First of all some 'heavy' news; my good friend and fellow musician Milton Mermikides was diagnosed with Leukemia a while ago. As you all know this is a very serious condition and needs some severe treatments. However, Milton is an amazing guy and has set-up a website about his fight with cancer which is not only informative but also hugely humerous! The website is very inspiring and Milton's clarity about life is astonishing. Check out his site and leave him a message in the guest book even if you don't know him personally. Messages from all over the world are what helps him to propell himself into a full recovery.
Click on the picture to get to his miltcentral website.
On a completly different and by far not as important note, I'm pleased to announce that my new album has been picked up by the Dutch label Schoots Records. One of my label mates is Martin Verdonk, the percussionist of Incognito. Marco Schoots, who also publishes the Dutch Bass magazine, is a great guy who also organizes the European Bass Day.
I attended the European Bass Day as a guest at the end of November in Viersen, Germany, just at the border of Holland. I had a great day meeting and listening to many fantastic European bassists. I'm looking forward to performing there with my 5-piece Funkestra next year.
The December issue of the UK Bassguitar magazine wrote a nice review of my new album. Click here to read it.
Tracks from the new album are also featured on the UK Rhythm magazine and the US Bassics magazine. Translation of reviews from the German Bassprofessor and the Dutch Bass magazine will be coming shortly.
The Groove School 2004 organized by the ACM and the bassguitar magazine was a great success. We had Janek Gwizdala, Nick Fyffe, Julian Crampton and Gary Willis plus a bass panel on offer and I had a great day, co-hosting with Adrian Ashton from the Bassguitar magazine. One of my favorite moments of the day was when Janek supported Nick with his beatbox skills. Impromptu moments like these are priceless!
Please feel free to keep on checking the transcriptions page (click here or the orange banner on the home page) which features a great variety of Funk tracks.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL!
|
|
Redtenbacher's Funkestra - 'Falling from Insanity' is the name of Stefan's second solo album and yes! - it is another Jazz Funk album featuring 30 musicians, including Fred Wesley, legendary funk trombonist and MD of the James Brown band; Steely Dan guitarist Elliott Randall; virtuoso saxophonist Gilad Atzmon; Steve Hamilton, pianist with Bill Bruford and Marco Minnemann; the horn section from the Brand New Heavies and Incognito; Jef van Veen (Outcast) on percussion, as well as some of the excellent musicians who played on Stefan's first Funkestra album in the US.
The music is an ecclectic, edgy mix of different styles, dominated by Funk & Jazz, and driven by big, gutsy bass lines and has received the thumbs up from star bassists Will Lee, Chuck Rainey, Mark Egan and Michael Manring.
The album was mixed by Rupert Christie, assistant of the late film composer Michael Kamen, and mastered by Greg Vaughn from in New York. Fred Sofiyana from the cutting edge multimedia company Evostruct in Paris has created the fantastic artwork for the album.
|
CLICK HERE to read the Bass guitar magazine's review of the first album.
|
|
|
Stefan is currently working on re-arrangements of tracks from his first two records as well as material from the new album and re-arrangements of tunes of his favourite Funk-artists (Prince, Meters, etc.).
The line-up is going to be a five piece, a 'Funkestra lite' featuring tenor sax, guitar, keys, bass and drums and at times augmented by a vocalist.
At the same time Stefan is working on his third album with the working title 'Redtenbacher's Hausmusik'. This is going to be a fun, upbeat and danceable album which will combine elements of Deep House/Electronica with Stefan's favorite Jazz Funk elements like horns and great rhythm guitars, not to mention, big throbbing bass lines.
Tunes from Stefan's first album RB FUNKESTRA - 'Searching for the Stone of Funk' were played on BBC Radio 2 last August in the series 'New Jazz Standards' presented by platinum arranger and producer Richard Niles.
Stefan's first Jazz Funk album, Redtenbacher's Funkestra - 'Boozing Wizards', along with a folder of the bass transciptions, can be ordered via this website. Please check the contacts page.
CLICK HERE for a three minute quick time movie to see Fred Wesley and Stefan in the studio to record 'Bom le Bom' (1MB) for 'Falling from Insanity'.
|
|
