Recently, Nadirah Shakoor played Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville in support of her 2008 release, "Nod To The Storyteller". The album was a tribute to her employer of the last 14 years, Jimmy Buffett.
"Jimmy's daughter, Savannah Jane really got the ball rolling with a list of 28 songs", said Nadirah, "we also had input from the fans and then took the list to Jimmy and he refined it. We knew we had to put popular songs on the album, songs fresh from me...and some old songs."
My favorite Buffett song is "Wonder Why We Ever Go Home" from the "Rancho Deluxe" soundtrack. Nadirah makes a great song wonderful with that one. "I don't think we've played that one since Ive been with the band; hand't heard the song before and liked it", added Nadirah. My vote is for Jimmy to play it as a duet with Nadirah...at a show I'm at!!!
I was curious how Nadirah went from being the lead singer of Grammy nominated Arrested Development to being a Coral Reefer. This is what Nadirah told me:
"I had moved to Atlanta to work with Arrested Development and so when the band broke up, I stayed, I had a son in school there. But I needed to work. I called my friends in LA and it was down to a couple of people, number one, Yanni, but it would have been for only one song and I'd have been bored out of my mind...and then there was Jimmy. I thought he was jazz and I thought, "I can do that!" I sent him my package and he hired me. I still thought he was jazz. I was riding around one day and heard "Lets Get Drunk and Screw" on the radio and I thought "they'll put anything on the radio these days!" I still thought Jimmy played jazz (Laughing). I've been with him ever since."
In the liner notes of "Nod To The Storyteller" she thanks Buffett and names Mr. Buffett as her musical mentor. You might even see something along the lines of "Nod To The Storyteller, Part 2", sometime, Nadirah tells me. ANY album from Nadirah is good for me...her voice is like honey-dew vine water! Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!!
In addition to her work with Buffett and Arrested Development, Nadirah has worked with such greats as Quincy Jones and Madonna; "I have so much respect for Quincy and Madonna...Madonna is so involved with every aspect of a show...she is one of the few people Ive worked with who knew everyones names".
She has also won awards for her humanitarian work. She loves to help others, something she inherited from her father: "My father was the type of person who would give you the shirt off of his back...Ive seen him give his shoes right off of his feet to someone who had no shoes".
Go buy "Nod To The Storyteller" RIGHT NOW! Nadirah's voice is magical and will give you goosebumps in the best possible way!!!
Now let's get Nadirah and her band, Outside  Art, to go fishing!!! 
 

Nadirah Shakoor and Ray after Nadirah's incredible show at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville in New Orleans, LA.!

Sonny Landreth and Nadirah Shakoor rockin Margaritaville's Main Stage! Thats Nadirah's brother DK pounding the skins in the background!

Thats Gil, DK, Ray, Joshua and Omar!