Al Caldwell
Al Caldwell is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist who was born in St.Louis, Missouri. Starting his life as an entertainer at 9 years old singing and dancing his heart out proved to be the stepping stone for a 50 year career in music. Playing bass in his teens for such notable artist as Albert King, Shirley Brown, and Oliver Sain prepared him for his exodus to New York City in 1983. He toured and performed with Chuck Mangione, Greg Howe, Jonathan Butler, Johnny Kemp, Glen Jones, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, and Dr. Lonnie Smith to name a few. He is currently the bassist for actress and singer Vanessa Williams and is now in his 25th year with the band. Al has also been a Grammy Governor for the Washington D.C. Chapter. He is highly motivated when it comes to music education and American music history. Al sees music as a wonderful conduit to bring the world together. He aims to use the arts as a tool and to promote American Roots Music around the world.
Raquel Caldwell
Born in St. Louis and the daughter of two musicians, she came by music honestly. She began singing background vocals on nationally released studio recordings at the age of 5 and taking professional drum lessons at the age of 6. She is a multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Raquel is a recipient of the “Louis Armstrong Jazz Award” as a bassist and a dual recipient of the “President’s Education Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence,” which led to her receiving a full-ride scholarship to Georgetown University, where she graduated with honors in economics and music. She was a Grammy U Ambassador for Georgetown University and she produced multiple shows for Sirius XM’s classical stations as an intern, both of which taught her the service of music to society. Raquel has also sung background vocals for singer and actress Vanessa Williams. As the Vice-President of AlsamadMusicGroup, Raquel decided to do a three-album project on herself. To quote her song, “I will prove myself to be a noble breed of those who preceded me.”