Party: THE BRAD LEALI - CLAUS RAIBLE QUARTET

Party: THE BRAD LEALI - CLAUS RAIBLE QUARTET

You never saw the audience of a jazz concert stand up and dance?
Then you never saw the Brad Leali-Claus Raible Quartet. If you wanna experience music that can get under your skin, that can touch your soul but that can also get you out of your chair and have you dancing to the beat, that's your chance.

Leali and Raible, the two charismatic leaders of the band, started playing together in the mid-nineties while they were both were living in New York. What followed was a strong musical partnership, which proved to be the impetus for several recording projects (Looping with Lea- the Claus Raible sextet, A tribute to Elmo Hope –the Brad Leali-Claus Raible quintet , Maria Juanez -The Brad Leali Jazz Orchestra, and Tribute to the Ladies, the Claus Raible Bop Orchestra.)
After touring Europe and the U.S. for many years with different line ups, in 2005 they started their current quartet, which turned out to be an ideal combination where each member offers a sense of musicianship which surpasses the expected norm. The blending of all four musicians strong personalities supplies listeners with the true meaning of music, the true meaning of a group and the true meaning of jazz.
From the very start the music concept has been strongly rooted in the Afro American Jazz tradition: strong rhythm supporting rich harmonic material, allowing and challenging the soloists to reach extraordinary levels of inventiveness and inspiration. Their music (a blend of original compositions from the two band leaders and original arrangements of jazz classics) has a lot of stamina, the performers are constantly challenged out of any comfort zone, searching for the the spirit, the essence, and the truth of Music.

Brad Leali .... Saxophon, Komoposition (USA)
http://music.unt.edu/faculty-and-staff/detail/222
Claus Raible Piano, Komoposition, Arrangement (DE)
http://www.clausraible.com/
Giorgos Antoniou Bass (GR)
Darrel Green Schlagzeug (USA)

THE MUSICIANS
A native of Denver, Brad Leali received his bachelor of Arts in music education, he was hired as the lead alto saxophonist for the Harry Connick, Jr. Orchestra and was appointed musical director five months later. After moving to NY, he was hired to be a featured alto saxophone soloist with the Count Basie Orchestra under the leadership of Grover Mitchell. In 1999, the Count Basie Orchestra won a Grammy award for their CD,'Count play's Duke.' On this recording, Brad was also nominated for a Grammy for his solo work. A well-rounded musician, he has performed with such stellar musicians as Freddie Hubbard, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, Jimmy Cobb, Nancy Wilson, Frank Foster, Jon Hendricks, Roy Hargrove, The Mingus Big Band, Jack McDuff, George Duke, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jimmy Smith among others. He recently also performed at President Obama’s inaugural celebration “We Are One,” backing up artists such as Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, Mary J. Blige and Herbie Hancock.
German born Claus Raible after graduating with honour at the Graz Music University in 1992, moved to New York City where he formed the Claus Raible Sextet (which featured Brad Leali, Mike Karn, Shwan McGloin) as well as working as a sideman, performing in many of the city jazz clubs with musicans such as Ben Dixon, Manny Duran, Vincent Gardner, Jimmy Lovelace, Jon Faddis, Marc Gross, Sean Jones to name a few. It was in New York that he met, and later took master classes from pianist Dr. Barry Harris who has been a great influence on his writing and arranging.
In 1998 Claus returned to Munich, Germany, and began splitting his time between the USA and Europe, touring extensively with his own projects as well as a sideman with artist such as Ed Thigpen, Charles Davis, Tom Kirkpatrick, Jimmy Cobb, Dennis Ervin, Benny Golson, Ira Coleman, Keith Copeland
Today Raible is one of the driving forces of the European jazz scene: a terrific musicians composer, arranger and bandleader.

Born in Athens (Greece), Giorgos Antoniou moved to Switzerland in 1994 where he completed his studies at the “Hochschule fur Music” in Bern. While still in school he had the chance to perform in some prestigious festivals (Montreaux,Bern) and clubs like Birdland (NYC) Blues Alley (Washington DC) accompanying Jazz legends Clark Terry, John Lewis, Johnny Griffin and others.
As a freelance musician, he has been performing/recording extensively with German pianist-composer Jo Haider, as well as the most notable names of the Swiss Jazz scene. Antoniou possesses a great sound and a great sense of tim, and a phenomenal dedication to the music: qualities that soon made him one of the most required bass players in Europe. He’s been performing with pianists Dado Moroni, Andrea Pozza, Ignazi Teraza, Jan Lundgren and music legends like Cedar Walton, Johnny Griffin, Benny Golson, Phil Woods, Charles Davis, Ben Dixon, Albert Heath, Kenny Wheeler, Bucky Pizzarelli, Scott Hamilton, Billy Hart, Kirk Lightsey. He also performed with some of the younger generations’ aces: Benny Green, Jesse Davis, Doug Rainey, Terell Stafford, Roy Hargrove, Tardo Hammer, Roberta Gambarini to name a few.


Darrel Green is one of the most sought-after drummers in New York.
In 2005 Green landed a scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music, where he began a comprehensive study of jazz performance. Shortly thereafter he began working with David Weiss, saxophonists JD Allen and Sherman Irby, and the Myron Waldon/Daron Barrett Quartet.
He became a sought-after musician for both session work and live shows.
Over a career that’s spanned more than two decades, Green has become a master technician and prolific sideman, sharing stages with everyone from Blue Note vibraphonist Stefon Harris to saxophonist Red Holloway. He developed a style that’s rooted in modern post-bop, but retains elements of his gospel and classical lineage. As a soloist, Green became known for his bedrock groove and inexhaustible creativity.
Green has toured with James Hurt, James Zollar, Jesse Davis, and Stacy Dillard. Currently, he is touring with Pharoah Sanders, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Sherman Irby, Steve Turre, Faye Carol, Lavay Smith and the Red Hot Skillet Lickers, and Jeremy Pelt.
About:
"Has it ever happened before, that a hard bopping quartet is doing a 20 minutes lasting slow blues as an anchore at Basel’s “Bird’s Eye”: in close contact with an enthusiastic audience? The writer can’t racall having seen anything similar for the last six or eight years. ... Here the ability of going out and giving the maximum is supplemented with an other one: listening to each other and getting inspired..."
(Jürg Weibel, Basler Zeitung, Switzerland)