NickRolfe

2008-08-01T12:38:00.001-07:00

Rockin' 'em at the Red Bank Concert Series. Photos by: www.mckayimaging.com

2008-06-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

****FYI!!!**** "Bernard and Doris" has received 10 Emmy nominations!! Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Also, keep an eye out for ya' boy in the first episode of the upcoming second season of NBC's "Lipstick Jungle" airing this September!!!

2008-05-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

Just got back from rockin' the Cotton Club in Tokyo, Japan with my girl Angie Johnson. For anyone who DOESN'T know, you NEED to get her music in your life!! EXTREMELY talented musician, producer, performer. Check for her at:

www.myspace.com/angelajohnson1
www.angelajohnson.com/

Serious bidness y'all!!

Anyway, wanna shout out ALL the amazing people I met in Japan and thank you again for all the love you showed us!! Made the trip really beautiful!!

2008-05-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

Went back to Cabo Verde, Africa to play at the massive Gamboa Festival. As usual, the Cape Verdean people showed us a tremendous amount of love! Nothing eventful happened, just lots of good music. Big shout out to all my people in the C.V.!!

2008-03-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Luxembourg....rockin' with my girl Cherisse Bradley...had some fun.....wanna shout out all the cool people we kicked it with!!

2008-02-02T22:47:00.000-08:00

Got invited to speak before the NAACP tonight and present Susan Sarandon with the Rosa Parks Community Activist Award. She's a special woman...I had to research ALL the different ways she has committed to giving back to the community, and I was blown away. We're talking about being a U.N. Ambassador traveling to Africa and India, traveling to Nicaragua to protest social and economic inequality, working in soup kitchens in NYC feeding the homeless, condemning the U.S. government for their treatment of Haitian refugees, volunteering for WEEKS at ground zero after the 9/11 attacks, speaking out against the war in Iraq, and on and ON!! Needless to say it was a HUGE honor for me to be able to speak about all the ways she's stood up for what she believes with no regard whatsoever for possible risks to her very mainstream career. I'm even more of a fan after learning more about her. She's DEFINITELY the real deal.

2008-01-18T15:27:00.000-08:00

Got a chance to do something really special today: Was honored to be the "Celebrity Angel" on the Comcast Cable Network show "Everyday Heroes" and present the Project H.O.M.E. Foundation a big screen t.v. donated by Best Buy. Project H.O.M.E. was founded by Sister Mary Scullion and Joan Dawson McConnon in Philadelphia, PA to work towards ending homelessness and poverty and to date they've leveraged $40,000,000 dollars in equity towards housing and economic development in Philly. Truly a beautiful thing that they've started, and as a Philly born cat, it was an honor for me to be able to go back to the City Of Brotherly Love and present this gift to put in one of their Project H.O.M.E. residences so the people getting their lives back together can watch a 42" flat screen while their doin' it!! For more info check out: www.projecthome.org/
Here's a quick shot of me and "Everyday Heroes" host Lamont Graves choppin' it up

2008-01-16T15:39:00.001-08:00

Just got back from a tour in Cabo Verde, Africa. It was a great opportunity to play with some tremendous Cape Verdean musicians, and check out some of that African island culture. The style of music was a new one for me, but a beautiful learning experience and it really opened up my musical mind. Big shout out to all the people I met and hung with in Cabo Verde, One Love!

2008-01-16T15:26:00.000-08:00

2008-01-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

NJN came thru the studio today to shoot a feature on your boy. It's set to air on Feb. 8th so I'll keep you posted on that. Should be a cool little joint. They filmed me playing the piano, laying down some vocals on the new record and showing what the process is for recording vocals, and then came to the house for an interview. Here's a couple shots:

2007-12-06T13:40:00.000-08:00

In the lab: doing overdubs for the new Big Fun(K) project at John Lee's Alley Cat Studios....lookin' frustrated with that music right? A couple notes on the piano were out of tune...which explains the looks of frustration....

2007-10-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

Hangin' with the crew at BB King's, NYC

2007-10-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

Played at the Cayenne Jazz Festival in French Guiana, South America last week with blues/rock/r&b phenom Acantha Lang. Check my girl out at: www.myspace.com/acanthasingstheblues...she's SERIOUS....channeling the young Tina Turner vibe with her own original twist...high energy stuff y'all...we slayed 'em at the festival.
The people in French Guiana were very cool and we got a chance to check out the culture quite a bit. Some pics I can post, some I can't!!! Had a couple days on the Island of Guadeloupe amidst the grind...that, along with the good music we heard and played, made it all worth it. Check the pics below:

2007-10-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

2007-10-11T07:49:00.000-07:00

2007-10-06T18:17:00.001-07:00

2007-10-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

2007-09-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

Played a couple concerts on Mackinaw Island in Michigan. Very ummm.......interesting(?) place. It's up at the northern tip of Michigan and we had to: take a little ass prop plane from Detroit to a little ass airport called Pellston....it had stuffed bears....like, big bears that had been hunted then visited the taxidermist.....a few stuffed dear - kind of different for an airport, right?? Anyway, then we piled into a van and drove to a high speed ferry. Ferried across (what we think was) the convergence (sp?) point of the Great Lakes to Mackinaw Island THEN took a horse drawn "taxi" (no motors on the whole island...NONE....bikes and big ass horses ONLY) to the Grand Hotel. Not really diggin' the hotel....it's OLD-SCHOOL...formal attire after 6pm... HA!!!! You KNOW your boy had to rebel against that one...ain't rockin' no formal attire just to eat dinner, mannnnn!!! Anyway, forgot my camera at showtime, but here's some pics I got of the grounds. Didn't take too many pics 'cuz honestly? The whole place reminded me of history books I saw in school of plantations down South back in slavery days. Almost ALL of the working staff were black or brown (the majority were Jamaican, lots of Hispanic folks and a few Polish scattered here and there) and ALL of the patrons were white. The vibe was STUFFY to say the least. Now, understandably that place was NOT the cooly vacation spot for a forward thinking, progressive lifestylin', quasi-hippy, city boy like me!! Anyone who might be reading this who's from Mackinaw Island, or has deep endearing ties to the place...don't worry 'bout me...I just call it like I see it and keep it movin'. One Love.

2007-07-28T20:06:00.000-07:00

Played another show with my girl Angela Johnson today at Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn today.....had brothas playin' out in the middle of the park...with NO SHADE...was hot as fish grease.....think I burnt my fo'head......(sigh)....

2007-07-20T10:15:00.001-07:00

Had a good night on the town last night: Went to Joe's Pub to support my fellow cats on the GRIND. My man Russell Taylor (white shirt, hat) and Selan Lerner (shades) rocked the Brotha's With Voices set last night and did their thing. Of course I HAD to run into two of my homies: the FIERCE singer Martha Redbone (white dress) and her partner in life and crime Aaron Whitby, and FIERCE actor/singer Jene' Hernandez (purple)...too much talent in this city, y'all, gotta love it!! Keepin' me INSPIRED!!
Anyway, I'm off to Cleveland, Ohio to rock with my girl Angela Johnson.....try to get some good pics. Catch up soon.

2007-07-05T06:17:00.001-07:00

Here's some shots my homegirl Emra took in Juan Les Pins, South of France playing at a jam session at Hotel Meredienne after the concert. Thanks Emra!

2007-06-29T20:14:00.000-07:00

Rocked 'em tonight at the Sparta Summer Concert Series with Don Braden on saxaphone, Chris Parks on bass, Karl Latham on drums and myself on keys....playin' that FUNK!!...

2007-06-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

Had to run to the West Coast to deal with some music and then rest my soul a lil' bit....and when I say rest my soul, I mean REST MY SOUL! Snuck away to the soooooper seeeeecret hideaway for a couple days and took in some serious peace and quiet...the pictures speak more than a thousand words...your boy was CHILLIN'.......(yeah...that's my boot in the frame 3rd pic down...my bad).....

2007-06-20T14:43:00.000-07:00

Checked my girl Vivian Sessoms and her band, led by her husband Chris Parks, at the Village Underground for their pre-release/listening party supporting her new album "Sunny One Day". FIERCE y'all! You want the TRUTH in some SOULFUL, technically dazzling vocals?? CRAZY production and DOPE writing and arranging?? Check 'em out:
www.myspace.com/albrightmusic OR albrightmusic.com
You need this music in your life. Check it out.
Was a good hang, saw lots of my peoples supporting the cause: big up to my homegirls/songbirds Abby Dobson and Kendra Ross, Gary Foote, Kenyatta, Keith, big Shed...the list goes on. Good to see SO many talented people under one roof. THAT'S inspiration fo' yo' ASSSSSSSSS!! Made a brotha want to come home and right some music!! LOL!!

2007-06-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

Checked out my man Nick Payton and his band down at the The Jazz Standard couple nights ago: killin' em as usual.
All or any of you concerned with the future of jazz need NOT worry...it's in good hands!!
Had a quick shot of me, Nick and my man , percussionist Danny Sadownick