She didn’t have to look far.
When Nelson musician Naomi Cromwell started searching for collaborators for her latest project, she found everyone she needed living right nearby. And the Selkirk College alumna couldn’t be more hyped about the lineup she came up with.
“I’m so stoked after every rehearsal,” Cromwell told the Star.
“Sometimes things just fall together and it’s just the right chemistry of people. I feel incredibly fortunate that this particular combination of people worked out.”
They’re calling themselves Naomi and the New Gramophones.
She’s got Selkirk College professor Darren Mahe on guitar, Lee Campese on drums, Daniel Slade on keyboards and none other than Jesse Lee — otherwise known as Rafferty Funksmith and winner of the Kootenay Music Awards’ musician of the year in 2015 — playing bass.
The group will play interpretations of crowd favourites, channeling the energy of acts such as Stevie Wonder, The Beatles and Aretha Franklin, and they touch on everything from soul to R&B.
“This is the music I really love,” she said.
“Although 60s-era soul music wasn’t the music of my generation, it was definitely the music of my youth. When I listen to it, it exudes this timeless beauty that moves me.”
The New Gramophones have begun playing shows in town, and have one coming up at Finley’s on Feb. 3. They’re hoping to start booking more Kootenay gigs as they head into festival season. They’re looking to become a go-to cover act akin to Val Kilmer and the New Coke.
“Classic, classy — I just want to play music that makes people feel good and dance. We play a wide variety of stuff, everything from swing era jazz and ballads to dance music. We’re actually pretty versatile with what we play.”
But she doesn’t want it to be “same-y”.
“The arrangements we’re doing of the songs are unique and original and fresh interpretations of familiar songs. I don’t like the word covers because we add our own flavour and personality to what we play.”