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| Louis Armstrong Jazz Award Winner & China's Ministry Of Culture Gold Medalist Infuse 'Night Rhythms' Acclaimed guitarist Toni Aleman, a Lancaster, Calif. native, and Lang Zhao, a profound drummer from Dalian, China, are announcing the formation of their new band – Night Rhythms – and their forthcoming acid-funk-fusion jazz album. "The creativity that we have is going to make the thing pretty exciting, " Zhao said. "We're integrating a lot of the fusion, jazz and funk elements. I could go from jazz to rock, from heavy metal to progressive to fusion. It's going to be a lot of experiments on the chords and rhythms. It should be pretty innovative. When we make something together, it should be pretty intense." The album, which is presently untitled, is slated to be recorded in Los Angeles in October and will release May 2015 on ReverbNation, iTunes and have additional digital distribution. Other musicians are to be announced. "I think my best way to describe this collaboration is to think of human emotion as a physical sound, " said Aleman. "To think of what electricity sounds like. I want to venture out of my comfort zone and play sounds, which might even scare me. To me, Lang is a Monster! He's an incredible musician who is a rhythmic chameleon. It brings me great happiness that I will be recording with a world class drummer who has the capabilities of just about any of the greats." Aleman, who attended Musician's Institute in Hollywood, Calif., has played more than 300 shows throughout the U.S. with acts such as Dio, Ozzy, GreatWhite, WhiteSnake, DC4, Warrior, Lizzy Borden, Bullet Boys, Steel Panther, Armored Saint, Lynchmob, London, Rick Plester (Scorpions producer endorsed by Dean Guitars and Randall amps) and drummer Pete Holmes. He has also played as a session artist and fill in guitarist including for the famed heavy metal acts World War Three (WWIII) and with Mandy Lion. A world-class drumming prodigy, Zhao has been recognized nationally for his outstanding abilities. He has been the individual recipient of China's Ministry of Culture National Gold Medal. Zhao has competed in the renowned Dandelion Contest for Outstanding Upcoming Stars in 2006 and was named a national finalist in the Sabian Drummer Contest in 2007. He has also been awarded two of the most authoritative drumming certificates of performance, including the Certificate of Art Grade Examinations of China (top Percussion Level 10), by the Shanghai Concervatory, and the Certificate of Art Grade Examinations of China (top Percussion Level 9), by the Central Concervatory. "The creativity that we have is going to make the thing pretty exciting, " Zhao said. "We're integrating a lot of the fusion, jazz and funk elements. I could go from jazz to rock, from heavy metal to progressive to fusion. It's going to be a lot of experiments on the chords and rhythms. It should be pretty innovative. When we make something together, it should be pretty intense." Zhao is the first ever Chinese drummer to be featured in a live performance on DrumChannel.com, an educational drumming website featuring lessons from the best drummers playing today. DrumChannel.com won a 2013 Drummie Award for Best Educational Drumming Website via Drum! Magazine. Zhao attended Musician's Institute and was named the school's Most Outstanding Drummer of 2013, the first time the award was given to a drummer from China. Recognized throughout the industry for his impeccable drumming, Zhao has collaborated with many top musicians including Dean Brown, Jeff Richman Henry Mcdaniel IV, David Myers Jr. and others. He's played for many distinguished live music events in China and around Los Angeles including at the Whiskey A GoGo, Royce Hall, Saban Theater, Catalina Jazz Club, Vitello's and the Edgemar Center for the Arts, house of blues. Zhao also drummed for the composition of the anthem for Dalian No. 24 High School (China). Next up, Zhao is playing with The Hard Way, which will open for Steel Panther Monday April 7 at the House of Blues Los Angeles. He's also drummed on Minkyu Sung's pop fusion album, Our Love is all we Need, which is now available on Amazon, iTunes, eMusic, CD Baby and other retailers. "This is truly an organic experiment to pop music, " Zhao said, "where the composition part is weighted more compared to current trends. The carefully dialed tone, harmony, and structure and the perfect mixture with the melody will really distinguish the work to the audience." Sung said, "Lang's drumming is smooth, accurate, and detailed. It perfectly supports the energy and flow for the music. We have been playing together for a long time. There's great chemistry. Plus we are both really into fusion music, and there's a lot of instant inspirations when we play together." Toni Aleman is an American guitarist who received the Louis Armstrong Jazz award. Lang Zhao is a drummer from China who received the Ministry of Culture gold medal. write your comments about the article :: © 2014 Jazz News :: home page |