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:: Neal Alger - guitar
As a result of the stylistic variety of music he has performed, guitarist Neal Alger fits
smoothly in the eclectic music tapestry that RENE and his ensemble creates. Since Neal
started freelancing in the jazz scene of Chicago, he has performed with luminaries Lin
Halliday and Ron Dewar (both saxophonists), trumpeter Ron Friedman, harmonica player Howard
Levy and has played throughout the city with his own trio. The music of Latin America is
another part of Neal's musical realm - he has performed with Ruben Alvarez' Sunsounds (Jazz
Institute Festival), Macondo Stew (South Shore Jazz Fest) and Samba Samba 2000 in Costa Rica.
Obsess and Peking Turtle are two contemporary R&B/Funk groups that Neal has performed with in
nightclubs and several festivals. In addition, Neal's accompaniment skills have enabled him to
back such local jazz singers as Grazyna Augusick, April Aliosio, Stephanie Browning, Claudia
Perez, and Lisa Lauren. Surprisingly enough, Neal has performed 20th century classical music
with a very modern and eclectic orchestra called the Revolution Ensemble. Neal's most recent
projects include a tour with a trio to West Africa as part of a cultural ambassador program
this fall and a CD of original guitar trio music to be released in early 2000.
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:: Bob Garrett - percussion
Bob Garrett has been performing in Chicago and around the country for the last six years. His
specialty is hand drums from Africa, Cuba, India and the Middle East. Bob performs with modern
dancers, New Music, jazz, pop and zydeco musicians as well as in theatre productions. In the
Fall of 1998, he toured the West Coast with Capricorn recording artists The Freddy Jones Band
during which a live CD was recorded and released nationally. His other recording credits are with
Citrus, a local Chicago band; Glen Yarborough produced by Murial Anderson; the Paul Switch Band;
Underwater People; and the forthcoming CD produced by Rick Barnes featuring singer/songwriter
Miga. Bob Garrett studied classical percussion at Ball State University for three years before
moving to Chicago and finishing his degree at Columbia College.
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:: Tom Hipskind - drums
Tom Hipskind has an extensive drumming background in jazz performance, composition and arranging.
He has played in the Chicago area for a number of years with a variety of different artists,
including Brian Culbertson (with whom he's recorded two CDs and toured the US), Howard Levy,
Patricia Barber, Jenna Mammina, Fred Simon, Diane Delin, Fareed Haque, Rick Braun, Steve Rodgy,
Deanna Witkoski, Kimo Williams' Kimotion, and many others. He also keeps an extensive recording
schedule doing commercial sessions for McDonald's, Hardees, 3Com and Hill's Insurance, and also
recording with many Chicago-based jazz and pop artists.
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:: Paul Merar - bass
Paul Merar's lengthy career began to excel once he received his B.A. in Music Theory from DePaul
University. He has written advertising jingles for national corporations including the Wall Street
Journal, Sunny Delite, Tropicana Hotel, Toyota, Dodge, Ford, McDonald's, Levis, Lawry's, Skittles,
Armour All and numerous others. He has appeared on 20 albums including the Stayin' Alive soundtrack,
the Rocky IV soundtrack, and Frank Stallone's solo album. His television and film appearances include
the Golden Globe Awards, Merv Griffin, Solid Gold, Stayin' Alive and Dance Fever, and he has toured
with Frank Stallone, Stix Hooper, Iyo Matsumoto, Arbors, Cheveré, Vicki Hubley, Faith Pillow, Denise
Ossie and numerous bands in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas.
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:: Matt Agnew - cello
Matt Agnew, a most accomplished musician, holds a bachelor of Music degree from DePaul University.
Mr. Agnew has played with many Chicago area orchestras, including the Civic Orchestra of Chicago,
"Concertante di Chicago," and the orchestras of Lincolnwood, Evanston, Skokie and Lake Shore. A busy
freelancer and studio musician, Matt performs widely around the Chicagoland area with several different
ensembles; his musical versatility includes the styles of classical, jazz, blues and world music.
Currently, he studies with William Cernota of the Lyric Opera - Matt also teaches private lessons in
Chicago and Crystal Lake, where he manages their youth symphony.
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:: Melissa Bach - cello
Melissa Bach, who began studying the cello at age twelve, recently completed her undergraduate training
from DePaul University, where she studied with Christopher Costanza and earned, with highest honors,
a degree in cello performance. While Ms. Bach has been a section cellist in many orchestras - the DePaul
University Symphony Orchestra, Kenosha Symphony Orchestra and Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra - her greatest
love is performing chamber music. Ms. Bach has studied chamber music with such notables of the Chicago
String Quartet as Elsa Charleston, Cliff Colnot and Larry Combs. Ms. Bach currently performs with a
string quartet that premiers new works by contemporary composers. When she is not performing, Ms. Bach
manages Concertante di Chicago, a professional Chicago chamber orchestra.
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