New York Ska Jazz Ensemble Biography
The New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble is exactly what its name suggests: a group of New York ska musicians dedicated to exploring the links between ska and jazz. The membership is all culled from top New York ska acts, making it something of a supergroup: leaders "Rocksteady" Freddie Reiter (saxophone, vocals) and Rick Faulkner (trombone, vocals) hail from the Toasters, as does drummer/lead vocalist Jonathan McCain, guitarist Devon James comes from the legendary Skatalites, and bassist Victor Rice and keyboardist Cary Brown play full-time with the Scofflaws. The group released its self-titled debut in 1995 to excellent reviews, and reconvened in 1997 to record the follow-up, Low Blow. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
Popular Biographies:
True west Biography: Out of the same mold as L.A.'s Paisley Underground bands, True West didn't fit because they were from Davis, CA (operating out of the nearby nexus for guitar bands, San Francisco) and a little darker...
Cephalic carnage Biography: This crazy concoction of truly experimental grindcore, death metal, and jazz came together in Denver, CO, in 1992. Founding members Lenzig (vocals) and Zak (guitar) put together a demo entitled...
Celtic frost Biography: Celtic Frost's impact on the evolution of European heavy metal cannot be overstated. Along with power metal kings Helloween (and to a lesser degree, the sometimes cartoonish Mercyful Fate), Frost's...
Olive Biography: The epitomy of the quieter, coffee-table side of singer/songwriter electronica and trip-hop, Olive was formed by producers Tim Kellett and Robin Taylor-Firth (former members of, respectively, Simply...
Dj krush Biography: Japanese turntablist and producer DJ Krush is one of the few island-nation throw-ups to be embraced by the global hip-hop world. Releasing material through Sony in Japan, Mo'Wax and Virgin in the...
Hypocrisy Biography: The Swedish death metal band Hypocrisy was formed by Peter Tägtgren in 1990 upon his return to Sweden from Florida, where he had been inspired by that state's flourishing death metal scene...
Iron maiden Biography: Known for such powerful hits as "Two Minutes to Midnight" and "The Trooper," Iron Maiden was and is one of the most influential bands of the heavy metal genre. The often-imitated band existed for...
Sunscreem Biography: One of the first rave-pop groups with live-performance abilities as well, Sunscreem formed around Paul Carnell and Lucia Holm (both on keyboards and vocals) with a handful of contributors including...