THE COOLIN' SYSTEM
About the Coolin' System
Seasoned funk musicians Pablo Ahogado (keys), James Bonomo (drums), Joe D. Douglas (tenor sax/flute), Sam
Farkas (guitar), David Guy (bass), Mikie Martel (trumpet) and Andrew Wilmoth (percussion) make up the
seven-piece soul-jazz band the Coolin' System. The tight-knit group of friends jammed together off and on for
eight years before a weekly hang at Martel's and Douglas' house in Nashville's Sylvan Park neighborhood solidified
the group in November 2008. "The first official rehearsal was when Obama got elected," Ahogado reminisces.
"We were all jamming and watching TV." Guy continues, "We were rehearsing and learning tunes every Tuesday.
When got our first gig in Jan. 2009, the name the Coolin' System came about through a Jack McDuff album
called the Heatin' System featuring one of the first tunes we learned 'The Prophet.'" Fast forward to 2011 and the
group has staged several sold-out shows, as well as opened for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and performed the
Head Jamz Music Festival in Adams, TN. The band has also been highlighted on BBC's Craig Charles Funk And
Soul Show.
"Jam-packed with classic soul-jazz compositions like "Sunshine Alley" from Stanley Turrentine's Sugar and Yusef
Lateef's "Nubian Lady," The Coolin' System is a master class in the art of smooth and the craft of soul."
-Sean L. Maloney, Nashville Scene
Seasoned funk musicians Pablo Ahogado (keys), James Bonomo (drums), Joe D. Douglas (tenor sax/flute), Sam
Farkas (guitar), David Guy (bass), Mikie Martel (trumpet) and Andrew Wilmoth (percussion) make up the
seven-piece soul-jazz band the Coolin' System. The tight-knit group of friends jammed together off and on for
eight years before a weekly hang at Martel's and Douglas' house in Nashville's Sylvan Park neighborhood solidified
the group in November 2008. "The first official rehearsal was when Obama got elected," Ahogado reminisces.
"We were all jamming and watching TV." Guy continues, "We were rehearsing and learning tunes every Tuesday.
When got our first gig in Jan. 2009, the name the Coolin' System came about through a Jack McDuff album
called the Heatin' System featuring one of the first tunes we learned 'The Prophet.'" Fast forward to 2011 and the
group has staged several sold-out shows, as well as opened for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and performed the
Head Jamz Music Festival in Adams, TN. The band has also been highlighted on BBC's Craig Charles Funk And
Soul Show.
"Jam-packed with classic soul-jazz compositions like "Sunshine Alley" from Stanley Turrentine's Sugar and Yusef
Lateef's "Nubian Lady," The Coolin' System is a master class in the art of smooth and the craft of soul."
-Sean L. Maloney, Nashville Scene
