The Grundahl Trio Bio

THE GRUNDAHL TRIO
The Grundahl Trio is a Saskatoon based jazz fusion band playing original
and cover fusion compositions. The concept of the band is the creation and
improvisation of jazz fused with modern music themes.
Jazz is an ever evolving music form based on creativity and improvisation.
The Grundahl Trio (Joel Grundahl, Ben Christa and Lloyd Tomczak)
embrace these ideas and carry that torch forward.
The band is currently busy recording a full length cd of original material for
release in the spring just in time for the Jazzfest! Three of the new songs
have been included on a cd for you to enjoy.
JOEL GRUNDAHL Guitarist/Composer
Joel started playing music at the age of 4 with Suzuki violin method then to
piano and finally guitar. He started teaching guitar at age 16 and has
played in many bands and on numerous recordings. Joel furthered his
studies at the Musician's Institute in Los Angeles CA (G.I.T.) and graduated
in the fall of 1990. He has released two instrumental fusion music projects
of his own.
In the past several years Joel has been involved in the audio production
world producing, engineering, mixing and mastering music, t.v and radio
projects for various artists and companies.
Joel is a seasoned musician with 41 years of experience and well versed in
many styles of music. His true passion is creating and playing fusion music
without musical borders.
For more insight and music samples visit Joel's website at
www.joel.grundahl.ca .
BEN CHRISTA - Drums
Drummer, keyboardist, composer, sound engineer. Born Sept, 12, 1957 in
Dillingen/Danube,Germany, he started first to sing with his sisters,educated
by his Grandfather. At age of 8 he started to learn playing the piano and also
the acoustic guitar. As growing up, his decision was made: He started at age
of 13 to play the drums and this is his passion since then.
With his bands Jazziz, Tune, Sweet Brassil, Brainticket, Kieselstein, Swing ff,
Trijazzlon andmany more he won some awards, also nationwide
(Bundesrockpreis Lueneburg 1984, SWR Band Competition 1983 etc.). He
played live with the Hobbits, a wellknown top 40 band in Bavaria for a few
years and had several studio jobs, as well as TV and radio sessions. He
produced with several bands like Jazziz a few CD's, recorded at the RTL
studios, Cologne and one mixed in New Jersey with John Lee (bass player for
Dizziy Gillespie) Live gigs with wellknown musicians in Europe like Wolfgang
Lackerschmid, vibes etc. Ben is also an expert for good drum sounds and
recordings, he produces drum tracks for musicians all over the world and he
taught many years at German music schools as well as private the drums.
In 2008 he moved from Germany with his wife and kids to Saskatoon. After
a jam at Bud’s on Broadway Lloyd invited him to join Solar Rio. The band
played the Saskatoon Jazzfestival 2010 and a Reggae and World Music
Festival. Jams and live gigs with musicians like Dave Nelson, trumpet
(www.davenelsonjazz.com), Kenny Marco, John Mair, David Hutton, Dennis
Perry, Big John T-Bone Little etc. In 2008 Ben started a Fusion Jazz Band,
now with Lloyd Tomczak (bass, guitar) and is writing songs (instrumentals,
soundtracks, jazz traditional, fusion, funk, rock ) One song was meanwhile
on air with CBC Canada Reads (Both Sides Of The Coin). A traditional jazz
CD with Swing ff is now available at the Libraries in Saskatchewan.He is also
volunteering playing drums at the Circle Drive Alliance Church in Saskatoon.
Ben became a Canadian citizen in the Spring of 2012!
LLOYD TOMCZAK - Bass
Lloyd was born and presently resides in Saskatoon, SK, CA. He began
playing guitar and bass in church and school as a teenager, while exploring
the explosion of new music in the seventies including the newly emerging
jazz-rock or improvisational “fusion” music of the day. While pursuing a
liberal arts education at university he was involved in a recording project
along these creative lines. ( a collector's copy recently fetched a good price
on e-bay)
For the last couple of decades Lloyd has enjoyed a musical life teaching,
performing and recording in a wide variety of contexts: traditional and
modern forms of the blues, the funk of Motown and jazz, rhythm and blues,
soul, old and new school pop, Jamaican reggae, the diverse genres of rock,
traditional and modern country, traditional jazz, Brazilian jazz, new folk,
cajun, New Orleans and the many hybrid categories of music today.
As a sideman Lloyd has performed with Bo Diddly and Canadian Kenny
Marco from Motherlode and Blood, Sweat and Tears, Winnipeg blues legend
Dave Mclean, Chicago bluesman Nigel Mack, West Coast blues man David
Gogo, Regina's Jack Semple, folk artist Joel Faffard, the artistic director of
the Saskatoon Jazz Society Don Griffith, Saskatoon saxophone master
Sheldon Corbett, the Brazilian band Solar Rio and many other less well
known but talented musicians. He has played on commercial recordings,
television and radio shows and has been a regular player at the blues, jazz
and world musical festivals in the province. Lloyd can also be seen hosting at
the internationally famous blues jam at Bud's on Broadway. A recent
recording he did with artist Paul Benjamin was featured on a compilation disc
put out by the New York music magazine World Rhythms. Lloyd is presently
working with Joel Grundahl and Ben Christa on new fusion music.