mo & dawn: the remix project: Press

Dawn Weber
Trumpeter/Singer & All Keyed Up
Wild Card: “I once had an audience member say I was
‘unexpectedly awesome.’ I’ll take that.”

Dawn Weber, a tiny fireball complete with flaming red hair and a stupendous supply of energy, is a dancing, singing, trumpet-playing dynamo. Using her music conservatory education and real, raw talent, Dawn has been living a dream she’s had since the seventh grade—to make a career for herself as a full-time musician.

Shortly after moving to St. Louis in 1997, she joined big band Vargas Swing and composed five original songs for their debut CD, followed by a coast-to-coast tour. But when—in one of those double-dog-dare-you moments—she sang “Take the ‘A’ Train” during a show, her bandmates were so blown away by her powerful pipes, she spent every subsequent show splitting her time between playing trumpet and singing.

But Dawn—who’s always up for something new—wanted to bring an innovative sound to the city. In 2000, Urban Jazz Naturals was born, blending her impressive vocals and pitch-perfect trumpeting with edgy electronica to create a fresh sound of funky jazz mixed with groovy house beats. The band garnered success with its 2003 album followed by a string of hit singles, written by Dawn, which have been played and praised from Australia to Belgium.

Dawn’s biggest challenge thus far has been playing a male-dominated instrument— “Can you name one famous female horn player? I have to work twice as hard for people to take me seriously,” she says.

But in case there was any doubt about her tremendous talent, Dawn was recently one of five people in the world selected to play at an international trumpet competition. Though she didn’t win, it proved once and for all that this petite pixie can seriously blow.

This 4-piece jazz/soul/house ensemble from St. Louis delivers one of the best tunes of the year... For the remix, JT does his thing with gentle keys, a fat bass, and muted trumpet noodling. A gorgeous and inspired jazz vocal from UJN Dawn Weber is slightly reminiscent of Erica Badu. All the lounges will be bobbin' to this one. Gonna be major!

Fancy flirting muted trumpet provides the intro and refrain to Dawn Weber’s tiptoed vocals above Urban Jazz Naturals downtempo house grooves…perfect for a nighttime, poolside soiree, even in the winter.

How Can I ? (JT Donaldson Remix) [Gallery Music]_
The Urban Jazz Naturals are here. This track is currently being played on promo format to great response. The Urban Jazz Naturals hit the swing-era in style and upgraded it to present day. Featuring jazzy female vocals, mute trumpets, walking bass lines and electric keys, this song gives it all to you. Not a bad remix ether [wink].

Dawn Weber is a star; let's not mince words. At the Urban Jazz Naturals CD release performance on February 8, this woman was completely, totally mesmerizing on stage. We arrived just in time to see Dawn playing the first number with opening act Vargas (who share two members with UJN), and it's a wonder the Duck Room didn't explode, what with ...Dawn's sexy, fiery energy on stage... This was the first time we'd seen Vargas, and Dawn, blowing up a storm on trumpet while vamping across the stage in a black mini-dress, was a sensation. The place turned into a raucous dance party for the UJN set...(with Dawn) astonishing all with her trumpet playing and stage bopping. The concert was a blast, and the Naturals’ debut EP is a gust of electronic bliss.

The problem with most makers of electronic dance music is that they're boring to watch. Sure, superstar DJs exist.. but they're famous in spite of themselves... Urban Jazz Naturals (is) the ideal gateway drug for those of the rockist persuasion. The popular quartet melds jazzy house, chilly lounge, soulful funk and twitchy electronica into a sophisticated but not overly cerebral sound that's all its own, one that gets crowds moving but also makes crowds watch. During the 2002 RFT Music Awards show, frontwoman Dawn Weber bounced around the Pageant stage like some anime Pippi Longstocking, blowing her trumpet and flugelhorn, singing and dancing and leaving long lines of thumping hearts in her pixie-dust wake. She's got style to spare, and her three bandmates -- programmer/sampler/sound-manipulator Don Tinsley, keyboardist Mo Egeston and programmer /synth-tinkler /guitarist Christian Oncken -- are also fun to watch...UJN actually perform(s) everything they play, which is, at least in this context, something of a distinction in itself.
Their self-titled five-track CD/EP is a slinky, sexy little thing, studded with deep beats and unexpected atmospheric touches, the kind of disc that slips easily from the car stereo to the party boombox.