SWEET PLANTAIN Biography

Sweet Plantain is a string quartet that specializes in genre-blurring, original compositions and arrangements as well as contemporary works by Latin American composers. Its unique style fuses Latin, classical, jazz, and improvisational forms.
 
The group's Mission is to give voice to a contemporary, urban, Latino sound, and so much of the group's repertoire is rooted in improvisation. The art of improvisation, once an integral part of western classical music, has all but been abandoned in the training and performance of classical artists, although it continues to occupy an important role in nearly every other musical genre. Sweet Plantain therefore works to weave the possibilities of improvisation into classical music by arranging existing pieces and writing original compositions that contain improvised sections. The group also makes use of extended percussive techniques, some of them original creations, to best achieve and showcase the rhythmic vitality characteristic of Latin music. 
 

Highlights of their 2009-2010 seasons include collaborations with renowned cellist Borislav Strulev in a tour of Russia that will include a performance in Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow. European engagements with virtuoso pianist, composer, Matt Herskowitz who was featured on the Grammy nominated album The Swing of Christmas by Barry Manilow and whose playing can be heard on the acclaimed Grammy nominated film The Triplets of Belleville. And numerous performances in North America including Northeastern University, The University of Maryland, The Reston Center in Reston VA, The Craver Center in San Antonio TX, The 92nd Street Y Tribecca, and the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Sun Valley Idaho.

Past musical projects include: recorded with renowned composer Ryuichi Sakamoto on his score for the major motion picture, Silk (starring Keira Knightly and Alfred Molina), and on the debut album of Sakamoto-produced Kotoringo, a pop/jazz, singer-songwriter on the rise in Japan. Sweet Plantain collaborated with celebrated dance choreographer, Bill T. Jones, and the Afro beat vanguards, Antibalas, to present a workshop for the genesis of the Broadway musical, Fela! Sweet Plantain also had the privilege of presenting a concert in collaboration with Composers Concordance, debuting nine world premieres from such notable composers as Margaret Brouwer, Daron Hagen, Andy Brick, and Gene Pritsker. 2008 included performances as featured artists at The Columbia Festival of the Arts (Columbia, MD), The Endless Mountain Music Festival (Wellsboro, PA), Utah State University, The Newburgh Jazz Series and The Harrisburg Symphony Stroll, (Harrisburg, PA) as well as regular performances in venues throughout NYC including Joe's Pub, Drom, The Brooklyn Library and The Harlem Stage.
 
The group's special commitment to the musical Education of NYC youth has additionally found Sweet Plantain designing and running a new string program at the St. Ignatius School in the South Bronx, a neighborhood with one of the highest poverty rates in all of the United States. Also, in partnership with the legendary Tony Bennett's nonprofit organization, Exploring the Arts, Sweet Plantain has been hosting public high school music student interns, or "apprentices," who regularly rehearse with the group and perform alongside the quartet at the end of each semester. Sweet Plantain also performs numerous educational programs and residences throughout the country.

Quotes

"It's been a pleasure to work with Sweet Plantain both for my own compositions, and for artists' I've produced. Their playing is very precise, yet passionate, and the fact that they've studied both classical and popular music makes them very versatile players. They are perfect for studio sessions as they sound like a true ensemble, and not individually hired musicians. I look forward to working with them in the future."

- Ryuichi Sakamoto 2007 Academy Awards/ Grammy/ Golden Globe-winning composer

"I had the pleasure of hearing Sweet Plantain perform this September. What an amazing experience. Blending jazz, Latin and classical styles, this virtuoso quartet brings a freshness and inventiveness to every note they play. The audience was enthralled, and I was simply blown away."

- Stuart Malina 2007 Tony Award winning conductor

"One of the most exciting and interesting projects I have heard in years..."

Daniel Phillips, Orion String Quartet

Member Biographies

Violinist/Trombonist Eddie Venegas was born in Caracas, Venezuela and studied with Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College where he obtained his Bachelors and Masters in Performance of Classical Violin. Venegas is also a self-taught trombonist and very active on both instruments in the New York City freelance jazz, classical, and Latin music scenes. He has worked with such renowned artists as John Fadis, Joe Zawinul, Tito Puente, Marc Antony, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Dani Rojo and Johnny Pacheco, and has appeared as a soloist with numerous groups, including the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the Hudson Jazz Ensemble, Saint Martin of Tours Symphony Orchestra, the Carpentier Quartet and the Queens Philharmonic. Venegas plays regularly with the Harrisburg Symphony, La Orquesta Broadway, the Sphinx Symphony and En Talla, and his original compositions can be heard among the Sweet Plantain and The 3 Sad Cats Jazz Ensemble's regular repertoire. Venegas can additionally be seen in the Jennifer Lopez/Marc Antony movie, El Cantante.

Violinist Romulo Benavides studied with the late Emil Friedman in his native Venezuela and obtained his Bachelors degree from The Juilliard School. As Concertmaster of Arcos Juveniles de Caracas, he performed as soloist in the United States, Spain, Dominican Republic and throughout Venezuela, and in 1985, he won 1st Prize at the Juan Bautista Plaza Violin Competition in Caracas. He went on to perform as soloist with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, Carabobo Chamber Orchestra and the Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra. In New York City he has performed with the Carpentier Quartet, Ensemble America, Frank Valiente Tango Quintet, and with Mauricio Najt and Alberto Quiroga. Benavides performs as the first violinist of the Dali Quartet and is Concertmaster and featured soloist of the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. He has recorded for New World Records and performed in master classes for Itzhak Perlman at Brooklyn College and for Peter Winograd at The Aspen Music School.

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Joe Deninzon has been hailed by critics as “The Jimi Hendrix of the Violin”, because of his innovative style on the electric seven-string violin and his compositions combining jazz and rock with Gypsy influences. A musician who transcends many genres, he has worked with Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Phoebe Snow, Everclear, Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, Smokey Robinson, and Les Paul among many others. He has also performed as a solo electric violinist with the New York City Ballet and has performed, co-written, and musically directed the of Broadway show, “Spider Dance” with percussionist Alessandra Belloni. Joe is the lead singer and violinist for the band, Stratospheerius (www.stratospheerius.com), who have released four CD’s to international acclaim, and were named “Best Jam Band” in the Musician’s Atlas Independent Music Awards. Joe can be heard on over a hundred CD’s and jingles as a violinist and string arranger. An 11-time BMI Jazz Composer’s grant recipient and a winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, his original music has been used on CMT, MTV VH1, Comedy Central, National Geographic, the Travel Channel and the History Channel among others. Joe has just released a new CD with his Acoustic Jazz Trio, entitled “Exuberance” which mixes the style of Stephane Grappeli with covers of Radiohead and Alice in Chains. An active clinician, Joe has taught at Mark Oconnor’s renowned String Camp and will be teaching at Mark Woods Rock Orchestra Camp in summer 2011. He is currently writing a book on extended techniques for electric violin for Mel Bay Publications, due out in 2012. Joe holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Indiana University and a Master’s from Manhattan School of Music. His teachers have included Josef Gingold and David Baker.

Violist Orlando Wells, a New Jersey native, studied at LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts and graduated with Behrens Foundation and B’nai Brith scholarships. He then went on to S.U.N.Y. Purchase and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers. Wells has held the concertmaster chair with Orchestra of the Bronx and the Bronx Opera and has appeared as a soloist with Antara, the Manhattan Virtuosi and the St. Peter by the Sea Orchestra. He also performs with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, SONYC Chamber Orchestra, Ritz Chamber Players, Quartet Evolution, Sweet Plantain, Radio City Christmas Show Orchestra and on Broadway with Phantom of the Opera, The Producers, Spamalot and Wicked. He has collaborated with such greats as John Legend, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Kanye West, Marvin Hamlisch, the Akua Dixon Swing Quartet, Sojourner Strings, and Dionne Warwick.

Cellist David Gotay, born in the Bronx, has performed in such notable venues as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and the White House. He has played on television in PBS’ Sessions at 54th Street, on the QVC Network and in the nationally-broadcast Hurricane Katrina Benefit with Sheryl Crow. He has collaborated with such artists as Alicia Keys, Billy Joel, k.d. lang, David Sanborn, Little Jimmy Scott, John Blake Jr., and Mannheim Steamroller. Gotay was a member of the critically-acclaimed Carpentier Quartet, is solo cellist for Sasha and Shawna (EMI records) and is a member of the experimental hip-hop/classical group Sound Liberation, whose debut album is soon to be released on the Col Legno label in Germany. He regularly performs with the Harrisburg Symphony, Key West Symphony, and the Sphinx Symphony in Detroit. Among his numerous awards are included: Chamber Music America’s Residency Partnership Program Grant; Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks Visiting Professorship, University of Michigan; Harlem School of the Arts Certificate of Appreciation; and Chamber Music Live Award, Queens College.