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...an ethnic-fusion vibe |
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The Band Bobb Fantauzzo started playing the Native American flute in 1998. While attending a workshop the following year, he was encouraged by R. Carlos Nakai to find his personal voice on the instrument. In doing so, he developed a personal sound and style that blends the soul of the Native American flute with the essence of jazz. His first CD, Sirocco – Winds of Passion, was released in 2003 and subsequently licensed for play on the Discovery Channel. Aaron Kerr is a classically trained cellist and has a degree in music composition. He received a McKnight Composer Fellowship in 2006 for music from his solo recording, Arco 71. A track from his latest solo release was featured on National Public Radio's Science Friday website. Fantauzzo and Kerr heard each other for the first time while recording on a mutual friend’s project. They soon discovered that the voices of their instruments complimented each other as well as their personal styles did. They began performing together as a duo in 2006 and released JazZen's first CD, Explorations, in 2008. As a young child, Derrin Pinto was hooked on jazz drumming from the moment he saw the great Albert “Tootie” Heath play live. Through high school he studied with an L.A. studio drummer and played with different groups in Southern California during college. After an extended hiatus from music due to living abroad, attending graduate school and life in general, Pinto returned to drumming after settling in the Twin Cities. He became a member of JazZen in 2010.
The Music What makes JazZen's music unique is the highly unusual instrumentation of Native American and Chinese flutes, dancing over the foundation created by the electric cello and the traditional drum set. This distinct combination of instruments blends well together, and the end result is a group sound that reflects the keen musical sensibility of each member. This is evidenced on JazZen’s first CD as a trio, Bounce off the Moon, which was released in March, 2011. Creating a sound that is simultaneously primitive and contemporary, JazZen performs a combination of jazz standards (including tunes by Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Joe Zawinul, Mongo Santamaria, and others), original compositions (some of which include spoken-word lyrics inspired by the beat generation), and last but not least, spontaneous improvisations that have never been played before and will never be played again.
"JazZen's
new CD, Bounce Off the Moon, shows their versatility as musicians
and their respect for jazz greats including Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter,
and John Coltrane." "If
you're interested in the Miles Davis Quintet (the Shorter/Hancock/Carter/Williams
group he recorded with in the middle 60s) you're going to be impressed
by the relationship Aaron and Derrin have as a rhythm section and
with the range Bobb can achieve with instruments we often [associate
with] new age music." "[JazZen's music is] the integration of an almost prayerful melodicism suggestive of Charles Lloyd with a more forward-thrusting, free-wheeling improvisational approach that echoes Coltrane, Davis, Shorter, and Coleman." - Andrea Canter, Jazz Police
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NEW
YORK ATTITUDE
Originally
from New York, Bobb
Fantauzzo is
one of the country’s first innovators to take the Native
American flute “out of the canyon and into the club”.
SOUTHERN
SOUL After
studying music in New Orleans, McKnight Fellow and cross-over
cellist Aaron
Kerr opts
for a 5-string electric cello to express his lifelong passion for
jazz.
WEST
COAST COOL Drummer
Derrin
Pinto studied
and performed in California before relocating to the Midwest
where he continues his groove-inspired set playing.