Dennis Rea
| Dennis Rea | |
|---|---|
Dennis Rea (photo: Anne Joiner)
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| Background information | |
| Born | July 7, 1957 |
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genres |
Jazz Experimental rock Art rock Electronic music World music Progressive rock Ambient music |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, writer, editor, event/concert organizer |
| Instruments |
Guitar Piano Chorded zither Kalimba |
| Years active | 1977–present |
| Labels | Moontower Records, Sky Records, China Record Company, Soundtrack Boulevard Music, First World Music, Infrasound, HipSync, Prudence, Periplum, Extreme, Linden, Palace of Lights, Noise Asia, Materiali Sonori |
| Associated acts |
LAND Earthstar Stackpole Moraine Jeff Greinke Chekov Eric Apoe Savant Identity Crisis The Vagaries Iron Kim Style Tempered Steel Ting Bu Dong |
| Website |
Dennis Rea website MySpace: Dennis Rea |
Dennis Rea (born July 7, 1957) is an American guitarist and music event organizer currently living in Seattle. Rea first came to prominence as a member of the electronic music group Earthstar in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is probably best known in the West as a musician for his work with Jeff Greinke in Land. Rea's first solo album, Shadow in Dreams (1990), is notable as one of the first releases in mainland China by a western musician on the state record label. He currently leads the quintet Moraine.
Rea has collaborated with Hector Zazou, Trey Gunn (formerly of King Crimson), and current King Crimson and former REM and Ministry drummer Bill Rieflin.
Two of Rea's most important influences were the György Ligeti compositions on the 2001: A Space Odyssey soundtrack and the King Crimson album In the Court of the Crimson King. In a 2001 interview in Exposé magazine Rea comments on the impact on his music: "The former opened my ears to expanded conceptions of form and tonality and to the world of 'extended' instrumental technique, and Ligeti remains my favorite composer to this day. The latter showed me that rock music could be so much more than the usual foursquare pounding with juvenile lyrics."
Other music which influenced Rea's development included progressive rock and jazz bands Gentle Giant, Matching Mole, Van der Graaf Generator, Henry Cow, and Centipede. He credits King Crimson and Soft Machine with his abiding interest in modern jazz and credits his brother with introducing him to the music of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, Albert Ayler, and Ornette Coleman.
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