About Stefan

Stefan’s Q&A

So you clicked on ‘About Stefan’. That’s nice. To make this into a better read for you I thought I would run through some questions that are typically asked at a dinner party with none musician friends…remarkably they always follow a similar pattern of friendly interrogation.

So…what do you do, Stefan?

…erm…I’m a musician…

What do you play?

…my main instrument is bass but I also play the guitar and some keys…

Is it a ‘big bass’, i.e. the acoustic bass?

…no, I play only the electric bass, mostly 4 string to be precise.

Did you study music?

Yes, I studied from 1988 to 1993 at the Jazz department of the Vienna Music Conservatory in Austria. From 1994 to 1996 I studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts – the biggest Music College in the world and I loved it! Last year I finished my studies to receive a Masters Degree in Contemporary Music Performance validated by Chichester University and taught at the ACM in Guilford.

How long have you been in England?

Since 1996, I came to London right after I graduated from Berklee College of Music.

Are you in a band (an orchestra)?

First and foremost I run my own band, the Redtenbacher’s Funkestra (formerly the Blue Redtenbacher’s Funkestra). We are a Jazz Funk band and I write all the music and arrangements and run the band. We are currently working on our fifth record called ‘The Cooker’ which will come out this year.

But I also play for other bands and do some session work for various artists (see ‘short bio #1’ below).

Have you played with anyone famous?

[my least favorite question because it might as well be ‘are you any good, i.e. good enough to have played with anyone famous:-)]

I have certainly performed and recorded with many amazing musicians so far…some of them are famous (to the wider public), some of them are famous in a niche market (like Funk or Jazz) and some of them nobody ever heard of as they are not in the public eye… this doesn’t matter to me…great music and musicianship matters to me…I think the guys in my band should all be famous because they are killing! If you crave more detail see ‘short bio #1’ below.

Do you teach?

I taught bass at the Musician’s Institute from 1996 to 1998. In 1998 I became the head of the bass department at the Academy of Contemporary Music and held this position until 2010. From 2008 to 2010 I also held the job of ‘head of performance degree program’.

I have also taught privately for many years, pretty much since I started in 1984, however, I have not taught privately since about 2004 as I felt that my commitments at the ACM kept my educational hunger satisfied. Maybe, sometime in the future I should pick up a few selected students again.

Are you qualified to teach?

First and foremost I think experience is the best teacher. Experience in combination with relevant strategies to communicate this to younger players. On a more technical level, I do have a PGCE in Contemporary Music Education from the Institute of Education in London where I graduated in 2008.

Do you write about music?

I feel very fortunate that over the last 13 years I was able to write countless teaching modules for various ACM programs. This included bass specific modules as well as general music knowledge topics such as arranging [my pet love], ear training and live performance.

In the late 90s I also wrote a monthly rock column for ‘bassist’, the British Bass Guitar Magazine. Last year year I started my own column called ‘Funkyologies’ for the British Bass Guitar Magazine. This column was sponsored by the Bootsy Collins Funk University and I write about my thoughts on all things funky the way I see it.

I also write for an online bass magazine called ibass and my column is called ‘In session’.

Over the years I have transcribed hundreds and hundreds of bass lines and tunes (with varying degrees of accuracy…I hope they are getting better) and I offer some of the bass transcriptions for free on this site because I believe in sharing great bass lines and ideas.

Do you write music?

Oh yes, I’ve dabbled with writing music ever since I started to play bass, on the 14th of August 1984. I started to write for horns around 1988 when I played in and R’n’B band called The Booze Family, fronted by my late and great friend Bernie Auer. I really got into arranging for rhythm section and horns in Boston and have written for various size ensembles since. Recently arrangers like Richard Niles and Peter Tomasso have helped me to refine my horn arranging skills. You can here my latest findings on ‘The Cooker’, scheduled for release later this year.

Do you write songs?

No, I predominantly write instrumental music, i.e. without vocals and lyrics…I guess I’m just wired that way…although I love to listen to good songs sung by Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Earth, Wind and Fire or James Taylor just to mention a very few.

What are your plans for the next few years?

First of all I would like to finish our fifth album ‘The Cooker’ this year. I think this album will represent my most mature writing and arranging to date. All the musicians are truly amazing on it!

Sometime after this I hope to release ‘Dr. Hypenstein’ a Funkestra album that I co-wrote with my longstanding writing partner Thomas Foyer. This one has some killer hooks and slammin’ bass lines thanks to Thomas’ formidable production skills.

2013 will be the year of ‘Precious Time’, the seventh Funkestra album. Although this seems a long way off, in my experience time is always accelerating so I already have four out of 10 tunes written for this record. It will be based on the trusty four piece Funkestra rhythm section and a three piece horn section (trp, tenor/alto and trombone).

Short bio #1

Stefan Redtenbacher – bassist, composer, arranger, bandleader

First and foremost Stefan is a groove bassist with a deep seated love for Jazz, Soul and Funk. To satisfy his vision of this music he has, over the past 25 years, become a formidable composer, arranger and bandleader with a fierce creative output and an educational tinge.

He is an alumni of the Vienna Conservatory and Berklee College of Music.

His recording and performing credits include: Sam Brown, Steve Winwood, Jack Bruce, Kiki Dee, Amy Winehouse, Tony Hatch, Coronation Street, Sandie Shaw, Mica Paris, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Louise Marshall, Herb Alpert, Limahl, Sandra Burke, Russell Watson, Pete and Joe Brown, Adam Ant, Talc, Ollie Murs and Danyl Johnson amongst others.

Stefan’s band, the Redtenbacher’s Funkestra have recorded with funk legends like Fred Wesley, ‘Doc’ Kupka, Lee Thornburg and Lenny Pickett from Tower of Power, Eric Krazno from Soulive as well as the horn sections from Prince, Incognito and The Brand New Heavies.

Stefan is currently working on his fifth album ‘The Cooker’ to be released at the end of 2011 whilst offering his view on the state of funk in his monthly ‘Funkyologies’ column in the UK Bassguitar Magazine.

Short bio #2

Stefan Redtenbacher – educator

Whilst establishing himself as a prominent performer in the UK music scene since 1996 and following a teaching position at the Musicians Institute, London (a former branch of the renown Musicians Institute, Los Angeles), Stefan was hired as the head of the bass school at the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM), world leader in music industry education in 1998. In 2007 he accepted the position of performance degree program leader. Recently Stefan helped to conceptualize, develop and set up a Masters in Contemporary Music Performance program validated by Chichester University for which he was earmarked to become program leader.

However, in 2010 Stefan resigned from all his senior management positions to focus on his freelance music career and to set up a company to develop cool software and technology for musicians.

Currently he is also a lecturer for the ACM BA and MA program and author of ACM course notes, for which he has provided music education content since 1998.

Stefan leads his own band, the RB Funkestra, performing on a regular basis and continues to produce records featuring international artists to stay in touch with musicians, students and the music making community worldwide.