Jazz in July: Spiral Group
4 July 2017

Jazz in July: Spiral Group

Spiral Group is a fellowship of musicians who presents every song with heart, integrity and respect. They will be presenting the music of Brian Blade, Pat Metheny, Bill Friselll and some of their originals.

 

Arthur Wiyano (bass) 

Arthur Wiyano was born and raised in Bandung, Indonesia where he first learnt how to play the guitar from his father at six. His music has been greatly influenced by fusion, funk and soul-funk bands such as Fourplay and Incognito. In 2014, Arthur seized the opportunity to study music full-time at LASALLE, majoring in bass under the tutelage of internationally renowned bassist Christy Lloyd Smith III. It was only at LASALLE that he was introduced to swing and straight-ahead jazz, of which he enjoys playing, arranging and jamming to.

 

Rizal Sanip (drums)

Rizal Sanip’s homegrown passion for music has propelled him into musicals starting with Honk! in 2002.  A studio, club and theatre musician as well, he plays the drums, percussions and trumpet. He served as a regular in the Singapore Armed Forces Central Band for 13 years. 

 

His working relationship with Pangdemonium, Dream Academy, Wild Rice Productions, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Vizpro, Toy Factory and Base Entertainment has provided him with opportunities to work in theatre productions such as Into the Woods, Dim Sum Dollies, Crazy Christmas, Broadway Beng, SingDollar, Little Shop of Horrors, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Getai The Musical, Jack and the Beansprout, Cinderel-lah, Oi! Sleeping Beauty, 881 the Musical, Spirits, Aladdin, December Rains, Glass Anatomy, Spring Awakening, Great World Cabaret, LKY The Musical, as well as award-winning productions Next to Normal and Lion King.

 

He currently teaches music at the German-European School in Singapore.

 

Eugene Ang (piano)  

Eugene Ang started his musical journey playing classical piano. His love for jazz began during his years in college at Carnegie Mellon University. He has played at Singapore events such as the Mosaic Music Festival, Huayi – Chinese Festival of Arts and CHIJazz, as well as various festivals in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and China. Ang has recorded two albums with international jazz band Mellow Motif, of which he was a founding member. Mellow Motif has made appearances on MTV, PBS and CNNgo. He has released a duo album with flautist Rit Xu entitled On a Little Street in Singapore: A Jazzy Conversation. Ang actively performs, composes and arranges in Singapore.

 

Rachma Lim (keyboards) 

A graduate of the LASALLE College of the Arts with a BA (Hons) in Music (Jazz), Rachma Lim has had much experience playing with jazz musicians in Singapore and across the region. She has studied alongside some of the most seasoned Singapore musicians, including jazz pianists Aya Sekine and Joshua Wan. Lim moved to New York to pursue a Master’s degree in Music (Jazz Studies) at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College. Exposed to the ever-evolving soundscape in Manhattan, she has developed her own unique musical identity under the tutelage of the world’s finest jazz musicians such as David Berkman, Antonio Hart, Jeb Patton, Dennis Mackrel and Charanee Wade.

 

Corey Manders (saxophone and flute) 

Corey Manders in his early years studied with multiple jazz luminaries, including Julian Priester (The Sun Ra Arkestra), Pat Labarbera (The Elvin Jones Band), and Bob Mover (Chet Baker and the Charles Mingus Orchestra). After completing a degree in Music at York University of Toronto, Manders performed internationally in jazz festivals and clubs with the jazz-fusion group One Step Beyond, a featured act in the Toronto and Montreal Jazz festivals. Several of his compositions are included in feature films and television episodes. Aside from a deep background in jazz performance, Manders also has a strong background in technology (Ph.D Electrical Engineering, University of Toronto), and has been working in Singapore for A*STAR since 2007.

 

Alvin Wong (guitar)

Alvin Wong is full-time musician and a graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in Music Performance. Wong is active both as an educator and a performer in Singapore, and is also part of several bands in Singapore such as Felix Phang’s Imaginary forces and gypsy jazz group Gypsyfication, and leads his own band, Spiral Group.