Frankly speaking, one could easily stay hours and hours having a chat with CCR. Not only because he has got one of the most beautiful voices on the house scene, but also because he's a brilliant author delivering parts of a History which is ours, whatever our differences may be. It's been said about James Brown that he is a soul man. He's definitely not the only one…

World can be so small sometimes… Gotta remember that trip to Tbilissi, the capital of former Soviet Republic of Georgia, where I'd been booked as a DJ alongside Caron Wheeler and her band on Dec.31 2002 for the grand opening of the very first club over there. We arrived at destination by a freezin' early morning prior being invited to have a breakfast while our passports were getting visaed. CeCe Rogers who was singing at some different location that same night would be on the same flight. This is how we met, three years after a chat we had when he was Italian band Jestofunk's vocalist…

What has decided you to have a part time house in Italy ?

A call from Jestofunk's producer Claudio Moz-Art Rispoli. I had heard from him in various acid jazz clubs in America and seen his name on white labels. He has invited me to collaborate on his project.

Isn't that that weird to be more recognized outside one's own country ?

That has always been the case for me. Don't forget that dance music is still at an early age as compared to other genres, but it has also taken some time for rock and jazz. We're creating what others have to cover before it comes back to us…

Your first steps…

I was studying music in Berkeley. I was playing piano and singing old standards from Sam Cook prior getting to NYC where I've founded a small band – CeCe & Co – alongside my sister and Sybil then the latest has signed a record deal with Next Plateau and I would do the same with Atlantic.

How did it happen ?

At some club in New Jersey. There was 2 artist line ups. The first on the R&B/jazz tip and the second on the house one. I was checking out my equipment and heatung my voice when Marshall Jefferson came in. He'd heard my voice and we would record "Someday" a few days later in Chciago. We've signed with Atlantic at the same time as Ten City with "Devotion" and our singles have been released the same day…

92 has been a hard year with the evictions of the rare house artists that were signed by the major companies. What happened with you ?

I've released two albums on Atlantic before deciding to come back to my former activities where I was less exposed. I've written for the cinema and done choruses for David Morales and George Morel. I didn't feel like I wanted to release another album + I didn't feel like wanting to be  at the center stage. I have also worked with Sounds Of Blackness and I've done some production work for Aretha Franlin and C&C Music Factory. Then Jestofunk would call me with the right arguments I suppose…

But what about you as an artist ?

I would like to work with people into vocals and R&B rhythms. I'd like to have a few words about Ten City who've reached the status that we all know because they would also like their lyrics. They've transmitted a rare emotion as opposed to many of the things which are released nowadays. In other words, I would like to collaborate with people who've already got a certain amount of experience.

You may find quite a lot of them in Jersey. I mean Kerri Chandler, Tony Humphries…

Tony has launched my first single. As for Kerri's concern, he has produced "Brothers & Sisters" for me. We just live next door to each other and when we get to meet it's most often at some airport hall !

What about Michael Watford who also happened to be on Atlantic back in the days ?

He would arrive as I was leaving. We also happen to be neighbours. He was also a regular of this club where Marshall and I had met and I guess he has carefully observed mewhile I was singing. Talking about him or people like Sabrynaah Pope, Adeva, Sybil, Blaze is the opportunity to evoke this New Jersey family who's been for so much in the beauty of house music. You might also add Marshall Jefferson and Ten City to them although they're hailing from Chicago. On top of it, going back to the 87/88 period makes you realize how both Chicago and New Jersey sounds were close to each other. Another exemple is Kym Mazelle. That movement had a big potential at the time and I would like to be a part of its renewal.

How would this be possible and how, considering the lack of image of this scene ?

House music has lost a lot of its essence during these last years, simply because it has become and instant hit kind of thing instead of being operated on a long term basis. I think that DJ's have a big amount of responsability. Back in the days, they would play songs, today they play tracks. Myself, I refuse to play that game although it's quite easy. I mean, you sit back at the console, you get a chord line, then you add a vocal dub to it. It kills the industry as we avoid the artist development processing ? What's in the charts today out of this period ? I mean house was starting to find some place on the Billboard charts and we eventually thought about giving Grammies to its artists. Then we would get the UK wave with people like D-Influence, Lisa Stansfield or the Pasadenas who we've got the chance to produce, Nu Colours then, all of a sudden, nothing left. People started then to dub Martha Wash of Jocelyn Brown's voices and this is nothing but the illustration of a lack of creativity.

You're said to be more committed on Jestofunk's work today.

I've got an input since the beginning. I have always written lyrics. As a matter of fact "Can We Live" was a sort of response to "Someday". I've always searched for positivity while writing. It's the case with those two songs as the other ones like "Join Hands", "Come Together" and "Be A Warrior". I'm very attached to the latest. As we start working on this, Maurizio Simone (a saxophonist) was still alive. He would commit suicide inbetween. Maurizio was not only a talented musician, he's also one of the most smart guys I've ever met.

Then, there's "Why?" with its heavy rock guitar line…

Why ? How have we managed to remain that violent after all these years ? As a father, Knowing that my 15 y.o. son has already seen guns in the streets makes me mad and he would grown up in a private school !!! And it's not even the fact of living in an urban environment… It's all this sh.. around. Drugs, violence as a daily environment in America. I guess I'm not that kind of artist on which people would like to invest, knowing that I wouldn't hesitate to express what a majority of people keep in their minds.

Looks like the situation has evolved a bit since the election of a new mayor in NYC (Rudolph Giuliani)…

Sure, but you're talking about New York, not the States ! And NY is a nut compared to the rest of the country. We've got suburban schools where kids achieve to come with guns and shoot their schoolmates !

It's said that gangsterism is        a part of America's history…

I'm completely out of it ! I don't deal with gangsta hip hop. I don't feel like I'm related with those lyrics presenting women as bitches and the likes. A lot of money can be made in this but I don't see me living with it.

We are definitely far away from the African philosophy.

True. Byron (Stingily) and I talk about this each time we meet. We oughtta stay true to our roots. I don't feel like having problem talking about the love that I feel for a woman but everyone does this. Sure I like to make myself a good way of living but there's nothing bigger than make people happy, although making them think at the same time. And it's exactly what Ten City has achieved with strong messages.

The essence of soul…

What is music if not a universal language with a message ? We're free to express ourselves and we've got the right to be positive or not. I'd rather choose the first attitude coz if I think positively, I'll stay positive.

It's also a matter of responsability…

Absolutely !

Have you felt the need for search for their roots from producers like Blaze or Ron Trent ?

I wouldn't talk about africanism but more widely about Black music. It may be related to Africa as Black music finds its roots in this continent. This said and according to what I've learnt from History, Africa is the cradle of Humanity. Almost everyone agrees about the fact that life has seen the light in Africa. I would then go no further than this idea of African music, knowing that our culture had been the subject of so much misunderstanding since a millenium. This doesn't only apply to U.S. though, but also to U.K., South Africa… And almost everywhere in the world. This being the reason why our music is so emotive and full of consciousness. You eventually would find nothing but the history of our lives and sufferings. We've never been allowed to express ourselves differently and we're far from being the only ones in this situation. As a matter of fact, Don Cash would become one of the best basket ball players in the 20's/30's coz' no one would let him do anything else. And if Blacks are predominent on the NBA, it's because you would get a basket at almost every street corner in urban areas letting us think that we could get much money from it and have a decent life...

I'm hailing from a place – Cleveland, Ohio – where everyone sings. When I go to Italy or France, I'm in countries which are best known for the food. Everyone's got its particualrisms. In fact and to various degrees, we're all students of our cultures. And if Black music is predominent today, it's because it's a part of our way of life. Like this English language which has become the one I'm speaking, because we may not have had enough Napoleons in History…

Let's take Christopher Columbus for instance. This Italian guy who has discovered America is a direct inheritant of the Romans who've set up their domination on the world for a while. I've been quite amazed by the beauty of the country he's coming from. There's nothing like this in America, simply because the Romans haven't conquered our country but the Red Tunics and those Brits who were conquerors didn't have time to spent on architecture matters at the period. They would become big conquerors because they've achieved establishing rules everywhere they would go. And this is how I would become the son of a slave… How music which was the only allowed communication form between my ancestors has ended up being an integrated part of our existences. History has made us who we are today and this is why you have to speak English today to be able to communicate with me.

What have we learnt from our History, seing what's keeping on being perpetrated throughout the world ?

I remember, while in Germany, that I've been approached by people who would ask me why I'd dedicated "Can We Live ?" to my brothers of colour. Some of them would even think/say that I was a racist. But when I'm saying colour, it's universal should you be Black, White, Asian, Indian, whatever. We're all humans, either hailing from the majority as from the minorities. Racism is not a question of differences of colour but more of cultures.

Could you be more explicit ?

I've got the opportunity to realize this when coming to France. People wouldn't look at me badly because I'm Black but when I started talking. They would notice my American accent and would change attitude because of their anger against U.S. Government. Speak about the differences of colour is not a problem with me as long as long as you respect the truth. We're talking about Roman, French British empires but we tend to forget that the Egyptian Empire was Black. Cleopatra's skin was even darker than mine !!! This hasn't prevented Hollywood from presenting her by the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, all of this being the result of a culture dominated by the Whites. And this is the main problem for the Afro-American people. We don't know where we're coming from so I've got to transmit the very least I know about this using the means which are mine, because someone would have done this in the past for me. I am who I am because I've received an education and it's by the grace of God that I've followed that direction. Which isn't the case for many of my neighbours and probably for many generations to come. As you see, lots of things remain to be done…

Excerpts from an interview released in Dec 1999

NEXT WEEK>> MARSHALL JEFFERSON