POSTED BY FRANK LEWIS ON WED, FEB 17, 2010 AT 11:58 AM
Joe Deninzon is soaked to the bone in music. He had a strong presence in Cleveland’s rock scene in the ’90s, playing guitar and bass and singing with various area groups — he even played violin for Michael Stanley — before moving to New York in 1997 to earn a master’s degree in jazz at the Manhattan School of Music. He got his undergraduate degree in jazz and classical violin at Indiana University’s world-famous conservatory program, where he also met his wife Yulia Ziskel, now a member of the New York Philharmonic. Before that, he studied with his father, a Cleveland Orchestra violinist, and at the Cleveland Institute of Music. (His mother is also a classical musician.) Deninzon has played with artists ranging from Sheryl Crow and Smokey Robinson to Les Paul and Ritchie Blackmore, performed for President Clinton, won the John Lennon International Songwriting Contest, written music for TV shows and the New York City Ballet, and released four CDs with his band Stratospheerius (he plays electric violin in the quintet). He’s now taken another turn with his latest release with the Joe Deninzon Trio, Exuberance. Deninzon, bassist Robert Bowen and guitarist Stephen Benson play acoustic jazz, influenced by Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt — and contemporary pop music. The CD includes a take on Steely Dan’s “Bodhissatva,” as well as a version of Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug (Used to Be A),” giving an indication of the group’s range. The trio will celebrate the album’s release in Deninzon’s hometown at 9 p.m. at Nighttown (12387 Cedar Rd., Cleveland Hts., 216.795.0550), where they’ll be joined by Stratospheerius drummer Lucianna Padmore. Tickets: $15. — Anastasia Pantsios
A quick glance at Joe Deninzon’s MySpace page reveals a roster of influences that reads like the index for The Encyclopedia of Rock: Frank Zappa, Bruce Springsteen, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, Yes and The Police are all there.
Given that Deninzon’s main axe is a violin (whether it be acoustic, electric or fretted seven-string) and his primary musical thrusts are Prog and Jazz, it’s not unusual to find a few brothers of the bow (Jean Luc Ponty, Didier Lockwood, Stephane Grappelli) or bands that feature them (Dave Matthews, Mahavishnu Orchestra). But when you find Igor Stravinsky, Steve Vai and the Screaming Headless Torsos in the same list, you might be forced to make connections you never thought possible. A quick listen to Joe Deninzon’s music will do pretty much the same thing.
With his astonishing band Stratospheerius, the Russian-born Deninzon easily references all of the aforementioned and then some. His lightning fast runs seem less informed by his violin influences and more by his guitar heroes; the speed fingering of Vai, the delicate power of McLaughlin, the blazing invention of Zappa, the thundering bow mastery of Page.
But when Deninzon dials it way back, he’s a Jazz violinist of the first order and yet retains the skills and the mindset that make Stratospheerius a formidable Prog experience. With his Jazz Trio — bassist Bob Bowen, guitarist Steve Benson and drummer Lucianna Padmore — Deninzon has crafted a brand new album, Exuberance, which floats and flutters in the Stephane Grappelli style while offering a set list that seems like the textbook definition of sonic schizophrenia.
On Exuberance, Deninzon and the Trio tackle the music of Steely Dan, Django Reinhardt, Radiohead, Frederick Chopin and Alice in Chains — as well as a few excellent originals — as the violinist arranges each with virtuosic flair and puts his indelible stamp on every track.
Regardless of the direction he decides to twist the volume knob, rest assured that Deninzon reshapes musical boundaries with the freewheeling abandon of a New World mapmaker.
Dave Richards’ Music Muse: Joe Deninzon Trio to jazz up the Jive on Saturday
Rock violinist Joe Deninzon will stop in Erie for a rare free performance to show off his jazz side project.
The Joe Deninzon Trio, which includes upright bass player Robert Bowen and guitarist Stephen Benson, will play at the Jive Coffee Shop, 1014 State St., on Saturday at 1 p.m. Sitting in will be Lucianna Padmore, Deninzon’s regular drummer in Stratospheerius.
“This is a group I’ve had on the back burner for many years,” said Deninzon. “But I’ve been recording music over the last seven years, and it’s finally culminated in the CD we’re releasing, ‘Exuberance.’
“Basically, it shows the jazz acoustic side of what I do. Most people know me as an electric fusion player, but I’ve always loved playing jazz.”
Artists such as Stephane Grappelli and Django Reinhardt inspired “Exuberance.”
“But we wanted to add our own twist to it,” added Deninzon. “So we decided to cover Alice in Chains, Radiohead, Steely Dan, and Frank Zappa, and bring in the rock element.
“We get together and take songs we know and just mess with them, seeing how we can change the rhythm, change the character, but still maintain the skeleton and spirit of the original song. It’s like a game you play.”
“Exuberance” also includes the pretty “Sun Goes Down,” an original that won for best jazz composition in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition in 2006. The CD won’t hit stores until March 2, but Deninzon will have copies at the show.
Stratospheerius will release a new CD later in 2010 and hit the road. Deninzon is also completing an instructional book on electric violin for Mel Bay.
Without Missing a Beat: Deninzon Trio likes to mix it up
By Jay Harvey, Indianapolis Star 2-22-2010
Cross-pollination of musical genres is hugely popular these days, and some musicians see no limit to the musical value that these experiments produce. Joe Deninzon is one such musician. He branched out from classical violin, which he learned at an early age, to find virtue in just about any genre you can shake a (fiddle) stick at.
Deninzon will give a sample of that variety Tuesday night when he brings his violin-guitar-bass trio to town. The band is on a Midwestern tour promoting its CD “Exuberance.” It’s scheduled for release this month, and it offers an update on the famous Quintette du Hot Club de France style pioneered in the 1930s by guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli.
Interviewed on his way to a New York studio session, Deninzon recalled being inspired by the Grappelli tribute of his fiddling idol Mark O’Connor, at whose summer string camp he’ll be teaching rock violin next summer. “I started to do that material and put my own twist on it,” said the thirtysomething violinist. “So I do the original things and some rock/pop things, and the framework is the Grappelli style.”
Updating the Gypsy jazz of Reinhardt and Grappelli is just one part of Deninzon’s musical profile. For about 10 years, he’s led a rock band called Stratospheerius, in which he sings and plays seven-string electric violin. Its drummer, Lucianna Padmore, has joined the acoustic trio for the tour that comes to Indianapolis. His musical beginnings didn’t predict such breadth. The son of a concert pianist and a violinist in the Cleveland Orchestra, Deninzon began violin study at age 6. As he progressed, he grew susceptible to the lure of jazz and rock.
After studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music, the wide-ranging violinist went to Indiana University, where he was a student of Josef Gingold in that revered teacher’s final semester. “That was an experience I will never forget,” Deninzon said. At IU, he joined a major in violin performance to the jazz studies major he started out with. “I grew tremendously as a musician while I was there,” recalled the 1997 graduate. All along, he was certain he wouldn’t pursue a traditional classical career. He entered the master’s program at the Manhattan School of Music in jazz and commercial violin. The classical arena receded into the distance.
“I don’t know if it was rebellion as much as it was a deep love of the music,” he said of the drive that led him to work with rock and pop performers, including Sheryl Crow and Smokey Robinson, and in the world-music genre. “Fusion is usually defined as the mixing of jazz and rock, but the word ‘fusion’ is any blending of styles, and it continues to happen,” he said. “From the time of Mozart up through modern times, it’s constantly changing: You use what you like.”
He credits the rise of all music’s availability online with helping to end pigeonholing. “The traditional idea of going to a record store and seeing jazz over here, rock over there — that’s gone.” So he finds nothing to fear in the mega-selling music that got most of the attention at the recent Grammy Awards. “I love a lot of the stuff of Lady Gaga, the Black Eyed Peas, and the hip-hop realm is where many of the most creative things are happening,” he said. “To achieve skill and produce that music is a very great art form and requires many years of practicing. It’s definitely not to be discounted.”
The Wood Viper Violin: Stratospheerius’ Joe Deninzon On The Electric Violin
by Patrick Ogle
Joe Deninzon of Stratospheerius says you could fill ten books with him talking about the violin. We decided, therefore, to get specific. We talked to Deninzon about his Viper Violin and how he would up playing it. Deninzon comes from a family of classical musicians. His father played with the Cleveland Orchestra for 30 years. He began lessons on the violin at age 6. Then he fell in love with rock music and later on, jazz. But at the time, he learned bass and guitar and shunted his violin to the side. What kid wants to play violin in a rock band?
“A few things happened which were major catalysts in my life. The first was when I heard Stephane Grappeli, my first introduction to jazz violin. The second was when local Cleveland celebrity Michael Stanley invited me to play violin with his band, and the third was when I heard a recording of Jerry Goodman with the Mahavishnu Orchestra.” says Deninzon.
These three things opened him up to using all the musical concepts he had learned and brought him “back” to the violin — the instrument he feels he is and was most adept at. He went looking for an electric violin.
“I did some research and bought a six-string Jensen electric violin, which had the top four strings of a regular violin (E,A,D,G) and went two fifths below with a lower C and F. This instrument served me well for many years, and then I moved to New York and met Mark Wood,” he says. “His Viper used the same Barbara pickups my Jensen did, so the sound was identical, but what sold me on the instrument was the ‘chest support’ system, which allowed me to free up my mouth and chin, since I sing and play violin at the same time, and the frets enabled me to nail the high notes at clubs where the monitor situation was less than ideal. I also loved the fact that it had a seventhth string (a low B-flat), which went a whole step below cello range. Perfect for distorted power chords, or recording cello parts for string arrangements.”
The Viper is a solid body instrument — not acoustic — and as such, it needs to be played through an amp. Deninzon is emphatic when discussing an amp versus playing through the PA.
“I don’t care what anybody tells you, and I’ve had arguments with many soundmen about this. Electric stringed instruments sound like crap when put directly through a house system,” he says. “I have a very strong opinion about this. You wouldn’t run an electric guitar direct in a live situation, would you? Since the Viper has such a large frequency range, I have found it to sound good with Fender Twins or Mesa Boogie Cabinets. The more powerful tube amps usually are best for these instruments.”
Deninzon also likes exploring how different effects sound with the Viper.
“When I played guitar, I became well-acquainted with distortion, wah, delay pedals, etc. I like how those things sound on a violin. Not quite like a guitar, not quite like a violin, something completely different,” he says. “I have two huge pedal-boards I use when playing with Stratospheerius or Metro Strings. I am also developing a book for Mel Bay addressing how string players can get into using effects and incorporating them into their sound.”
In the studio he uses it in many different ways.
“Often when someone is on a budget and can’t afford to hire a whole string section for their project, I play the cello and viola parts on a Viper and the violin parts on a regular acoustic violin,” says Deninzon. “With the right amp and EQ, you can get a pretty realistic cello sound.”
Among the Viper’s best features are the chest support system which incorporates a guitar strap behind the back and an adjustable chest support device. This means you do not have to hold the violin and strain your neck and shoulders. He also likes the way the Viper looks.
“The design looks like a flying V guitar, and is one-of-a kind for an electric violin design. Very sleek. ” he says. “The frets are a great cheat sheet, since in a rock situation, you can’t always hear yourself, and this really helps you nail notes. It’s especially great if you’re a singer and are trying to multi-task on stage.”
He does think there are some things about the Viper that could be rethought.
“My female colleagues have complained to me about getting “viper boob” when they play for extended periods of time. I think he needs to work on adjusting the chest support system to make it more comfortable for women.” he says.
He also says there are intonation problems — but adds most fretted instruments have those.
“The area where the F, C, and G string are has intonation problems, and sometimes the instrument goes flat as you go up the fretboard. On a violin, there is almost no margin of error, and I know Mark is constantly trying to improve these things,” says Deninzon. “When I bought the instrument, the D and A string would get ripped every once in a while around the third fret, and I had to sand the lower frets down a bit to smooth them out and prevent this from happening.”
In addition to Stratospheerius’ new CD, Deninzon is also writing and recording with his new electric string quartet, Metro Strings.
Meet Joe Deninzon, the ‘Jimi Hendrix of the violin’
As a young man, Stratospheerius frontman Joe Deninzon played bass, guitar and violin.
There came a point when he had to pick an instrument, and he went with the violin because he was better at it. The Russian-born musician, who grew up in Cleveland and now lives in New York, was classically trained on the violin and listened to a lot of jazz, but echoing in his heart and mind was the music of Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa and Aerosmith, among others.
Deninzon found a balance between the two styles with an electric violin. Five years ago, he bought a Viper, a seven-string, solid-bodied wood violin shaped like a flying-V guitar. He bought it from Wood Violins, a New York-based manufacturer of electric violins, violas and cellos.
“I played violin, thinking like a guitar player,” Deninzon said during a phone interview from New York. “I was able to scratch both itches.”
Deninzon and the rest of the progressive-rock band Stratospheerius will make their local debut at 9:30 p.m. Friday at Bell’s Eccentric Cafe, 355 E. Kalamazoo Ave. Admission is $5.
The group — Deninzon, drummer Lucianna Padmore, bassist Jamie Bishop, percussionist Benny Koonyevsky and new guitarist Auerelien Budynek — released its latest CD, “Headspace,” last summer. The band blends rock, jazz, funk, R&B, hip-hop and freewheeling instrumentals. And, of course, there’s the Viper.
People tend to look at his instrument as a novelty, Deninzon said.
“I’m trying to get past that and just make music,” he said. “People kind of freak out because it’s different.”
The animated Deninzon — “I go nuts at live shows” — said “people have called me the Jimi Hendrix of the violin,” although he said he’s constantly looking to refine his sound — “It’s a journey, not a destination.” He also wants to revive a dying part of the live-concert experience by “bringing back the glory of the guitar solos, or, in my case, violin solos.”
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As a young man, 