Gabe Dixon

In the early 2000s singer and songwriter Gabe Dixon stepped forward as the driving force behind his piano-centered rock ensemble the Gabe Dixon Band. Drawing on jazz, funk, and such classic rock touchstones as Elton John and Jackson Browne, he assembled the lineup in the late 1990s during his time at the University of Miami. After issuing an independent debut, Dixon and his bandmates shifted to New York City, where a Warner Bros. agreement led to the 2002 album On a Rolling Ball. A year before that record appeared he supplied keyboards and backing vocals on Paul McCartney’s Driving Rain and shared the stage with McCartney at the 9/11 benefit Concert For New York City. Their second Warner release, Live at World Cafe, surfaced in 2005, after which the group moved to Fantasy for its 2008 self-titled collection. Following a decade of joint activity, Dixon chose in 2010 to dissolve the band so he could concentrate on his initial solo outing, One Spark, released in 2011. Marshall Altman produced the album in Nashville, Dixon’s newly adopted base, and it included a guest turn from Alison Krauss. The next project, 2016’s Turn To Gold, pursued a more organic path by capturing performances live to tape and emphasizing a folk-rooted style.