Artist description Psychojazz Electric Fiddle Trip Funk. Mixing the proggressive jazz/rock sound of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the jam/pop grooves of the Dave Matthews band, the avant garde experimentation of Frank Zappa, and hip hop funk a la Liquid Soul, Stratospheerius create a unique concoction that will stimulate your mind and shake your ass as well.

Music Style proggresive rock

Musical Influences Mahavishnu Orchestra, Frank Zappa, Dave Matthews Band, Living Colour, Liquid Soul

Similar Artists Mahavishnu Orchestra, Frank Zappa, Dave Matthews, Jean Luc Ponty

Artist History Joe Deninzon is a virtuoso Noew York-based violinist. He has worked with artists as diverse as Sheryl Crow, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Smokey Robinson, Illuminati, Project Object, and the Mahavishnu Project. He has also produced two critically-acclaimed CD's with his band, Stratospheerius, which features him on 6-string electric violin and vocals, and legendary metal/jazz guitarist, Alex Skolnick.p

Group Members Joe Deninzon-violin, vocals, mandolin Alex Skolnick-guitar Luciana Padmore-drums Ron Baron-bass Scott Chasolen-keyboards DJ Big Wiz-turntables˚

Instruments electric violin, vocals, guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, turntable

Albums Adventures of Stratospheerius, Electric Blue

Press Reviews With his remarkably creative "The Adventures of Stratospheerius," violinist Joe Deninzon is making a strong artistic statement. Two statements, actually: he says Yes to violins; and he says No to musical boundaries. With obvious foundations in both jazz a nd rock, Deninzon's sound is the result of an ambitious melting pot, including everything from scratching turntables and '70s-sounding fusion keyboard to polychromatic guitar lines --laid down by metal/fusion cult hero Alex Skolnick-- and some marvelous 6-string electric violin lines from Deninzon. It is consistently fun and energized, often funky, and rarely easy to explain. As might be expected, "Stratospheerius" is not the most coherent record ever made. It's half-instrumental and half-vocal, and its songs land all over the musical map, from smoothly funky rock/jazz fusion ("What's That Thang?") to sweet balladry ("Hope Alive"), free-ish jazz (a cover of Wayne Shorter's "Nefertiti"), and metal-edged rock ("Hindsight"). Throughout, the performances are engaging, and the two lead string players are superb: when the songs allow it, Skolnick is his expected, rippin' self (check out his killer solo on "Contusion"); Deninzon shines every bit as bright as Skolnick, conjuring consistently creative, energetic turns from his violin. Deninzon's rhythm section also keeps pace with remarkable grace and flair, no mean feat on these diverse "Adventures." -Eric Aaron: The Big Room

Location Long Island City, New York - 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).