Joe DeRenzo
Encyclopedia
Joseph Peter DeRenzo is an American jazz drummer, composer and producer currently living and working in New York City
. DeRenzo is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild
.
DeRenzo has worked with Nile's Project to help stop MRSA
through public awareness concerts featuring his Beatles tribute band Joe DeRenzo & Friends, a jazzy tribute to The Beatles.
and resided in the city of Anaheim and in what is now known as Anaheim Hills for the early part of his life through 1970. It was during these years that his interest in music began by way of his dad's record collection which included the LPs of Frank Sinatra
, Ray Charles
, Louie Bellson
and Boots Randolph
. While attending St. Catherine's Military Academy
from 1964 through 1966, the sound of the drums from the cadet marching band served as the inspiration for DeRenzo to fashion his first pair of drumsticks in his uncle's garage. "Thanks to the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show
, Ringo Starr
was probably the first drummer that made an impression on me."
By the mid to late 1960s, AM and FM radio begin to provide the alternative soundtrack to his expanding musical awareness with pop bands such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Lovin Spoonful. Intrigued by the cover art of, most notably Jimi Hendrix
's Are You Experienced? and Cream
's Disraeli Gears
, DeRenzo begins his fascination with late 1960s Pop-Art including Peter Max
posters, scarves and school notebooks. Using his friend's copy of the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida LP as a practice pad, he woodsheds to the Ron Bushy
psychedelic opus and drum solo virtually destroying the cover in the process.
, DeRenzo meets future Tasca bandmates Bob Greco and Glenn Papandrea. Original lineup for Tasca is Bob Greco, Glenn Papandrea, Mike Tortorette, Jeff Petrie (now Sargeant), Joe DeRenzo. The band plays its first gig at a girl's birthday party. The girl is disappointed when the band is unable to play her request of Puppy Love
. The band is paid $10.00 which nets DeRenzo his first professional scratch of $2.00. After an altercation at rehearsal, Tortorette is forced out of the band. The quartet continues playing junior high school dances and parties then disbands over creative differences within two years.
April 6, 1974, DeRenzo is one of 250,000 music fans attending The California Jam
at the Ontario Motor Speedway
. August 1974, begins working at The Music House, a small sole proprietorship and retail music store near his home owned by Dan Molinari. There he meets jazz guitarist and luthier Alan Simcoe. DeRenzo is influenced by both Molinari and Simcoe to study jazz. At the store he reads his first copy of Downbeat Magazine. Following his graduation from Mission Viejo High School
and Silverado continuation school on February 9, 1976, DeRenzo attends Saddleback College
to study jazz music in the Thursday night Big Band under the direction of Bill Kirk.
Fall of 1978, DeRenzo goes with Dan Molinari to hear Robben Ford
at Dante's, a jazz club on Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood and meets Dan's hometown friend Russell Ferrante
. January 1979, DeRenzo attends the Winter NAMM show and catches Jaco Pastorius
and Peter Erskine
Bass & Drum concert at the Acoustic Amplifier booth. After a meeting at the trade-show, DeRenzo begins studying drums with Erskine at his home in Encino, California.
1981, DeRenzo meets jazz pianist Tom Zink on a Saddleback Big Band gig at Mission Viejo Mall. This leads to forming a band with bass player Bill Bieschke and Canadian jazz guitarist Brian Hughes
who Bill meets at GIT in Hollywood. The band known as The Brian Hughes Group performs at LA jazz clubs including Two Dollar Bills and others in the Southern California area including The Wind and Sea in Dana Point. Summer of 1982, DeRenzo, Tom Zink and Bill Bieschke travel to Edmonton, Alberta to perform at Walden's and other clubs in Edmonton and in Banff, Alberta
.
Thanksgiving weekend, 1984, DeRenzo travels to Las Vegas
to audition for Las Vegas lounge act, the Dae Han Sisters and is offered the job. DeRenzo stays with the band for 10 months performing in the lounges of The Flamingo and International Hilton in Las Vegas, Reno Hilton and other venues. During this time at an outside gig for a Los Angeles hotel, jazz guitarist Grant Geissman
sits in with the band for the evening. Upon leaving The Dae Han Sisters, DeRenzo turns his interests to film, theatre and acting. Fall of 1985, begins attending Jack Manning's scene study workshop in Los Angeles
. Over the next two years performs scenes primarily of playwrights David Mamet
and Sam Shepard
.
October 1987, DeRenzo joins the Screen Actors Guild
. For the next two years works on several movies, commercials and TV shows as an extra and uncredited bit parts including a party goer with Charlie Sheen
for Japanese TV commercial, Tokyo Gas. The costumed "Mr Sparks" on It's Garry Shandling's Show
(season 2, episode 10). 1940's cop with Perry King
for the TV movie, "Shakedown on the Sunset Strip" CBS
1988. After a preproduction photo session for the film Bird, DeRenzo is offered a ride by a then future Academy Award winning actor Forest Whittaker.
. For the next 8 years, DeRenzo focuses on his photography with the German-made panoramic camera known as the Noblex
.
September 1998, meets artist Peter Max
on Lexington Avenue and 31st Street in New York City
. Over the next two years DeRenzo works on several photographic projects with Max which include 3-D
and panoramic formats. 2002 Abrams Books
publishes The Art of Peter Max containing several of DeRenzo's photographs including a 360 degree panorama of Max's studio and the hangar photo of the Boeing 777
painted for the millennium celebration as a roving ambassador for the city of New York. Photo credits in the book appear as Joseph DeRenzo.
January 2005, DeRenzo records his first CD entitled "Of Night and Day" with longtime friend and jazz pianist Tom Zink. On the project is founding Yellowjackets
members Russell Ferrante
and Jimmy Haslip
. This release is followed up in January 2006 with the recording of "Core Beliefs" which included Bob Mintzer
and Brian Hughes. March 16, 2007, ESC Records releases "Dante's View" which is a compilation of "Of Night and Day" and "Core Beliefs". November 2007, ESC Records releases "Step Inside LOVE, a jazzy tribute to The Beatles
which features DeRenzo's recording of She's A Woman
from "Core Beliefs".
March 2008, DeRenzo stages the first of two public awareness concerts with Nile's Project at Saddleback College presented as "A Night For Nile".
June 2009, Anne Walsh and Tom Zink release the "Pretty World" CD which includes lyrics penned by DeRenzo for the compositions of Pat Metheny
"So May It Secretly Begin", Keith Jarrett
"My Song" and Don Grolnick
"Pools".
December 3, 2009, DeRenzo is informed that Tom Zink is nominated for a Grammy in the Arranging Category for his arrangement of "In The Still Of The Night" from the "Pretty World" CD.
- song by song". The listener's guide is published by Abstract Logix Books on November 1, 2010.
, Joe Zawinul
, Keith Jarrett
, John McLaughlin
, Pat Metheny
, Jack DeJohnette
, Peter Erskine, Billy Cobham
, Lenny White
, John Guerin
, Steve Gadd
, Airto.
Authors: Leonard Peikoff
, Ayn Rand
, Christopher Hitchens
, Camille Paglia
.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. DeRenzo is also a member of the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
.
DeRenzo has worked with Nile's Project to help stop MRSA
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It is also called multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus...
through public awareness concerts featuring his Beatles tribute band Joe DeRenzo & Friends, a jazzy tribute to The Beatles.
1958-1970
DeRenzo was born and raised in Orange County, CaliforniaOrange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
and resided in the city of Anaheim and in what is now known as Anaheim Hills for the early part of his life through 1970. It was during these years that his interest in music began by way of his dad's record collection which included the LPs of Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
, Louie Bellson
Louie Bellson
Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni , better known by the stage name Louie Bellson , was an Italian-American jazz drummer...
and Boots Randolph
Boots Randolph
Homer Louis "Boots" Randolph III was an American musician best known for his 1963 saxophone hit, "Yakety Sax"...
. While attending St. Catherine's Military Academy
St. Catherine's Military Academy
St. Catherine’s Academy is a Catholic military school located in Anaheim, California. It was founded in 1889 by The Dominican Sisters of Mission San José. The school offers a challenging academic program for boys in kindergarten through eighth grade, as well as military structure and leadership...
from 1964 through 1966, the sound of the drums from the cadet marching band served as the inspiration for DeRenzo to fashion his first pair of drumsticks in his uncle's garage. "Thanks to the Beatles' appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
, Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
was probably the first drummer that made an impression on me."
By the mid to late 1960s, AM and FM radio begin to provide the alternative soundtrack to his expanding musical awareness with pop bands such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Lovin Spoonful. Intrigued by the cover art of, most notably Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
's Are You Experienced? and Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
's Disraeli Gears
Disraeli Gears
Disraeli Gears is the second album by British supergroup Cream. It was released in November 1967 and went on to reach #5 on the UK Albums Chart. It was also their American breakthrough, becoming a massive seller there in 1968, reaching #4 on the American charts...
, DeRenzo begins his fascination with late 1960s Pop-Art including Peter Max
Peter Max
Peter Max is a German-born Jewish American artist. At first, works in this style appeared on posters and were seen on the walls of college dorms all across America. Max then became fascinated with new printing techniques that allowed for four-color reproduction on product merchandise...
posters, scarves and school notebooks. Using his friend's copy of the In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida LP as a practice pad, he woodsheds to the Ron Bushy
Ron Bushy
Ron Bushy is the drummer of the rock band Iron Butterfly.He was born in Washington, D.C. on December 23, 1945. He grew up in a military family, living in approximately 34 states during his youth...
psychedelic opus and drum solo virtually destroying the cover in the process.
1971-1989
Fall of 1971 in Laguna Hills, CaliforniaLaguna Hills, California
Laguna Hills is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. Other newer cities nearby—Laguna Niguel and Laguna Woods—are similarly named.-Geography:...
, DeRenzo meets future Tasca bandmates Bob Greco and Glenn Papandrea. Original lineup for Tasca is Bob Greco, Glenn Papandrea, Mike Tortorette, Jeff Petrie (now Sargeant), Joe DeRenzo. The band plays its first gig at a girl's birthday party. The girl is disappointed when the band is unable to play her request of Puppy Love
Puppy Love (song)
"Puppy Love" is a popular song written by Paul Anka in 1960 for Annette Funicello, whom he was dating at the time. Anka's version reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and #33 on the UK singles chart....
. The band is paid $10.00 which nets DeRenzo his first professional scratch of $2.00. After an altercation at rehearsal, Tortorette is forced out of the band. The quartet continues playing junior high school dances and parties then disbands over creative differences within two years.
April 6, 1974, DeRenzo is one of 250,000 music fans attending The California Jam
California Jam
California Jam, also known as Cal Jam, was a rock music festival concert held at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California on April 6, 1974. It was produced by ABC Entertainment, Sandy Feldman, Don Branker and Leonard Stogel...
at the Ontario Motor Speedway
Ontario Motor Speedway
The Ontario Motor Speedway, located in Ontario, California, east of Los Angeles, was the first and only automobile racing facility built to accommodate major races sanctioned by all of the four dominant racing sanctioning bodies: IndyCar Series and USAC for open-wheel oval car races; NASCAR for a ...
. August 1974, begins working at The Music House, a small sole proprietorship and retail music store near his home owned by Dan Molinari. There he meets jazz guitarist and luthier Alan Simcoe. DeRenzo is influenced by both Molinari and Simcoe to study jazz. At the store he reads his first copy of Downbeat Magazine. Following his graduation from Mission Viejo High School
Mission Viejo High School
Mission Viejo High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Mission Viejo, California, United States, as part of the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. The school has served the area since 1966. Students within its attendance boundaries live in western Mission...
and Silverado continuation school on February 9, 1976, DeRenzo attends Saddleback College
Saddleback College
The athletic programs are supported in part by the Associated Student Body at Saddleback College. Revenue generated from attendance at athletic events helps support the entire student activities program.-On-campus media outlets:*The Lariat...
to study jazz music in the Thursday night Big Band under the direction of Bill Kirk.
Fall of 1978, DeRenzo goes with Dan Molinari to hear Robben Ford
Robben Ford
Robben Ford is an American blues, jazz and rock guitarist.-Biography:Ford was born in Woodlake, California, United States, but raised in Ukiah, California, and began playing the saxophone at age 10, picking up the guitar at age 13...
at Dante's, a jazz club on Lankershim Blvd in North Hollywood and meets Dan's hometown friend Russell Ferrante
Russell Ferrante
Russell Keith Ferrante is a jazz pianist from San Jose, California who is a founding member of the group Yellowjackets. During his early career, Ferrante performed with American blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon and guitarist Robben Ford. He also toured with Joni Mitchell. The group Yellowjackets...
. January 1979, DeRenzo attends the Winter NAMM show and catches Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
and Peter Erskine
Peter Erskine
Peter Erskine is an American jazz drummer and composer. He has enjoyed a long and successful career as a session drummer, recording and touring with many famous jazz and rock artists, including Steely Dan and Weather Report...
Bass & Drum concert at the Acoustic Amplifier booth. After a meeting at the trade-show, DeRenzo begins studying drums with Erskine at his home in Encino, California.
1981, DeRenzo meets jazz pianist Tom Zink on a Saddleback Big Band gig at Mission Viejo Mall. This leads to forming a band with bass player Bill Bieschke and Canadian jazz guitarist Brian Hughes
Brian Hughes (musician)
Brian Hughes is a Canadian guitarist whose work draws from both the smooth jazz and world music genres. Not restricted entirely to conventional guitars, Hughes has also been known to employ the oud, bouzouki and balalaika...
who Bill meets at GIT in Hollywood. The band known as The Brian Hughes Group performs at LA jazz clubs including Two Dollar Bills and others in the Southern California area including The Wind and Sea in Dana Point. Summer of 1982, DeRenzo, Tom Zink and Bill Bieschke travel to Edmonton, Alberta to perform at Walden's and other clubs in Edmonton and in Banff, Alberta
Banff, Alberta
Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....
.
Thanksgiving weekend, 1984, DeRenzo travels to Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
to audition for Las Vegas lounge act, the Dae Han Sisters and is offered the job. DeRenzo stays with the band for 10 months performing in the lounges of The Flamingo and International Hilton in Las Vegas, Reno Hilton and other venues. During this time at an outside gig for a Los Angeles hotel, jazz guitarist Grant Geissman
Grant Geissman
Grant Geissman is a crossover jazz, contemporary jazz and new age guitarist and an Emmy-nominated composer for network TV series and TV movies. An in-demand studio musician, he has recorded extensively for several labels since 1976, and he can be heard playing guitar on the theme for Monk and...
sits in with the band for the evening. Upon leaving The Dae Han Sisters, DeRenzo turns his interests to film, theatre and acting. Fall of 1985, begins attending Jack Manning's scene study workshop in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Over the next two years performs scenes primarily of playwrights David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
and Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
.
October 1987, DeRenzo joins the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
. For the next two years works on several movies, commercials and TV shows as an extra and uncredited bit parts including a party goer with Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
for Japanese TV commercial, Tokyo Gas. The costumed "Mr Sparks" on It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show is an American sitcom which was initially broadcast on Showtime from 1986 to 1990. It was created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel. The show is notable for its frequent use of breaking the fourth wall to allow characters to speak directly to the audience...
(season 2, episode 10). 1940's cop with Perry King
Perry King
Perry Firestone King is an American television and film actor. King played the role of Cody Allen on the detective series Riptide from 1983 to 1986.-Early life:...
for the TV movie, "Shakedown on the Sunset Strip" CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
1988. After a preproduction photo session for the film Bird, DeRenzo is offered a ride by a then future Academy Award winning actor Forest Whittaker.
1990-2009
October 1992, DeRenzo moves to Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. For the next 8 years, DeRenzo focuses on his photography with the German-made panoramic camera known as the Noblex
Noblex
The Noblex is a German made motor-driven swing-lens panoramic camera. There are multiple models of this camera in multiple formats.Cameras with similar functions include the Widelux and Horizon.*...
.
September 1998, meets artist Peter Max
Peter Max
Peter Max is a German-born Jewish American artist. At first, works in this style appeared on posters and were seen on the walls of college dorms all across America. Max then became fascinated with new printing techniques that allowed for four-color reproduction on product merchandise...
on Lexington Avenue and 31st Street in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Over the next two years DeRenzo works on several photographic projects with Max which include 3-D
Stereoscopy
Stereoscopy refers to a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by presenting two offset images separately to the left and right eye of the viewer. Both of these 2-D offset images are then combined in the brain to give the perception of 3-D depth...
and panoramic formats. 2002 Abrams Books
ABRAMS Books
Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. , is an American publisher of high-quality art and illustrated books, and the enterprise is presently a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe...
publishes The Art of Peter Max containing several of DeRenzo's photographs including a 360 degree panorama of Max's studio and the hangar photo of the Boeing 777
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model...
painted for the millennium celebration as a roving ambassador for the city of New York. Photo credits in the book appear as Joseph DeRenzo.
January 2005, DeRenzo records his first CD entitled "Of Night and Day" with longtime friend and jazz pianist Tom Zink. On the project is founding Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets
Yellowjackets is an American jazz fusion/smooth jazz quartet.-History:The original group, called The Robben Ford Group, was formed in 1977, and consisted of Robben Ford, Russell Ferrante, Jimmy Haslip and Ricky Lawson, all top-notch L.A. session musicians...
members Russell Ferrante
Russell Ferrante
Russell Keith Ferrante is a jazz pianist from San Jose, California who is a founding member of the group Yellowjackets. During his early career, Ferrante performed with American blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon and guitarist Robben Ford. He also toured with Joni Mitchell. The group Yellowjackets...
and Jimmy Haslip
Jimmy Haslip
Jimmy Haslip is an American electric bass player and record producer best known as a founding and current member of the pioneering fusion group Yellowjackets...
. This release is followed up in January 2006 with the recording of "Core Beliefs" which included Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer
Bob Mintzer is a jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, and big band leader based in Los Angeles, California. Mintzer is a member of the jazz rock band the Yellowjackets.-With The Yellowjackets:*Greenhouse, 1991;*Live Wires, 1992;...
and Brian Hughes. March 16, 2007, ESC Records releases "Dante's View" which is a compilation of "Of Night and Day" and "Core Beliefs". November 2007, ESC Records releases "Step Inside LOVE, a jazzy tribute to The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
which features DeRenzo's recording of She's A Woman
She's a Woman
"She's a Woman" is a song by The Beatles. It was released as the B-side to "I Feel Fine" in 1964, their last single release that year. It reached number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 from frequent airplay.-Composition:...
from "Core Beliefs".
March 2008, DeRenzo stages the first of two public awareness concerts with Nile's Project at Saddleback College presented as "A Night For Nile".
June 2009, Anne Walsh and Tom Zink release the "Pretty World" CD which includes lyrics penned by DeRenzo for the compositions of Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
"So May It Secretly Begin", Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...
"My Song" and Don Grolnick
Don Grolnick
Don Grolnick was an American jazz and pop pianist and composer, most noteworthy for his work with artists such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Billy Cobham, David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Bob Mintzer, Dave Holland and Steely Dan...
"Pools".
December 3, 2009, DeRenzo is informed that Tom Zink is nominated for a Grammy in the Arranging Category for his arrangement of "In The Still Of The Night" from the "Pretty World" CD.
2010
Author Walter Kolosky commissions DeRenzo to design the book cover for "Follow Your Heart: John McLaughlinJohn McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
- song by song". The listener's guide is published by Abstract Logix Books on November 1, 2010.
Influences
Music and Drums: Beatles, Chick CoreaChick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, Joe Zawinul
Joe Zawinul
Josef Erich Zawinul was an Austrian-American jazz keyboardist and composer.First coming to prominence with saxophonist Cannonball Adderley, Zawinul went on to play with trumpeter Miles Davis, and to become one of the creators of jazz fusion, an innovative musical genre that combined jazz with...
, Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett is an American pianist and composer who performs both jazz and classical music.Jarrett started his career with Art Blakey, moving on to play with Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis. Since the early 1970s he has enjoyed a great deal of success in jazz, jazz fusion, and classical music; as...
, John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
, Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
, Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...
, Peter Erskine, Billy Cobham
Billy Cobham
William C. Cobham is a Panamanian American jazz drummer, composer and bandleader, who has called Switzerland home since the late 1970s....
, Lenny White
Lenny White
Leonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz fusion drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:...
, John Guerin
John Guerin
John Payne Guerin worked as a drummer, percussionist, and recording artist worldwide.Guerin was born in Hawaii and raised in San Diego. As a young drummer he began performing with Buddy DeFranco in 1960...
, Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd
Steve Gadd is an American session and studio drummer, notable for his work with popular musicians from a wide range of genres.-Biography:...
, Airto.
Authors: Leonard Peikoff
Leonard Peikoff
Leonard S. Peikoff is a Canadian-American philosopher. He is an author, a leading advocate of Objectivism and the founder of the Ayn Rand Institute. A former professor of philosophy, he was designated by the novelist Ayn Rand as heir to her estate...
, Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She is known for her two best-selling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged and for developing a philosophical system she called Objectivism....
, Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Eric Hitchens is an Anglo-American author and journalist whose books, essays, and journalistic career span more than four decades. He has been a columnist and literary critic at The Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Slate, World Affairs, The Nation, Free Inquiry, and became a media fellow at the...
, Camille Paglia
Camille Paglia
Camille Anna Paglia , is an American author, teacher, and social critic. Paglia, a self-described dissident feminist, has been a Professor at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania since 1984...
.
Discography
| Title | |Year of Release | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pretty World | 2009 | AtoZink Records | ||
| Step Inside LOVE | 2007 | ESC Records | ||
| Dante's View | 2007 | ESC Records | ||
| Core Beliefs | 2006 | DeRenzo Productions | ||
| of Night and Day | 2005 | DeRenzo Productions | ||