The Against All Odds 2008 Virtual Book Tour is stopping here today.  Niambi Brown Davis, debut author of From Dusk to Dawn, is our guest author/blogger today.  She has written an article titled I Love Music – Any Kind of Music that she is sharing with readers. She will also be dropping in during the day to leave comments, answer questions and find out what’s on our play list.  Additionally, check out her blog to find out how you can enter to win prizes including the beach bag created by main character, Ayo, FREE BOOKS and a few other prizes.  Click links to visit Niambi’s website and blog.

I Love Music – Any Kind of Music by Guest Blogger Niambi (Brown) Davis

For Christmas 2006 my family created a monster. They presented me with an I Pod Nano. That thin silver rectangle and I are joined at the hip – I do not leave home without it. In the vinyl, reel-to-reel and eight-track era, music lovers had to suffer through an entire album even if only two songs were worth listening to. But it is the 21^st century, and thanks to I Tunes and MP3 magic, all it takes is click and pay to build a custom play list.

Back in the day, the Ojays sang “I Love Music.” And I do – any kind of music. There is a little bit of everything on my play lists. I remember crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on a bright and beautiful day with the sounds of Dizzy Gillespie and Sonny Stitt blowing in my ear. Did I really play my main man Luis Miguel 85 times in one month? And Russell Watkins, putting his glorious tenor to the classical “Nella Fantasia.” He is called “The Voice” for a reason! When I want to imagine myself in Old Havana, I mix a mojito and listen to the late Ibrahim Ferrer. That man’s voice was smooth like golden, aged rum. Cannot miss reggaeton or the Delta blues of Howlin’ Wolf and Son House.  I do love the harmonica and slide guitar.  Sometimes I am in the mood for the boisterous call of DJ Khaled or the Eastern-flavored rhythms of Panjabi MC. Of course, I love calypso, (Byron Lee wit’ de band) but the most-played of all are the Latin, from the old-school Hector Lavoe and the Fania All-Stars right up to the stars of 2008.

I listened to all of this while writing From Dusk to Dawn. And then I had a thought – instead of simply writing to music, why not create a musical journey through the lives of my characters – a play list that speaks to the love story of Ayo and Bilal at their happiest, through their challenge, the most trying and the happiest times of their lives. The idea turned into a CD that became part of my promotional give-away at Romance Slam Jam.  It was a real labor of love – after all, there are only so many songs to fit on one CD – maybe I should have made a double set! I left off Edith Piaf (whose story was one of this year’s Oscar-winning movies). But I did include The White Stripes – gotta give it to the white boy – he knows his way around a blues guitar! There’s some Jill Scott, some Etta James, some Phyllis Hyman and Wynton Marsalis, that genius with the golden horn. And I could not make a mix without Alex Torres y su Orquesta!

This is becoming a habit; I have got two books to follow – and I am already planning the next play lists!

But, enough about me–Shelia and readers, what’s on your play lists?

Niambi was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. She and her family lived for many years in Washington, DC and for three and a half years, made the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago their home. She has written for Bronze Thrills, True Confessions and Black Romance Magazines. Niambi indulged her passion for sailing and travel by serving as publicist for the Black Boaters Summit and as a member of the National Association of Black Travel Writers. A script for her first digital novella has been accepted and published by Arrow Publications, LLC. Presently, Niambi writes for Travel Lady Magazine. Aside from travel and writing, Niambi is an avid reader of historical fiction, and deeply involved in tracing the history of both branches of her family tree. Her day job is running the business of Sand & Silk / Soleful Strut, her own line of handcrafted bath and body products.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 12:01 am and is filed under Just Because, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.