The work of soul musician JoDavi is well summed up by his own term “cinema-soul.” It is evocative and performative, full of filmic nostalgia and classic motown arrangements. It swells and swings and knows how to swagger when the beat gets mean. As part of the release tour for new album One More Go, JoDavi’s livestream from Art Boutiki will be a celebratory event just right for a summer evening. But with his background in gospel and R&B, and pedigree as an instructor, wedding musician and arranger, “Mr. Maestro” surely has more than just “one more go” in him.

JoDavi
Wed, 8:30, Free (registration required)

For many twentysomethings electronic dance music is the latest and greatest form of musical expression. Producers like Kaskade, Skrillex and Avicii pack festivals full of college-aged men and women with their high energy, synth-based beats.

But for 24-year-old San Jose denizen Jackie Gage, horns, upright bass and analog, brush-beaten drum kits are where it’s at.

Gage was born in Mountain View and raised in Sunnyvale by parents who loved soul and jazz. She grew up listening to the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Dionne Warwick and Stevie Wonder.

For much of 2014, Gage served as the co-founder and host of Fatale, a weekly series spotlighting local female soul, R&B and jazz vocalists at Blackbird Tavern and the Pagoda Bamboo Lounge in downtown San Jose.

A singer since childhood and a songwriter since college, Gage says that the women she saw singing at Fatale inspired her to write an entire album of original material and take her show on the road.

Gage played the final Fatale last week at Pagoda and then embarked on a short California tour, which took her to Oakland, San Rafael, Sacramento and down to Los Angeles, where she spoke with Metro on her cell phone about the upcoming release of two singles from her forthcoming LP, Ladies—named for the women singers who inspired her to take on this challenge in the first place.

“I really want as many ears as possible to hear this,” she says of Ladies, which she hopes to release in full some time in 2015. “I want the world to hear these stories and this music.”

For those who want to hear Gage’s material sooner, she will be performing at City Lights Theater Company in San Jose on Sunday, Dec. 7. It’s the second-to-last show of her brief tour, which will wrap up with one more stop in Los Angeles on Dec. 9—the same day she’ll be releasing two singles from Ladies.

Gage’s voice has been described as “velvety,” like a “smooth wine,” and indeed, her vocal ability is impressive, as she has shown in original songs like “Let Me Know,” a live version of which can be found on YouTube, and her jazzed-up cover of Rihanna’s hit “Umbrella.”

Jackie Gage plays the City Lights Theater Company on Dec. 7 at 7pm. More info.

The Hedley Club at Hotel DeAnza will host a variety of vocal talents at SVSX that play along nicely with the art deco decor of venue. Anya & the Get Down headline with Amy Dabalos and Sweet HayaH on the bill.

Anya and the Get Down
11pm, Hedley Club at Hotel De Anza
Led by classically trained singer/songwriter Anya, the Get Down’s first EP got the local scene buzzing, its Amy Winehouse-type confessional rock blending effortlessly with dubstep, reggae and hip-hop. Then there was the revelation of Anya’s vocals—powerful, sensual and unpredictable. But if that first release established the noir side of Anya and her talented, versatile band, their newest EP expands their range, especially on the slow-burn “Gotta Be Got” and the emotional “Maybe.” The Bangerz’s DJ Cutso also contributes a wild remix of “C’est La Vie” that puts a dance-floor spin on an already disorienting swirl of genres wrapped into a single anthem. “Gone Baby Gone,” however, remains their signature song, its video especially capturing the mix of vintage style and dark, futuristic edge that makes Anya and the Get Down one of the most exciting bands to hit the South Bay scene in years.

Sweet HayaH
10pm, Hedley Club at 
Hotel De Anza
World beat may be a minor influence on Sweet HayaH’s sound, but its subtle undercurrent can definitely be discerned. With a mish-mash of rock, soul, blues and folk music, Sweet HayaH’s songs sound like the self-reflective work of songwriters like Tori Amos and Alanis Morisette at their core but flushed out into more diverse musical settings—almost like No Doubt, but with more passion.
As far as their penchant for the international, they not only sing songs in English, but in French and in Spanish as well—not to mention the second half of their name, HayaH, which is Arabic for “life.” But where their worldliness really reveals itself is in the stripped down, bare-bones, acoustic versions of the songs. (They have been known to play electric and acoustic sets.) The rhythms have a slight Latin and African bent to them. Meanwhile, the vocals evince a poetic timing and intonation that tie in smoothly with the music. This isn’t to say that Sweet HayaH aren’t a rock/soul band. They are. Lead vocalist Nehal Abuelata combines the soul of Aretha Franklin and the heart-on-the-sleeve cries of Janis Joplin.

Amy Dabalos
9pm, Hedley Club at Hotel De Anza
Young jazz/R&B vocalist Amy Dabalos is noted for her song interpretations. Beginning her musical journey in the jazz world, Amy was inspired by the improvisational freedom of the music. Her style and approach to singing are greatly influenced by vocal jazz legends, as well as her undergraduate training in classical voice.
Amy takes standards, and some songs not so familiar, and makes them all her own—new harmonies, different rhythms and a modern take on beloved numbers. Most recently, she has performed at City Lights Theater, Left Coast Live, the San Pedro Square Market and the San Jose Jazz Winter and Summer Festivals.

The Silicon Valley Sound eXperience highlights more than 20 local bands at nine venues in downtown San Jose starting at 3pm on September 22. Purchase tickets HERE.