PERFORMING ARTISTS:

Ed DeGenaro – guitars
Natalie John – vocals
Steve Zerlin – bass
Lyndon Rochelle – drums

BIOGRAPHIES:

Ed DeGenaro

Edward DeGenaro is a fusion guitarist whose unique mix of bebop and metal sounds, along with a whole lot of the DeGenaro personality, collectively called the “Nude Guitars” sound, has been compared to the likes of Scott Henderson, Frank Gambale, and Steve Vai. Ed’s journey in music began in Germany, where he was born and raised. At an early age, he studied cello but quickly picked up the guitar as his instrument of choice for venting his artistic expression. After receiving a degree in Performance and Teaching from the German National Conservatory of Music in Nuremberg, he worked as a “hired gun” guitarist and session player, performing all over Europe before relocating to LA and finally to Seattle, where he currently resides. His contributions, as a musician and an engineer, include numerous projects with major labels, musicians like Elliott Sharp, Steve Kimock, David Byron Band, Accept, Hammerhead, Alcatraz, and producers David Rosenthal (Rainbow, Robert Palmer) and Roy Thomas Baker. After last years critically acclaimed release Dog House Ed is working on its follow up – Less Is Seldom More.

Less Is Seldom More pairs Ed with amazing artists like: John Czajkowski (Hectic Watermelon), Ric Fierabracci (Chick Corea/Frank Gambale), Hari Ganglberger (Alex Mahachek), Marco Minnemann (Paul Gilbert/Mike Kenneally/Necrophagist), Anton Pukshansky (Ozomantli/Santana/Helmet), Chuck Rainey (Steely Dan/Aretha Franklin/Louis Armstrong), Chris Taylor (Grover Washington/Celine Dion), Dave Weckl (Chick Corea/Mike Stern/Robert Plant), George Whitty (Brecker Brothers/Santana/Chaka Khan), and a few more surprises. In addition to this Ed is spending a lot of time on the road with his Country band Nathan Chance & North Coast who just finished their newest release.

As with all fretless guitarists, Ed’s artistic expression and desire to create his own sound took him beyond the fixed frequencies of fretted guitars and into the realm of the unfretted. He is one of the few talented guitarists who can make shredding look effortless on a fretless guitar and make the guitar groove to just about any sonic exploration, encompassing funk, blues, ethnic, jazz, metal and much more. (Thankfully, Ed also kept the metal hairdo, so he really delivers the entire package and more.) It’s difficult for me to encapsulate the essence of Ed’s music in words without resorting to “Nude Guitars” (a name that came naturally to Ed but took me quite a bit of listening and thinking to truly appreciate its meaning) because his artistic expression is indeed limitless and fretless, very much like the nude fingerboards on his guitars. I think one of the most common misconceptions about making music is that people often think music comes from the instrument itself; what most people don’t realize is that instruments only make sounds, not music. This distinction is what separates those who just play and the real musicians who create. For real musicians like Ed, their guitars are indeed nude, as blank canvases are to painters, allowing them to create music that is truly personal and original. Paraphrasing what Michael Vick once said, the real instrument is the musician himself, and one’s will to create is all one really needs to “Play what [one’s] inner ear hears”. So, what is “Nude Guitars”? It is who Ed DeGenaro is; so long as he creates, Ed is the music. Needless to say, Ed is a well-known fixture in the unfretted community, and his music continues to influence others. I thank Ed for taking the time to respond to all of my questions, for giving such a detailed tour of his studio, and for sharing his humor, music experiences, and other interests in this interview. Never have I met a musician who has almost as many pets as the guitars he owns! He is truly one-of-the-kind!

Natalie John

25 year old Natalie John develops her artistic expression by stretching the boundaries of popular music with compositions that derive from folk, jazz and rock. Her music blends together the sultry, coy emotions of jazz singers that precede her with the tension of jagged rhythms and complex, lush harmonies.

Natalie became enthralled with music as a youth when she began singing in girl’s choir. At the age of 16, she delved into the world of jazz records and began to pursue her musical training in the genre.

Upon entering college at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, she studied with top ranked jazz musicians, earning the John Coltrane Foundation Scholarship in 2005 and the 2006 Downbeat Award for Best College Vocalist. Transferring to New School University in 2006, John studied with Reggie Workman, Charles Tolliver, Junior Mance, Rachel Z, Joe Chambers and many other inspiring artists in New York City. She participated in the prestigious Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead artist residency at the Kennedy Center in the spring of 2008. Also in 2008 she was selected from an international draw of musicians to participate in the Banff Centre’s 3-week International Workshop for Jazz and Creative Music, directed by world-reclaimed trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas.

Outside of collegiate groups, John has performed at clubs in and around the city of L.A., including Catalina’s, the Mint, the Lighthouse, Tangier, and others. The Natalie John Quartet was featured at the 2005 Festival Jazz en Lima, voyaging to Lima, Peru, South America, where she shared the bill with Maria Schneider, Ingrid Jensen, Geoff Keezer, and other international jazz greats. Since 2006, the Natalie John Quartet performs in Manhattan and Brooklyn at such venues as the 55 Bar, Zinc Bar, Sweet Rhythm, Spike Hill, Rose Live Music, Cornelia St. Cafe and others.

Natalie recently shared her talents on Oscar-winning composer and incredible South Indian musician Prasanna’s new jazz album (release info. TBA). She has also performed with Ingrid Jensen’s quintet, Rachel Z’s Department of Good and Evil, Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, pianist Adam Klipple’s Sneak, pianist Vardan Ovsepian, guitarist Terrance Brewer, saxophonist Curtis Macdonald, and many more.

Natalie has worked as a jazz educator at USC’s Jazz Reach program for Los Angeles inner-city middle school students. She teaches clinics and private lessons at Own the Mic in Marin County, CA, Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music in Chennai, India, and Marymount High School in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

Steve Zerlin

Steve (Z-man) Zerlin is a brilliant and versatile bassist, fluent in many styles. He is accomplished as a jazz musician on both electric and acoustic bass and is well versed in Eastern modalities having adapted the bass guitar to Indian music. He has toured India, Europe and extensively throughout the USA and performed with many top artists including Dennis Chambers, Carl Filipiak, Jack DeJohnette, Paul McCandless, Tom Canning, Paul Bollenback, Jeff Coffin, Terrence Disley, guitarist Vinny Valetino and pianist, Jessica Williams. He has also performed with pop artists, Kenny Loggins, The Coasters, The Drifters and The Platters and The Marvelettes,

Steve appears on many CD’s including recordings with Vinny Valentino, Dan Leonard, Fred Hughes, Peter Fraize and innovative Italian trombonist, Gian Carlo Schiafini. He was recently sited in Jazz Times Magazine (April 2004 edition) for his unique style and abilities.

Steve released his own CD, Still Life, with Ed Sareth and some of Washington DC’s finest musicians, Dan Leonard, Bruce Guttridge, Peter Fraize and Victor Williams, and continues to compose music for Facing East. Over the past 20 years Steve has become well known in the DC area working with most of the area’s finest musicians; among them are Fred Pena, Sean Rickman, Marshall Keys, Keith Kilgo, Tim Eyerman’s East Coast Offering, The Fred Hughes Trio and The Peter Fraize Trio.

Lyndon Rochelle

Lyndon Rochelle is an alumnus of Berklee College of Music. His professional experience includes working with Hank Jones, Yellow Jacketk, Kurt Elling, Sam Kinger, Lawrence Watson, Little Richard, David Fiuczynski, Robin Mckelle, Bill Pierce, Joe Lavano, Ron Mahdi, Phil Wilson, Greg Hopkins, Jetro Da’ Silva, Allen Mallet, Jackie Beard, John Arco, Steve Heck, George Duke, Darren Barret, Peter Erskine, Bobby Shew, George Stone, Matt Harris, Remember Rockefeller Jazz Orchestra, the Prometheus Dance Company, Gary Foster and Gary Pratt. Lyndon has performed at the DNC 2004, Dianne Reaves Performance at Symphony Hall, JVC Jazz Festival, Wang Center,and various concerts at California State University at Northridge