Soul Cafe Voted #1 by St. Louis Jazz Radio as best new artist providing a very creative palette of great jazz with a killer horn section and St. Louis' hottest players. Soul Café combines several colorful palettes of jazz including (Smooth, Fusion, Funk, Latin, and Swing) along with a killer horn section to bring a defined solid delivery for the sophisticated appreciation of the distinguished listener. Sit back, relax, savor the moment, and satisfy the passion and emotion your soul desires with some great St. Louis based comtemporary jazz.
The CD “Unspoken Request” covers a wide variety of jazz styles to entice the ears of any jazz enthusiast. Most notably, track #2 (“Trujillo”) is a passionate “Tribute” track to honor the fine session bassist Abraham Laboriel. “Trujillo” is a tribute track which was inspired by the title song and recording called “Guidum” by the gifted bassist Abraham Laboriel. Trujillo is a village located on the coast of Honduras where Abraham’s parents were born. “Guidum” was originally written by Abraham’s father as a lament while waiting and longing to marry his future bride. Abraham provides a refreshing new instrumental rendition of the song to show gratitude for his rich family heritage.
The song entitled “Trujillo” is dedicated to that same rich heritage and it also symbolizes how he has been such a strong musical and spiritual influence for Soul Café over the years. Soul Café’s band leader Ed Starrett had the privilege of meeting with Abraham Laboriel in Chicago and presenting him with this recording and he was very humbled and honored by such a gift of gratitude. There has always been a tremendous respect for his talent and integrity and it was only fitting that we offer this dedication in a likewise manner.
Soul Café was founded in 1998 by Ed Starrett aka “Mr. Ed”, a premier guitarist & composer in the St. Louis area that has studied with such guitarists as Fareed Haque and Bobby Broom. Ed has also played with the renowned R&B/Funk drummer “Zoro” and has played extensively with Keyboardist Tim Pascoal who recently has recorded with Dave Weckl, Richard Bona, Bob Mintzer, Russell Ferrante, and Tom Kennedy.
Over the years guitarist/composer Ed Starrett has developed the bands sound by writing and performing original compositions. This collaboration has developed into a sound that is a signature which is unique and diverse across the musical spectrum. Soul Café has been influenced by some of the greats such as Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, Chuck Loeb, Abraham Laboriel, Steely Dan and many more.