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Benny Greb is releasing his second solo album under the title “Brass Band”.
While his first album “Grebfruit” (2005) was an a capella album, his new one is a declaration of love to one of the great traditional roots of jazz: New Orleans’ brass bands. “Not many know about this jazzy side of me. It was time to present it to the world!” he resumes.
And this album is much more than a mere solo recording of a drummer! On the basis of jazz and the sound of New Orleans, producer and composer Benny Greb effortlessly combines his ideas from funk, rock, pop, folklore, classical music and film soundtracks.
Check out a special mp3 sampler medley of every song on Benny Greb Brass Band!
Click here to listen to the MP3!
By recruiting the three fellow musicians Reiner Winterschladen, Sebastian Hoffmann and “Reverend” Uli Krug – Benny Greb created his dream-team. With an incredible joy of playing the quartet decant a surprisingly many-folded cocktail of fat, yet frail grooves and a truly rattling brass band sound. “I always love it when musician who are known for a certain kind of style start playing songs, which are not typical for their genre, while still keeping a the true sound of their instruments. That always sounds amazing”, muses Benny.
Click here to buy Benny Greb: Brass Band!
Benny Greb Brass Band - In Action
Why a Brass Band?
“When I was a little boy, I took lessons in playing the trumpet. I did also play the drums back then, but that was rather for my self and autodidactic.”
Because of his love for funky and rocky grooves, he more and more neglected his classical playing of the trumpet – but it always remained one of his passions. Also because of his background (in 1980 Benny was born in the Bavarian town of Augsburg) “there still was an account to settle in the department of brass-orientated folk music”, the friendly ex-Bavarian laughs.
As a young boy, in 1992, he spent half a year in the United States. There he discovered music which merged the brass sound he knew with driving, dirty grooves – this was the second kick he got. Eight years later he went to see the Ray Anderson Pocket Brass Band play a live concert in Munich, and this really lit the fire. “All this, fused with even more funk, more pop and more backbeat… wouldn’t that be just fab?!”
The Benny Greb Brass Band can also be seen and heard on Hudson Music DVD, The Language of Drumming, featuring Benny Greb.
The group performs a live version of “Good Question”, as well as providing backing music throughout the release.
Click here to Check out the Benny Greb Brass Band on DVD here.
About Benny Greb:
After finishing his studies of drumming at the music-schools in Dinkelsbühl and Hamburg, he quickly became one of Germany’s most thought-after musicians for studio and live work. His musical versatility and his open mind made him more flexible than most other drummers. He played rock music with the band of Stoppok, jazz with the Ron Spielmann Trio, pop or funk with Jerobeam, was involved in a Zappa-Project of the NDR Orchestra, played fusion with his project 3ergezimmer, acoustic punk and cabaret with Strom & Wasser and really experimental music together with Christian Richthofen as the duo AutoAuto, where they turn a car into a percussion instrument. Whatever he did, he mastered it with amazing sovereignty, unmistakable individuality and a distinct sense of humour.
His bracingly different, but extremely impressive style and his seductive “musical” approach to playing drums led to several invitations for Benny to play and perform at international events like the Montreal Drum Festival in Canada, the Ultimate Drummers Weekend in Australia, the World Drum Festival in Germany, Drummers Live in Great Britain and the PASIC in the United States. If, after all of this, Benny is still left with a bit of time on his hands, he teaches young musicians.
Hudson Music released Benny’s DVD The Language of Drumming – A System for Musical Expression in January 2009, and saw the DVD quickly became a bestseller…
The musicians:
Sousaphone: “Reverend” Uli Krug was originally trained as a bass-player and played for Guru Guru and Sanfte Liebe (German rock award 1989). In 1992 he travelled to New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville and hopelessly fell in love with brass instruments. Since 1998 Uli has been playing world wide tours and festivals together with the Mardi Gras BigBand.
Trumpet: Reiner Winterschladen has been a member of the NDR BigBand since 1995. He also played with the European Jazz Ensemble and the Manfred Schoof BigBand, as well as in bands like Blue Box, Me & The Heat, Unknown Cases and Nighthawks.
Trombone: Together with Sebastian Hoffmann Benny play several gigs in jazz clubs. Amongst others Sebastian played for the Martin Seinhauser Quintet and the NDR BigBand, as well as for Fettes Brot and Mousse T.
Benny Greb is a complete musician and it is rare that I get to write those words these days. Benny’s writing, arranging and performing skills – not just upon the drum set all add up to make him one of today’s most exciting musicians, one who is constantly in demand by other musicians that have been touched by his musical spirit.
Benny has a gift that touches your heart, soul and of course feet and his infectious beats and grooves and his fine sense of musicality not only affects your listening pleasure but every part of your body along the way, making any Benny Greb recording a thoroughly enjoyable journey.
With this Brass Band recording Benny brings his unique signature drum sound and his personal stamp of musicality that is infused with a great sense of fun, humour and warmth and above all else a typically broad set of musical directions that will have you continually reaching for the repeat button.
Enjoy the goodness that is Benny Greb and his Brass Band.
Ian Croft / Drummer magazine (July 2009)
Suggested Tracks for Quick Listening:
Track 1 – Good Question: “This must be the song that best combines the different influences which are important to me. This is what New Orleans jazz of the 21st century should sound like!”
Track 7 – Nodding Hill: “The most ‘New Orleans-ish’ song – a beautiful melody and an odd New Orleans beat.”
Track 11 – Next Question: “This is what ‘Brass HipHop’ means to me – maybe the most modern song on the album, featuring great solos from the trumpet and the trombone.”
Track 13 – Sweet Belt: “Fasten your seatbelts, please! Feeling like a big-band but played by only a quartet. The band is let loose in a bebop-way – no muzzle guaranteed! This must be the jazziest track on the album. ‘Swing and play your butt off’ – Max Roach in the heart and modern ideas in the blood!”
Promotion & Contact:
Rattay Music – phone: +49-241-53 36 76 – mail: info@rattaymusic.de
A production of LA-LA-LAND GmbH (Germany)
All titles published by Edit. Grundvermögen / LA-LA-LAND GmbH
Ute-Elke Schneider, Email : ute-elke@la-la-land.de, Tel. 0049-5073-7416