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Don Peretz

New York based drummer and composer Don Peretz is known for his progressive electro-instrumentalist releases such as Manufactured Region and DIKSON on the Deepdig Records label- merging industrial and electronica with live instrument performance. Born and raised in Southern California, Don's music education started at Hamilton High School Academy of Music. Post graduation Don went on to study philosophy, music composition, and instrument performance at the University of Southern California, while studying under the tutelage of Vince Mendoza (composition), Jeff Hamilton and the legendary Joe Porcaro. After a move to New York in the late 1990s Don attended and received his BM from the Manhattan School of Music where he continued his instrument study with John Riley. Since living in New York he has spanned several music scenes, from the progressive jazz movement to session work covering everything from avant-garde to commercial recordings. He has performed at such iconic New York venues as the Village Vanguard, Birdland, 55 Bar, Smalls, and The Knitting Factory with artists such as Russell Ferrante, Cyndi Lauper, Dave Binney, Bob Mintzer, Donny McCaslin, Jon Herington, Oz Noy, and Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm w/John Fedchock and Alan Ferber. Tours include Europe and North America; leading his group in such festivals as The Oslo Jazz Fest, Prague Jazz Festival, and the International Association of Jazz Educators Conventions.


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37
Album Review

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace

Read "Grit & Grace" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Asked to name the traits women most need to succeed in today's business world, Forbes magazine in a 2019 article underlined two of them as “grit and grace." One woman who took the advice to heart is bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton. She came late to jazz but has since made it her domain of choice, founding the trombone-centric septet Bonegasm and recording three albums under its name, the most recent of which, Grit & Grace, endorses Forbes' position by using ...

10
Album Review

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace

Read "Grit & Grace" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Blessed be the 'bone of invention and intention that is Jennifer Wharton. A mere six years ago, the noted bass trombonist had the idea to form a slide-centric septet and commission new music to bring her oft-neglected and ballasting instrument to the fore. Driven to act on that concept, Wharton thought things through, put a plan in motion and willed Bonegasm into existence. That aptly-titled band recorded its eponymous debut in 2018, released that revelation of a record in 2019, ...

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Liner Notes

Jennifer Wharton: Not a Novelty

Read "Jennifer Wharton: Not a Novelty" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


The eponymous debut from Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm broke the mold. There are no two ways about it. And while some may look at a statement like that and cry hyperbole, history begs to differ. With rare exception, the bass trombone—a horn forever typecast as an anchor—has been marginalized. So the idea of an ensemble featuring that denizen of the depths—a band playing music specifically commissioned to hinge on it, highlight it, and showcase the playing of one of its foremost ...

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Album Review

Don Peretz: Dikson

Read "Dikson" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Dikson takes its name from a sparsely populated arctic port located in northern Russia. And its music, though heated by strong individualists, largely reflects that origin, embodying the powerfully icy atmosphere of its influence. Masterminded by drummer Don Peretz, this eight-song jazz-tronica journey, nodding toward a remote realm at the top of the world, bumps, grooves and gives off an arresting, frigid energy that's all its own. Combing through hours of playing from the likes of tenor ...

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Album Review

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Not A Novelty

Read "Not A Novelty" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


The trombone came into its own as a lead and solo instrument in jazz on the shoulders of J.J. Johnson, in the early days of bebop. His Four Trombones: The Debut Recordings (Prestige, 1953) celebrated the big brass instrument with three fellow 'bone men--Kai Winding, Bennie Green and Willie Davis, all joining Johnson in a four man front line. Now Jennifer Wharton presents a four trombone summit of her own with Not A Novelty, the second outing of her group ...

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Album Review

Don Peretz: Foremen

Read "Foremen" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


Drummer Don Peretz is onto something here as he pilots this New York City-based quartet through an expansive musical aura where improvisation and compositional structure attain a happy medium. Take for example, Russ Johnson's crybaby-like muted trumpet choruses on “Simple Man, as Perez and bassist Dave Ambrosio lay down a tight groove amid a tunefully, blues-oriented primary theme.

The simplistic connotations of the track's title summon up acute visual characteristics, but the band's makeover features a medley of programmatic horn ...

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"Serving as curator, editor, architect, percussive engine and musical glue, Don Peretz shapes a uniquely compelling and electrifying statement." -DIKSON review allaboutjazz.com "Together these two New Yorkers (Don Peretz & Oz Noy) have created a musical, avant-garde snapshot of their mutual city, or any urban area for that matter. The EP is a unique blend of fusion and electronic soundscapes, which both Noy and Peretz eloquently improvise through. It’s a notable approach towards fusion music and improvisation in the twenty-first century." -Abstract Logix "AMbean, a synth-heavy, electronica-drenched album from drummer Don Peretz, mixes traditional fusion with ambient textures to yield eye opening results

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Grit & Grace

Sunnyside Records
2023

buy

Not A Novelty

Sunnyside Records
2021

buy

Dikson

Deepdig Records
2021

buy

Foremen

Fresh Sound Records
2005

buy

Be Normal

From: Grit & Grace
By Don Peretz

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