4
Feb, 2026
ALLEN HINDS 4tet ft. JIMMY HASLIP, MICHELE PAPADIA & GERGO BORLAI (USA)

ALLEN HINDS 4tet ft. JIMMY HASLIP, MICHELE PAPADIA & GERGO BORLAI (USA)

Allen Hinds 4tet

ft. Jimmy Haslip, Michele Papadia & Gergo Borlai

Groove Fusion (jazz‑blues‑rock) | USA

AVAILABILITY FOR EUROPE

2026 | August 19th to 30th

Line-up

Allen Hinds | Guitar
Natalie Cole, Roberta Flack, Randy Crawford, James Ingram, Bobby Caldwell, BeBe & CeCe Winans, The Crusaders, Hiroshima, Boney James, Eric Marienthal

Jimmy Haslip | Bass
Allan Holdsworth, Pat Metheny, Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, Donald Fagen, Al Jarreau, Bruce Hornsby, Jeff Lorber, Robben Ford, Bobby McFerrin

Gergő Borlai | Drums
Al Di Meola, Tony MacAlpine, Nathan East, Tom Scott, Vernon Reid, Terry Bozzio, Bob Mintzer, Scott Henderson, Gary Willis, Hadrien Feraud

Michele Papadia | Keys
Ana Popovic, Joe Bonamassa, Noemi, Fabrizio Bosso, Gianluca Petrella, Patty Pravo

Style

A blues-rooted, guitar-led fusion set where hooks matter as much as solos: Allen Hinds’ vocal phrasing rides a pocket built by Jimmy Haslip’s melodic, harmony-aware bass lines and Gergő Borlai’s high-definition drive-tight on the backbeat, fearless when the meters start to bend. Michele Papadia adds Hammond grit and electric-piano shimmer, widening the harmonic canvas as the quartet moves from lean funk vamps to open, melodic jazz-rock studio-clean in tone, live-wire in momentum.

Profile

Allen Hinds Quartet brings groove fusion into a modern, song-forward frame-equal parts blues narrative, jazz harmony, and rock attitude. Hinds’ lyrical phrasing and expressive articulation lead the line, while Jimmy Haslip anchors the band with a producer’s ear and an electric sound that can feel as warm and upright-like as it is punchy. Gergo Borlai adds high-definition fusion vocabulary without losing the jazz feel, turning metric shifts into momentum rather than complexity. Michele Papadia widens the harmonic spectrum with Hammond and keys that can move from velvet pad work to biting, percussive comping an ideal foil for Hinds’ bends and melodic themes. The set stays built on groove: head-nodding backbeats, elastic pocket funk, and slow-burn blues that open into fearless improvisation and tight, conversational interplay.

Details

Allen Hinds A long-time first-call guitarist in contemporary jazz-blues contexts, with credits spanning soul, pop, and jazz crossover sessions. His writing favors melodic song-forms, dynamic builds, and tone-forward storytelling. Highlights include the 2016 release Fly South. (“Imagine a player with the taste of Robben Ford, the fearless melodicism of Jeff Beck and the joyous musicality of Derek Trucks.” — Jason Sidwell, MusicRadar, 2017-05-10)

Jimmy Haslip Cofounding voice of modern fusion bass, known for lyricism, articulation, and harmonic clarity. Equally at home as sideman and producer, shaping ensembles from the inside out. His work is often praised for bringing an upright-like elegance to the electric instrument. (“Haslip is a most lyrical musician, and he brings the elegant tone of an upright bass to his electric model.” — Ian Patterson, All About Jazz, 2011-05-04)

Gergő Borlai A fusion powerhouse with a broad vocabulary—speed, precision, and deep listening in equal measure. Credits include work alongside rock/fusion icons and a strong footprint in modern jazz contexts. His playing turns technical firepower into narrative energy and forward motion. (“Oh, he can shred—boy, can he shred.” — Ilya Stemkovsky, Modern Drummer, 2018-11-30)

Michele Papadia Keyboardist, composer, arranger, and producer with a reputation for high-impact groove playing and rich harmonic color. Active across jazz-fusion and blues-rock circuits, including long-term work in international touring line-ups. His keys parts are valued for shaping the identity of recordings from the earliest demos. (“Michele Papadia, with me for 17 years… sent me keys parts for the first demos of the songs and I kept them all.” — Ana Popovic, American Blues Scene, 2023-05-02)

Biographies

Allen Hinds

Allen Hinds is a guitar storyteller whose career sits at the crossroads of blues grit, jazz harmony, and modern fusion drive. Raised in Auburn, Alabama and drawn early to blues and R&B, he pushed toward jazz and fusion as a teenager and studied at Berklee before relocating to Los Angeles to attend Musicians Institute. In MI’s own profile of his path, that move was made possible by the Larry Carlton Scholarship, and Hinds has remained closely tied to the school as a long-standing faculty member in jazz improvisation and phrasing.

In L.A., Hinds built the kind of résumé that only comes from being consistently called for the right gigs: tracking and touring across soul, pop, and jazz-adjacent sessions with major artists and bandleaders while also cultivating his own catalogue. His playing has been repeatedly described in terms of “taste” and melodic fearlessness vocal-like bends, liquid legato, and a climactic sense of solo architecture that makes improvisation feel like narrative. That dual identity-first-call sideman and leader with a signature voice shows up in how he writes: tight, song-centered forms that can expand into open improvisation without losing their arc.

Hinds’ music has also found a life in broadcast placements, with compositions used across TV and cable programming, reinforcing a key point about his artistry: hooks matter as much as chops. As a leader he frames groove as the engine and melody as the headline blues-rooted themes, jazz-inflected chord movement, and rock-ready dynamics that keep the audience locked in even when the harmony and phrasing get adventurous. The arc of his career is defined less by stylistic pivots than by deepening: the same unmistakable tone applied to increasingly refined writing, increasingly conversational ensembles, and an ever-clearer sense of what makes a guitar line memorable.

Jimmy Haslip

Jimmy Haslip is one of the defining electric bass voices in contemporary jazz-fusion a musician whose career spans virtuosic performance, composition, and a major body of work as a producer. For more than three decades he was a core figure in Yellowjackets; in a 2020 interview he reflected on spending 32 years with the band and then stepping away in 2012 as touring demands collided with a growing production workload and a desire to be closer to family. That long arc helped set the template for modern fusion: a rhythm section that can be both pocket-deep and harmonically agile, supporting strong melodies without sacrificing risk.

Haslip’s role was never limited to “the bass chair.” He shaped sound and direction from the inside, contributing as a writer and as a studio-minded architect of the rhythm section. In interviews he has described making records as a social and musical craft: gathering players, shaping atmosphere, and protecting the song’s identity through the recording process. A JazzTimes conversation captures how seriously he takes that craft, framing production as its own discipline and describing a catalog that runs deep into dozens of albums.

Recognition has followed that breadth. Yellowjackets’ long GRAMMY history is well documented by the Recording Academy, and Haslip’s own credits include multiple GRAMMY wins and a long run of nominations an indicator not just of playing excellence but of sustained relevance across projects and decades. Musically, his signature is lyricism with authority: a full tone, precise articulation, and harmonic intelligence that lets the bass function as both anchor and melodic counter-voice. Even when working at the highest technical level, his lines remain singable always serving the music first, which is exactly why so many artists trust him with the foundation.

Gergő Borlai

Gergő Borlai represents the modern fusion drummer at full bandwidth: explosive technique, deep time, and an ear for arrangement that turns virtuosity into story. Originally from Hungary, he developed early as a professional player in his teens and later expanded into an international career as a session, touring, and recording drummer, as well as a composer and producer. The through-line is not just speed or precision, but the ability to make complex rhythmic information feel like momentum odd meters that breathe, metric shifts that land like downbeats.

Borlai’s discography and live profile connect him to a broad network of high-level fusion and contemporary jazz artists guitar heroes, modern bass innovators, and cross-genre projects where the drummer is expected to carry both precision and personality. Industry bios and festival line-ups regularly cite an unusually high volume of recordings and performances, alongside an awards footprint tied to his work in Hungary and beyond: gold-record acknowledgements, major national prizes, and prominent international visibility.

His career has also been marked by headline milestones in the drumming world. In 2019 he placed third in Modern Drummer’s reader poll for “Best All-Around Drummer,” and in 2021 a legacy manufacturer released a signature snare drum developed with him. A 2025 profile also notes that his 2020 solo album The Missing Song was in consideration for GRAMMY recognition, while his broader public presence has grown through clinics and educator roles that bring his approach to drummers worldwide.

Importantly, those achievements have not pulled him away from the working drummer’s craft; they have amplified it. Borlai’s most consistent calling card is that he makes technical content feel human groove-first, reactive to the band, and always aimed at lifting the music rather than displaying the machinery.

Michele Papadia

Michele Papadia is an Italian keyboardist, composer, arranger, and producer whose career has been built in the engine room of contemporary blues and groove-based music: touring bands, high-pressure sessions, and the day-to-day discipline of making songs work. His musical identity is rooted in Afro-American traditions blues, funk, soul, and jazz filtered through a modern player’s toolkit: Hammond organ authority, electric-piano nuance, clavinet bite, and a producer’s instinct for what a track needs.

Papadia’s profile is strongly tied to long-term collaborations, especially in the international blues-rock circuit where consistency and trust matter. A vivid example comes from Ana Popovic’s own account of making the album Power (2023): Papadia described as working with her for 17 years at that point sent keyboard parts for the earliest demos, and those original parts were kept in the final masters while other elements were recorded around them. It is a telling detail: he is not only a live band member, but a foundational voice in the production chain, shaping arrangement and feel from the earliest stage.

In interviews, Papadia has also described formative “professional rites of passage” that map his path from Italy to the wider touring world: high-level encounters, sessions, and tours that placed him in demanding contexts where taste and reliability matter as much as vocabulary. Those experiences sit behind his practical musical philosophy: the blues is not a museum piece but a living language, strengthened by groove, call-and-response, and the ability to support a singer or guitarist while still adding harmonic depth.

Across his work as a musician and educator, Papadia’s signature is the same: parts that lock the pocket, color the harmony, and make the song feel inevitable—whether on a festival stage or inside the studio, where a great take can become the identity of the record.

Quotes

Hinds

Haslip

Papadia

Borlai

BOOKING REQUEST
22
Jan, 2026
Dany Noel Cuban Collective — Detalles | Cuban Jazz / Latin Jazz (CU/ES)

Dany Noel Cuban Collective — Detalles | Cuban Jazz / Latin Jazz (CU/ES)

Dany Noel Cuban Collective

Cuban Jazz / Latin Jazz (CU/ES)

 AVAILABILITY FOR EUROPE
2026 | July / August / September

Style

A journey of fusion from the heart of Cuban Latin Jazz: Afro-Cuban pulse, modern harmony and funk propulsion—DETALLES turns micro-textures into big emotion, on record and on stage.

Profile

Recognized as one of the most versatile and expressive bassists on the international scene, Dany Noel is a key figure in the evolution of contemporary Latin Jazz. Originally from Cuba, he is a bassist and composer who has found his voice within the vibrant world of Latin Jazz. With a strong background in both traditional Cuban music and contemporary jazz, he has been part of major ensembles both on the island and internationally.

He stands out for his virtuosity, rhythmic sensitivity, and his ability to craft a unique musical language—one where Afro-Cuban roots meet jazz, flamenco, funk, and wider world-music colours. In his latest project, DETALLES, Dany Noel offers a sonic fusion that transcends genres, blending Latin Jazz with Afro-Cuban elements and funk. This work highlights not only his prowess as a bassist but also his vision as a producer and architect of a contemporary proposal full of nuance, colour, and emotion.

DETALLES is an invitation to listen beyond the obvious: to dive into the textures of rhythm and harmony, and to rediscover the richness of Cuban music from a modern, global perspective. More than just an album, it is a musical statement where technical precision meets heartfelt emotion. Each piece is carefully crafted to showcase the beauty of the small, the intimate, the essential. Dany Noel leads from the bass with elegance—also with his voice—and with the rhythmic drive that defines his signature.

Originally conceived as a trio recording, the project explores subtleties of rhythm and melody with a modern, minimalist aesthetic. In its live version, DETALLES evolves into something bigger: a vibrant collective experience with a full band of eight musicians on stage. With the expanded line-up, the music becomes a thrilling performance—where improvisation, polyrhythms and the energy of live interplay connect the audience to the pure essence of contemporary Latin fusion.

Details

DETALLES blends Latin Jazz with Afro-Cuban elements and funk, balancing technical precision with a direct emotional narrative.

Studio-born as a trio-minded concept with a modern, minimalist aesthetic, the repertoire expands live into a full-band set that amplifies energy, polyrhythm and real-time interaction.

The live format features bass and voice at the centre, surrounded by piano, electric guitar, trumpet, drums, percussion and two backing vocalists—built for call-and-response, groove development and open improvisation.

(“Noel was ripping through a fast solo while simultaneously vocalising it.” — Sebastian Scotney, London Jazz News, 2016-10-02)

Line-up

Dany Noel | Bass & Voice
Cuban-born bassist/composer; bass-led writing, vocal phrasing and Afro-Cuban rhythmic drive at the core of the project.

Adrián Esteves | Piano
Modern voicings and montuno-derived comping; harmonic colour and rhythmic propulsion.

Dani Morales | Drums
Drum-set architecture that shifts between tight funk articulation and open Latin-jazz swing.

Haime Vázquez | Congas
Afro-Cuban percussion layers, tumbao-support and conversational accents with the drum set.

Raúl Venegas | Guitar
Electric-guitar colours: rhythmic hooks, counterlines, and textural support for the melodic writing.

Julio Rigal | Trumpet
Brass lead voice: melodic statements, bright call-and-response and improvisational lift.

Agnese | Backing Vocals
Vocal textures and rhythmic unisons; expands the chorus dimension of the live set.

Elizabeth | Backing Vocals
Backing-vocal power and phrasing; reinforces the groove and opens timbral contrast in the arrangements.

Discography Highlights

DETALLES (album, 2024)

Intercambio (album, 2022)

Haciendo Camino (album, 2020)

Por la Habana (album, 2017)

Tinta Unida (album, 2013)

CONFIDENCE (album, 2013 — with Dario Chiazzolino)

Proposición (album, 2011)

Dime Si Tú Sabes (album, 2006 — as Duo Chocolate)

Mi Sentir (album, 2007)

QUOTES

  1. “Noel was ripping through a fast solo while simultaneously vocalising it.” — Sebastian Scotney, London Jazz News, 2016-10-02

  2. (Translation) “The bottom-end of things is held firm by the superb rumbling of Dany Noel’s bass lines.” — Raul Da Gama, Latin Jazz Network, 2020-12-10

  3. “The accompaniment … is punchy and crisp on a wide soundstage …” — Peghead Nation (review), 2020-09-12

  4. (Translation) “I started playing at the age of 10… and I don’t think I’ll ever stop as long as I have the strength.” — Dany Noel (quoted), Laura Lipari, LetteraEmme, 2022-05-18

  5. (Translation) “Dany Noel Cuban project — Detalles …” — WhatsApp message (provided by user), 2026-01-21

REVIEWS / ARTICLES

REVIEW: Alex Wilson and Friends at the 2016 London Latin Jazz Festival — London Jazz News — Sebastian Scotney — 2016-10-02

David Broza: en Casa Limón — Latin Jazz Network — Raul Da Gama — 2020-12-10

David Broza Celebrates the Spanish Guitar — Peghead Nation — 2020-09-12

Article: Dany Noel presents “Intercambio” at Retronoveau (Thursday jazz night) — LetteraEmme — Laura Lipari — 2022-05-18

Article: Dany Noel Confluence Trio at “Il Torrione” (Oct 21) — Informagiovani Ferrara — 2023-10-19

City programme announcement: “Madrid, a Christmas postcard” fills the city with music… — madrid.es — 2025-11-21

City programme announcement: Madrid lives a Christmas full of music and tradition — madrid.es — 2025-12-12

Track page: “Briga · Dany Noel (Detalles)” — YouTube (Provided to YouTube by CDBaby) — 2024-04-08

Internal / provided material: “EN — Dany Noel Band — Detalles” (PDF, undated)

BOOKING REQUEST
15
Jan, 2026
AfroCuban Reunión

AFROCUBAN REUNIÓN | Afro-Cuban Jazz Fusion CU/RE

AfroCuban Reunión

Dany Noel, Meddy Gerville, Dani Morales

Afro-Cuban Jazz Fusion (CU/RE)

 AVAILABILITY FOR EUROPE

2026 | June 11th to 28th

Line Up

Dany Noel | Bass & voice
Chucho Valdés, Horacio “El Negro” Hernández, Roy Hargrove, Diego El Cigala, Bebo Valdés, Buika, Tony Succar, Nella, Ojos de Brujo, Giovanni Hidalgo, Omara Portuondo, Changuito

Meddy Gerville | Keyboards & voice
Wyclef Jean, Fabricio Nicolas, Samuel F’Haye

Dani Morales | Drums & percussion
Jorge Pérez, Aurora García, Jorge Vera, Raúl Venegas, Miguel Núñez, Albita, Lolita, Christian Tonos

Pitch

Three islands, one groove: maloya from Réunion, Afro‑Cuban folkloric drive, and modern jazz harmony.
Singing bass & voice, percussive keys, and drums that pivot from dance‑floor clarity to open improvisation.
A rhythm‑forward trio set designed for jazz and world stages.

Style

AfroCuban Reunión is a three‑way conversation between Réunion Island’s maloya pulse, Afro‑Cuban folkloric drive, and contemporary jazz harmony. Dany Noel anchors the sound with a singing bass and voice—tumbao weight, melodic counterlines, and storytelling phrasing—while Meddy Gerville answers with percussive keys, chant‑like motifs, and Creole‑tinted voicings that keep the music ritual‑leaning and modern at once. Dani Morales keeps the current moving: Afro‑Cuban pulse on the kit and timbales, elastic swing, and sharp dynamic turns that let the trio flip from groove to open improvisation without losing the body.

Profile

AfroCuban Reunión brings together three musicians shaped by deep, place‑specific traditions and an outward‑looking jazz language. Meddy Gerville carries the circular, trance‑leaning energy of maloya into a keyboard vocabulary that can sound percussive, orchestral, or prayer‑like. Dany Noel turns Afro‑Cuban forms (son, rumba, bolero) into open frameworks for interplay, using bass and voice as equal melodic forces—supporting, commenting, and occasionally leading. Dani Morales completes the triangle with a drummer‑percussionist’s command of Afro‑Cuban timelines—cáscara and songo logic on the kit, timbal color when needed—building layered grooves that stay dance‑clear while opening space for improvisation.

The result is vivid and immediate: rhythm‑forward, melodically direct, and improvisational at its core.

Repertoire

The trio’s set blends originals and tradition. As Noel puts it: “We’d play Meddy’s tunes, my Latin‑jazz themes, and a traditional Cuban song sung by me—with jazz always in the influence.” Expect a journey that can touch bolero, son and guaracha, alongside contemporary jazz improvisation.

Members

Dany Noel

Cuban bassist and vocalist with deep roots in Latin jazz and flamenco, Noel is a bandleader and a sought‑after collaborator. His writing privileges groove and song‑form, while his bass lines stay vocal and narrative—often doubling as a second melodic voice. He co‑founded ITALUBA with Horacio “El Negro” Hernández (Grammy‑nominated for ITALUBA 1), and has participated in multiple award‑winning projects (Latin GRAMMY and other international recognitions).

(“Invites us on a fresh and fascinating musical journey that shows the essence of Latin jazz and the culture of his country.” — Ladbroke Hall, 2025-03-07)

Meddy Gerville

Gerville’s keyboard work fuses Creole songfulness with modern jazz touch: left‑hand ostinati, chant‑like motifs, and harmonies that open the music without diluting its roots. His phrasing balances clarity and surprise—often building long arcs over steady, ritual‑like cycles. As a vocalist he favors direct, earthy delivery that sits naturally inside the groove.

(“Grooves from the first note… and the set is a fine one.” — Peter McLaren, Jazz in Europe, 2017-02-14 — translated)

Dani Morales

Madrid‑based Cuban drummer and percussionist (kit & timbales), Morales moves fluently between Afro‑Cuban vocabulary, jazz time, and high‑energy stage formats. Documented in European listings with Dany Noel’s trio and in Patáx lineups, he plays as a groove architect: tight timeline control, quick orchestrations across the kit, and a clear sense of lift that keeps melodies and vocals supported without over‑filling.

(“With Dani Morales on drums… they deliver high‑quality music from the first moment and never stop surprising.” — Natalia Eseverri, El Arcón de Natalia, 2024-10-03 — translated)

Awards

  • Dany Noel — ITALUBA 1 (Grammy nomination, Best Latin Jazz Album, 2004); participation in Latin GRAMMY‑winning projects (incl. El Último Trago; Más De Mí).

  • Meddy Gerville — Pian’Austral competition prize (2000) (as reported in musician bios).

  • Dani Morales — No independently verifiable major awards found in dated mainstream sources reviewed; documented performance credits with Dany Noel Trio and Patáx in European press.

Releases

Dany Noel

  • INCOHERENTE SOCIEDAD (feat. Chabuco) — Single — 2025-12-17

  • Detalles — Album — 2024-04-08

  • Intercambio — Album — 2022-04-26

Meddy Gerville

  • Tropical Rain — Album — 2025-02-12

  • Lèr larivé — Single — 2024-12-16

  • Le larm dan mon zié (version Séga) — Single — 2023-11-22

Dani Morales

  • La razón — Single (YOSU LAROCA) — 2025-12-13

  • Cántale a la Vida — Single (Albita & Lolita) — 2025-08-22

  • Traigo de Todo (feat. Dany Noel) — Single (Christian Tonos) — 2025-07-31

Press

All excerpts below are translated into English for editorial use. Keep the original links for verification.

Project

  • “AfroCuban Reunion… closes the XXIV edition” — Jazzitalia (staff), 2025-08-04
    Excerpt: “An intense sonic journey between Réunion, Cuba and Europe… maloya, Afro‑Cuban and modern jazz… colors, ancestral rhythms and improvisation.”

  • AFROCUBAN REUNION — artist page — BeatOnto Jazz Festival (staff), 2025-07-02
    Excerpt: “A trio that fuses Réunion roots, Afro‑Cuban energy and contemporary jazz… bold improvisations and rhythms that speak to heart and body.”

Noel

  • “Dany Noel Cuban Project — Jazz & Dinner” — Ladbroke Hall (event page), 2025-03-07
    Excerpt: “A fresh and fascinating musical journey… the essence of Latin jazz… bolero, son, guaracha… and unreleased original songs.”

  • “Dany Noel Trio feat Ivo Neame & Jorge Perez” — EFG London Jazz Festival (event listing), 2023-11-11
    Excerpt: “A new project led by Cuban bass virtuoso and singer Dany Noel…”

  • “En Casa Limon” (album review) — Phillip Woolever, All About Jazz, 2021-01-24
    Excerpt: “Percussionist Israel Suárez and bassist Dany Noel provide admirable support throughout.”

Gerville

  • “Tropical Rain — Meddy Gerville Trio” — Dot Time Records (label page), 2017-02-17
    Excerpt: “Grooves from the first note… and the set is a fine one.”

  • Meddy Gerville — musician bio — All About Jazz (staff), 2017-07-18
    Excerpt: Mentions maloya roots and the Pian’Austral prize (2000).

Morales

  • “Crónica «Patáx» (Teatro Cervantes, Málaga)” — Natalia Eseverri, El Arcón de Natalia, 2024-10-03

  • Excerpt: “With Dani Morales on drums… high‑quality music from the first moment… never stop surprising.”

Sources

https://www.jazzitalia.net/beatonto-jazz-festival-afrocuban-reunion-e-lisa-manosperti-chiudono-la-xxiv-edizione/
https://www.beatontojazz.com/index.php/il-jazz-festival/edizione-2024/artisti?id=171&task=view
https://iltaccodibacco.it/puglia/eventi/300242.html
https://www.cronachetarantine.it/2025/08/06/jonio-jazz-festival-si-chiude-con-il-trio-afrocuban-reunion/

https://ladbrokehall.com/live-programme/jazz/dany-noel-cuban-project-4/
https://efglondonjazzfestival.org.uk/events/dany-noel-trio-feat-ivo-neame-jorge-perez
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/en-casa-limon-david-broza-s-curve-records__32628

https://www.dottimerecords.com/news/2017/2/17/tropical-rain-meddy-gerville-trio
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/musicians/meddy-gerville

https://www.laringhiera.net/eventi/portanapoli-in-jazz-reloaded-levento-per-sostenere-la-fondazione-cittadella-della-carita/
https://madridenvivo.com/viernes-18-jazz-con-sabor-a-club22/
https://elarcondenatalia.es/cronica-patax-teatro-cervantes-malaga/
https://www.subbeticahoy.com/articulo/lucena/festival-jazz-principal-protagonista-programacion-cultural-mayo-lucena/20240508215349028910.html
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/canarias-jazz-y-mas-2025-jazz-festival-alba-festival-review
https://cadenaser.com/asturias/2025/04/21/jazz-en-el-centro-casi-tres-decadas-mostrando-un-genero-que-gana-adeptos-en-gijon-ser-gijon/

https://music.apple.com/gb/song/la-raz%C3%B3n/1858799462
https://music.apple.com/us/song/c%C3%A1ntale-a-la-vida/1831832681
https://music.apple.com/us/song/traigo-de-todo-feat-dany-noel/1825000509

https://danynoel.bandcamp.com/album/haciendo-camino
https://www.solarlatinclub.com/2020/10/dany-noel-haciendo-camino/

https://music.apple.com/it/artist/dany-noel/308604677
https://music.apple.com/us/album/intercambio/1620621654
https://music.apple.com/us/album/detalles/1739050670

https://music.apple.com/us/album/tropical-rain/1791218875
https://music.apple.com/us/album/l%C3%A8r-lariv%C3%A9-single/1783481921
https://music.apple.com/us/album/le-larm-dan-mon-zi%C3%A9-version-s%C3%A9ga-single/1713117826

https://www.latingrammy.com/awards/11th-annual-latin-grammy-awards-2010
https://www.latingrammy.com/artists/tony-succar/34354-01
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Grammy_Award_for_Best_Traditional_Tropical_Album
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Grammy_Award_for_Best_Salsa_Album

BOOKING REQUEST
3
Oct, 2025
Lage Lund 4tet ft. Danny Grisset, Orlando Le Fleming & Jeff Ballard | Modern Jazz / Post-bop (NO)

LAGE LUND 4tet ft. Danny Grisset, Orlando Le Fleming & Jeff Ballard | Modern Jazz / Post-bop (NO)

Lage Lund 4tet

ft. Danny Grisset, Orlando Le Fleming & Jeff Ballard
Modern Jazz / Post-bop (NO)

AVAILABILITY FOR EUROPE

2026 | Upon request (except March and May)

LageLund4tetEUlineup LAGE LUND 4tet ft. Danny Grisset, Orlando Le Fleming & Jeff Ballard | Modern Jazz / Post-bop (NO)
LageLund4tetEUlineup LAGE LUND 4tet ft. Danny Grisset, Orlando Le Fleming & Jeff Ballard | Modern Jazz / Post-bop (NO)
LageLund4tetEUlineup
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Line‑up

Lage Lund | Guitar
Wynton Marsalis, Ron Carter, Maria Schneider, David Sánchez, Mulgrew Miller, Seamus Blake, Bill Stewart, Eric Harland, Aaron Parks

Danny Grissett | Piano
Tom Harrell, Nicholas Payton, Benny Golson, Jackie McLean, Louis Hayes, Lenny White, Buster Williams, Russell Malone, Vincent Herring, Jeremy Pelt

Orlando Le Fleming | Bass
Branford Marsalis, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Antonio Sánchez, Ari Hoenig, Wayne Krantz, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Billy Cobham, Jimmy Cobb, Jane Monheit, Mark Turner

Jeff Ballard | Drums
Brad Mehldau, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Joshua Redman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ray Charles, Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, Avishai Cohen, Danilo Pérez

Style

Lage Lund’s lucid tone and modern harmonic lens lead a quartet that favors lyrical clarity over rhetoric, while never shying from risk.
Grissett’s pianism streamlines advanced harmony into flowing narrative; Le Fleming sculpts supple, melodic bass lines with an elastic, contemporary pocket.
Ballard’s polyrhythmic imagination keeps the music airborne—grooves breathe, forms flex, and interplay remains the core engine.

Overall profile

The Lage Lund 4tet distills today’s post‑bop language into agile forms where melody, harmony and rhythm are negotiated in real time. Lund’s guitar—clean‑etched, occasionally shaded by subtle effects—threads singable motifs through harmonically saturated spaces. Pianist Danny Grissett balances chromatic voice‑leading with songful pacing, shaping progressions that invite contrapuntal dialogue. Orlando Le Fleming anchors with a springy, melodic time feel that can pivot from straight‑eighth textures to sinewy swing without breaking the line. On drums, Jeff Ballard ignites flexible grooves and conversational polyrhythms, teasing momentum rather than enforcing it.
The quartet’s signature lies in cantilena melodies over shifting harmonic planes, danceable pulse with micro‑metric elasticity, and a chamber‑like ear for space. Influences surface—Rosenwinkel/Metheny guitar lyricism, the interactive verve of contemporary NYC rhythm sections—yet the group’s voice is unmistakably its own: modern, lyrical, and designed for rooms where nuance matters as much as fire.

Member details

Lage Lund — Guitar. Lucid timbre, clean articulation and an ear for long‑line melody. Uses contemporary harmonic palettes—upper‑structure triads, modal shifts, oblique voice‑leading—without losing song form. Interplay‑driven phrasing; effects used as color, not crutch.
“Lund is a highly original guitarist… his subtle, distinctive voicings shimmer.” (Francois van de Linde, Jazz Journal, 2019‑07‑19)

Danny Grissett — Piano. Idiomatic post‑bop refined by European clarity; chordal economy and linear storytelling. Harmonic vocabulary is colorful yet unsaturated; rhythmic design evolves organically within forms.
“Melodies are well‑shaped, harmonies are colorful but never overcrowded… tunes play like miniature suites.” (Nolan DeBuke, The Jazz Word, 2025‑06‑11)

Orlando Le Fleming — Bass. Focused core sound, melodic counter‑lines and tensile groove. Alternates oak‑solid walking with lithe straight‑eighth ostinatos; fluent in odd‑meter subdivisions and funk inflections.
“Intelligent rhythmic grooves with imaginative, multi‑faceted compositions and arrangements.” (Ian Mann, The Jazz Mann, 2024‑12‑31)

Jeff Ballard — Drums. Orchestrates momentum with layered textures, brushcraft and dancing polyrhythms. Shapes forms dynamically—pushing, suspending, then releasing—while keeping the pocket elastic and breathable.
“A charged trio leader and ‘Album of the Year’ contender—Ballard’s rhythmic core makes the music compelling.” (Dan Bilawsky, All About Jazz, 2014‑02‑05)

Discography highlights

Lage Lund — Most Peculiar (Criss Cross, 2023); Terrible Animals (Criss Cross, 2019); Idlewild (Criss Cross, 2015).
Danny Grissett — Travelogue (Savant, 2025); Remembrance (Savant, 2017); Form (Criss Cross, 2009).
Orlando Le Fleming — Romantic Funk: Wandering Talk (Whirlwind, 2024); Romantic Funk: The Unfamiliar (Whirlwind, 2020); Romantic Funk (OLF, 2017).
Jeff Ballard — Time’s Tales (Okeh, 2014); co‑leader Fly (ECM, various) and extensive sideman work with Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner.

Band DNA

Timbre/Articulation: guitar clarity with soft‑saturation hues; piano legato with crisp attacks; rounded, centered bass; cymbal‑led drum spectrum.
Technique/Idiomatic: contemporary jazz syntax; elastic time; subtle effects orchestration.
Harmonic Vocabulary: modal interchange, chromatic voice‑leading, extended tertian stacks; melody‑first resolution.
Rhythm/Groove: swing ↔ straight‑eighth continuum; polyrhythms (3‑over‑2, 5‑over‑4) inside a steady macro‑pulse.
Interplay/Roles: melody in the middle register (guitar/piano), bass as co‑melodist; drums shape form via density and register.
Influences/Schools: NYC post‑bop, chamber‑jazz interplay, Rosenwinkel/Metheny lineage, contemporary rhythm‑section craft.

Members Quotes

Lage Lund

  1. “This subtly inventive record is finely balanced between the driving force of Sorey and Brewer’s rhythm and the sensitivity of Lund’s guitar.” — James Read, UK Vibe, 2023‑10‑10.
    https://ukvibe.org/album_reviews/lage-lund-4/

  2. “A trio to behold… Hidden depths reveal themselves.” — Mike Gates, UK Vibe, 2023‑10‑07.
    https://ukvibe.org/album_reviews/lage-lund-3/

  3. “The provocative music is marked by a variety of musical and emotional contrasts.” — Philip Booth, JazzTimes, 2019‑05‑26 (updated 2024‑09‑03).
    https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/lage-lund-terrible-animals/

  4. “As a player of depth and melodic flair, he is already up there with the best.” — Cormac Larkin, The Irish Times, 2015‑04‑16.
    https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/lage-lund-idlewild-album-review-1.2178193

  5. “The track is slow and spacious, giving Lund plenty of opportunity to explore melody.” — Andrew Luhn, All About Jazz, 2015‑03‑14.
    https://www.allaboutjazz.com/idlewild-lage-lund-criss-cross-review-by-andrew-luhn

Mark Turner

  1. “The American saxophonist’s ace quartet rise to the challenge of his demanding compositions with real flair.” — Dave Gelly, The Guardian, 2022‑04‑09.
    https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/09/mark-turner-return-from-the-stars-review-jason-palmer-joe-martin-jonathan-pinson

  2. “After eight years, Return from the Stars is—most resoundingly—a worthy successor to Lathe of Heaven.” — Graham Spry, UK Jazz News, 2022‑03‑21.
    https://ukjazznews.com/mark-turner-return-from-the-stars/

  3. “All eight tracks were written by Turner… the absence of a piano places the focus on his tenor and Palmer’s trumpet.” — Brian Payne, Jazz Journal, 2022‑05‑29.
    https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2022/05/29/mark-turner-return-from-the-stars/

  4. “He demonstrates versatility and depth as a writer.” — Christian Carey, Sequenza21, 2022‑05‑22.
    https://www.sequenza21.com/2022/05/mark-turner-return-from-the-stars-cd-review/

  5. “An exploratory, evocative journey… with spatial quality that puts the focus on interplay.” — Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine, 2022‑03‑24.
    https://glidemagazine.com/272368/saxophonist-mark-turner-leads-an-exploratory-evocative-journey-on-return-from-the-stars-album-review/

Matt Brewer

  1. “Widely respected for the technical wizardry and wide musical scope he has brought…” — Ted Panken, DownBeat, 2020‑08‑04.
    https://downbeat.com/news/detail/blindfold-test-matt-brewer

  2. “With Unspoken, Brewer re‑affirms his status as a noteworthy bandleader and composer.” — Andrew Luhn, All About Jazz, 2016‑10‑09.
    https://www.allaboutjazz.com/unspoken-matt-brewer-criss-cross-review-by-andrew-luhn

  3. “First‑call bassist Matt Brewer has a new outing… Ganymede.” — Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail, 2019‑04‑25.
    https://jazztrail.net/blog/matt-brewer-ganymede-album-review

  4. “Players stay in their roles, but when they emerge from the ensemble, they burn.” — Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes, 2015‑03‑06.
    https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/matt-brewer-mythology/

Kendrick Scott

  1. “It is still a delight when an album like Corridors comes along.” — Will Layman, PopMatters, 2023‑04‑04.
    https://www.popmatters.com/best-new-jazz-february-march-2023/3

  2. “The formidable Corridors… carries on that spirit of interplay and common alliance.” — Mike Jurkovic, All About Jazz, 2023‑03‑10.
    https://www.allaboutjazz.com/corridors-blue-note-records

  3. “Highly recommended… a nine‑part suite born during lockdown.” — Chris May, All About Jazz, 2023‑04‑08.
    https://www.allaboutjazz.com/corridors-kendrick-scott-blue-note-records

  4. “Music is for a message.” — Kendrick Scott (interview), WBGO, 2023‑03‑08.
    https://www.wbgo.org/music/2023-03-08/music-is-for-a-message-kendrick-scotts-lifelong-quest-to-be-of-service-to-others-and-himself

  5. “A rubato set that majors on mood… with swing, bop and funk surfacing.” — Derek Ansell, Jazz Journal, 2023‑03‑27.
    https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2023/03/27/kendrick-scott-corridors/

  6. “Blue Note Spotlight: Kendrick Scott.” — Blue Note, 2023‑03‑03.
    https://www.bluenote.com/spotlight/kendrick-scott/

  7. “Blue Note Announces New Albums…” — uDiscoverMusic, 2023‑01‑21.
    https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/blue-note-2023-albums-ethan-iverson-go-go-penguin/

Reviews & Articles

Lage Lund

Mark Turner

Matt Brewer

Kendrick Scott

3
Oct, 2025
Ari Hoenig Trio | Contemporary Jazz, Neo-bop, Post-bop (USA)

ARI HOENIG TRIO | Contemporary Jazz, Neo-bop, Post-bop (USA)

Ari Hoenig Trio

Contemporary Jazz, Neo-bop, Post-bop (USA)

AVAILABILITY FOR EUROPE
2026 | April, July, October/November
AriHoenigTrio ARI HOENIG TRIO | Contemporary Jazz, Neo-bop, Post-bop (USA)
AriHoenigTrio ARI HOENIG TRIO | Contemporary Jazz, Neo-bop, Post-bop (USA)
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Line-up

Ari Hoenig | Drums
Jean‑Michel Pilc, Kenny Werner, Pat Martino, Joshua Redman, Wayne Krantz, Richard Bona, Chris Potter, Shirley Scott

Gadi Lehavi | Piano
Ravi Coltrane, Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin, Ron Carter, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Eddie Gomez

Ben Tiberio | Double Bass
Joel Ross, María Grand, Veronica Swift, Immanuel Wilkins, Shai Maestro, Ben Wendel, Aaron Goldberg

Style

A drummer‑led trio where melody and rhythm are inseparable: Hoenig’s metric imagination sings from the kit.
Lehavi supplies a luminous, Jarrett‑to‑Corea‑tinged lyricism that floats yet speaks with intent.
Tiberio anchors with supple time, modern counter‑lines and a sonorous, singing tone.

Overall profile

Philadelphia‑born drummer/composer Ari Hoenig has long redefined the drum set as a melodic instrument; in this trio he crystallizes that vision with Gadi Lehavi (piano) and Ben Tiberio (double bass). Across Golden Treasures (2022) and Tea for Three (2024) the group frames standards and originals with elastic time, conversational counterpoint and a keen sense of narrative. The language is contemporary jazz—post‑/neo‑bop vocabulary, modal hues and polyrhythmic design—yet the touch remains song‑driven. Hoenig’s lines arc and resolve; Lehavi shades harmony with airy voicings and singing right‑hand rhetoric; Tiberio balances clarity and weight, often guiding form with melodic bass motion. The group’s “band DNA” emphasizes Rhythm/Groove (metric modulation; odd‑meter fluency), Interplay/Roles (leader as melodic voice; chamber‑like listening) and Harmonic Vocabulary (post‑bop with modal‑chromatic color). The result is a trio sound that moves from tight inner clock to widescreen lyricism, built for audiences that prize both sophistication and heart.

Member details

Ari Hoenig — Drums
Melodic drumming, polyrhythms and metric modulations are central to Hoenig’s compositional voice. With this working trio he refines a chamber‑like, dialogue‑first approach documented on Golden Treasures (2022) and Tea for Three (2024). Expect shifting forms, clear song shapes and drum melodies that sing. (“A convergence of three exceptional musical personalities whose creativity, connection and dialogic interplay deserve repeated opportunities.” — Artur Moral, All About Jazz, 2025‑05‑20)

Gadi Lehavi — Piano
Tel‑Aviv–born, New York–based pianist whose lyricism and touch align with the Jarrett/Corea lineage while remaining personal. A close associate of Ravi Coltrane and selected by Chick Corea for JALC’s “Musicians of the Future,” Lehavi brings floating time, luminous voicings and agile, singing lines. (“The lightest‑touch piano trio one can imagine… a case of the caress rather than the assault.” — Sebastian Scotney, LondonJazzNews, 2016‑05‑15)

Ben Tiberio — Double Bass
A modern, song‑aware bassist heard with Joel Ross, Veronica Swift and Immanuel Wilkins, and as a leader on Rare Peace (2021). His sound couples round acoustic presence with articulate counter‑melody; time feels both grounded and elastic. (“The bassist and composer Ben Tiberio delivers an exceptional debut here.” — Take Effect Reviews, 2022‑04‑01)

Discography

  • Golden Treasures — Ari Hoenig Trio (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2022)

  • Tea for Three — Ari Hoenig Trio (Fresh Sound New Talent, 2024)

Quotes

Ari Hoenig

“A convergence of three exceptional musical personalities whose creativity, connection and dialogic interplay deserve repeated opportunities.”  Artur Moral, All About Jazz, 2025‑05‑20 — https://www.allaboutjazz.com/tea-for-three-ari-hoenig-fresh-sound-new-talent

“A big‑band celebration… as thrilling and cool as taking a deep dive in someone else’s pool… focusing a well‑deserved spotlight on Hoenig’s voice.” Ed Enright, DownBeat (Editors’ Picks), 2022‑05‑01 — https://downbeat.com/reviews/editorspicks/2022-05

“The trio… a fluid, unified vibe… all elements leaping together into the fray… while still swinging.” Dusty Groove (album blurb), 2024‑12‑13 https://www.dustygroove.com/item/221596/Ari-Hoenig%3ATea-For-Three

Gadi Lehavi

“The lightest‑touch piano trio one can imagine… the caress rather than the assault.”  Sebastian Scotney, LondonJazzNews, 2016‑05‑15 — https://londonjazznews.com/2016/05/15/round-up-review-second-day-of-inntoene-2016-austria-al-foster-quartet-gadi-lehavi-trio-marcio-faraco-ruthie-foster-bruno-heinen-and-kristian-borring-etc/

“A major rising force on piano… known for revelatory work with Ravi Coltrane.”  Rusty Aceves, SFJAZZ — On The Corner, 2024‑07‑18 — https://www.sfjazz.org/onthecorner/articles/five-things-you-should-know-about-gadi-lehavi/

“Israeli‑born prodigy… invited at thirteen to play with Coltrane at the Village Vanguard and Birdland.” All About Jazz (SFJAZZ review), 2022‑05‑10 — https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ravi-coltrane-at-sfjazz-center-ravi-coltrane

Ben Tiberio

“The bassist and composer Ben Tiberio delivers an exceptional debut here… a diverse and well thought‑out listen.”  Take Effect Reviews, 2022‑04‑01 — https://takeeffectreviews.com/april-2022/2022/4/1/ben-tiberio

“Tiberio plays mostly upright bass… I really love that sound.” Sea of Tranquility, 2021‑12‑27 — https://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?id=23414&op=showcontent

Personnel on Joel Ross’ KingMaker: Immanuel Wilkins (alto sax), Jeremy Corren (piano), Benjamin Tiberio (bass), Jeremy Dutton (drums)… DownBeat (review credits), 2019‑05‑03 — https://downbeat.com/reviews/detail/kingmaker

Reviews

Ari Hoenig: Tea For Three — Album Review / All About Jazz / Artur Moral / 2025‑05‑20 / https://www.allaboutjazz.com/tea-for-three-ari-hoenig-fresh-sound-new-talent

Editors’ Picks May 2022: Ben Markley Big Band with Ari Hoenig — Ari’s Funhouse / DownBeat / Ed Enright / 2022‑05‑01 / https://downbeat.com/reviews/editorspicks/2022-05

Pared‑back jazz drumming from Ari Hoenig and his fine trio / Marlbank / — / 2024‑12‑20 / https://marlbank.net/2024/12/20/pared-back-jazz-drumming-from-ari-hoenig-and-his-fine-trio/

Tea for Three — Album page / Fresh Sound New Talent (Blue Sounds) / — / 2024‑12‑13 / https://www.freshsoundrecords.com/ari-hoenig-albums/57444-tea-for-three-digipack.html

Golden Treasures — Album page / All About Jazz / — / 2022‑01‑06 / https://www.allaboutjazz.com/album/golden-treasures-ari-hoenig

Ari Hoenig: Golden Treasures / Jazz Journal / François van de Linde / 2022‑08‑30 / https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2022/08/30/ari-hoenig-golden-treasures/

ROUND‑UP REVIEW: Inntöne 2016 — Gadi Lehavi Trio / LondonJazzNews / Sebastian Scotney / 2016‑05‑15 / https://londonjazznews.com/2016/05/15/round-up-review-second-day-of-inntoene-2016-austria-al-foster-quartet-gadi-lehavi-trio-marcio-faraco-ruthie-foster-bruno-heinen-and-kristian-borring-etc/

Five Things You Should Know About Gadi Lehavi / SFJAZZ (On The Corner) / Rusty Aceves / 2024‑07‑18 / https://www.sfjazz.org/onthecorner/articles/five-things-you-should-know-about-gadi-lehavi/

Ravi Coltrane at SFJAZZ Center / All About Jazz / — / 2022‑05‑10 / https://www.allaboutjazz.com/ravi-coltrane-at-sfjazz-center-ravi-coltrane

Ben Tiberio — Rare Peace (review) / Take Effect Reviews / — / 2022‑04‑01 / https://takeeffectreviews.com/april-2022/2022/4/1/ben-tiberio

Tiberio, Ben: Rare Peace / Sea of Tranquility / — / 2021‑12‑27 / https://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?id=23414&op=showcontent

Vibraphonist Joel Ross to release debut KingMaker / Blue Note (press) / — / 2019‑03‑29 / https://www.bluenote.com/vibraphonist-joel-ross-to-release-debut-album-kingmaker-out-may-3/

Complete Discography — Ari Hoenig / Official site / — / 2025‑10‑03 (accessed) / https://www.arihoenig.com/complete-discography

2
Oct, 2025
Lage Lund 4tet ft. Mark Turner, Matt Brewer & Kendrick Scott | Modern Jazz / Post-bop (NO)

LAGE LUND 4tet ft. Mark Turner, Matt Brewer & Kendrick Scott | Modern Jazz / Post-bop (NO)

Lage Lund 4tet

ft. Mark Turner, Matt Brewer & Kendrick Scott
Modern Jazz / Post-bop (NO)

AVAILABILITY FOR EUROPE

2026 | MARCH and MAY

Line‑up

Lage Lund | Guitar
Wynton Marsalis, Ron Carter, Maria Schneider, David Sánchez, Mulgrew Miller, Seamus Blake, Bill Stewart, Eric Harland, Aaron Parks

Mark Turner | Saxophone
Kurt Rosenwinkel, Brad Mehldau, Billy Hart, Tom Harrell, Enrico Rava, Jeff Ballard, Larry Grenadier, Ethan Iverson, Avishai Cohen, Paul Motian

Matt Brewer | Bass
Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Lee Konitz, Steve Coleman, Vijay Iyer, Antonio Sánchez, Mark Turner, Tigran Hamasyan, Tyshawn Sorey, Terence Blanchard, David Sánchez

Kendrick Scott | Drums
Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard, Pat Metheny, Charles Lloyd, The Crusaders, Joe Lovano, Roy Hargrove, David Sanborn, Dianne Reeves, Robert Glasper, Kenny Garrett, Kurt Rosenwinkel

Style

A lucid, lyrical guitar voice shapes chord‑light architectures where melody and counterpoint do the harmonic lifting.
An elastic rhythm team—Brewer/Scott—keeps the floor buoyant, balancing flow, color and pulse.
Turner’s tensile lines thread through the textures, amplifying the band’s modern, quietly fearless poetry.

Overall profile

The Lage Lund 4tet distills contemporary jazz language into something lean, melodic and quietly daring. Lund’s guitar favors clarity of attack and long, vocal arcs; he often lets voice‑leading, not density, set the harmony. Around him, Matt Brewer’s resonant bass designs anchor and reframe the changes while Kendrick Scott’s dynamic cymbal language and micro‑metric phrasing give the music lift without weight. Mark Turner’s tenor extends the quartet’s contrapuntal logic—focused tone, long lines and subtle rhythmic displacements—so themes can bloom in negative space as much as in unison. Across the axes of timbre/articulation, harmonic vocabulary and interplay/roles, the vector skews toward lyric precision, advanced but song‑aware harmony, and chamber‑like balance. Weighted by the leader (0.5) and the distinct colors of the others (≈0.17 each), the project’s DNA foregrounds melodic narrative over sheer saturation: grooves breathe, forms invite spontaneous redesign, and the quartet’s sound lands where post‑bop lyricism, ECM‑tinged atmosphere and New‑York rhythmic acuity meet.

Member details

Lage Lund — Guitar. Clear, singing tone; phrasing that privileges melody, inner‑voice motion and dynamic nuance. On recent releases (e.g., Ashes, Most Peculiar), he blends trio transparency with elegant effects for textural lift. Interplay mindset: leaves air around motifs and lets rhythm color the harmony. (“This subtly inventive record is finely balanced between the driving force of Sorey and Brewer’s rhythm and the sensitivity of Lund’s guitar.” — James Read, UK Vibe, 2023‑10‑10)

Mark Turner — Tenor Saxophone. Dry‑focused timbre, long‑line architecture, and contrapuntal clarity; favors chord‑sparse settings where line equals harmony. Roles oscillate between shadow‑melody, canonic counterline and tensile solo flights; rhythmic feel: patient, metrically slippery. (“The American saxophonist’s ace quartet rise to the challenge of his demanding compositions with real flair.” — Dave Gelly, The Guardian, 2022‑04‑09)

Matt Brewer — Bass. Grounded, resonant sound with a composer’s sense of contour; sophisticated harmonic vocabulary and exact intonation. Works as anchor and co‑architect—pivoting the groove, setting knots of counterpoint, and opening form. (“Widely respected for the technical wizardry and wide musical scope he has brought to a panoply of sideman engagements.” — Ted Panken, DownBeat, 2020‑08‑04)

Kendrick Scott — Drums. A big dynamic window, shapely ride‑cymbal logic and orchestrated independence. In chord‑light formats (Corridors), he paints harmony with touch and register; groove ethos: elastic, song‑first, deeply interactive. (“It is still a delight when an album like Corridors comes along.” — Will Layman, PopMatters, 2023‑04‑04)

Discography highlights

Lage Lund — Ashes (JMI, 2023); Most Peculiar (Criss Cross, 2023); Terrible Animals (Criss Cross, 2019).
Mark Turner — Return from the Stars (ECM, 2022); Lathe of Heaven (ECM, 2014).
Matt Brewer — Ganymede (Criss Cross, 2019); Unspoken (Criss Cross, 2016); Mythology (Criss Cross, 2014).
Kendrick Scott — Corridors (Blue Note, 2023); A Wall Becomes a Bridge (Blue Note, 2019).

Members Quotes

Lage Lund

  1. “This subtly inventive record is finely balanced between the driving force of Sorey and Brewer’s rhythm and the sensitivity of Lund’s guitar.” — James Read, UK Vibe, 2023‑10‑10.
    https://ukvibe.org/album_reviews/lage-lund-4/

  2. “A trio to behold… Hidden depths reveal themselves.” — Mike Gates, UK Vibe, 2023‑10‑07.
    https://ukvibe.org/album_reviews/lage-lund-3/

  3. “The provocative music is marked by a variety of musical and emotional contrasts.” — Philip Booth, JazzTimes, 2019‑05‑26 (updated 2024‑09‑03).
    https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/lage-lund-terrible-animals/

  4. “As a player of depth and melodic flair, he is already up there with the best.” — Cormac Larkin, The Irish Times, 2015‑04‑16.
    https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/lage-lund-idlewild-album-review-1.2178193

  5. “The track is slow and spacious, giving Lund plenty of opportunity to explore melody.” — Andrew Luhn, All About Jazz, 2015‑03‑14.
    https://www.allaboutjazz.com/idlewild-lage-lund-criss-cross-review-by-andrew-luhn

Mark Turner

  1. “The American saxophonist’s ace quartet rise to the challenge of his demanding compositions with real flair.” — Dave Gelly, The Guardian, 2022‑04‑09.
    https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/apr/09/mark-turner-return-from-the-stars-review-jason-palmer-joe-martin-jonathan-pinson

  2. “After eight years, Return from the Stars is—most resoundingly—a worthy successor to Lathe of Heaven.” — Graham Spry, UK Jazz News, 2022‑03‑21.
    https://ukjazznews.com/mark-turner-return-from-the-stars/

  3. “All eight tracks were written by Turner… the absence of a piano places the focus on his tenor and Palmer’s trumpet.” — Brian Payne, Jazz Journal, 2022‑05‑29.
    https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2022/05/29/mark-turner-return-from-the-stars/

  4. “He demonstrates versatility and depth as a writer.” — Christian Carey, Sequenza21, 2022‑05‑22.
    https://www.sequenza21.com/2022/05/mark-turner-return-from-the-stars-cd-review/

  5. “An exploratory, evocative journey… with spatial quality that puts the focus on interplay.” — Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine, 2022‑03‑24.
    https://glidemagazine.com/272368/saxophonist-mark-turner-leads-an-exploratory-evocative-journey-on-return-from-the-stars-album-review/

Matt Brewer

  1. “Widely respected for the technical wizardry and wide musical scope he has brought…” — Ted Panken, DownBeat, 2020‑08‑04.
    https://downbeat.com/news/detail/blindfold-test-matt-brewer

  2. “With Unspoken, Brewer re‑affirms his status as a noteworthy bandleader and composer.” — Andrew Luhn, All About Jazz, 2016‑10‑09.
    https://www.allaboutjazz.com/unspoken-matt-brewer-criss-cross-review-by-andrew-luhn

  3. “First‑call bassist Matt Brewer has a new outing… Ganymede.” — Filipe Freitas, JazzTrail, 2019‑04‑25.
    https://jazztrail.net/blog/matt-brewer-ganymede-album-review

  4. “Players stay in their roles, but when they emerge from the ensemble, they burn.” — Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes, 2015‑03‑06.
    https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/matt-brewer-mythology/

Kendrick Scott

  1. “It is still a delight when an album like Corridors comes along.” — Will Layman, PopMatters, 2023‑04‑04.
    https://www.popmatters.com/best-new-jazz-february-march-2023/3

  2. “The formidable Corridors… carries on that spirit of interplay and common alliance.” — Mike Jurkovic, All About Jazz, 2023‑03‑10.
    https://www.allaboutjazz.com/corridors-blue-note-records

  3. “Highly recommended… a nine‑part suite born during lockdown.” — Chris May, All About Jazz, 2023‑04‑08.
    https://www.allaboutjazz.com/corridors-kendrick-scott-blue-note-records

  4. “Music is for a message.” — Kendrick Scott (interview), WBGO, 2023‑03‑08.
    https://www.wbgo.org/music/2023-03-08/music-is-for-a-message-kendrick-scotts-lifelong-quest-to-be-of-service-to-others-and-himself

  5. “A rubato set that majors on mood… with swing, bop and funk surfacing.” — Derek Ansell, Jazz Journal, 2023‑03‑27.
    https://jazzjournal.co.uk/2023/03/27/kendrick-scott-corridors/

  6. “Blue Note Spotlight: Kendrick Scott.” — Blue Note, 2023‑03‑03.
    https://www.bluenote.com/spotlight/kendrick-scott/

  7. “Blue Note Announces New Albums…” — uDiscoverMusic, 2023‑01‑21.
    https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/blue-note-2023-albums-ethan-iverson-go-go-penguin/

Reviews & Articles

Lage Lund

Mark Turner

Matt Brewer

Kendrick Scott

12
Jun, 2025
Blackbyrds Groove Collective

BLACKBYRDS GROOVE COLLECTIVE by Blackbyrd McKnight | Funk (USA)

BLACKBYRDS GROOVE COLLECTIVE | P-Funk (USA)

BLACKBYRD McKNIGHT – BOBBY SPARKS
DENNIS CHAMBERS – GARY GRAINGER

AVAILABILITY FOR EUROPE

2026 | JANUARY 16th/26th

BlackByrdGrooveCollectiveTITLE4tetR BLACKBYRDS GROOVE COLLECTIVE by Blackbyrd McKnight | Funk (USA)
BlackByrdGrooveCollectiveTITLE4tetR BLACKBYRDS GROOVE COLLECTIVE by Blackbyrd McKnight | Funk (USA)
BlackByrdGrooveCollectiveTITLE4tetR
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Line‑Up

BlackByrd McKnight | Guitar
Parliament‑Funkadelic, Herbie Hancock, Red Hot Chili Peppers

Dennis Chambers | Drums
Santana, John Scofield, George Clinton, John McLaughlin

Bobby Sparks | Keyboards
Snarky Puppy, Prince, Marcus Miller

Gary Grainger | Bass
John Scofield, Pockets (Earth, Wind & Fire protégé), Acoustic Alchemy, Bill Evans

Overview

BlackByrds Groove Collective is a once‑in‑a‑generation all‑star ensemble uniting four iconic voices from the worlds of funk, jazz‑fusion and high‑octane improvisation. At its core stands legendary guitarist DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight (Parliament‑Funkadelic, Herbie Hancock/Headhunters, Red Hot Chili Peppers), whose cutting‑edge work helped shape the sound of a musical revolution. This new line‑up pairs McKnight with the heavyweight rhythm section of Gary Grainger (John Scofield, Pockets — Earth, Wind & Fire protégé band, Acoustic Alchemy, Bill Evans, Luther Ingram) and Dennis Chambers (Santana, John Scofield, George Clinton/P‑Funk, John McLaughlin), plus the kaleidoscopic keys of Bobby Sparks (Snarky Puppy, Prince, Marcus Miller) — an elite unit designed for maximum pocket, fearless interplay and modern show impact.

This configuration has never shared the stage in this exact combination, and that’s the point: the chemistry is fresh, the language is shared, and the result is a live experience with festival‑level energy and club‑grade intimacy. Expect tight arrangements, deep groove, explosive solos and a set that moves like a well‑oiled film sequence — strong open, dynamic arc, and a closer built for standing ovations.

What Happens On Stage

(Audience Experience)

  • Instant impact: the show opens on an unmistakable groove, hook forward, FOH‑ready sonics from bar one.

  • Pocket first: Grainger and Chambers lock a low‑end foundation that is both muscular and elastic; time feels big, confident and danceable.

  • Call & response: McKnight’s riffcraft and Sparks’s harmonic colors bounce lines and hits back and forth, creating genuine conversation on stage.

  • Dynamics that breathe: half‑time drops, stop‑time breaks, double‑time lifts and unison hits that cue audience response without derailing flow.

  • Signature moments: guitar features over vamp‑based codas, talkbox/lead‑synth eruptions, and a drum‑and‑bass spotlight with precision fireworks.

  • Memorable close: a reprise/medley that leaves an ear‑worm designed for highlight reels and social clips.

Artistic Direction & Sound Design

  • MD direction: McKnight keeps arrangements lean and focused. Themes are concise, solos are purposeful, transitions are musical — no dead air.

  • Keys palette: Sparks blends Rhodes/Clavinet with contemporary synth layers; strategic synth‑bass doubling adds extra weight on select sections.

  • Bass authority: Grainger’s tone is round yet articulate, supporting harmony while carving melodic counterlines and song‑within‑the‑song motifs.

  • Drum engine: Chambers brings micro‑time accuracy and massive dynamic headroom; ghost notes and a granite backbeat make the pocket feel inevitable.

  • FOH notes: tight kick, present bass, midrange clarity for guitar/keys, stereo keys bus L/R; fast changeovers and short line checks.

Repertoire & Set Flow

The set weaves original material from the Collective with modern takes on the Headhunters/P‑Funk canon and select features that spotlight each member. BPMs, keys and textures are sequenced for an arc that works equally well in 60/75/90‑minute formats. The center slot allows for measured improvisation; the final third ramps energy for a festival‑grade finish.

Why It Works (For Promoters & Festivals)

  • Bankable musicianship: four top‑tier players with headline résumés; rock‑solid reliability and world‑class stagecraft.

  • Scalable show: translates from 400–1200‑cap clubs to main festival stages; compact footprint, big sound.

  • Audience value: musically sophisticated yet accessible; instant hooks and physical groove.

  • Marketing narrative: “brand‑new super‑band configuration” + “masters of the pocket” is a storyline that converts across trade and consumer media.

  • Content engine: the show generates high‑impact clips (drops, finales, features) optimized for social and press.

Member Profiles (What They Bring)

Blackbyrd McKnight — Guitar / MD
A living architect of the P‑Funk vocabulary with a rock edge: razor‑sharp riffing, fearless lead voice and a producer’s ear for pacing and dynamics. McKnight aligns the set around groove integrity and the dramatic turnarounds that make a live show memorable.

Bobby Sparks — Keyboards
A colorist and catalyst whose roots in gospel‑jazz and modern fusion translate to Rhodes warmth, Clav bite and synth‑lead attitude. Sparks expands the harmonic field, shapes transitions and delivers the kind of feature moments that audiences talk about.

Gary Grainger — Bass
The anchor and architect of the low end: impeccable intonation, authoritative tone and a DC/Baltimore pocket culture that fuses funk, R&B and jazz. Grainger’s PRS signature lineage and band‑leader sensibility keep the groove deep and the lines musical.

Dennis Chambers — Drums
A once‑in‑a‑lifetime drummer whose backbeat authority, micro‑timing and dynamic control set an elite standard. Chambers drives the ensemble with stadium‑grade punch and studio‑grade precision — the drop‑to‑hit moments become events.

Marketing & Positioning

  • Taglines: Funk authority, jazz freedom, rock energy. · The pocket elite. · Four masters, one groove.

  • Imagery: on‑black or color‑gel portraits with instrument focus; video capture of drops/climaxes; short member‑ID bumpers for socials.

  • Copy block (short): A new super‑band led by P‑Funk legend Blackbyrd McKnight, with Bobby Sparks (keys), Gary Grainger (bass) and Dennis Chambers (drums). BlackByrds Groove Collective blends funk, jazz and rock into a high‑impact live show: deep pocket, fearless interplay and a finale built for standing ovations.

Technical Snapshot (for buyers)

  • Set lengths: 60/75/90 min.

  • Changeover: lean patch, short line check; IEM preferred, click optional for cues.

  • Backline: professional standard; detailed rider on request (bass/amp, drums, keys minimal list).

  • Advance: press kit, photo assets, social IDs and staging plot available upon confirmation.

Availability

European tour window: 16–26 January 2026. (Additional holds on request.)

Press Excerpts

“The Making of ‘God Make Me Funky’ by The Headhunters… became one of the most‑sampled grooves ever, thanks to Herbie Hancock’s funky fusionists.”
— Uncut Magazine, January 2025

“The Seventies were the building blocks for who and what I was to become. Now it’s time to fly on until I become a nebulous mist.”
— Blackbyrd McKnight, Guitar World, November 2024

“Funk master Blackbyrd McKnight, on stage with P‑Funk, gets freaky with the Framus Diablo Pro.”
— Premier Guitar, 2018

“Blackbyrd McKnight is one of the greatest guitar players around.”
— George Clinton, Premier Guitar, 2016

“McKnight’s guitar can become a sarod, synthesizer, melotron, and laser all at once.”
— Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One

“A jammin’ stomp of P‑Funk’s ‘Tear the Roof Off the Sucker’… highlighted by an appearance by Funkadelic/Headhunters guitar great Blackbyrd McKnight.”
— Los Angeles Magazine, 2025

“McKnight played a customized teal Stratocaster, squeezing out a tone so sharp and hot it could cut through steel.”
— RIFF Magazine, 2020

“McKnight launched into a cosmological guitar solo… with tones that shredded away my shortcomings, my insecurities and my sins.”
— The Daily Lobo, 2019

“A jazz‑funk solo affirming that he is indeed a rock god.”
— Eponymous Review, 2019

“One of the most epic guitar jams of all time… McKnight channeled the spirit of Eddie Hazel beautifully.”
— Soundblab, 2018

“Blackbyrd McKnight… a ten‑minute‑plus guitarmageddon… the most ridiculously ignored player in popular music.”
— B24/7, 2017

Blackbyrd Groove Collective — Member Profiles

(Selected Credits)

A compact, promoter‑friendly module for press kits, one‑sheets, and web pages.

DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight — Guitar / Musical Director

A living architect of the P‑Funk vocabulary with a rock edge and deep jazz‑fusion fluency. Razor‑cut riff design, fearless lead voice, and a producer’s ear for pacing and dynamics. As MD, McKnight keeps the show groove‑first, tightly arranged, and built for big payoffs.

Selected credits: Parliament‑Funkadelic · George Clinton & P‑Funk All Stars · Herbie Hancock / The Headhunters · Red Hot Chili Peppers · Bernie Worrell.

Dennis Chambers — Drums

Micro‑timing precision, granite backbeat, and unmatched dynamic headroom. Chambers propels the band with stadium‑grade punch and studio‑grade control; drops turn into events and unison figures stay laser‑tight at any BPM.

Selected credits: Parliament‑Funkadelic (George Clinton) · John Scofield · John McLaughlin · Santana · Mike Stern · Niacin · CAB.

Bobby Sparks — Keyboards

A colorist and catalyst: Rhodes/Clavinet heritage meets modern synth architecture and talkbox/lead‑synth attitude. Sparks expands the harmonic field, sculpts transitions, and delivers the kind of spotlight moments audiences remember.

Selected credits: Snarky Puppy · Prince · Marcus Miller · Kirk Franklin · Lalah Hathaway.

Gary Grainger — Bass

The low‑end anchor and architect: authoritative tone, immaculate intonation, and a DC/Baltimore pocket culture that fuses funk, R&B, and jazz. Natural melodist in counterlines, rock‑solid bandleader instincts, and total reliability on any stage.

Selected credits: John Scofield · Pockets (Earth, Wind & Fire protégé band) · Acoustic Alchemy · Bill Evans (sax) · Luther Ingram · PRS Band · Grainger (Phase I–III).

Notes for Buyers

  • Set formats: 60 / 75 / 90 minutes · compact changeover · FOH‑ready mix guidelines available.

  • Assets: portrait on‑black / color‑gel imagery, short member‑ID bumpers, highlight drops/closers.

  • Advancing: full tech riders and stage plot on request.

27
May, 2025
Bobby Sparks

BOBBY SPARKS II | Fusion Jazz (USA)

BOBBY SPARKS II

AVAILABILITY FOR EUROPE
2025 | NOVEMBER TOUR CANCELLED

2026 | TBA

Bobby1 BOBBY SPARKS II | Fusion Jazz (USA)
Bobby1 BOBBY SPARKS II | Fusion Jazz (USA)
Bobby1
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Bobby Sparks II – Keys, Composer, Producer – US

A master of groove, texture, and genre fusion, Bobby Sparks II is one of the most explosive and versatile keyboardists of his generation. Known for his work with Snarky Puppy, Marcus Miller, Prince, Herbie Hancock, Kirk Franklin, Snoop Dogg, and St. Vincent, Sparks blends jazz, funk, gospel, soul, hip-hop, and cinematic sound design into a powerful and unmistakable musical voice.

His live project brings together a collective of high-caliber musicians, creating an electrifying stage experience. The music is dynamic, unpredictable, and deeply rooted in the traditions of Black American Music, while pushing boundaries with cutting-edge improvisation and production sensibility.

Bobby Sparks II’s performances have been described as orchestral and raw, mixing the lush textures of analog synths and organs with high-impact rhythm sections and searing solos. Whether it’s a small club or a major festival, the energy is magnetic and the musicality is second to none.

Live Line-Up

Bobby Sparks – Keys

Snarky Puppy, Prince, Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, Snoop Dogg, St. Vincent

Jay Mack – Bass

Erykah Badu, Kirk Franklin, Mononeon

Keith Anderson – Sax

Roy Hargrove, Marcus Miller, Kanye West, Erykah Badu

Cam – Guitar

Nile Rodgers, Musiq Soulchild

DeAnthony McGee – EWI

Snarky Puppy, Kirk Franklin

Adarian Roberts – Drums

Tye Tribbett, Kirk Franklin

Official website: https://bobbysparksmusic.com/

17
Apr, 2024
Wayne Krantz Power Trio ft. Evan Marien & Josh Dion

WAYNE KRANTZ TRIO ft. EVAN MARIEN & JOSH DION | Fusion Jazz (USA)

WAYNE KRANTZ SUGAR TRIO
ft. Evan Marien & Josh Dion

AVAILABLE IN EUROPE
2025 | MARCH

WayneKrantzPowerTrioftEvanMarienJoshDion WAYNE KRANTZ TRIO ft. EVAN MARIEN & JOSH DION | Fusion Jazz (USA)
WayneKrantzPowerTrioftEvanMarienJoshDion WAYNE KRANTZ TRIO ft. EVAN MARIEN & JOSH DION | Fusion Jazz (USA)
WayneKrantzPowerTrioftEvanMarienJoshDion
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Line up

Wayne Krantz | Guitar

Steely Dan, Michael Brecker, Donald Fagen, Billy Cobham, Chris Potter, David Binney, Carla Bley, Keith Carlock, Tim Lefebvre, Pino Palladino, Vinnie Colaiuta, John Patitucci, Tal Wilkenfeld, Anton Fig, Jeremy Stacey, Paul Stacey, Gabriela Anders, Kenny Wollesen, Nate Wood, Henry Hey, Owen Biddle

Josh Dion | Drums

John Scofield, Wayne Krantz, Bill Evans, Chuck Loeb, Esperanza Spalding, Lucius, Chris Thile

Evan Marien | Bass

Tigran Hamasyan, Tim Miller, Virgil Donati, Elliot Moss, Justin Brown, Allan Holdsworth, Dana Hawkins, Fredrik Thordendal, Plini, Aaron Marshall, J3PO, Cory Wong, Zac Zinger, Button Masher, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson

WAYNE KRANTZ

Wayne KrantzWayne Krantz was born in Corvallis, Oregon. He released his first album, Signals, in 1990, sporting an array of recognized jazz musicians such as Dennis Chambers, Don Alias, Anthony Jackson, and others.
In 1992, he formed a trio with bassist Lincoln Goines and drummer Zach Danziger and recorded two albums with them, Long To Be Loose (1993) and 2 Drink Minimum (1995), a live album, and began playing regularly at the 55 Bar, a jazz club in New York City. In 1996, Krantz released an acoustic album with Leni Stern, dubbed Separate Cages. After playing with Steely Dan for several years, Krantz formed a new trio in 1997 with Tim Lefebvre on bass and Keith Carlock on drums; on June 28, 2007, he played his final regular Thursday night gig at New York’s 55 Bar. As of October and November 2018, he is playing regularly at 55 Bar again with a rotating cast of sidemen.

Wayne Krantz’s first three solo albums were released on the jazz label Enja Records. His next three albums, 1999’s Greenwich Mean, 2003’s Your Basic Live, and 2007’s Your Basic Live ’06 were all released from Wayne’s private website. Like 2 Drink Minimum, these albums are excerpts of various sets at the 55 Bar. These albums also include more use of effects pedals, and are more unscripted and improvised than the previous three. He contributed to Donald Fagen’s release Morph the Cat, and toured with Fagen’s band in early 2006. He was featured on tenor saxophonist Chris Potter’s 2006 release, Underground.

Wayne Krantz signed with record label Abstract Logix to release his first studio record in over fifteen years. Krantz Carlock Lefebvre (2009) features the core trio of Krantz, Carlock on drums and Lefebvre on bass. In 2012, Krantz released Howie 61 (a reference to Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited), which includes performances by Keith Carlock, James Genus, John Patitucci, Charley Drayton, Tal Wilkenfeld, Vinnie Colaiuta, Anton Fig, Yasushi Miura, Jeremy Stacey, Paul Stacey, Pino Palladino, Gabriela Anders, Kenny Wollesen, Nate Wood, Henry Hey and Owen Biddle. In 2014, Krantz released “Good Piranha/Bad Piranha,” a live-in-the-studio album featuring his two dominant trio combinations at the time: Nate Wood/Keith Carlock and Tim Lefebvre/Nate Wood. The bands each recorded the same four cover songs with radically different improvisational results.

https://www.waynekrantz.com/

EVAN MARIEN

Evan MarienEvan Marien is an award-winning bassist, composer, producer, author, educator, and 3D artist, born and raised in the cornfields of Decatur, Illinois. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2009 and has lived in the NYC area since 2010.

Known for his collaborations with drummer Dana Hawkins, he has also performed in the bands of Tigran Hamasyan, Wayne Krantz, Tim Miller, Virgil Donati, Elliot Moss, Justin Brown’s NYEUSI, and was the last bassist to perform in guitar legend Allan Holdsworth’s band.

His latest release, ‘Elysian’ features Dana Hawkins, Tigran Hamasyan, Fredrik Thordendal, Plini, Intervals, J3PO, Tim Miller, Cory Wong, Zac Zinger, Button Masher, and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.

You can hear his bass playing on numerous albums such as Tigran Hamasyan’s “The Call Within,” Virgil Donati’s “In This Life,” and “Ruination”, and Steve Hunt’s “Connections”.

His playing can also be heard on the Mitski song ‘Nobody,’ for which he received a gold record for participating on the album ‘Be The Cowboy,’ as well as on the songs ‘Should’ve Been Me’ and ‘That’s Our Lamp’ from her most recent album, ‘Laurel Hell’.

In partnership with MadeMusicStudio, Evan has composed music for renowned brands such as AT&T, Lexus, and NPR. Most recently, he won a 2022 CLIO award for composing the sonic logo and anthem for Turner Classic Movies (TCM).

As an author, he has written numerous books about his distinctive Hexatonic method for the bass guitar, as well as created video courses describing his specialized right hand technique. His first book, ‘Transcriptions Vol. 1,’ was an Amazon Best Seller in its first week of release.

Evan is also a part-time faculty member at The New School in New York City, where he specializes in providing private lessons to the next generation of contemporary musicians.

Evan Marien is a MarkBass artist!

Evan Marien

https://www.evanmarien.com/

JOSH DION

Josh DionJosh Dion was born at the tail end of the disco funk era, when popular radio bore the sounds of Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, and ‘four on the floor’ drum beats! Raised in Storrs, CT, Josh started playing his father’s drums before he even started kindergarten. He grew up playing drums to the simple and beat driven sounds of Nick Mason and Ringo Starr. He also lived across the hall from his older brother, who not only followed the Grateful Dead, but introduced him to Cream at the tender age of seven. Rightfully so, Cream, Zeppelin and the Stones led Dion to Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson and beyond.

A prodigious talent, Josh started playing professionally at age eight and was invited to shed with the UConn Jazz Studies program by the time he was twelve. While he was impressing people with his percussion skills, he was playing piano and singing in his local church, developing talents which would eventually help him stand out even among the world class drummers in whose company he has now found himself.

After a stint in the music program at New Jersey’s William Paterson University, he has made New York City his home. Josh’s college days were greeted by an immersion in the Jam band scene with NYC funk band ulu, who toured the Eastern half of the US. Josh was soon noticed by jazz guitarist Chuck Loeb, who offered Josh an opportunity to be seen and heard by a whole new level of the music audience. From that platform, he has gone on to work with some of the major brand names of the music world: Candy Dulfer, Spyro Gyra, Will Lee, Pat Martino, Jeff Kashiwa, Jason Miles, Anthony Jackson, Edgar Winter, Randy Brecker, Bob James, Eric Marienthal, Til Bronner, Jim Beard, Ivan Lins and on and on.

Meanwhile, Josh Dion has been developing his solo career with the CD releases of the Josh Dion Band (www.joshdionband.net), their debut “Give Love” and the imminent “Josh Dion Band Live.” The Josh Dion Band has another studio release planned for early 2007.

“Give Love” was greeted with effusive praise by the UK’s Drummer magazine, who described it as “Brian Wilson meets Hall and Oates, with possibly Bruce Springsteen looking in and drums that sound like they were recorded at Muscle Shoals Studios. This is a collection of epic songs that build and move as songs used to in the old days when songwriters were exactly that and labels like Motown and Stax were market leaders…Great voice, great drums and great, great tunes…Dion is a young player that is going to create a very big impression indeed. Not only can this fella lay down a super funky beat, but he sings with a soulful voice that totally melts your mind…You are going to be hearing more from this extremely talented young musician…If there is any justice in this world, Dion will be huge.” YEAH!

Josh also enjoys nature-walking, driving, and attending history lectures.

GEAR LIST
Absolute Maple Nouveau
ABD-1518JF 18″x14″
ATT-1512J 12″x8″
AFT-1516 16″x16″
ASD-0545 14″x5.5″
MNS-1470EJ Elvin Jones Signature

https://www.yamaha.com/artists/joshdion.html

BOOKING ENQUIRY

What’s going on: https://www.coralriff.biz/events/

13
Jan, 2024
Daraa Tribes 2024

DARAA TRIBES | Tribal Fusion & Saharan Blues (MA)

DARAA TRIBES Tribal Fusion & Saharan Blues (MA)

DaraaTribes2024title DARAA TRIBES | Tribal Fusion & Saharan Blues (MA)
DaraaTribes2024title DARAA TRIBES | Tribal Fusion & Saharan Blues (MA)
DaraaTribes2024title
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Line-up

Rachid Berazougui | Electric guitar, vocals
Playing For Change (Live Outside); international festival circuits (EU/UK/NA)

Mustapha Aqermim | Rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Collective songwriting; linguistic/organizational bridge in international collaborations

Abdelkebir Saadi | Bass, backing vocals
Grounding rhythm section between Regaga and desert‑blues groove; full‑band live set

Abdelhafid “Hafid” Ami | Percussion (cajón/krakebs), backing vocals
Polyrhythms and ritual patterns (Lkaaba) integrated into an electric set

Balkhir Razgui | Vocals, percussion (founder, in memoriam)
Founding voice of the project (2014–2024)

Style

Tribal Fusion and Saharan Blues from the palm groves of Tagounite: desert‑guitar riffs, trance percussion and call‑and‑response that turn the stage into a shared rite.

Profile

Daraa Tribes formed in 2014 in Tagounite, an oasis town in Morocco’s Draa Valley: a group of friends from different tribes translating their home’s coexistence into sound. Their “blues of the desert” intertwines Gnawa, Sahraoui, Amazigh and Regaga idioms into a contemporary language—dry, hypnotic electric guitars, a pulsing bass, polyrhythmic percussion and multilingual chorus lines (Darija, Tamazight, Hassani). On stage the band builds by accumulation: circular grooves, minimal variation and tight interplay that draws the audience into a collective dance. After consolidating an international trajectory across festivals and clubs, Daraa Tribes have just wrapped up a UK mini‑tour (Bristol–London–Manchester), reaffirming the project’s high‑intensity live dimension.

Details 

• Rachid Berazougui writes and sings part of the repertoire with a desert‑tone electric guitar that leads the set’s hypnosis. (“Immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of sound that is the heartbeat of Daraa Tribes.” Playing For Change, 2025-04-01)

• Mustapha Aqermim is a rhythmic and narrative engine: the band’s identity grew “in a circle,” without hierarchy, from sharing traditions. (“We didn’t plan to start a band. We just started playing together…” Matt Ross, Arab News, 2020-08-16)

• UK mini‑tour (just concluded): Jam Jar (Bristol, 2026-01-03), Hootananny (Brixton, 2026-01-07), Band on the Wall (Manchester, 2026-01-11).

• Sound imprint: desert‑guitar groove with a Gnawa edge—a writing approach that stays danceable even at its most ritual. (“…incorporate their Moroccan roots into a lilting groove… the edge of the North African Gnawa sounds.” Tony Benjamin, Bristol24/7, 2026-01-02)

Discography

  • Alwan (EP, 2017)

  • Igharman (LP, 2018)

  • Zamane (EP, 2019)

  • Lakbayl (single, 2021)

  • Sahara (single, 2022)

  • Torat Vol. 1 (EP, 2024)

Quotes 

“…incorporate their Moroccan roots into a lilting groove… the edge of the North African Gnawa sounds.”

Tony Benjamin, Bristol 24/7, 2026-01-02) — https://www.bristol247.com/culture/music/bristols-month-in-world-music-january-2026/

“We are delighted to welcome back Daraa Tribes as the celebratory closing act of our first digital festival.”

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival, 2020-07-18) — https://www.arabartsfestival.com/events/daraa-tribes/

“The track… fusing ancient rhythms with contemporary flair… offering listeners a sonic journey.”

Last Day Deaf, 2024-02-02 — https://lastdaydeaf.com/listening-now-daraa-tribes-bshara/

Reviews / articles / profiles

Profiles & bio

UK tour (just concluded)

Live reviews

MUSIC REVIEWS

Listening Now : Daraa Tribes – Bshara | 2024-02-02
https://lastdaydeaf.com/listening-now-daraa-tribes-bshara/

Torat Vol. 1, au fil du nouvel EP des Daraa Tribes | 2024-01-29
https://djolo.net/torat-vol-1-au-fil-nouvel-ep-daraa-tribes/

BSHARA REVIEW: The Vitality of North African Pastoral Life | 2024-01-25
https://music.coralriff.biz/bshara-vitality-north-african-pastoral-life/

Daraa Tribes Evoke the Vitality of North African Pastoral Life in the Traditional and Saharan Blues Fusion of “Bshara” | 2024-01-24
https://queencitysoundsandart.wordpress.com/2024/01/24/daraa-tribes-evoke-the-vitality-of-north-african-pastoral-life-in-the-traditional-and-saharan-blues-fusion-of-bshara/

Daily Discovery: Daraa Tribes – Bshara | 2024-01-17
https://rhythmpassport.com/daily-discovery-daraa-tribes-bshara/

Daily Discovery: Daraa Tribes – Sahara (Official Video) | 2022-10-18
https://rhythmpassport.com/daily-discovery-daraa-tribes-sahara-official-video/

Joli moment de convivialité dans le Sahara avec la Daraa Tribes | 2022-10-10
https://djolo.net/joli-moment-convivialite-dans-sahara-avec-daraa-tribes/

LAKBAYL | BLOGS’ REVIEWS | 2021-10-17
https://music.coralriff.biz/lakbayl-blog-reviews-single-release/

Toutes les Daraa Tribes se réunissent sur Lakbayl | 2021-10-08
https://djolo.net/toutes-les-daraa-tribes-se-reunissent-sur-lakbayl/

All the Daraa Tribes meet on Lakbayl | REVIEW ON DJOLO | 2021-10-08
https://music.coralriff.biz/all-daraa-tribes-meet-lakbayl-review-on-djolo/

Globalism //4 | 2021-10-04
https://lastdaydeaf.com/globalism-4/

UltraRadar. Nueva música alternativa mundial – Octubre 2021 | 2021-10-01
https://planarteria.com/2021/10/ultraradar-nueva-musica-alternativa-mundial-octubre-2021/

GREAT NEWS: TORAT VOL. 1 IS OUT!

Torat Vol. 1
WEBSITE

https://www.daraatribes.com/

WHAT’S GOING ON

https://www.coralriff.biz/events/

BOOKING REQUEST