Joe Deninzon & musical friends Rachel Flowers (flute, piano) and Alex Skolnick (guitar) perform Chick Corea’s “Spain” on the upcoming Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius’ “Behind the Curtain: Live From ProgStock” via Four-Disc Box Set – Double CD, DVD & Blu-Ray to be released by Melodic Revolution Records.
“Spain” will premiere on YouTube on Friday, October 14 at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT/ 3 AM Amsterdam time (October 15, Saturday) Watch it here or on YouTube.
“Spain,” and how it came to be by Joe Deninzon
One of the perks of being a jazz musician is that you can walk into a room anywhere in the world, jump on stage with people you’ve never met who may or may not speak your language, and weave together a spontaneous concert based on a shared musical language.
On October 2nd, 2021, when the late great John Goodsall from Brand X fell ill, Stratospheerius was asked last minute to headline Progstock, the biggest prog rock festival in the Northeastern U.S. Preceding our set was the amazing multi-instrumentalist Rachel Flowers, who recently contributed her talents to our single, “Storm Surge.” Following us later that night was the bassist Percy Jones. Joining Percy on guitar was Alex Skolnick. Alex is an old friend who recorded and toured with our band in the early 2000s. I saw a great opportunity to reunite with Alex and include Rachel in a song. It was also nice to give the band a break and play something more stripped-down in the middle of our set. We decided to play Chick Corea’s “Spain,” a song we all knew well. There was no time to rehearse. Alex had heard of Rachel but had never met her. That night, Rachel and Alex met on stage, never having played together before. This performance was completely on the fly! Judging by the audience’s reaction, I think we created some magic that night and are excited to share it with everyone who couldn’t be there in person.
Discography Behind the Curtain: Live at ProgStock (2022) 4 Disc Box set Spain “Live at ProgStock” (2022) Digital Single The Prism “Live at ProgStock” (2022) Digital Single Game of Chicken (Live at ProgStock) (2021) Digital Single Cognitive Dissonance (2021) Digital Single Storm Surge (2020) Digital Single Frame by Frame (2020) Digital Single Impostor! (2019) Digital Single Guilty of Innocence (2018) LP/Vinyl Guilty of Innocence (2017) CD & Digital Album Hysteria (2017) Digital Single The Next World (2012) CD & Digital Headspace (2007) CD & Digital Live Wire (2004) CD & Digital The Adventures of Stratospheerius (2002) CD & Digital Electric / Blue (1998) CD & Digital
(Co-Write With Joe Deninzon on Song with Muhammad Ali about Leadership and Respect)
In support of Black History Month (February 2020), D-Zone Entertainment is proudly releasing the single, “The Greatest Lives” in digital stores and streaming sites on Friday, January 31.
The song is from “The Greatest Lives Songwriter’s EP,” which will be out March 21. It is sung by Thembeka Mnguni, a finalist for South Africa’s The Voice in 2016. Her name is pronounced “Them-bek-kah Mmn-Gu-Nee.” From Durban, SA, she is signed to Universal Records. Her greatest cause is as a spokesperson for Autism. She is also a brand ambassador for MUD Designer Makeup SA and for Body Confidence International. In South Africa, Universal is releasing a new song “Stimel” from her upcoming album, which will also include “The Greatest Lives” as a bonus track. Visit her on social media at instagram.com/thembeka_thediva.
The idea for the song came to Anne in 1984 when Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. She wrote in a newspaper article, “What would he want us to know?” and filed it in her box of song ideas. “It would have been a totally different song if I wrote it then because I was more sentimental.” Instead, she worked on the song as her first assignment for when she was offered a songwriting deal during her 60th year in 2018. South Africa’s Sheer Publishing handles one of Anne’s favorite songs, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
She started watching South African news and discovered many women expressing hope for a kinder world. Many went through bullying and abusive situations, and the females were open enough to talk about their experiences. The lyrics for “The Greatest Lives” came from Muhammad Ali’s quotes and philosophies. They became a message about leadership and treating people right.
Joe Deninzon, who grew up in Cleveland, OH, went to college in Bloomington, IN and played throughout the Midwest, knew Muhammad Ali’s hometown of Louisville. He understood the Midwestern sound that Anne was looking for, made a demo, and then the two began to put musicians to work. Using John Mellencamp’s “Ain’t Even Done with the Night” as a role model, they asked Cactus and Vanilla Fudge’s Carmine Appice, who also played with Rod Stewart.
Thembeka loved “The Greatest Lives”’ message about having a strong character. Joe and Anne chose her because they thought she was one of the greatest singers they ever heard. Thembeka showed she was (as the song says) a master by being the runner up on “The Voice South Africa.”
After they heard Thembeka’s performance, they found inspiration from keyboards on albums from the late Oliver Mtukudzi, a Zimbabwean vocalist/guitarist/social activist. Joe knew the perfect keyboardist, Jeremy Beck, who used both acoustic piano and Hammond B3. Hence, the hashtag #BeckDeninzonAppice.
“Joy and optimism in this song, I think, comes from its mission and inspiration. Muhammad Ali dealt with obstacles with optimism and a wink and smile,” Joe says. Joe and Anne, and their musicians, know “The Greatest Lives” will make a difference, and are proud to—as their lyrics say–take a “Never say die” attitude in promoting it!
The Richland 2 School District Honors Orchestras will present one concert on Friday, January 31 in the District Auditorium, featuring electric violinist and recording artist Joe Deninzon. The district auditorium is at 7500 Brookfield Rd, Columbia, SC 29223. The District Honors concert begins at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
The program will include original songs by Joe, as well as some of his arrangements of popular songs from The Beatles, Queen, and Pink Floyd.
Joe Deninzon, the music world’s expert on alternative violin techniques, will also lead a two-day workshop with Richland Two District Honors Orchestra students, focusing on rock stylings and improvisation. A musician who transcends many genres.
Joe has also recorded and performed with a variety of artists including Renaissance, In Continuum, Thank You Scientist, Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Everclear, Ritchie Blackmore, Smokey Robinson, Johnny Mathis, Les Paul, Phoebe Snow, Jane Monheit, Robert Bonfiglio, and President Bill Clinton.
An active clinician, he has taught at Mark O’Connor’s renowned String Camp and Mark Wood’s Rock Orchestra Camp. He leads the crossover prog band Stratospheerius, which was a winner in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition. Additionally, he was awarded the Online People’s Choice Awards in the Cornucopia Festival, and named “Best Jam Band” in Musician’s Atlas Independent Music Awards.
He is also a member of the classical Hip Hop Latin Jazz String Quartet, Sweet Plantain. Joe is the author of the Mel Bay instructional violin book, PLUGGING IN: A Guide to Gear and New Techniques for the 21st Century Violinist.
The concert and clinics are made possible through the generous support of Parents, Students, and Richland School District 2.
Joe Deninzon Official Website: https://joedeninzon.com Media Contact: Anne Leighton Leighton Media anne@AnneLeighton.com Label: Melodic Revolution Records Nick Katona: nick@melodicrevolution.com
4CD/2DVD Collection Expands The Legendary Group’s 1979 Album With Steven Wilson’s Newly Remixed Version Of The Original, Plus Studio Outtakes, An Entire Unreleased Concert Recorded In 1980, And More!
LOS ANGELES – Jethro Tull released Stormwatch in September 1979, completing a folk-rock trilogy the band started with Songs from the Wood in 1977 and continued the following year with Heavy Horses. Certified gold in the U.S., Stormwatch was also the final album to feature the classic late-1970s Jethro Tull lineup, which included Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Glascock, John Evan, David (now Dee) Palmer, and Barriemore Barlow.
To celebrate the album’s upcoming anniversary, Rhino will release STORMWATCH: 40th ANNIVERSARY FORCE 10 EDITION. This new 4CD/2DVD set will be available on October 11.
Highlights include: – Original album and associated recordings newly remixed by Steven Wilson – Full concert from the Netherlands recorded in March 1980 – Original album and 13 associated recordings mixed to 5.1 DTS and AC3 Dolby Digital – Flat transfer of the original 1979 mix at 96/24 LPCM stereo – 15 associated recordings mixed to 96/24 LPCM stereo and five original mixes at 96/24 LPCM stereo – Presented in a case-bound DVD book filled with an extensive history of the album, track-by-track annotations by Anderson and Palmer, rare photographs and more
The recording sessions for Stormwatch stretched from August 1978 to July 1979 as the album’s ecological and maritime themes slowly came into focus on songs like “North Sea Oil” and “Flying Dutchman.” The band recorded several tracks that were left off the album because they didn’t fit the theme. Many of those can be found on the second disc of this set, including “Man Of God,” “Crossword,” “Kelpie” and “The Lyricon Blues.” In addition to those outtakes, the disc also features early versions of the album tracks “Dark Ages” and “Dun Ringill.”
STORMWATCH: 40th ANNIVERSARY FORCE 10 EDITION also includes a previously unreleased recording of Jethro Tull’s concert at Congreßgebouw in the Netherlands on March 16, 1980. The career-spanning performance mixed new Stormwatch tracks (“Something’s On The Move,” “Home” and “Elegy”) with older hits, like “Locomotive Breath,” “Aqualung,” “Thick As A Brick” and “Minstrel In The Gallery.”
STORMWATCH: 40th ANNIVERSARY FORCE 10 EDITION concludes with two audio-only DVDs that feature various mixes of the original album along with the associated recordings featured in this set.
Stormwatch marked the end of an era for Jethro Tull. Due to his deteriorating health, bassist John Glascock missed most of the sessions for the album and only appears on three of its songs (“Flying Dutchman,” “Orion” and “Elegy.”) Tragically, Glascock died shortly after the album was released. The lineup changed even more following the tour to promote the album as Barlow, Evan and Palmer left the group.
Disc Four: Live in the Netherlands (March 16. 1980) [Previously Unreleased]
1. Flute Solo (incl. “Bourée/Soirée/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/Kelpie”) 2. Keyboard Duet (Bach’s Prelude in Cm from the “Well-Tempered Clavier 1”) 3. “Songs From The Wood” 4. “Hunting Girl” 5. “Jams O’Donnel’s Jigs” 6. “Thick As A Brick” 7. “Too Old To Rock ’n’ Roll: Too Young To Die!” 8. “Cross-Eyed Mary” 9. Guitar Solo 10. “Minstrel In The Gallery” 11. “Locomotive Breath” 12. “Dambusters March”
DVD One: Audio Only
– Stormwatch mixed to 5.1 DTS and AC3 Dolby Digital – Flat transfer of the original 1979 mix at 96/24 LPCM stereo
DVD Two: Audio Only
– Contains 13 associated recordings mixed to 5.1 DTS and AC3 Dolby Digital – 15 associated recordings mixed to 96/24 LPCM stereo – Five original mixes at 96/24 LPCM stereo
Starting off as the almost heavy metal Ancestors in the ’90s the band have taken all that is good in folk, country, and Americana with a twist of Pink Floyd flavouring.
The Slambovians have melded their own unique sound that is at once familiar yet almost impossible to pigeon hole. The Slambovian Circus of Dreams have such an eclectic live stage presence that once seen, always hooked. Rubbing regular shoulders with some of the icons of American music the band has got some serious endorsees. Garth Hudson of The Band is a committed Slambovian disciple and fan describing frontman Joziah Longo as “An awesome songwriter”. Writers have quoted lyrical similarities to both Bob Dylan and John Prine.
A close listen to their many albums and well attended live shows would bear out that comparison. Well known as a touring band throughout the North Eastern States, the popularity of The Slambovian Circus of Dreams have earned them a virtual residency at many of the larger folk festivals. Gary Lucas, outstanding guitarist with Jeff Buckley and early member of Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band is quoted saying “It was an honor and a privilege to play with the great psychedelic band The Slambovian Circus of Dreams“.
Had the stars aligned, Gary Lucas would have toured with the band given half a chance. Maybe next tour? Dave Pegg, renowned bassist and longtime member of Fairport Convention, co-curator of Cropredy Festival met up with Slambovian UK management, Jonti Willis recently and said we could quote him widely, “Love the band and the music (of The Slambovian Circus of Dreams)” – Dave Pegg Fairport Convention. He’s also going to endorse a recommendation for a Cropredy Festival 2020 appearance too.
The New York Times says…. “They Take The Stage By Storm” And so they do!
UK Shows Thursday, July 4th Black Dyke Mills Heritage Venue Bradford Friday, July 5th, The Greystones Sheffield Saturday, July 6th Linton Music Festival Ross-on-Wye Sunday, July 7th The Eyes Have It, Festival Duffield, Tuesday, July 9th The Platform MorecambeThursday, July 11th The Stables Milton Keynes Friday, July 12th The Fox and Firkin Lewisham Saturday, July 13th Platform Festival Pocklington Sunday, July 14th Blue Funk Rhythm & Blues Club PoyntonMonday, July 15th Cubley Hall Penistone
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