About this user
Stephanie Rooker's music ranges from saucy r&b, to innovatively revived funk, to jazz-infused ballads.
Drawing from her broad range of musical influences: from folk music of her native Appalachia to her immersion in traditional music of Ghana, from years of classical and jazz training to her distinctive grasp of the cultural evolution of American gospel--blues--jazz--&--hip-hop, Stephanie Rooker's sound is fresh and cultivated. She sings with the careful phrasing of a soulful Eva Cassidy, the wailing of a young, blues-steeped Bonnie Raitt, and the self-affirmative slant of Stevie Wonder.
Stephanie Rooker has been performing extensively with her band, recently dubbed "the Search Engine," in New York City and beyond. In 2008, she released her debut CD, Tellin You Right Now, to a packed house at NYCs Cutting Room and has since been climbing the music-scene ladder quickly, performing at such high-profile venues as NYCs Blue Note, Washington, D.C.s Blues Alley & Roanoke, VAs Jefferson Center.
Supported by the Search Engine, a group of seasoned musicians—all mavericks on the New York scene, Rooker's songs are ripe with innovation and rounded by expertise. Her unique and alluring music is fueled by an almost tangible passion, creating with it a force for empowerment and social change.
Rooker is currently working with the Search Engine on her second studio album, due out in 2010.
Hometown
Radford, Virginia
Country
United States
Schools
Oberlin College
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