Band Biographies

Michael Smolens
has been jokingly diagnosed with A.B.L.S.
(Acquired Band Leader Syndrome), leading four ensembles
and co-leading two others.  They include the mini-big band
KRIYA Octet, a 9-person vocal MIRABAI ENSEMBLE,
the electro-acoustic earPlay Jazzquintet, the West-African
acoustic fusion trio Bal du Kor, the New American Songbook
Project, and the Jewish music duo THE BATKAS
featuring vocalist Biaja Solomon.  

Whereas all of these other groups are highly arranged,
Bal du Kor is primarily improvised, fusing his love
for free improvisation (four CDs of free duos)
with his fascination for West-African music.  
Though employing different instrumental colors
in one ensemble is typical, this is the only ensemble
that works equally well with young children as well as adults.

Michael has been composing for nearly a half a century,
and freely incorporates colors, moods, and arranging conceptsfrom a multitude of influences.  His primary
sources of inspiration include: contemporary jazz
(Art Lande, Paul McCandless, Nguyên Lê),
modern vocal flights (Bobby McFerrin),
20th-century classical (Brian Eno,
Steve Reich, Gabriel Faure), North Indian Classical
(Hindusthani), African music (West African, Afro-Cuban),
modern Brazilian music (Egberto Gismonti,
Heitor Villa-Lobos), accompanied Sufi poetry
(Hafiz, Rumi), and stage magic (Jeff McBride).  
His works have been recorded by jazz legends
Stefon Harris (vibes), Paul McCandless (reeds),
and Pandit Zakir Hussain (tabla).  Michael is also a veteran
teacher (nearly four decades), consultant, author, and poet.

Brian Rice
is one of the most in-demand percussionists in
Northern California and collaborates with Michael Smolens in two other ensembles—the mini-big band KRIYA Octet
and the electro-acoustic earPlay Jazzquintet.  
Brian's style range is vast, extending from jazz,
West-African, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and North Indian,
to various shades of pop, to contemporary classical
and experimental music.   (He has worked directly with
the renowned electronic instrument inventor
Donald Buchla).  The range of instruments he plays reflects
his diversity—West-African djembe, dun-dun,
shakeree, bells; Latin congas and panderio; North Indian
tablas; Middle-Eastern dumbek, and modern drum set.

Some of the artists that he has performed with are
The Paul Winter Consort, Donald Byrd, Sonando,
Balafon Marimba Ensemble, and Wake The Dead, while
his recording credits include Steve Gadd, Tony Levin,
Mike Marshall, and Jay Thomas.  Brian has taught workshops throughout the country at Queens College, Oberlin College, Lewis & Clark College, Portland State University, the annual Brazil Camp, and continues to coach privately in the East Bay.  He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in both percussion performance and ethnomusicology and has studied with Regino Jimenez, Jesus Alfonso and Enrique Mesa from Cuba and Jorge Alabe from Brazil.

Daniel Berkman
is a composer, multi-instrumentalist (keyboard, guitar,
percussion, drum set), vocalist, electronic musician,
RTFM recording artist, and innovator on the kora
(a 21-stringed harp from West Africa).  Upon finding this ancient jewel in 1996, Daniel wasted no time in unearthing the kora's compositional and sonic potential,
first by exploring its rich heritage of
traditional playing techniques and repertoire, then by
extending its electronic possibilities through devices such as
the Whammy Pedal and the Oberheim Echoplex.  
His first three CDs, "Heartstrings", "Feverdreams,"
and "Headlands" mark this period between 1996 and 2000
which feature Daniel creating other worldly soundscapes
and a playing technique drawing on his myriad influences.  
The 'dark side of music' was explored in that second CD,
a collection of live improvisations inspired by San Francisco performance artist Frank Garvey's robotic art and apocalyptic atmosphere.

While touring West-Africa (Senegal, Gambia and Mali) in December of 2002 as guitarist and kora player with Djali Kunda Kouyate (the twins), Daniel also studied kora, djembe and ngoni with various masters there.   
The result is his latest work, "Calabashmoon" (2005),
a collection of crafty and poignant kora pieces woven
into a tapestry of recorded samples and impressions
of that region.  Daniel has recently added the gravikord
(a 21-stringed stainless steel electric kora) to his arsenal
of instruments which he manipulates, loops and
transfigures with laptop, looping software, and other devices.  His brand new CD "Tape" under the moniker
"Colfax" is now available on iTunes and Amazon.  

Daniel has also performed with some of the most important
up-and-coming names in the San Francisco electronic and pop scene (Essence and Ben Graves) and has composed extensively for dance companies and choreographers. He is an original member of Bal du Kor and has also collaborated with Michael Smolens in various duo and large ensemble performances as well.