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Pianist-keyboardist Luis Resto spent years as one of Detroit's best-kept secrets, lending his supple fingers to albums from artists as diverse as Anita Baker, Patti Smith and his first big gig, Was (Not Was).
The real breakout arrived earlier this decade, when Resto became one of Eminem's go-to studio collaborators: That's his piano figure you've heard countless times at the start of "Lose Yourself," which earned him an Oscar for his co-writing efforts. - Detroit Free Press
"Luis Resto - a true keyboard genius - prematurely grey hair aside, he also looks just like he did as a teenager when, in 1980, Was (Not Was) hired him for his first recording session (he was paid triple scale - 3 x $0.00)."
It's a role he comes by honestly, says Don Was, the Grammy Award-winning producer and Oak Park native who added Resto to the late, outlandish party/fusion band Was (Not Was) when the keyboardist was still in his teens.
"Luis is the first person I met who made the synthesizer his primary instrument," Was says from his Los Angeles home. "He's a great piano player but that's a secondary occupation. When he came in, the screws on his Oberheim weren't even fastened down because he'd go in there and mess around with the internal stuff. He knew how to fix it, how to play with the circuit board and get different sounds out of it. His arrangement ideas were as a synthesist.
"At the time it made him a radical, and now he should be seen as one of the founding fathers of a whole genre of music. And he can play anything; he played violin on 'Wheel Me Out.' I think he's a total genius." - Hour Detroit
Since bringing soulful life to the synthesizer in Was (Not Was), Luis Resto has been a behind-the-scenes mainstay in the music biz, collaborating as a keyboardist, synth maestro and producer with everyone from Patti Smith to Eminem. “Combo De Momento” showcases his uncanny knack for blending disparate elements from rock, jazz, electronica and soul into one intriguing, pleasing sound. - Metro Times
Resto’s “Combo De Momento” stirs a variety of influences into its stylistic stew, including pop, jazz, soul, R&B and classical flavors... The result is a disc laden with loose, improvisational playing that never meanders into gratuitous showboating. - Oakland Press
An impressive showcase for pianist Resto and his genre-bending skills. Serious chops are on display here: With a well-credentialed cast of players -- including bassist Paul Nowinski and drummer Keith Leblanc -- Resto delivers sharp-focused studio fare with the simmering art-rock mood piece "Effigy" and the warm jazz instrumentals "Olivia" and "Olivia Bop."
But it's the album's side of live material -- yes, this is a vinyl record -- that really lets Resto and company stretch, including the multilayered adventure "We Called it a Day" and playful "Cold Heart"... - Detroit Free Press
Discography
With an All Music Guide listing steadily moving towards 200 entries, Luis has amassed a voluminous list of credits with relatively little fanfare. He has surreptitiously played/produced/written songs for some twenty-five Top 5 album releases in the past ten years, some fifteen of which reached the coveted Number 1 position on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.
Mario Resto is an accomplished writer and musician with two independently released discs (Scenes From The Reality and Radio) under his own name. Luis credits Mario as his inspiration to become a musician.
Paul Nowinski played New York club dates with the legendary Les Paul for eight years. After being introduced to Keith Richards at one of the Iridium jam sessions, Paul spent more than a year and a half playing and recording with the Stones guitarist at his Connecticut home. He has also recorded and/or toured with Rickie Lee Jones and Hubert Sumlin.
Keith LeBlanc first came to notoriety from his work as part of the Sugar Hill house band, recording on early hip-hop tunes such as the Sugarhill Gang's "The Rapper", Grandmaster Flash's "On The Wheels Of Steel." He's a core member of Tackhead; produced, mixed or remixed music by Nine Inch Nails, Afrika Bambaataa and Living Colour; and played drums/percussion on albums by Annie Lennox (Diva); R.E.M. (Green), Seal (Seal); Tina Turner (Wildest Dreams); Depeche Mode (Ultra); and ABC (How to Be a...Zillionaire!) and many others.
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Bio
One of the most creative and diversely accomplished musicians currently working in Detroit. Resto's musical textures, unmistakably recognizable, were highly influential in the development of the groundbreaking Detroit avant-funk ethos of Was (Not Was).
A highly acclaimed and in-demand Detroit session musician, Luis has played in support of artists such as Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, George Clinton, Stevie Nicks, and the legendary Highwaymen (Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson & Johnny Cash).
He has also collaborated with Marshall Mathers on every Eminem album since "The Eminem Show", composing & arranging music for the hugely successful "8 Mile" film and co-wrote 8 songs for the soundtrack album. The smash single, "Lose Yourself," became the most successful single of Eminem's career; 12 weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, garnering Resto, Eminem & Jeff Bass both an Oscar & a Grammy for their efforts.
His new album, "Combo De Momento", showcases Resto's eclectic compositional style, a potent hybrid of rock, jazz, electronica & soul, fleshed out by his superb performing lineup of Mario Resto on guitar/percussion; Paul Nowinski on acoustic bass & the renowned Keith LeBlanc on drums.
Highly pedigreed, the band's experience & skill in the craft of recording is firmly evidenced on the studio side of "Combo De Momento". Edgy sci-fi retro-soul ("Effigy") flows seamlessly into jazzy, circa 1959 ambience ("Olivia") before morphing into the celebratory high-life inflected "Olivia Bop". The vibrant freshness and improvisational ferocity of the band's performing chops is stunningly evident on the B-side of the album, recorded at a club date during the band's performing nascency.
"Combo De Momento" is a powerful testimonial to Resto's drive, creativity & perseverance. This is the real deal: classic Detroit music, circa 2010, clearly alive & well.
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