ALEX DE GRASSI REVIEWS

"De Grassi's solo steel-string pieces resemble orchestral overtures more than mere songs. Alex's control and sensitivity are almost as striking as his technical expertise."

Guitar Player Magazine

"Key...is the sense of rhythm that permeates much of de Grassi's playing. Using a variety of rhythmic and tonal dynamics he achieves... 'a microcosm of bigger-sounding instruments.' Drawing upon new perspectives, as well as the traditions of old, de Grassi has skillfully blended elements of folk, classical, jazz, and world music, and synthesized something new. Nowhere is that rare ability more apparent than with his latest benchmark effort, The World's Getting Loud."

Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine

"De Grassi is certainly one of the greatest technical virtuosos of the guitar, and he innovates as much as the past masters of the field."

BAM Magazine

"De Grassi has mastered the art of playing melodies, counter-melodies, harmonies, and intricate rhythms simultaneously. His touch is as exquisite as his lyricism, and his improvisational/compositional musical consciousness is as intricate and subtle as a sparkling crystal."

Down Beat

MICHAEL MANRING REVIEWS

"...one of the greatest steel string guitar player/composers of the last decade."

Acoustic Guitar Magazine

"...the hottest bassist today."

The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Michael Manring has redefined the role of the bass."

Boston Globe

"He is undoubtedly the most astonishing player you'll ever see. His approach is totally his own, and beyond the jaw-dropping pyrotechnics is a deep, emotional connection to the music you won't hear from many people. I've listened to him for years, but sitting there in person is a life altering

Musicplayer.com

"Michael Manring is the best bassist playing today."

-Intercity Magazine, Italy

"Manring is creating musical history."

L.A. Jazz Scene

"...the bassist with the most fresh and inventive playing today...the uncontested master of open-tuning bass playing...he creates a modal tapestry of very colorful arpeggios, giving one the impression that two or three bassists are playing at the same time. His extraordinary lyrical sense keeps his music from becoming a circus act during his solo pieces...I don't know what got to me the most: his virtuosity, his talent as a composer, his relish for experimentation or his disarming graciousness...no one would seem to be able to stop his ascent."

Musicien magazine (France)

"...must be heard to be believed."

Salt Lake Tribune

"...Manring is a master of the fretless bass without rival."

Guitar Club Magazine (Italy)

"...a virtuoso electric bassist who's almost single-handedly re-defined the outer limits of the instrument."

San Jose Mercury News

"...extraordinary electric bass playing; not only does he produce sounds that are unexpected from a bass guitar, he uses the bass as a melodic lead

City Paper

"If you ever get the opportunity to see Michael Manring perform a solo bass clinic or concert, don't miss it! It will be an experience you will never forget. I have been fortunate enough to see him play twice, and both shows were completely amazing. They changed my life and my outlook on how the bass can be played. On both occasions I left the show thinking that he was one of the truly great musicians of all-time on any instrument and that there could not possibly be anyway he could further push the sonic and technical possibilities of the electric bass."

Bassically.net

"...magical cadences that Manring somehow manages to coax from his fingerboard...A triumph of exotic note clusters and crystalline harmonics,the piece might even fool a trained ear into thinking it was produced by a chamber ensemble rather than a lone bass player."

The Toronto Star

"Michael Manring can do more with a bass than even the most creative individual could imagine."

Napa Valley Register

"So what exactly is it that Manring does with a bass guitar? Everything."

BAM magazine

"This song truly showed his talent and made the listener wonder how the piece could be accomplished with only two hands."

Los Angeles Loyolan

"Manring has brought the bass to new heights."

Syracuse Herald American Stars

"Forget his astounding technique and musicality; forget his absolute command of his instruments; forget how seamlessly the musical ideas and the performance of them were wedded together... The enlightenment came most from feeling (seeing, hearing) the joy Michael felt to be playing."

Keyboard

"Manring has incredible technique: two-handed tapping, harmonics, chording,singing fretless lines- he can do it all. And yet Manring never lets his monstrous technique get in the way of his music. He places lyricism above, chops, although he has those in abundance. Not one for grandstanding or gimmickry, he prefers to let his bass sing organically and tastefully in,service of the song... The guy's a virtuoso..."

Bill Milkowski, Guitar World

"But it was Mike Manring on bass who stole the show...Manring played the two basses as if he were three or four people, alternating his right and left

hands back and forth between the instruments, eliciting an emotional and exciting medley of rhythms."

Esther Benenson

Richmond Times-Dispatch

"I firmly believe that Michael Manring has done more to expand the parameters of electric bass playing than any musician since Jaco Pastorius."

www.hughesreviews.com <http://www.hughesreviews.com>

"The electric bass guitar is still a young instrument, just 40 years old this year. During its brief history, there have been a few players who showed the way- visionaries whose artistry and technical innovations expanded the possibilities for the rest of us. Add the name Michael Manring to that list... Although Manring's playing is often astounding, he has consciously downplayed what he refers to as the 'circus' aspect... a major leap forward... another step in the evolution of the electric bass."

Jim Roberts, Bass Player magazine

"Manring unlike anyone else on the planet does things that are so innovative it would take years to try and even figure out unless he actually showed you. But in spite of Manring's ability to use everything at his disposal to push the envelope of bass technique, he does write and perform deep meaningful music... all the tools and tricks are means to an end. ""Michael Manring is a brilliant innovator who has done more to explore and expand the role of the electric bass than any other bassist since Jaco Pastorius."

Blaine FallisAbout.com

CHRISTOPHER GARCIA REVIEWS

with CONTINUUM

"Garcia, an excellent percussionist, really pushes the group, especially in the solo sections....his sparkling cymbal work coloring the background..."

Cadence Jazz Magazine

" There are chops aplenty here(Christopher Garcia's clean and forceful drumming stand out, but they never get in the way of the ensemble...."

Signal to Noise

with THE GRAND MOTHERS - EX FZ ALUMNI

Garcia's drum-solo rendition of "Uncle Meat" caused jaws to drop"

SIGNAL TO NOISE

with QUARTETO NUEVO

Christopher Garcia has discarded much of the ordinary drum kit (no snares, tom-toms, or bass drums) in favor of tabla, a family of lightly struck cymbals, and a variety of oriental instruments. The band often plays in odd meter grooves well served by the percussionist.

ALL ABOUT JAZZ REVIEW

with MICHAEL PIERRE VLATKOVICH

"Garcia's playing is vibrant and alive with passion, humor and a good deal of technical prowess, not to mention the breadth of vision necessary to effectively translate such an unpredictable stream of music. And the fact that the trio seem perfectly at home with unpredictably and the endless world of musical possibilities it presents makes them perhaps"

The Weekly Alibi