Philadelphia singer-songwriter plans Jasserie reunion

What do you call a singer/songwriter who gives up the stage, gigs, rehearsing, publishing and performing for a paycheck? 

 A sell out?  Maybe. 

What do you call her thirty years later when she realizes she wants to get the band back together for fun and funk?  Crazy?  Lucky?   Or, maybe just a woman not ready to give it up. 

 Much older than your average unknown recording artist, sure.  But this Philadelphia-born/New York-based musician—Juli Davidson—is “Coming Around Again,” as her new EP declares, this time from her adopted city of Denver, Colorado.  And she’s headed home to perform some new material with some old friends. 

The Jasserie Years

“The band was called Jasserie, which means ‘celebrate big time’ in Mandinka,” Juli explains. “I heard the word on NPR and adopted it right away.  I had done some gigs as a solo artist opening for Odetta, Richie Havens and David Bromberg at The Main Point in Bryn Mawr, PA.  But I was hearing something else, something bigger.”

So Juli moved “down the country” and painted her mailbox blue in Hunterdon County, NJ, where she formed a band.  Some fine Philly-area artists got their start in Jasserie back then, including Paris-bound jazz singer Jeannie Brooks and her sister Carol Lynn Brooks, called “songbird” for her high, clear sound.  Dave Mohn—now drummer in the Eric Mantel Quartet—played drums, and James Patrick Michael Gilheany kept the funk on his electric bass after returning from his tour in Vietnam. 

Juli’s brother Jay (Brit Floyd, Swift Technique, The Funk Brothers—Standing in the Shadows of Motown) played sax with Jasserie for many years, and producer Billy Baltera kept the guitar section nailed down.  These musicians have all agreed to be part of the 2016 reunion tour.  In the past, the band played summers in Cape May and throughout the year in Princeton, New Hope, Philadelphia, New York—all along the Delaware River corridor.

New York or Bust

This trajectory continued when Juli moved to New York City to work as a musician, songwriter and producer.  Hired as a staff songwriter at the Bandier/Koppelman Entertainment Company, her songs were recorded by Tom Jones, Glen Campbell, and the Fame TV cast, among the rest.  She won a Clio Award for jingles she wrote and sang for Nickelodeon and was the Executive Producer for 16 compilation CD’s for Nick at Nite Records.  

She and the band played gigs at NYC venues from The Bitter End to the Ear Bar.  Her album “Take a Chance” was released on Shanachie Records, and a year later, a music video of her cover version of “Tell Him” (by the Exciters) was in lunar rotation on MTV.  A writer for MTV Networks from 1982 to 1996, Juli went on to become the Senior Vice President of Programming and Production for VH1.  “I never stopped playing piano, although the song writing slowed down a bit,” she explains.  

Here and Now

“Last year I spent some time in Scotland, and there I had an epiphany; I realized it was time to make some music,” Juli says. “I see this as a mash-up Jasserie/Philly All Stars reunion tour, with an emphasis on new material.”  Juli Davidson & Jasserie are at Ardmore Music Hall, Havana in New Hope, and the Rittenhouse SoundWorks in Philadelphia over Memorial Day Weekend.  (See TOUR tab.)   Her brother Jay is bringing his Philly studio pals to be “our kickin’ horn section,” she notes. Her plan this time out is to play piano, a bit of bass, and just plain front the band.

So what do you call Juli Davidson?  How about “not your average unknown recording artist.”  Come hear for yourself; the prodigal singer-songwriter is headed home.