Artist description Jazz Quartet featuring alto saxophone, tenor/soprano saxophone, bass and drums. We perform original music and our own arrangements of jazz standards.

Music Style Jazz

Musical Influences Ornette Coleman, Bjork, Joe Lovano, Thelonious Monk

Similar Artists Joe Lovano, Dave Douglas

Artist History Guaranteed Swahili has attracted ever-increasing attention since its 1995 inception in Boston. Now based mostly in New York City, the band has become a regular fixture at some of the city’s best creative music venues, including The Internet Café, The Knitting Factory, and Detour. The quartet consists of alto saxophone, tenor, bass, and drums; producing an open, vibrant sound that ranges from intimate exploration to bombastic, collective improvisation. Swahili is influenced by jazz greats Thelonious Monk and Ornette Coleman, while also incorporating 20th century classical music, world music, hip-hop, rock, and funk. The result is a unique and accessible blend of original music and interpretations of jazz standards. In addition to performances at countless venues throughout the Northeast, GS has completed two Midwest tours in promotion of their two CD recordings; the self titled debut, and the recently released “Kewanee.”

Group Members Eric Rasmussen, alto saxJason Hunter, tenor/soprano saxTim Luntzel, bassEric Thompson, drums and cymbals

Instruments alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, bass, drums

Albums "Guaranteed Swahili," "Kewanee"

Press Reviews “…not what you’d expect from a quartet of handsome young acoustic jazzers: rough unison horn lines, tilting rhythms, folk-like melodies more reminiscent of Ornette ’59 than Wynton ’95.”-Jon Gorelik (Boston Phoenix)“Individually and as a group, these guys have been beating up jazz clubs and miscellaneous holes-in-the-wall from Boston to New York for the last 7 years. So when Boston finally decides to have a Jazz Rumble – beware...”-Alan Levesque, Editor-In-Chief (Northeast Performer)“The Swahilis play three tiered bass-alto-tenor lines, full blown unison ensemble figures, Hunter’s sax joins Luntzel’s bass and the two play angular backing lines for Rasmussen’s solos, the occasional free section wells up from under the structured playing. There is a camaraderie between Hunter and Rasmussen that defies explanation. They are two completely different players with completely different approaches – Rasmussen’s jabbing, interactive alto and Hunter’s sweeping, idea-barrage tenor – yet each is the other’s perfect foil. Playing in unison they achieve a singularity that is beyond just good intonation and phrasing.-Jon Babu (Northeast Performer)“Saxophonists Jason Hunter and Eric Rasmussen operate at a level of intense telepathy. They’re relaxed but coordinated in the ensembles, and their soloing is complementary: Rasmussen steers the middle ground on alto, with Hunter either above him on soprano or below him on tenor. Tim Luntzel provides a subtle underpinning on acoustic bass, and a precise, coolly flamboyant Eric Thompson mans the drum set authoritatively.”-Jay Harvey (Indianapolis Star)

Location New York, NY - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).