LUMA, Life.Unity.Music.Amplified, is a jazz trio from Long Island, New York. The band consists of Daniel Lauter on Soprano, Alto, and Tenor saxophone, Jeff Marshall on fretless electric bass and sampler, and drummer/percussionist Claes Brondal. In addition to their core trio, the band often includes a fourth member, usually a keyboardist or guitarist.

History

Formed in the summer of 2003 in New York, USA.

Band Members

Dan Lauter

Dan has performed on Saxophone and world instruments for the past 25 years with professional credits including world music recordings with Anna Halprin, Gabrielle Roth, Steven Halpern, and the late Nigerian drummer Suru Ekeh, in addition to his own CD releases that have received international airplay. He studied performance at Purchase Conservatory majoring in Clarinet with Charles Russo, NY City Opera and David Weber, NYC Ballet. At San Francisco State University he studied at the Center for Experimental and Interdisciplinary Arts and continued his pursuits on Sax fronting bands that performed at the Filmore, Wolfgangs, Kabuki Theater, I Beam, Keystone, Berkeley Square; he originated Tribal Swing sound at SF nightclubs. Dan draws his influences from Wayne Shorter, 20’s Sydney Bechet, World and European flavor Jazz. He brings his unique style as a melody writer and improviser to this new musical sound. He holds a Masters in Educational Technology and has worked at The Ross School, as Music Director for Morriss Center Schools and currently is the Media &Technology Specialist for the United Nations International School in NYC. He recently founded the EastEnd ‘all star’ Youth Jazz Ensemble, and co-founded LUMA.

Claes Brondal

Born in Denmark in the mid 1970’s, and has played drums for over 20 years. He studied with drumming greats such as Ed Thigpen and (currently) Dom Famularo. Claes is versatile in many styles of music - especially funk, jazz second line and world music. He has played with many groups over the years ranging from rock and jazz to Turkish and Latin. Claes has professional credits that include recording sessions with musicians such as James Genus and Randy Brecker. His latest CD is with his quartet LUMA. He has worked with the Ross School Jazz Ensemble with Hal McKusick, and as a mentor for the East End ‘all star’ Youth Jazz Ensemble. Claes joined LUMA in 2005.

Jeffrey Scott Marshall

An Eastern Long Island bassist, percussionist and songwriter has been influenced by 70’s funk, acid jazz, and beat/sample based turntableist music. A co-founder of LUMA in the Summer of 2003, he has played with several Long Island bands including work with Erin Doherty, Trina Michne, Jessie Haynes, Cowgirl Extasy, Marianne Leone, and the Nancy Atlas Project.

Starbucks/HearMusic Recognition

This competition began in 2006, when any employee of Starbucks could submit their own, or their band's original music for review by HearMusic^[1]. Claes Brondal (drummer) is an Assistant Manager at Bridgehampton, New York, Starbucks entered LUMA's album. From over 800 submissions, LUMA was selected as one of 15 finalists to be included on the CD "Off The Clock", which was to be sold in over 6000 Starbucks across the United States and Canada. Though the band did not win the secondary competition from the compilation CD, which was comprised of fans voting on the HearMusic website for their favorite track, the band gathered a large amount of attention, and played several shows in New York City supporting the CD.

Recording

The band recorded their first album Life.Unity.Music.Amplified in 2005. It was received well, with strong reviews stating the band as a "concoction of world rhythms, catchy sax-based melodies, and a liberal dash of funk", with "a strong debut effort."^[2] They announced plans to record another album either this summer or winter of 2007.

Performances

June 2nd, 2007: The Blue Note Jazz Club^[3]

Discography

LUMA (2006) (No Label)

LUMA
(2006)
(No Label)

Links

LUMA: Life.Unity.Music.Amplified
LUMA: Life.Unity.Music.Amplified
Origin	Long Island, New York
Genres	Funk Jazz; Tribal Swing; Hip Hop
Years active	Summer 2004 - Present
Labels	None ;
Members	Daniel Lauter; Jeff Marshall; Claes Brondal
Website	www.lumamusic.com ; LUMA's Myspace

LUMA's official website: LumaMusic.com
LUMA's review on AllAboutJazz.com: Elliott Simon's Review on All About Jazz
LUMA on HearMusic.com: HearMusic
LUMA on MySpace: Myspace.com/LumaMusic

References

^ http://www.hearmusic.com/#OFF_THE_CLOCK HearMusic
^ http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=24451 AllAboutJaz.com Review
^ http://www.bluenote.net/newyork/schedule/moreinfo.cgi?id=5022 Click to view event page on the Blue Note's website

[1] ttp://www.hearmusic.com/#OFF_THE_CLOCK HearMusic

[2] ttp://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=24451 AllAboutJaz.com Review

[3] ttp://www.bluenote.net/newyork/schedule/moreinfo.cgi?id=5022 Click to view event page on the Blue Note's website

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