Warning! This is not your grandfather’s jazz trio! Enter the world of Dana Leong Trio, where an electric cello (which, incidentally, Leong helped to design with Yamaha at their headquarters in Japan), trombone, laptop, turntables and electric guitar come together to create a passionate, lyrical blend of classical, jazz and pop.  And by pop, we mean, melodies you will remember long after you leave the concert hall (or your iPod or iPad).

Dream State is the trio’s brand new album.  This is Leong’s first instrumental work in 5 years, after three successful releases under the rubric of MILK & JADE by Dana Leong, his jazz/hip-hop quartet, which continues to tour major festivals in Europe.

The music was originally commissioned by the Orange County Performing Arts Center for the premiere of Bound(less), a 40-min aerial dance piece by Project Bandaloop.  The album also features a track that was commissioned by Richard Branson & Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceport.

The album was unofficially launched at the trio’s recent headlining performance at Sleepless Night Miami Festival, co-presented by Miami Light Project.  The trio graced the cover of Miami Herald.  The official release of the album will be in early 2012.  Stay tuned!

For those of you who are attending the Arts Presenters Conference in January – the trio will make an exclusive appearance for the conference attendees at the Hilton Hotel NYC, on Saturday, January 7th, at 10pm!

So let us introduce the trio to you.

Dana Leong (center)
Read here.

John Shannon (left) is a New York based modern folk guitarist, vocalist, and composer. He has played with artists like Haale, Pyeng Threadgill, Sonya Kitchell, Ruslan Sirota, Hiromi and has also recorded three albums as the leader of the instrumental jazz fusion trio Waking Vision. He recently released his sophomore album Songs of the Desert River. http://johnshannonmusic.com

DJ Icewater (right) hails from Los Angeles and Oakland, CA where he started DJing in 1995 after being inspired by the radio DJs of LA and the local mobile scene. DJ Icewater has been active in the studio producing over 40 mixtapes and doing cuts for over 100 tracks over the past 15 years. In 2003, he along with DJ Cobra was awarded “Mixtape of the Year” for their “Mixtape Gods” series. He has also done cuts for numerous groups including Hieroglyphics, the Living Legends, Blackalicious, Lunar Heights, Mikah 9 and Lyrics Born. Since 2010, DJ Icewater has resided in Brooklyn, NY where he continues work as an audio engineer and DJ. http://www.djicewater.com/

 

Dana Leong Trio photos above by Anna Kim http://www.annaeli.com/