 When you think of Minneapolis, what do you think of? Prince, Mint Condition, The Time, Apollonia and Vanity 6? OK, fine. But what about the jazz scene? Minneapolis East or Madhouse. Either way jazz is still alive and kicking in Minneapolis, and Wenso Ashby is keeping jazz real.
His latest effort "Love Is So Amazing" with featured vocalist Zsame, is a nice laid back project that you can drop in the player (of your choice) after a hard day at work. Let Wenso take you away!
With nice groovin' songs like "No Letting Go", "In The Blu", "Keep On Dreaming", "Faded", "Lights Low", "Love Is So Amazing", & "Heavenly" are guaranteed to relieve your stress. And the ethereal covers of Sade's "No Ordinary Love", Brian McKnight's "Anytime" and Lisa Stansfield's "Been Around The World". Plus let us not forget Zsame's soothing voice that compliments each song in a way where you feel totally relaxed.
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By Dwight Hobbes , TC Daily Planet
August 10, 2008
 There could be no better fit than Wenso Ashby featuring Zsamé to play St. Paul’s vaunted Selby JazzFest—lovers of mellow music would do well to be in attendance. The Twin Cities have seen the recent loss of two smooth jazz radio stations, and no one has stepped into the breach to rectify this situation. So a healthy audience, left with nowhere to turn on their radio dials, needs to grab every available opportunity to listen to artists this gifted.
Composer, producer and keyboard man Wenso Ashby is one of the best at what he does, creating a lush tapestry of sound that, at times, is nothing short of spellbinding—especially when front lady, singer-songsmith Zsamé is at the microphone on splendid vocals. There are three albums: Midnite Walkin’, Wenso Ashby Live, featuring Zsamé, Q’Aisha, and TaVanni, and the newly released Love Is So Amazing, featuring Zsamé. You can’t wrong with any of them and, indeed, are apt to sooner or later end up owning them all if getting locked into a sweet, laid back groove is your thing. September 13, the Selby Avenue JazzFest is at the intersection of Selby and Milton, right outside Golden Thyme Coffee Café. The festival starts at 11 a.m. and goes until 6 in the evening.
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Although Wenso Ashby is a Smooth Jazz Solo Artist, he features the sultry vocal styling of Zsamé and the unmistakable saxophone of Willie Moore. Additional performances include the background vocals of Deynn & Q'.
Wenso Ashby featuring Zsamé delivers smooth-jazz at its finest, combining the talents of ace producer-composer-keyboardist Wenso Ashby and top-flight vocalist Zsamé.
Wenso Ashby established himself behind the scenes in Washington, D.C. doing production in the late 1990's. He worked as a hip hop producer and session keyboardist at Oyaban Record's studios in Maryland and Virginia's nationally recognized Cue Studio. Ashby was content in the background until artist's manager Amanda Fielding prodded him to cross genres and start showcasing his playing and songwriting talents in smooth jazz.
In 2002, Wenso recorded the well-received album Midnite Walkin', then relocated to Minneapolis to promote the silken sound he dubbed "Contemporary Jazz With Soul". Subsequent recordings include, Wenso Ashy Live and Love Is So Amazing, the new release by Wenso Ashby featuring Zsamé.
Soon after releasing Midnite Walkin' in the Twin Cities, Wenso began a magical musical collaboration with Zsamé. An accomplished vocalist, lifelong songwriter and consummate performer, her vocals were the perfect compliment for Wenso Ashby's lyrical expression. Her singing has drawn excellent reviews from the Twin Cities Daily Planet and Insight News.
Wenso Ashby featuring Zsamé has delighted audiences in Atlanta, Chicago and Minneapolis. Some of the venues include Rossi's, The Fine Line Music Café and Bellanotte. They've also been featured on NBC affiliate KARE-11's Showcase Minnesota and CBS affiliate WCCO Channel 4's Music in the Morning.
 Reprinted
From the Daily Planet:
There could be no better fit than Wenso Ashby featuring Zsamé to play St. Paul’s vaunted Selby JazzFest—lovers of mellow music would do well to be in attendance. The Twin Cities have seen the recent loss of two smooth jazz radio stations, and no one has stepped into the breach to rectify this situation. So a healthy audience, left with nowhere to turn on their radio dials, needs to grab every available opportunity to listen to artists this gifted.
Composer, producer and keyboard man Wenso Ashby is one of the best at what he does, creating a lush tapestry of sound that, at times, is nothing short of spellbinding—especially when front lady, singer-songsmith Zsamé is at the microphone on splendid vocals. There are three albums: Midnite Walkin’, Wenso Ashby Live, featuring Zsamé, Q’Aisha, and TaVanni, and the newly released Love Is So Amazing, featuring Zsamé. You can’t wrong with any of them and, indeed, are apt to sooner or later end up owning them all if getting locked into a sweet, laid back groove is your thing. September 13, the Selby Avenue JazzFest is at the intersection of Selby and Milton, right outside Golden Thyme Coffee Café. The festival starts at 11 a.m. and goes until 6 in the evening.
How did your musical partnership come to be?
Wenso Ashby: I came here from D.C. on a visit and was listening to the radio. I didn’t know who she was, but I loved the voice. I called the station [but] couldn’t connect with her. A year later, I came back. Somebody told her I was in town, looking for a vocalist, so I met with her.
Zsamé: I wasn’t singing at the point—just goin’ to work, goin’ home. Daily grind.
Ashby: We talked. She listened to [my] CD and liked it. Later, we went out to a [rehearsal] area. I asked to do some runs, and she did it a cappella. On the spot. I was like, wow. I immediately said, “I’m gonna stay here.” We started working together. Now, it’s four years later.
Each of you easily could go solo. Why stay hooked up?
Ashby: If you look at the [new] album, it features Zsamé and it features the saxophone player Willie Moore. Production is what I really love to do—to stay in the background.
Zsamé: I always felt the music. It’s funny, because [earlier] I’d been doing vocals for a local hip-hop group, recording at Flyte Time, but when I looked at my music collection, I owned mostly smooth jazz, R&B, soul music. That was the music I was feelin’. This was the opportunity, when I started performing with Wenso, to [be] in my comfort zone.
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“This was the opportunity, when I started performing with Wenso, to be in my comfort zone.”
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You write for the ensemble?
Zsamé: I do. And for the live CD, it’s actually kind of funny. When we first met, he brought over this music and wanted me to write words for some of the songs [in the vein] he had in mind when he wrote the music. When I brought [them] back, it was totally different.
Ashby: Than the way I wrote it.
Zsamé: So, he always jokes about that. “Just like a woman. It came back totally different from the way I gave it to her.” But, you know, I have my own originality within what we’re doing—even when we’re doing covers.
Ashby: She can capture the essence of any song. If she hears it, she can capture it.
How is it performing together onstage?
Ashby: We do the songs over and over, but each performance is a little different. That’s where the intuitive stuff comes in. She’ll go off and do something. Willie will do something. You know how it is. The words may be the same, but the way you feel changes. Each time she sings, it’s a new spark. So, I’m always, “What can I do to enhance that?” I never get tired of hearin’ what she does.
You also have another singer on board.
Zsamé: Deynn Hampton. She does background vocals.
Ashby: She could be an individual artist, too. The thing that works for us as a group is that everybody’s willing to come in and, like Boston [the NBA Celtics] did this year in basketball? All them people, stars, but they put their personal games aside to be a team. I just say here’s the song, here’s the concept, let’s go and do this.
Dwight Hobbes is a writer based in the Twin Cities. He contributes regularly to the Daily Planet.
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