SUNDAR SHOR:
Carl Clements: sax & bansuri
Russ Spiegel: guitars
Gary Wang: bass
Narendra Budhakar: tabla
Sunny Jain: drums www.myspace.com/sundarshor
THE RUSS SPIEGEL SEXTET:
David Smith: trumpet;
Arun Luthra: saxes;
Nick Mancini: vibes;
Russ Spiegel: guitars;
Gary Wang: bass;
Anthony Pinciotti: drums
Recorded at The Studio, Soho
Engineer: Jon Rosenberg
Mastering by Stefan Noltemeyer: www.Mastering-Online.com
THE RUSS SPIEGEL BIG BAND (Recording):
RUSS SPIEGEL: guitar/conductor/arranger/composer;
REEDS: Arun Luthra, Craig Yaremko, Tim Armacost, Dan Pratt, Frank Basile;
TRUMPETS: Colin Brigstocke, Sharif Kales, David Smith, Charles Porter, James Smith;
TROMBONES: Mike Boscarino, John Yao, Jack Davis, Darrell Hendricks;
RHYTHM: Rachel Eckroth (p), Yoshi Waki (b), Owen Howard (dr), Todd Isler, Jack Davis (perc);
SPECIAL GUEST: VOCALIST MICHAEL CAMACHO
Recorded at Systems Two, Brooklyn
Engineer: Jon Rosenberg
Mastering by Stefan Noltemeyer: www.Mastering-Online.com
Russ Spiegel was born in Los Angeles, and raised in Santa Monica, California. While in high school he moved with his family to Germany and traversed back and forth between there and the US for a number of years. While in Europe, he established himself as an award-winning, in-demand musician, touring the Continent with various ensembles, performing at well-known Jazz festivals, and appearing on numerous television and radio shows.
In 2001, Russ returned to the US, settling in the mecca of New York and quickly found himself busy on the music scene. Alongside performing - from solo guitar to running his ensemble The Russ Spiegel Big Band (a 17-piece jazz orchestra featuring Russ's compositions and arrangements) – Russ is a commissioned composer who has released several CDs, written music for film, TV, and musicals, toured Europe and Asia, taught college-level courses, run workshops & seminars, given private instruction, and has copied music for Broadway shows and major-label recordings, as well as having appeared in a number of feature movies as both a musician and actor. Russ has also worked the last four years as the on-set music instructor for the hit Nickelodeon TV show, “The Naked Brothers Band.”
Russ received his Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Michigan, majoring in Philosophy, studied Composition, Arranging and Guitar Performance at the Berklee College of Music in Boston on a scholarship, and went on to get his Masters degree in Jazz Performance at the City College of New York, under the aegis of John Pattitucci.
Look for Russ's new CD Chimera on the SteepleChase label - out now!
"Guitarist/composer Russ Spiegel is one of the bright lights of modern jazz."
-Brad Walseth,JazzChicago.Net
"Spiegel's new CD Chimera on Steeplechase is flat out a winner! ...Spiegel and friends just plain shine on what will clearly be one of the best guitar jazz releases of 2007."
-Steve Caputo, Inside Connection
"Channeling the spirited energy of hard-bop with the progressive aesthetics of rock music, Spiegel carves out his own niche in the contemporary jazz scene."
-Troy Collins, All About Jazz
"Intellectual to the core, melodic and elegant, [Spiegel's] music will engage and challenge you at the same time."
-Ed Blanco, EJazzNews
"A killer guitarist that’s simply welcome all over the world, Spiegel lays it down without pretense or drama and lets his clean lines and solid playing provide all the drama and dynamic tension non-smooth jazz should have."
-Chris Spector, Midwest Record
"Spiegel plays with a clear, bright sound and his solos reveal a sure-footed rhythmic instinct and a harmonic sense which may be rooted in bebop but which also leans towards the future."
-Charles Alexander, Jazzwise (London)
Happy Valentines Day (we don't care if Hallmark made it up, do we?) And may the love you give be given back to you ten thousand fold on this day of love...spread it around..."guerilla lovefare"
Hello Russ, Thanks for your friendship. I keep an eye on the new release with your big band. Quite a job to keep everybody happy. Come and play in Rotterdam; The North Sea Jazz Festival would be great, especially with your band. Hope to see ya, meanwhile I keep listening. John Caljouw [Dragonfly}as we were back in 1968.......
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