Biography
Symon's New Blue Diamonds is a six-piece instrumental rock band that features the music of Symon Michael, an avant garde jazz composer who paints musical narrations and landscapes using a rock pallete rather than the traditional jazz fare.
A standard power trio (bass, guitar and drums) is augmented by a three-piece horn section consisting of two tenor saxes and a trumpet.
The overall effect is LOUD and at the same time very tasty - biting rock melodies offset by a comical wedge of horns. Unique, unpredictable, and always a lot of fun!
The band has recently regrouped for the 2008 concert season. This time around, the horn section has been expanded to include a honkin' baritone sax and a sprinkling of ridiculous noodling flutes in addition to tenor sax, trumpet, and clarinet.
The rhythm section has been restyled also, and moves with a more slinky, modern dance sound than before. There's still all of the original rock sensibility, but the move is toward more groove-oriented, organic beats. No heavy jazz soloing this time around - the spotlight is on melody and overall arrangement.
Historical notes about the music and the band:
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A lot of this music was originally written for film and advertising when Symon worked as a composer and transcriber for The Music Workshop in S.F. After writing advertising jingles and thematic pieces for local films for a few years, one of Symon's friends suggested that he simply rescore some of the pieces for a live stage act. When it was noted that "It sounds like some damn carnival band!", the suggestion was made that the band simply dress the part and go with the festival atmosphere that the music invoked.
So, that's exactly what happened - "Symon's New Blue Diamonds" was born, and from the very start began appearing on local stages in full clown costumes and makeup.
This is music that will make you chuckle and get your feet moving!
Instrumentation
CORE MEMBERS:
Symon Michael - tenor and baritone sax, guitar, flute and clarinet
Morty Okin - trumpet and flugelhorn
Lamar Heaton - drums
David Majka - bass guitars
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(plus various additional horn players)
Discography
Cram It Down (full length CD)
One Hundred Nights Of Passion (full length CD)
Links
| http://www.indie-music.com/bands/Symons_New_Blue_Diamonds |