Cadillac Moon

Contemporary blues done the Long Island way. Cadillac Moon delivers a lethal combination of funk, rock, soul and blues. Their material is derived from the heart of New York, New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago and Austin. Their latest CD. Current band members are Leslie Zimei, Mike Nugent, Cliff Hackford, Mark Mancini, John Marshall, Bob Cassara, and Mike Mattia. They appear on both Bob Dylan Uncovered and Happy Holidays from Paradiddle Records. Guitarist Mike Nugent has lent his special brand of earthy playing o the southern rock of Wes Houston and Stanton Anderson; truly one of a kind! Mike has worked steadily on Long Island and Queens. He honed the Southern edge to his music when touring the east coast with the Bud Moffett Band, which eventually opened for Jaco Pastorius and Hiram Bullock at the Lone Star Cafe in New York. He has shared the stage with the Outlaws and the Marshall Tucker Band as well. The acoustic grace of his playing has been hard earned under the tutelage of guitar master Howie Morgan. A NYC guitar guru, Mr Morgan has been the personal instructor of Paul Simon, James Taylor and Carly Simon to name a few. And then there is the blues... When you have played in all the small clubs, the roadhouses and even the large venues with the likes of Rich Ebler (Funk Filharmonic); Mike Cummings (Jim Pin Band); Tony Barca (Cyclone Rangers); Victor Rice (Scofflaws); John Michel (Tao Jones) and the five years of Tuesdays with Three Men and A Dentist alongside Joe Cruz (The Cruz Brothers Project), Scott Kistenberger (Chaser), Paul Weber (Dentist) and David Noyes (Cadillac Moon)...well you learn to play the blues! Michael lives and works in Huntington, Long Island and teaches his inimitable style of guitar work in private lessons out of his home. If you are interested in studying with this local legend, you can email him at "Mike@cadillacmoon.com" or by clicking on the "comments" button below. Vocalist Leslie Zimei has worked as a performer from the age of fourteen years old, fronting bands on Long Island including the Rainy Days, Calamity Jane, Old Shoes, and Pearly, singing everything from Blues to Standards with her own brand of sultriness and raw energy. Leslie has opened for Peggy Lee and Petula Clark at the Empire Room, Julio Inglesias at the Essex House in New York and Impressionist Fred Travelina on Long Island and has lent her background vocal expertise to artists Ben E. King and Bo Diddley’s recordings. She also co-wrote "Miss Crabtree" (from the CD "Plug Me In") with members of Cadillac Moon in 1995. Performances including such venues as the 1976 Presidential Inauguration, The New York Islanders Championship parties, C.W. Post Tilles Center and the Waldorf Astoria’s Empire room gave Leslie the experiences to become the all-around vocalist and performer she is today. Residing in Northport, Long Island with her husband and son, Leslie enjoys writing music for the band. Drummer Cliff Hackford has appeared on more than a dozen albums and has worked with artists as varied as Vicki Sue Robinson, AK-47 and Paul Wexler. When he joined the band in the spring of 1996, he brought his experience, talent and an impressibe resume. Most notably Cliff recorded the AK-47 album at the Hit Factory in NYC. He founded the band with Paul Pesco (guitarist for Madonna, Stevie Winwood and Annie Lennox), Al Anderson (guitarist for Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, Paul McCartney, Tupac Shukar and Marky Mark), Leighton Delgato (Teaser and Full Hand), Ron Smith (lead vocalist for Tommy Bolin and Peter Tosh. AK-47's hit single "Point Your Guns" (RCA Records) was a big hit in Europe. Other Projects over the years include The Coming Home Band with Henry Hirsch (played with Lenny Kravitz and Jullian Lennon) (1974); Full Hand with Kwami Heshimo and Al Anderson (1975); Vicki Sue Robinson (1977); Arlen Roth's album "Paint Job" and various recording dates at the Workshop in Douglaston Queens with John Melnick, Ray Lambiase, Cecilia Kirtland, Stephanie Davy and worked on many jingles there as well (1979); He also recorded two more Arlen Roth records featuring Jerry Jemmott on bass who worked with Aretha Franklin and Booker T and the MG's (1979) In addition, Cliff has performed on many showgigs with Red Buttons, Jay Leno, Charlie Calas, Scott Record and Jack Carter. His talents also were on display during a National TV appearance of the Shirelles and at the Kennedy Center for the Presidential inauguration party for Bill Clinton. The diversity of the starts include Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge, Lenny Coco, Julie Budd, Robert Merril, Bowser, Micky Chung and many of Jamaica's biggest reggae stars including Agustus Pablo, Pablo Moses, Me & I, Mickey Dread Jr. and Ken Booth With his band, Cliff opened and or split bills with Linda Ronstadt, Aron Neville, Little Richard, Tony Bennett, UB-40, Arsenio hall's Posse, B-52's, Willie Deville, Alabama, Barry Manilow, Steel Pulse, The Specials, Selector, Dr. John, Poco, NRBQ, jazz greats Freddy Hubbard, George Duke, Wayne Shorter, Buster Williams, Terri Lynn Carrington and Taj Mahal. Jazz piano greats Steve kuhn, Derrick Smith, Peter Moffett and Ray Kennedy have also called on Cliff to showcase their talents. Cliff lives in Huntington with his wife, Cecilia Kirtland and has dedicated his work to the Cadillac Moon project which has blossomed in no small part to his experience and expertise. Trumpeter MIKE MATTIA has lent his expertise in arranging for all of Cadillac Moon's compositions on "Blue Moon Rhythm" and playing trumpet with the band as part of the 3 piece horn section they have added to most of their performances. Mike, a Graduate of Syracuse University and who is presently the head of Music at The Greenvale School in Greenvale, New York has performed in many different venues in the last 25 years which included backing acts like Manhattan Transfer, Peggy Lee, Petula Clark, Fred Travelena, Ben E. King,, and Bo Diddley to name a few. He performed for the 1976 Inaugural Ball for President Jimmy Carter and has been involved in many original projects including his own album, "Uncle Chapin," back in 1972 that was picked up by Polydor Records and produced by Shadoe Morton. Mike is currently living in Manhattan and has a son, Michael who is attending Syracuse University. Trombonist BOB CASSARA began his musical career in the early 80’s on Long Island performing with many local rock and club date bands. He spent a short period on the road with the latin rock band Malo and returned to New York to expand his performance circle to both classical and commercial performances. Bob has also been active as a teacher formerly working as a faculty member of the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and the The Center for Preparatory Studies in Music at Queens College where he developed and administrated the Summer Jazz Camp. Bob currently teaches at Woodland Middle School in the East Meadow School District. In addition to performing with Cadillac Moon, Bob Cassara has been a regular member of the Reggae group Inity, and has made appearances with Jay Black and the Americans, the Nelson Riddle Band, Johnny Mathis, and Into the Mystic. Saxophonist JOHN MARSHALL "did, you know ... stuff."

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