47UMa 47UMa
This is the debut CD by Detroit area world beat band, 47UMa®, fronted by past Billboard Magazine pick-hit vocalist Gail Baker. The band is named after the star 47 Ursae Majoris b, located near the Big Dipper and speculated to support life on its nearby planets. This star was discovered in 1996, about the same time that Baker and percussionist Mike Friedman started talking about forming a band. They chose 47UMa® during their search for a name that would that would globally connect with a world rhythm and attract life. This release captures the performances by Baker, Friedman, bassist Steve Rouse, and special guest lead and rhythm guitarist Jake Reichbart.
Gail Baker's credits include 1980 Detroit Free Press and Detroit jazz radio favorite "Live at Chaps-on-Main", 1983 hit "What If Thinking", and a 1997 Silent Radio® retrospective on the MEGAWAVE label. Mike Friedman is a long-standing Detroit area session and soundtrack drummer. Both Baker and Friedman have toured nationally with different groups over the years. Steve Rouse likewise has appeared regularly at Detroit venues throughout his career. Multi-genre guitar talent Jake Reichbart, an international talent and active session player, has been a member of Lunar Octet and Five Guys Named Moe.
47UMa® plays rockin' dance music, with reggae, ska, soca, samba, African, blues, New Orleans, and rock-n-roll influences. The band's original songs are upbeat and inspired by personal experiences and world images. This thirteen-song, fifty-two minute release was produced by John Palmer and Gail Baker, recorded and mixed at Megawave Studio One in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and mastered by Jeffrey Campo at Soweto Productions near Detroit. Since the completion of the CD, the band regrouped and formed Zebula Avenue, featuring Gail Baker, singers Maureen Honoré and Maggie McCabe, who also plays electric mandolin, bassist Greg Nance, guitarist James Niemi, drummer Sandy Lovely, and percussionist Mahindi Masai.
However, two of the original members still perform as 47UMa. For bookings, please contact: 248-545-1867.