Congo Square

Personnel: Teena Marie (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion, drum programming); Monet Owens, D.D O'Neal, Rose Lebeau, Faith Evans, Rose Lebeau, Makeda, Tracy Hazzard, Rovleta Fraser (vocals); Ray Fuller, Morris O'Connor (guitar); Gayle Levant (harp); Assa Drori, Anatoly Rosinsky, Johana Krejci, Sally Berman, Dennis Molchan, Robert Brosseau, Becky Bunnell, Margaret Wooten (violin); Jorge Moraga, Kazi Pitelka, Lynn Grants, Karolina Naziemiec (viola); Cameron Stone (cello); Dan Higgins (clarinet); Eddie Menefield, Lewis Taylor, Paul Russo (saxophone); Tyrone Griffen, Tyrone Griffin (trumpet); Steve Baxter (trombone); Johnny Bokowski, George Duke (piano, keyboards); Bryan Loren (Fender Rhodes piano); Doug Grigsby (keyboards, bass guitar, drum programming); Ben Del Giorgio, James Allen (keyboards, drum programming); Noriko Olling, Noriko Olling (keyboard bass); Drew Dembowski, Bruce Morgenthaler (double bass); Brian Bromberg (upright bass); Chad Wright (drums, drum programming); Terri Lyne Carrington (drums); Rafael Padilla (percussion).
Audio Mixer: Erik Zobler.
Audio Remasterer: Brian Gardner .
Recording information: Glenwood Place Studios, Burbank, CA; Mad Hatter Studios, Silverlake, CA; Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles, CA; Studio Zed, Porter Ranch, CA.
Photographer: Randee Saint Nicholas.
Arrangers: Teena Marie; Terri Lyne Carrington.
Veteran R&B songstress Teena Marie, best known for her string of pop crossover hits in the early `80s ("Square Biz," "It Must Be Magic," "Lovergirl"), has never let fickle music trends dictate her creative output, even as she's undergone several artistic makeovers since her popularity initially began to wane in the early `90s. The singer's 13th album, CONGO SQUARE (named for a historic New Orleans site where 19th-century slaves were allowed to sing and dance on Sundays), marks a new chapter for Teena Marie, completing the circle on all her past influences, from southern soul and jazz to classic funk and hip-hop.