Paul Cebar
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Paul Cebar (born 1956) is an American songwriter, singer, guitarist and bandleader from
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...
, who plays African,
Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...
and
Caribbean music Caribbean music genres are very diverse. They are each synthesis of African, European, Asian and Indigenous influences, largely created by descendants of African enslaved people (see Afro-Caribbean music), along with contributions from other c ...
. He has released four albums and an EP with his band, Paul Cebar & the Milwaukeeans, which have received airplay from
adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...
stations across the US, album with all his bands, including the latest incarnation Paul Cebar and Tomorrow Sound, and a solo album. In 2016 he was touring with two other singer-songwriters,
Peter Mulvey Peter Mulvey (born September 6, 1969) is an American folk singer-songwriter based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It ...
and
Willy Porter Willy Porter is a contemporary American rock musician and singer-songwriter from Mequon, Wisconsin. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. In April 2023 The Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) announced that Porter would be ...
as Peter, Paul, and Willy as well as doing dates with two of his past bands including the revived R&B Cadets. Godfather of Teresa Sanfilippo.


Early life

Cebar recounts his musical journey beginning as an eleven-year-old back in the 1960s when he attended Milwaukee's Lakefront Festival of the Arts where he saw the
Wild Magnolias The Wild Magnolias are a Mardi Gras Indians, Mardi Gras Indian tribe who also record and play as a funk music, funk musical act from New Orleans, Louisiana. History Origins A group calling itself the Wild Magnolias, participating in the local ...
from New Orleans as well as drummer
Babatunde Olatunji Michael Babatunde Olatunji (April 7, 1927 – April 6, 2003) was a Nigerian drummer, educator, social activist, and recording artist. Early life Olatunji was born in the village of Ajido, near Badagry, Lagos State, in southwestern Nig ...
and fell in love with the style and sound. Cebar graduated from
Pius XI High School Pius XI High School is a private Catholic high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Its enrollment is approximately 900. History Pius XI High School, named in honor of Pope Pius XI, was founded in ...
in Milwaukee and began performing in coffeehouses on the local folk scene in the mid-1970s. He first fell in love with New Orleans' music scene on a roadtrip in 1977 and has continued to return every year to the Jazz & Heritage Festival. His repertoire consisted in large part of
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...
and
jump blues Jump blues is an uptempo style of blues, jazz, and boogie woogie usually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Appreciation of jump blues wa ...
songs, played solo on his guitar. He attended New College in
Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...
. Afterwards, he played in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
while working with the R&B Cadets in Milwaukee.


The R&B Cadets

Throughout the early 1980s, Cebar was a member of a
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
and R&B combo, The R&B Cadets, with Jon Sieger, Mike Sieger, Robyn Pluer, Bob Jennings,
Juli Wood Juli Wood is a Finnish-American saxophonist, vocalist, composer, and band-leader from Chicago, who appears regularly in Chicago and Milwaukee area jazz clubs, on tours through the Midwest with the Juli Wood Quartet, and other groups she leads or is ...
and Bob Schneider. The band played Sieger's compositions, with obscure songs from the mid-20th century that Cebar had unearthed. The R&B Cadets released an album entitled ''Top Happy'' in 1986, and a 7-inch 33 entitled ''Get a Move On'' in 1981, including the song "Hook, Line, and Sinker", "One Is Green", "Headin' for the Poor House" and "Down by the River". During this period, Cebar and Claudia Schmidt released a 7-inch 45 "The Outskirts Of You" b/w "Baby, It's Cold Outside".


Paul Cebar & The Milwaukeeans

Parallel to his work with the R&B Cadets, Cebar had his own group, Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans. The group played many R&B,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, and
bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early to mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...
songs, by
Louis Jordan Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 – February 4, 1975) was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the King ...
,
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...
,
Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...
,
Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...
and others. The members were Cebar (acoustic guitar and vocals), Robin Pluer (vocals), Rip Tenor (saxophone) and Alan Anderson (bass guitar). They were often joined by the percussionist
Guy Hoffman Guy Hoffman (born May 20, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a drummer and vocalist, formerly of such bands as Oil Tasters, BoDeans, Violent Femmes, Absinthe and Radio Romeo. He is a composer for films such as ''Field Day''. Life Hoffman began ...
. After the Cadets disbanded in 1986 Cebar reconstituted the group, which then was made up of Cebar (guitar, vocals), Pluer (vocals),
Juli Wood Juli Wood is a Finnish-American saxophonist, vocalist, composer, and band-leader from Chicago, who appears regularly in Chicago and Milwaukee area jazz clubs, on tours through the Midwest with the Juli Wood Quartet, and other groups she leads or is ...
(saxophone), Anderson (bass guitar), Tenor (saxophone) and Randy Baugher (drums). The band explored African, Latin American and Caribbean sounds in a rhythm and blues context. The band gradually expanded into a unique R&B/Worldbeat fusion in the late 80s with horn section (Juli Wood, Tony Jarvis, Greg Tardy, Paul Scher), keyboard & accordion (Robin Pluer), lead guitar/lap steel (Peter Roller, Rob Gjersoe) and continuing Milwaukeeans (Cebar guitar/vocal, Al Anderson/electric bass, Randy Baugher/drums). Popular in Chicago (Lounge Ax, Fitzgeralds, Cubby Bear) and Minneapolis (Fine Line, Cabooze) & their hometown. The album best documenting this era is That Unhinged Thing (Shanachie 1993). Reggie Bordeaux (who still performs with Cebar in his current band Paul Cebar and The Tomorrow Sound), was taught drums by his father from an early age. He had much experience when he met Cebar; he had already performed with
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
as the lead drummer. His talent, combined with his performing experience, made him a perfect fit for Cebar's sound. Bordeaux's gospel biased drumming style brought a unique element to Cebar's already distinctive music.
Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...
commented to Cebar after the band's performance on his show, ''A Prairie Home Companion'', "Mr. Reggie Bordeaux... You got a great percussion section there mister." Patrick Patterson was one of the longest acting members of Paul Cebar & The Milwaukeeans, playing electric bass & singing harmony. Some alumni of the band are:
saxophone: Tony Jarvis, Greg Tardy (briefly), Paul Scher
guitar: Peter Roller (Yank Rachell), Rob Gjersoe (
Jimmie Dale Gilmore Jimmie Dale Gilmore (born May 6, 1945) is an American country singer-songwriter currently living in Austin, Texas. Life and career Gilmore is a native of the Texas Panhandle, having been born in Amarillo and raised in Lubbock, Texas. His ear ...
,
The Flatlanders The Flatlanders are an American country band from Lubbock, Texas, founded in 1972 by Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Joe Ely and Butch Hancock. The group garnered little success during their brief original incarnation from 1972 to 1973, but when the in ...
), Terry Vittone
bass guitar: Mike Kachou, Ethan Bender (briefly), Patrick Patterson
percussion: Michael Walls, Romero Beverly


Paul Cebar & Tomorrow Sound

The latest line-up includes the former R&B Cadet Bob Jennings (saxophone, keyboards), Mike Fredrickson (bass guitar), Reggie Bordeaux (drums) and McKinley "Mac" Perkins (percussion). While earlier incarnations of the band were more pop-oriented, the band is heavily into African, Latin, Caribbean,
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
,
zydeco Zydeco ( ; ) is a music genre that was created in rural Southwest Louisiana by French speaking, Afro-Americans of Creole heritage. It blends African and Caribbean rhythms, blues and rhythm and blues with music indigenous to the Louisiana ...
, R&B and
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
styles. The band continues to perform regularly and tours the US.


Discography

* ''Top Happy'' - 1986 (R&B Cadets) * ''That Unhinged Thing'' - 1993 * ''Upstroke for the Downfolk'' - 1995 * ''I Can't Dance for You'' (EP) - 1996 * '' The Get-Go'' - 1997 * ''Suchamuch'' - 2001 (live album) * ''Tomorrow Sound Now for Yes Music People'' - 2007 * ''Beacon'' - 2008 (mostly instrumental duo set from Paul and percussionist Jeffrey Haynes; limited edition) * ''One Little Light On'' - 2009 (solo album) * ''Tell Me That Before''- 2011 (
David Greenberger David Greenberger (born June 26, 1954) is an American artist, writer and radio commentator best known for his ''Duplex Planet'' series of zines, comic books, CDs, and spoken word performances and radio plays. From 1996 to 2009, he was a frequent ...
/Mark Greenberg w/Cebar):
Duplex Planet ''The Duplex Planet'' is a zine edited and published by David Greenberger since 1979. It contains transcriptions of his interviews with elderly residents of senior centers and "meal sites" in the Massachusetts area. For many years, the zine foc ...
zine-related strangeness) * ''They like me around here'' - 2012 (Greenberger/Paul & Tomorrow Sound): ditto * ''Fine Rude Thing'' - 2014


Radio

Cebar began guesting on local musician Steve Cohen's show on
WMSE WMSE (91.7 FM) is a non-commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, playing a wide-ranging eclectic music format run by volunteer DJs. The station is part of the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). History Early history of MSOE sta ...
radio in Milwaukee in the early 1980s. At the suggestion of another DJ there, he applied for, and received his own show, which he has hosted since 1985. The show runs on Wednesdays from 9:00 a.m. - noon. In the late 1980s, he also began hosting a show on Sunday afternoons on WYMS in Milwaukee, which ran until the station changed its format in 2002.


References


External links


Paul Cebar homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cebar, Paul Musicians from Wisconsin Living people 1956 births New College of Florida alumni