Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Writeup about our performance in the Tribune

I contacted the David Burger, the Trib's Entertainment Reporter, and he made a writeup about our gig tomorrow: http://blogs.sltrib.com/burger/index.php?p=8355&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

NYE jazz 8pm-12 midnight

Friday, December 18, 2009

Performance at Zanzibar next week

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Downtempo/Electronica music

I've been doing some gigs with djs, and by myself, and now I'm going to try out performing my downtempo/electronica compositions with a live drummer. Listen to what it sounds like:


http://robbennion.com/mp3s/downtempo/painfuldemo.mp3
http://robbennion.com/mp3s/downtempo/aganjudemo.mp3
http://robbennion.com/mp3s/downtempo/sneakydemo.mp3
http://robbennion.com/mp3s/downtempo/simplesmentedemo.mp3
http://robbennion.com/mp3s/downtempo/lamentodemo.mp3
http://robbennion.com/mp3s/downtempo/sadnessdemo.mp3

I really enjoy playing different musical styles. Over the years I have performed in reggae, hip-hop, blues, ska, rock, pop, latin, brazilian, concert, and of course jazz bands. The downtempo/electronic music is a very fun and different musical style, yet very accessible for audiences.

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Wednesday, December 2, 2009

DJ + SAX + FLUTE = GREAT MUSIC

A few weeks ago I performed a set with a dj down at the Hotel/club elevate for a VIP red-carpet party on a Saturday night. It was a lot of fun and people were very receptive to the sax and flute mixed with downtempo, electronica, and trip-hop.
Since then I've been composing some downtempo songs of my own, and have aquired equipment to be able to dj while performing on the sax and flute. It's a lot of fun for me and a way to create an accessible style of music while maintaining the improvisational quality of a live musician.
Adding a live drummer, the energy goes up even more. I run the "turntables" (digital turntables that is) while performing on the flute or sax with my effects pedals including delays, harmonization, octave dropper, etc; while the drummer keeps the beat going.
Jazz music as a genre has always been about innovation and incorporating new elements. If anyone has heard any of the Verve Remixes, that is the type of sound we are going for. The mix of the organic acoustic instruments (sax, flute, live drums) with the elecronic and pre-recorded sounds sets a very cool ambiance.

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