Artist Bio Submission Thread

added both, what is the source/author of Fonseca's bio?

Lucian Ban

Twice nominated in 2005 & 2006 for prestigious Hans Koller “Best European
Jazz Musician Preis“Award, pianist, bandleader, composer & arranger LUCIAN
BAN is originally from Cluj, Transylvania, Romania. He currently lives in New
York City where is part of the next generation of performers & composers at
the forefront of contemporary modern jazz.
He leads several projects and writes innovative music that reinvents the idiom
of jazz music. His compositions are performed & recorded by other musicians
and ensembles.
Mr. Ban leads the super group ELEVATION featuring world renowned tenor
sax Abraham Burton, Nasheet Waits on drums and bassist John Hebert,
the ASYMMETRY Quartet feat. Jorge Sylvester (alto sax), Brad
Jones (bass) and Derrek Phillips or Gene Jackson (drums), and The TUBA
PROJECT a group featuring the famous Bob Stewart on (tuba), Alex
Harding (bari sax), Bruce Williams (alto sax) and Derrek Phillips (drums).
He co-leads with soprano sax great Sam Newsome “The Romanian-American Jazz Suite” group, a project
that presents Romanian Folk music from a jazz perspective. In 2008 their CD bearing the same name was released to critical acclaim to both US and European audiences, followed by successful tours on both sides of the Atlantic.
He also co-leads with bari sax extraordinaire Alex Harding the LUMINATION Ensemble a group that performs since
2002 featuring special guests such as: Sam Newsome, Art Baron, Jorge Sylvester, Josh Roseman, Bruce Williams and many more.
In 2003 the Lumination Ensemble featuring drum legend Barry Altschul was voted "One of the best shows of
2003 " by the All About Jazz Magazine NYC along with Cecil Taylor and Joe Lovano groups.
Mr. Ban has released 7 critically acclaimed albums as a leader for US and European based labels.
He performs and tours regularly with his projects and as a sideman in New York jazz clubs and Europe Festivals and between 2002 -2005 was a member of The BMI Composers Jazz Workshop. He also writes & arranges for Machito Orchestra and was commissioned by them to write a piece for their opening concert at Super Bowl 2002.
Lucian Ban also wrote music for more than 20 theater productions, film and ballet and for NYC Symphony Orchestra and in June 2001 he composed original music for the Theater/Dance Company MINUS. His original music for the theatre play “Philosopher Fox” produced by East River Comedia was nominated twice for the prestigious IT Awards in NYC. His last theatre score was for Saviana’s Stanescu ‘Waxing West” production at La Mama Theater in NY. Lucian Ban has received his degree in Contemporary Jazz Composition and Arranging from New School University in NYC. He also holds a degree in Philosophy from Bucharest University

from bio at artist's site


Edited by idlero - 02 Aug 2011 at 1:03am

Got both.

Edited by js - 02 Aug 2011 at 4:17am

Mathias Eick

100NKA

Edited by andyman1125 - 03 Aug 2011 at 8:45pm

Lars Danielsson

The bassist Lars Danielsson is reknown and admired in the International Jazz world for his lyrical but groovy playing. Not least his capability to improve the appearance of the melody has brought him around the world in a number of various musical constellations.

Lars Danielsson was born in 1958 and was educated from the Music Conservatory in Gothenburg. Both on double bass, electric bass and cello - (his originally main instrument from the days at the conservatory) - he is an extraordinary soloist and accompanist, who gives the music edge and colourful temperament.

“Lars Danielsson Quartet” with former Miles Davis saxophonist David Liebman, pianist Bobo Stenson and legendary ECM drummer Jon Christensen has been receiving loads of recognition and awards during the 20 years in which the Quartet has existed. This Quartet has been a playground for Danielssons work as a composer and arranger, which he has extended to include both Symphony Orchestra and Big Band music. - During the previous years in co-operation with Danmarks Radios RUO Orchestra (a Symphony Orchestra) as a composer, arranger and producer. He was the conductor and composer of the Jazz Baltica Ensemble for two years.

Extracts from Lars Danielssons Discography: 8 solo-albums since 1980 both with “Lars Danielssons Quartet” and guests such as Alex Acuna and John Abercrombie,Bill Evans and Niels Lan Doky. Other notabilities whom Lars Danielsson has worked with is Randy and Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Jack DeJohnette, Mike Stern, Billy Hart, Charles Lloyd, Terri Lyne Carrington,Joey Calderrazzo,Gino Vanelli and Dave Kikoski. Lars Danielsson has also been a member of the “Trilok Gurtu Group” .

As a producer Lars Danielsson has been responsible for productions with Cæcilie Norby and The Danish Radio RUO Orchestra among others.

from Allaboutjazz..com

Vassilis Tsabropoulos

Born in Athens Vassilis Tsabropoulos, who is considered to be one of the greatest Greek pianists, started playing the piano from a tender age. A prodigy, was winning music competitions from the age of ten, and after graduating from the Athens National Conservatory, continued his studies on an Aristotle Onassis Scholarship at the Paris Conservatory, the Salzburg Academy and the Julliard School, with great teachers including Rudolf Serkin and Tatiana Nikolayeva.

Tsabropoulos was an early achiever, winning the UNICEF competition when he was only ten. His distinctions and awards are too many and many are his collaborations with Orchestras in Greece and Europe, performing an ever-expanding repertoire in both recitals and concertos. He has future as soloist with Orchestras such as the Czech Philharmonic, the Yuta Symphony Orchestra, the Budapest Chamber Orchestra, the Sofia Philharmonic, the Italy Radio Orchestra, the Athens Camerata, the Athens Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Color Orchestra, the Lyon Orchestra and the Huston Philharmonic.

Tsabropoulos has participated in many international festivals all over Europe and he has performed every season in the musical centers of the world, presenting an ever growing repertoire in recitals, concertos and chamber music. He has made the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and Bach central references in his performance repertoire but is also committed advocate of Russian music, frequently playing the works of Rachmaninov, Prokoviev and Scriabin. His playing combines intellectual probity with warm and musical feeling, which is marked by sensitivity to tone color and delicacy of finger work.

While Tsabropoulos began his career as a keyboard virtuoso playing concerto and solo pieces, he has since broadened the range of his activities quite considerably. He has reputation as a classical pianist, an interpreter of 19th and 20th century music, and there is an internationally growing recognition for both his composing and his very special improvising piano playing.

Tsabropoulos has composed works for Orchestra, string quartets, music for violin and cello and many solo piano works include the preludes which he wrote especially for Vladimir Ashkenazy. Since 2000 he is an artist of ECM Records label, and since then he has toured in Europe playing with Arild Andersen and John Marshal as a piano trio, and in piano solos with concerts in England, Germany, Italy, Austria, Norway, Denmark, France and Greece. Alongside his tight schedules of concert activities, Tsabropoulos has given master classes of compositions and piano and frequently he is a member of piano competitions.

Vassilis Tsabropoulos is considered as one of the most meticulous musicians of his generation. He lives with his family in Athens.

from www.mymusicbase.ru

By the way, his name is wrongly spelled - it should be Vassilis and not Vasillis

Agusti Fernandez

Over the course of his long and successful career, pianist Agustí Fernández has built up an international reputation, not only as one of Spain’s most outstanding performers, but as a reference in the world of improvised music. Fernández was born in Palma de Mallorca, where he studied piano, later continuing his studies in Barcelona, France and Germany. A professional musician since the age of just thirteen, his life changed completely when he discovered the work of Cecil Taylor and Iannis Xenakis when studying with the latter in 1978. Fernández’s career as a solo artist really began to take off at the II Biennial of Young Creative Artists in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1987, since when he has performed at major festivals all over Spain and Europe, as well as composing for dance, theatre, cinema and television.

Co-founder and director of the Orquestra del Caos and director of the Big Ensemble del Taller de Músics in Barcelona, Fernández also co-founded the IBA (Improvisadors de Barcelona) Orchestra with Joan Saura and Liba Villavecchia, directing the impro ensemble until 2001.

Agustí Fernández collaborated regularly with fellow pianist Carles Santos, and took part with him in a number of shows from 1982 to 1998. He has also taken part in performances by the artist Jordi Benito, as well as composing music for the Catalan designer Antonio Miró and collaborating with the flamenco cantaor Miguel Poveda, puppeteer Joan Baixas and draftsman Perico Pastor.

Over the course of his career, moreover, he was worked with such outstanding contemporary dance choreographers as Àngels Margarit, María Muñoz, Ramon Oller, Tomás Aragay and Margarita Guergué, amongst others. He also accompanied the Merce Cunningham Dance Company when this renowned dance troupe presented Event in Barcelona in 2009.

In 1998, Fernández began a close artistic collaboration with choreographer and dancer Andrés Corchero, with whom he has created a number of shows over the years. In 1998, moreover, he formed the Trío Local with Joan Saura and Liba Villavecchia.

In 2003, Fernández became the first Spanish musician to record for the prestigious German label ECM, playing with the Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble (of which he has been a member since 2002) on the CD Memory/Vision. Fernández also joined the Barry Guy New Orchestra in 2002.

Three years later, in 2005, he formed the Fernández/Guy/López trio. The new ensemble made its debut at the Grec Festival of Barcelona to present the CD Aurora, which won unanimous worldwide critical acclaim.

Fernández was musical director of the TVE programme Glasnost in 1989-91, and co-director (with Barbara Held) of the Metrònom International Experimental Music Week in Barcelona in 1997-1999. From 2000 to 2006, he directed the Nous Sons contemporary music festival, organised at L’Auditori in Barcelona. Finally, he has curated the Music Nights season at the Joan Miró Foundation in the Catalan capital since the year 2000.

Agustí Fernández has also taught impro at ESMUC, the Catalan college of music, since 2000.

A prolific musician, he has recorded more than 50 CDs to date.

from artist's site

Julia Hulsman

Jazz singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist Julia Hülsmann was born in Germany, and her intelligent, brilliant, and incisive brand of poetic, artful vocal and piano jazz has brought her tremendous critical respect in her native country but little exposure or attention outside of it. Forming her own trio with bassist Marc Muellbauer and drummer Rainer Winch (Winch was eventually replaced in the trio by Heinrich Köbberling on drums) in 1995, Hülsmann released Trio on BIT Records in 2003 as well as Scattering Poems, featuring vocalist Rebekka Bakken, on the German label ACT that same year. Although she is an accomplished songwriter, Hülsmann's work has often tended toward interpretation, and she has done intriguing reconfigurations of the songs of Randy Newman, Nick Drake, and Sting and has provided striking jazz soundscapes for the poems of E.E. Cummings and Emily Dickinson. Come Closer, with vocalist Anna Lauvergnac, was released in 2004 by ACT, followed by Good Morning Midnight, featuring singer Roger Cicero, in 2006. Hülsmann reverted to a straight trio for two ECM recordings, The End of a Summer, which appeared on in 2008, and Imprint, which followed in 2011.

by Steve Leggett

Jan Garbarek

b. 4 March 1947, Norway. Inspired by hearing John Coltrane on the radio in 1961, Garbarek taught himself to play tenor saxophone (subsequently adding soprano and bass saxophone). In 1962 he won an amateur competition, which resulted in his first professional work, and he was soon leading a group with Jon Christensen, Terje Rypdal and Arild Andersen. In 1968 he was the Norwegian representative at the European Broadcasting Union festival, and the recordings of this (notably an impressive version of Coltrane's 'Naima') brought him to wider notice when they were transmitted throughout Europe.

Subsequently his style has become more severe, sometimes almost bleak, although there is a restrained warmth to his sound. Garbarek's playing is representative of the kind of music associated with Manfred Eicher's ECM Records and of a characteristically Scandinavian strand of jazz, melodic and atmospheric, which has little overt emotionalism but does not lack intensity. His writing and playing display considerable concern with tone and texture and appear to have exerted some influence on Tommy Smith and post-sabbatical Charles Lloyd (with whom he has shared colleagues Christensen, Keith Jarrett and Palle Danielsson) as well as a variety of European players such as Joakim Milder and Alberto Nacci. In the mid-70s he worked in Jarrett's 'Belonging' band with Christensen and Danielsson, recording the much-praised Belonging and My Song, and also played with Ralph Towner on Solstice and Sounds And Shadows. In the 80s his own groups have featured Eberhard Weber, Bill Frisell and John Abercrombie among others. His tours in the late 80s with a band including the remarkable percussionist Nana Vasconcelos were highly acclaimed and inspired many other musicians and bands to essay the juxtaposition of glacially imposing saxophone lines with exotic, tropical rhythm. Garbarek has also worked with Don Cherry, Chick Corea, David Torn and with George Russell during Russell's residency in Scandinavia in the late 60s - an association which resulted in a fine series of recordings that featured the young Garbarek, notably Othello Ballet Suite, Trip To Prillarguri and Electronic Sonata For Souls Loved By Nature (though none was released until the 80s). Garbarek has also shown an increasing interest in folk and ethnic musics that has not only coloured his own playing but led to him recording with Ravi Shankar on the 1984 Song For Everyone and producing an ECM album for the Norwegian folk singer Agnes Buen Gurnas, 1991's Rosensfole. For Ragas & Sagas (1993), Garbarek collaborated with the Pakistani classical singer, Usted Fateh Ali Khan and trio of musicians playing tabla and sarangi, a 39-string violin. Garbarek's melodic solos effectively complemented the traditional Pakistani instrumental sounds. In the same year, Garbarek's Twelve Moons concentrated once again on the Scandinavian-folk melodies he is continually exploring. The album's emphatic rhythmic 'feel' was due in no small part to the presence of drummer Manu Katche and bassist Eberhard Weber. Rather surprisingly, given his avoidance of gallery-pleasing pyrotechnics, Garbarek has steadily acquired a public following equal to his huge critical reputation. Observers of the UK Top 75 album chart in the spring of 1996 would not have been as shocked as would a jazz fan, but horror upon horror, Garbarek's Visible World became a hit. The highly accessible nature of the opening tracks such as 'Red Wind', 'The Creek' and the folk inspired 'The Survivor' aided it's wider appeal. World music followers would also have found a great rapport with the 12-minute mantra 'Evening Land', featuring some wonderful vocals from Mari Boine.

from mymusicbase.ru