REUNION 07
Chuck Loeb (Guitar)
Eric Marienthal (Sax)
Jim Beard (Keyboards)
Till Brönner (Trumpet)
Dennis Chambers (Drums)
Tim Lefebvre (Bass)
Special guest: Michael Franks
The "Festival Internacional Canarias Jazz & Más Heineken", on completing 15 years on their last edition of the festival, celebrated this with a novel production where some of the most remarkable artists that have featured in past editions on the Canary Islands got together, forming part of their very own and original band. The project, led by North American guitarrist Chuck Loeb, who is widely known by the Canarian public; and given the extremely pleasant impression that the band made on the festival, returns for this year's edition, with the same spirit & virtuosity of their former members, and with added ones, such as drummer Dennis Chambers and bassist Tim Lefevbre, with special guest singer Michael Franks.
CHUCK LOEB - Guitar
More than just a jazz guitarrist, Chuck Loeb is a fully accomplished musician. In a career that has spread over four decades, he has shown to be a versatile composer and an arranger & producer of highly-rated styles & musical contexts, with close to 200 published songs. In the year 1979 he came to Spain for the first time as part of saxophonist Stan Getz's band. A few years later, in 1985, he formed part of the well-known group Steps Ahead, with Michael Brecker, Michael Manieri, Peter Erskine & Victor Bailey. Since then he has put together an acknowledged collection of discs & productions for more than thirty artists from all over the world. Famous jazz guitarrist Jim Hall has said that Chuck Loeb's extraordinary talent has allowed him to explore each and every one of a guitarrist's facets: solo, in rhythmic section, Broadway musicals, jazz, classical & rock.
ERIC MARIENTHAL - Saxophone
Having trained at the prestigious Berklee College of Music learning with the legendary teacher Joe Viola, where he achieved the highest of qualifications and was awarded the prize for most distinguished student, Eric Marienthal managed to launch into his profession by joining Chick Corea's Elektric Band, with whom he cut six discs. The experience proved so fruitful that Chick himself inspired him to compile the book "Comprehensive Jazz Studios & Exercises", the first of many that he wrote concerning music. With the recording label "GRP" he cut more than fifty discs, featuring Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin, Dave Weckl, John Patittuci, The Rippingtons, among others. He also recorded a tribute to Cannonball Adderley who had been his great inspiration. In the year 1997 he was voted among the top three jazz alto saxophonists by the magazine Jazziz, together with Phil Woods & David Sanborn.
JIM BEARD - Keyboard
He is considered to be one of the greatest producers of current jazz, whose philosophy as such, is to draw out the personality & own ideas of the musicians with whom he works. But as well as this, he is an established musician, composer & arranger who, since 1986, has played and recorded all over the world alongside some of the greats: Bill Evans, Randy & Michael Brecker, Mike Stern, Victor Bailey, Bob Berg, Eliane Eli ...... He participated in John McLaughlin's world tour in 1986, and that of Wayne Shorter's during 1986 & 1987, and Pat Metheny & John Scofield in 1992; composing a variety of themes for them. A number of his recordings have been nominated for the Grammy Awards.
TILL BRÖNNER - Trumpeter
Trumpeter and crooner Till Brönner is the most famous German jazz musician of his generation, due to bringing up to date the sensitivity of bebop with elements of contemporary R&B and hip hop that he carried out. He was born in Virsen, and discovered the music of Charlie Parker when he was thirteen years old, and later ended up studying at the "Music Academy of Cologne". In a short time he made his debut as a professional with pianist Horst Jankowski's Orchestra, where he played for a considerable time. In the year 1993, he cut his first disc titled "Generations of Jazz", a tribute to bebop with collaborations by some famous musicians, among them bassist Ray Brown and drummer Jeff Hamilton. In 1996 he recorded "Chatting with Chet", a special tribute to Chet Baker and his legacy of American cool jazz. Ever since the year 2002 and his disc "Blues eyed" with DJ Samon Kawamura and soul vocalist Mark Murphy, he embraced the new language of electronics by updating the sound of the trumpet in the post-modern era.
DENNIS CHAMBERS - Drums
Dennis Chambers began playing the drums at the age of four, and at six he was playing in night clubs, where he received all his musical apprenticeship. On finishing secondary school at the age of eighteen, he joined the group "Parliament and Funkadelic", where he remained till 1985, after which he joined the band "Special EFX". Two years later, he played with the bands of David Sanborn and John Scofield till 1989, previously having joined the Mike Stern/Bob Berg Band. In addition to these projects Dennis has played with a number of jazz greats and participated in recordings with Bill Evans, George Duke, The Brecker Brothers Band, Steely Dan, John McLaughlin, John Scofield, Herbie Hancock & Santana, among others. He also cut his own disc titled "Getting Even" on the Pioneer Records label and produced a didactic video with DCI. Dennis is well known among fellow drummers for his impressive technique and speed.
TIM LEFEBVRE - Bass
He is one of the most skillful bassists on the New York scene, known because of his frequent appearances on television, especially the "Carolina Rhea Show", of which he had been music director for a number of months. A habitual figure in the bands of Chuck Loeb & Bill Evans, he has participated in recordings with trumpeter Chris Botti and saxophonist David Binney, as well as accompanying vocalist Celia Chávez. Lefebvre is also an experimental bassist as he has shown in his works with "Bedrock", that distinctive pianist Uri Caine's trio with drummer Zach Danziger and guitarist Wayne Krantz.
MICHAEL FRANKS - Vocals
Michael Franks (California, 1944), began as a folk-rock singer, accompanying himself on guitar, before he became one of the most important jazz vocalists and creator of songs, which have been performed by artists as diverse as Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Manhattan Transfer and The Carpenters. He made his debut on the recording scene in the year 1973 with an eponymous disc later released as "Previously Unavailable", which resulted in him signing up with Warner. Some thirty-three years and sixteen discs later, Franks has recently released "Rendezvous in Rio", a tribute to the music, culture y vibrations of Brasil, the country which since very early on had been present in his works. In all this time he has won the hearts of a whole host of admirers internationally with his unique artistic style, putting together songs with sensual lyrics and of jazz, soul & pop musical flavours.
