Photos by Julie Harmsen Photograph

COLR is

a new music project forming imaginative, visual and expressive lines in music with bassist Marina Christopher, trumpeter Ahamefule J. Oluo, drummer D’Vonne Lewis and keyboardist Josh Rawlings…blending all shades and hues into a musical tapestry that resonates across a wide spectrum. This mosaic includes feel good grooves that draw on Modern-Jazz and Pop-Dance roots. The music also contains inspiring moods, sounds and rhythms that can deeply move the listener. Synesthesia is an experience that can bring vivid experiences of color to some listeners through sound. The group members aim to build upon this kind of phenomena to bring a heightened sense experience and transport the audience to lose itself to the music!

Marina Christopher is a rising star in the Seattle jazz scene. Earshot Jazz Magazine named her the Emerging Artist of 2017, and she took home the honorable mention from the Kobe-Seattle Jazz Vocalist contest in 2018. Her style of jazz enthusiastically embraces the music of pop and RnB, and her bass playing, singing and song-writing has an infectious feeling of joy. Marina’s trio is a rotating roster of top players in Seattle. Do not miss the artist The Seattle Times declared one “you should get to know”.

Ahamefule J. Oluo is a Seattle-based musician, composer, writer and stand-up comic. Oluo is a founding member of and trumpet player in The Stranger‘s Genius Award-winning jazz-punk quartet Industrial Revelation, and was featured in City Arts Magazine‘s 2013 Future List as one of Seattle’s most promising and exciting artists. Oluo has collaborated with such diverse artists as Das Racist, Macklemore, Hey Marseilles, and TacocaT. He was a semi-finalist in NBC’s Stand Up for Diversity comedy competition, and co-produced comedian (and writing partner) Hari Kondaboluo’s debut album, Waiting for 2042, for Kill Rock Stars. He was the first ever artist-in-residence at Seattle’s Town Hall, and his 2014 performance of Now I’m Fine at On the Boards received universal acclaim and will be in the New York Under the Radar festival in January 2016.

D’Vonne Lewis is a highly respected jazz drummer and successful bandleader, who has accomplished a great deal in a span of two decades. A Fourth Generation Musician in his family, D’Vonne began gigging professionally as a teenager, quickly earning himself the reputation as one of the city’s most in-demand drummers. From sitting in with jazz legends like Wynton Marsalis, Julian Priester, and Marian McPartland, or recording and performing with established hip-hop groups such as Digable Planets, Blue Scholars, and Macklemore, his musical accolades are vast beyond his years. A founding member of Seattle’s award winning Jazz/Rock Quartet Industrial Revelation, D’Vonne continues to be a pillar of the thriving Northwest jazz scene and continues to carry his reputation as a stellar musician in music circles throughout the region and beyond.

Josh Rawlings is one of most sought after performing and studio musicians in the Pacific Northwest today. Rolling Stone described his piano playing on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ Single “Downtown” as a “bombastic, theatrical piano breakdown.” He’s also the featured pianist on their powerful single “Same Love.” Josh has toured throughout the United States and Europe with Macklemore, emerging Soul/R&B sensation Allen Stone and performed with numerous groups including NW favorite super-group Industrial Revelation. Josh is a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts and is currently active as a Producer, Studio Musician and Songwriter living in Seattle.