Stratospheerius

Stratospheerius
Origin	New York City
Genres	Jazz fusion, funk, jam, progressive rock
Years active	2001–present
Labels	D-Zone Entertainment, Digital Nations
Website	http://www.stratospheerius.com
Members	Joe Deninzon Aurelien Budynek Jamie Bishop Lucianna Padmore
Past members	Alex Skolnick Rufus Philpot Grisha Alexiev Chris Buono Van Davis Tony Pulizzi Scott Chasolen Ron Baron Jake Ezra Mack Price Bob Bowen

Stratospheerius are a band based out of New York City that play music in a progressive rock, jazz fusion and jam band genres. They are led by electric violinist Joe Deninzon who also plays the mandolin and serves as the band's lead vocalist.

Deninzon was born in St. Petersburg, Russia but grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and studied classical and jazz violin at Indiana University. Before relocating to the New York City area in 1998, he recorded a jazz fusion cd Electric/Blue, playing primarily on a 6-string Jensen electric violin. While freelancing in the New York City area, Deninzon was also studying at the Manhattan School of Music and teaching at the New School. It was while at The New School that he met and began collaborating with guitarist Alex Skolnick who was studying jazz guitar there at the time. Their band eventually became known as Stratospheerius, and they toured, recorded and released the The Adventures of Stratospheerius album in 2001-2002.

The band consisted of Deninzon on violin, Skolnick on guitar, Rufus Philpot on bass, Scott Chasolen on keyboards, Grisha Alexiev on drums with DJ Big Wiz on the turntables. The 12-track album consisted mostly of originals written by Deninzon as well as covers by Vince Guaraldi, Stevie Wonder, and Wayne Shorter. The band’s live shows became known for their extended jams, musical improvisation and their violin/guitar interplay, often invoking comparisons to bands like Dave Matthews Band and Bela Fleck.

...
Wikipedia