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Musician/Composer Dana Leong Returns to California This Week for a Regional Tour

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Musician/Composer Dana Leong Returns to California for a Regional Tour Including a World Premiere with Project Bandaloop

DANA LEONG 2010 CALIFORNIA TOUR

8.11 :: 8PM MILK & JADE by Dana Leong @ Yoshi's Oakland (Oakland)

8.13 :: 8PM MILK & JADE by Dana Leong @ San Jose Jazz Festival (San Jose)

8.14 :: 7:30PM MILK & JADE by Dana Leong @ Levitt Pavilion MacArthur Park (LA)

9.30-10.02 :: 9PM Dana Leong Premieres Work with Project Bandaloop @ Orange County Performing Arts Center (Costa Mesa)

10.15 :: 8PM MILK & JADE by Dana Leong @ Asian American Music Festival (LA)

“From the cello to the trombone to the laptop, his musical versatility has conquered the elite of the critics." —Vogue Italia

“Don't Fence Him In...the sky's the limit for electro-jazz cellist/composer Dana Leong." —Strings Magazine

..."whether playing straight-up jazz, classical, or the many hybrid concoctions his work has already produced, Dana Leong seems to acknowledge no boundaries." —All About Jazz

Cross-over musician/composer Dana Leong (cello/trombone/laptop) brings his unique hip-hop meets avant-jazz sound to the Golden State in a three month-long performance tour. To begin, Leong leads his quartet MILK & JADE by Dana Leong in full hip-hop regalia at Yoshi's Oakland (Aug 11), the San Jose Jazz Festival (Aug 13) and in Los Angeles at the Levitt Pavilion MacArthur Park (Aug 14) and the Asian American Music Festival (Oct 15). In addition, Leong continues to score for visual/theater projects with the world premiere of Project Bandaloop's Id Ego, his first commissioned work for a contemporary vertical dance company. A multi-movement, site-reactive piece for San Francisco-based Project Bandaloop, Leong takes his musical style to new heights literally. Both the dancers and Leong will propel off and across the exterior walls of Segerstrom Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center (Sep 30—Oct 2).

“As an artist, I like to challenge myself to make big creative strides, working until I absolutely love the music I create, daring to be different, and performing with my most favorite artists," explains Leong. Scored for cello, trombone, laptop, guitar and turntables, Id Ego fuses new urban groove and melodicism with the grace and acrobatics of the troupe's aerial dancers. “In this new work, I have created an 18-minute musical collage which emits slow, steady strength, breathtaking symphonic beauty, all packaged into an intimate chamber music setting."

A native of the Bay area, Leong has played around the country with legendary avant-jazz saxophonist Henry Threadgill, Cuban jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera, and drummer Dafnis Prieto, among others. Known for collaborating with rappers, drummers, electronic keyboardists, and even dancers, critics agree that Leong has created a boundless signature sound. “Leong's combination of instruments and music tastes are unique, perhaps his live performance makes him stand out even more." (InTune Monthly)

As bandleader of MILK & JADE by Dana Leong, Leong is joined by Hagar Ben Ari (bass), Yoni Halevy (drums), and iLLspoKinN (emcee/vocals) in a heart-pounding fusion of hip-hop, jazz improvisations and rock propulsions. The group recently received worldwide acclaim performing sold out shows—including its CD release concert at NYC's Symphony Space—in celebration of its self-titled debut album MILK & JADE (2010).

In 2008, the band served as an American musical ambassador overseas as part of The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad program, produced in conjunction with Jazz at Lincoln Center and the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. A popular addition to the festival and college music circuit, Milk & Jade by Dana Leong has performed at UCLA, Franklin & Marshall College (PA), Rochester Summer Arts Fest, Huntington Arts Festival, Harlem Stage, Knitting Factory, Joe's Pub, Apollo Theater, and the National Geographic Society in Washington, DC.

About Dana Leong

Cellist/trombonist/composer Dana Leong (an official YAMAHA artist) has revolutionized the cello with his cutting edge amplification, lyrical melodies, and collage of jazz textures and improvisations. Whether as a performer, composer, collaborator, or recording producer, Dana has worked with top artists including Dafnis Prieto, Wynton Marsalis, Yoko Ono, and Kanye West, to name a few. Recent projects include Life After Dark, an evening-length music and video show commissioned by the Apollo Theater and a collaboration with Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto on the soundtrack of Women Without Men, a new film by Iranian visual artist Shrin Neshat.

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