Although they lived just blocks away from each other in Curtis Park, it was
on the stage at Cal Expo that Tracy Walton and Rick Lotter first met, jamming
for a state fair crowd.
That was 15 years ago and the result is a rich collaboration that makes the
couple among the most prolific musicians in Northern California.
Their band, Mumbo Gumbo, performs regularly at music festivals, folk and pop
concerts and corporate parties across the country but especially in their home
town. From their Portola Avenue home in Curtis Park, Rick and Tracy teach aspiring
musicians, record commercials familiar to anyone who ever listens to the radio
-- and they raise their 4-year-old daughter Emma.
Tracy is the principal songwriter for Mumbo Gumbo and is half of a sultry-voiced
pair of vocalists to front the band. When not on stage, she can often be found
"jingling" in the family's new back yard recording studio - that is,
she's writing and recording commercials. That's Tracy's voice you've heard for
decades singing the praises of Denio's Farmers Market and Auction.
Rick is Mumbo Gumbo's drummer. He also teaches music at American River College
and Sac State. In addition, he has 25 private students and is an acclaimed jazz
musician.
He performs in a jazz quintet, The Capital Jazz Project, and is in demand to
be part of small jazz combos. It was Rick that Gov. Schwarzenegger's staff called
on last month to provide a little jazz for the party celebrating the governor's
first year in office.
With a large fan base and seven CDs to its credit, Mumbo Jumbo is in high demand.
"From April through October we're always on the run, averaging three performances
a weekend," says Rick. A typical summer weekend might find them doing a
concert in Monterey on Friday, at a Reno nightclub on Saturday and jamming at
a Marin music festival on Sunday afternoon.
"We couldn't possibly pull it off if it weren't for this amazing support
group we have in Curtis Park," says Tracy. "Our neighbors really come
through, pitching in with child care and looking after the house when we are
on the road."
Sometimes Emma and a babysitter accompany her parents on longer jaunts such
as a music festival in Texas or a concert in Idaho.
What kind of music does Tracy write for Mumbo Jumbo? That's a topic of much
debate for fans. Many say it is a kind of Cajun, as suggested by the band's
name. Others contend it's feel-good rock. One local critic suggested "psychedelic
voodoo mambo" while another hung on the label "edgy blues rock."
Whatever, it is eminently danceable and Mumbo Gumbo gets its audience on its
feet in short order - even at its annual summer appearance at the Sacramento
Zoo.
Rick says the band's repertoire is best described as a combination of Gulf Coast
and world beat.
"What is important is that it must meet a certain musical chemistry test
that's not easily explained, but we know it when we hear it," Rick explains.
Their new studio, completed this past summer, is expected to help simplify Tracy
and Rick's life. It is all-digital and, thanks to the Internet, allows either
of them to collaborate with other musicians anywhere in the world. Tracy will
be able to walk across her back yard to record a vocal track with musicians
playing in, say, New York.
"That's a whole lot easier than packing up our instruments, schlepping
them across town and setting up again and having to go through an hour of sound
checks before we can record," says Rick.
All this musical activity should go unnoticed by their Portola Avenue neighbors.
The building has foot-thick walls stuffed with fiberglass and twin, double-paned
glass doors.
"You can be standing just outside with a jazz band recording a track inside
and you won't be able to hear a thing," Tracy notes.
For a list of Mumbo Gumbo performances and CDs, check out the Web site www.mumbogumbo.com.