in its prime.

Fresh from New York, the five-piece band are settling into a summer stint in Dubai's Jambase with the whirlwind energy and enthusiasm it takes to make an impact.

Taster

The new resident act at Madinat Jumeirah's supper club need little prompting to give tabloid! a taster by performing two of the hundreds of titles they have on their ever-evolving songlist.

Singer Dihann Moore is transformed as she breaks into Janet Jackson's Together Again, clearly feeding off the music and losing herself in the up-tempo rhythm. The tight sound that accompanies her is created by Kevin D. Cummings on keyboards, Mark "Lace" Gibbs on guitar, C-Will on drums and Al Brisbane on bass.

Moving on by merging straight into Earth Wind and Fire's September, Lace takes over on vocals demonstrating just how versatile the band can be with a simple shift in dynamics.

Mix of talent

These are musicians who have been honing their skills for decades - and it shows. Yet, the group itself only came together in its present form about a year ago.

Moore, a recording artist originally from Washington DC, says she wanted to form a band when she moved to New York because she missed performing live. Following a stint in a corporate band with Cummings, the two went on to form Shegroovee by bringing together the mix of talent before me: quality musicians with a wealth of experience in performing, producing and writing.

Moore explains how they found their way to Dubai.

"New York definitely gave me a thick skin but one of the greatest lessons was playing in the New York subway system.

It's great because once you start performing and you have this audience around you, people are dumbfounded," she said.

"On one of those nights, another subway performer said to me, ‘With your gift, you need to go to Dubai.' I said, ‘Where is Dubai?'"

Snapped up

That was nearly two years ago. Following a little research, Moore and Brisbane then secured a New Year's Eve gig at Al Qasr's Arboretum in 2006 which led to Shegroovee being snapped up for a whole season at Jambase.

Enjoying Dubai for the first time, Cummings says: "In New York you don't really get too much information about the Middle East and, when you do, it's nothing but negative. I never realised there was a place in existence called Dubai so I did some research and realised Dubai is the place to be."

Having had a few weeks to settle in, Shegroovee are warming to the emirate even more and are already building up a loyal fan base.

"The reception from the people in the club is fabulous - they love us," says Moore with a smile of achievement. "We already have people who come every day or every other day. I've gone to the store and people have come up to me and said, ‘Are you the singer from Shegroovee?'"

Experience

Lace says being in the Middle East is a new experience for him.

"One thing I've learned being here is that everybody is generally the same," he observes. "You have differences of language but everyone wants the same thing: health, happiness and family - the basics of life.

But there is another element that links all nationalities and one that is close to their hearts, as Lace points out.
"Music is the universal language," he says. "No matter who you are or what walk of life you are from, you can all connect through music."

In addition to feeling blessed with talent and being paid for a job they love, Brisbane feels music can help to heal in times of trouble.

"You can be going through something personal and the bandstand is your sanctuary, it's your therapy," he says. "You get so wrapped up, it's spiritual, and for people to see it, to hear it, to feel it, it's a great feeling."
As C-Will says: "You can't put a price on that."

All the band members are clearly passionate about their calling and have open minds about the possibilities that lie in store for Shegroovee.

Cummings revealed it took a while before he had the confidence to follow his heart.
"As a musician you realise you are gifted to do something," he says. "After working for New York City for 12 years in the law department, somebody who knew me very well and knew I was a musician said, ‘Ports were made for ships but ships are meant to sail', and that's one of the things that really inspired me to do this."

Own material

As well as celebrating music from the last six decades and genres from pop, house and R'n'B to jazz, funk and ethnic styles, the group have a body of their own material just waiting to be unleashed.

"We all write and we all have so many original ideas," says Moore, with enthusiasm. "As a band we want to develop even more and try to do our original stuff to take it to the next level.

"I would like us to achieve something that none of the other bands have achieved here, whether it's getting them to accept a new sound or changing one of the nights due to demand.

"I want to make a mark."

Performing six nights a week at Jambase from now until September, it's hard to imagine Shegroovee not leaving a lasting impression.

Did you know?

On the first Tuesday of every month, Shegroovee will hold a tribute night at Jambase. Confirmed themes coming up include a celebration of Earth Wind and Fire and a night dedicated to the Divas of Soul.

The name

"It's called Shegroovee because she's the She," says Kevin D. Cummings, pointing to lead singer Dihann Moore, "and we're the groovee… and when Dihann isn't there, it's Hegroovee!" he jokes.

Groovy nights

Whatever your preference, Shegroovee has a night for you at Jambase:

Mondays: Unplugged.
Tuesdays: Mid-tempo jazz/R'n'B/funk.
Wednesdays: More jazz/R'n'B/funk.
Thursdays: The hottest night of the week with seven sets of music, including jazz, funk, pop and R'n'B, dance, '70s, Motown, house and Latin.
Fridays: More music from the styles of the night before.
Saturdays: Holiday-feel sets, ranging from commercial R'n'B to Latin music.