Mz. Dee/DeJuana Logwood was born in Oakland, California and lives in the East Bay. Although Mz. Dee recalls that she was very shy when she was young, she started to entertain people early in life and has become one of the Bay Area's most sought after singers. The main credit for all this talent is due to her mother Rochon Hemmans, who is not only one of the best church organists and arrangers in the Bay Area, she is also Mz. Dee's greatest influence & inspiration.

Mz. Dee is singing background vocals and lead vocals on many songs she recorded for other artists. Not only does she perform in the Bay Area with her own band The VIPs, she also plays various venues world-wide each year, gathering fans there as well. Within the last 15 years she has played & recorded with many artists, including Johnny Otis, Garth Webber, the Steve Gannon Band, Chris Cain, John Firmin & the Johnny Nocturne Band, Anthony Paule, Ira Walker and Patrick Ford.

Although all these musicians - many more are mentioned on Mz. Dee's website - have used Mz. Dee's extraordinary talent for their projects, Mz. Dee has never released an album by herself within all these years. Luckily she changed her mind and independently released her first album "Real Woman, Real Soul" in July 2005. The CD offers a collection of songs recorded for some of the artists mentioned above and songs never released before.

Being taken from several different projects, the CD covers many styles including/incorporating Blues, Reggae, Funk, Soul, R&B and Jazz. The album starts with a great blues song Mz. Dee recorded for Garth Webber's "Man On A Mission" album. Like "I've Got What You Need", both songs were written by Mz. Dee and Garth Webber and Mz. Dee proves that she is a wonderful songwriter as well. The second song on the CD is a Reggae flavoured version of Gershwin's "Summertime" - especially the calypso steel drum emphasizes the summerly feeling and adds another dimension to the song. Next are "Comet" and "Breezes Blow", both songs were written by Mz. Dee and are wonderful love songs.

Four songs on the CD were originally recorded for the Johnny Nocturne Band and "You Got What It Takes", where Mz. Dee is sharing vocals with Ron E. Beck, is definitely one of the album's highlights. One gets easily used to Mz. Dee's voice and addiction is inevitable. Take "Drowning In The Mainstream" from Anthony Paule's album "The Big Guitar" - Paule plays a great guitar but Mz. Dee's vocals are the icing on the cake. Then there are "If I Only Had One Friend" taken from Ira Walker's CD "Yaboo Barbecue" and "Shakey Ground" that feature Mz. Dee's awesome vocals. Last but not least, the album ends with "God Bless the Child" where Mz. Dee sings together with her mother Rochon, who also plays piano. A wonderful song that underlines that Mz. Dee's talent is founded in great faith as well.

The Bay Area has always had great female blues artists and Mz. Dee belongs to the best. Do not hesitate to check out her music, you won't be disappointed. We can only hope that this will be one of many Mz. Dee CDs to come.

Discography