SWEET PLANTAIN Biography

Sweet Plantain is a string quartet that specializes in genre-blurring, original compositions and arrangements as well as contemporary works by Latin American composers. Its unique style fuses Latin, classical, jazz, and improvisational forms.
 
The group's Mission is to give voice to a contemporary, urban, Latino sound, and so much of the group's repertoire is rooted in improvisation. The art of improvisation, once an integral part of western classical music, has all but been abandoned in the training and performance of classical artists, although it continues to occupy an important role in nearly every other musical genre. Sweet Plantain therefore works to weave the possibilities of improvisation into classical music by arranging existing pieces and writing original compositions that contain improvised sections. The group also makes use of extended percussive techniques, some of them original creations, to best achieve and showcase the rhythmic vitality characteristic of Latin music. 
 
Highlights of their 2006-2007 season include musical projects and collaborations with some of the world's leading artists. Sweet Plantain recorded with renowned composer Ryuichi Sakamoto on his score for the film, Silk (currently in theatres), and on the debut album of Sakamoto-produced Kotoringo, a pop/jazz, singer-songwriter on the rise in Japan. Sweet Plantain also had the privilege of presenting a concert in collaboration with Composers Concordance, debuting nine world premieres from such notable composers as Margaret Brouwer, Daron Hagen, Andy Brick, and Gene Pritsker. Finally, Sweet Plantain collaborated with celebrated choreographer, Bill T. Jones, and the Afro beat vanguards Antibalas, to present a workshop for the genesis of a Broadway musical about the life and music of Fela Kuti. 
 
The group's commitment to musical Education, and its particular commitment to the musical education of New York's urban youth, has additionally found Sweet Plantain designing and running a new string program at the St. Ignatius School located in the Hunts Point area of the South Bronx, one of the most underserved neighborhoods nationwide. They have designed the curricula to empower the students through musical forms representative of their community's cultural heritage, while at the same time exposing them to classic Western forms. Continuing its education work, in March the quartet will perform in the Chocolate Chip Chamber Music series, an engaging and interactive mini-concert for children (age range, toddlers to 6 year-olds) in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Recent educational engagements included a workshop with students at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, the Tony Bennett-founded public high school in Astoria, Queens.

Quotes

"It's been a pleasure to work with Sweet Plantain both for my own compositions, and for artists' I've produced. Their playing is very precise, yet passionate, and the fact that they've studied both classical and popular music makes them very versatile players. They are perfect for studio sessions as they sound like a true ensemble, and not individually hired musicians. I look forward to working with them in the future."

- Ryuichi Sakamoto 2007 Academy Awards/ Grammy/ Golden Globe-winning composer

"I had the pleasure of hearing Sweet Plantain perform this September. What an amazing experience. Blending jazz, Latin and classical styles, this virtuoso quartet brings a freshness and inventiveness to every note they play. The audience was enthralled, and I was simply blown away."

- Stuart Malina 2007 Tony Award winning conductor

"One of the most exciting and interesting projects I have heard in years..."

Daniel Phillips, Orion String Quartet

Member Biographies

Violinist/Trombonist Eddie Venegas was born in Caracas, Venezuela and studied with Daniel Phillips of the Orion String Quartet at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College where he obtained his Bachelors and Masters in Performance of Classical Violin. Venegas is also a self-taught trombonist and very active on both instruments in the New York City freelance jazz, classical, and Latin music scenes. He has worked with such renowned artists as John Fadis, Joe Zawinul, Tito Puente, Marc Antony, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Dani Rojo and Johnny Pacheco, and has appeared as a soloist with numerous groups, including the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the Hudson Jazz Ensemble, Saint Martin of Tours Symphony Orchestra, the Carpentier Quartet and the Queens Philharmonic. Venegas plays regularly with the Harrisburg Symphony, La Orquesta Broadway, the Sphinx Symphony and En Talla, and his original compositions can be heard among the Sweet Plantain and The 3 Sad Cats Jazz Ensemble's regular repertoire. Venegas can additionally be seen in the Jennifer Lopez/Marc Antony movie, El Cantante.

Violinist Romulo Benavides studied with the late Emil Friedman in his native Venezuela and obtained his Bachelors degree from The Juilliard School. As Concertmaster of Arcos Juveniles de Caracas, he performed as soloist in the United States, Spain, Dominican Republic and throughout Venezuela, and in 1985, he won 1st Prize at the Juan Bautista Plaza Violin Competition in Caracas. He went on to perform as soloist with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, Carabobo Chamber Orchestra and the Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra. In New York City he has performed with the Carpentier Quartet, Ensemble America, Frank Valiente Tango Quintet, and with Mauricio Najt and Alberto Quiroga. Benavides performs as the first violinist of the Dali Quartet and is Concertmaster and featured soloist of the Philadelphia Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra. He has recorded for New World Records and performed in master classes for Itzhak Perlman at Brooklyn College and for Peter Winograd at The Aspen Music School.

Violist Orlando Wells, a New Jersey native, studied at LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts and graduated with Behrens Foundation and B’nai Brith scholarships. He then went on to S.U.N.Y. Purchase and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers. Wells has held the concertmaster chair with Orchestra of the Bronx and the Bronx Opera and has appeared as a soloist with Antara, the Manhattan Virtuosi and the St. Peter by the Sea Orchestra. He also performs with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, SONYC Chamber Orchestra, Ritz Chamber Players, Quartet Evolution, Sweet Plantain, Radio City Christmas Show Orchestra and on Broadway with Phantom of the Opera, The Producers, Spamalot and Wicked. He has collaborated with such greats as John Legend, Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Kanye West, Marvin Hamlisch, the Akua Dixon Swing Quartet, Sojourner Strings, and Dionne Warwick.

Cellist David Gotay, born in the Bronx, has performed in such notable venues as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and the White House. He has played on television in PBS’ Sessions at 54th Street, on the QVC Network and in the nationally-broadcast Hurricane Katrina Benefit with Sheryl Crow. He has collaborated with such artists as Alicia Keys, k.d. lang, David Sanborn, Little Jimmy Scott, John Blake Jr., and Mannheim Steamroller. Gotay was a member of the critically-acclaimed Carpentier Quartet, is solo cellist for Sasha and Shawna (EMI records) and is a member of the experimental hip-hop/classical group Sound Liberation, whose debut album is soon to be released on the Col Legno label in Germany. He regularly performs with the Harrisburg Symphony, Key West Symphony, and the Sphinx Symphony in Detroit. Among his numerous awards are included: Chamber Music America’s Residency Partnership Program Grant; Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Rosa Parks Visiting Professorship, University of Michigan; Harlem School of the Arts Certificate of Appreciation; and Chamber Music Live Award, Queens College.