Meet THE ARTIST
GENE SHELBY
Multi-talented and endlessly creative as a musical visionary, Gene Shelton is an Australian born, US-trained artist known for original jazz-rock fusion.
Australian-born Gene grew up in a musical family, he started drumming at the age of ten and earned a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College Of Music Boston.
His skills extend to piano, guitar, bass and vocal. Going beyond the instrument, he applies his formal audio engineer qualifications from SAE and Atlantis Studios to have complete creative
control over his music.
No stranger to the international jazz scene, Gene spent the 1990s and early 2000s signed with Warner Chappel, performing across LA, promoting his original tracks and working with world-renowned producer Mark S. Berry (David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Duran Duran).
His previous album Temple of Groove helped establish his legion of fans and was praised in LA Jazz Scene Music Magazine for its energy and inventive sound.
gENE sHELBY- Artist/Producer
Latest Albums
Albums
MELTON
Melton is a shot of high-octane jazz fusion created to grab attention. Driving the kit with an unstoppable energy, creator and lead musician Gene Shelton blends the precision of a seasoned drummer with the instincts of a talented multi instrumentalist.Melton pushes Gene’s signature high energy sound even further, with heavyweight guests Mike Stern (accompanist to Miles Davis) on the blistering “Melton Shuffle” and Frank Gambale (Chick Corea) on the fiery “Gyro Spiral,” plus a set of original tracks that swing with sophistication. It features world class Jazz
Musicians from Jakarta Indonesia
Franky Sadikin Bass, Yongki Vincent- keyboards,Eghay Synth keyboards, Aiden Ishmael Guitar,Ricard Hutapea Saxophone.
Album Review
MELTON Album Review
Australian-born, Melbourne-based multi-instrumentalist Gene Shelby's album is blaring from the speakers. His new release, "MELTON", is a dynamic jazz fusion work. We hear outstanding and appropriately long songs, so the musicians actually have time to present
all their ideas. In the opening composition, we can already admire the curved, upward
energy level. A dynamic album start, the introduction of the bright theme performed in
unison by the guitar with the saxophone, and then the bright sound registers of the guitar
solo are incredibly forward-looking! First-rate keyboard ideas emerge. After the guitar solo,
the bass and drums - as on the entire album - delight the ear, while maintaining the fusion
principles. The second song is a composition that unfolds on a nice rock basis. African
pulsation, the keyboard "space sound" is also great, we can almost feel ourselves in Tom
Dissevelt and Kid Baltan (Dick Raaijmakers): "Song Of The Second Moon" for a few notes,
then an electrifying guitar solo arrives. Shelby's invitation was accepted by Mike Stern, who
demonstrates his virtuosity in the third composition, "After Jam". We hear a brilliant
saxophone solo from Richard Hutapea, which brings the atmosphere to its peak! Then
comes a magnificent piano improvisation and a lush bass guitar solo. This song is a real hit!
With its progressive fusion theme and thick texture, it is a sumptuous piece of his style!
Guitar wizard Frank Gambale appears before us in the fourth composition. The song, with
its 9:55 length, is a respectable piece of the album, Gambale can feel comfortable in it.
Before we can hear his masterful guitar playing, we get a sweeping piano solo in more than
2 minutes. "Gyro Spiral" dazzles us with a beautifully flowing theme choice, then fiery rock
solos, and special rhythms. My heart burst from the fifth song, "Rhino Funk". As the bass
brings the groove, then the band flies on top of it. The guitar solo arrives, completely revs up
the mood, and then that keyboard sound in the solo: oh, what a God-blessed fusion this is!
At the end, we also get a blood-pumping drum solo. Highly recommended for those with
dancing feet and jazz-rock fans! The sweetly melancholic song "Rainy Day" is perfect for
closing. The inimitable and rich cymbal world of the drums, the way they float perfectly
with the guitar melodies, is captivating. In this composition, all the contributors become
true storytellers! We hear original and energetic compositions, with excellent ideas, an
excellent sense of style. Shelby's presence on the album is outstanding. He supports his
peers with a perfect sense of proportion, brilliant drum decorations, spins and harmony.
However, he must be highlighted from another aspect. Using his sound engineering training
from the SAE Institute and Atlantis Studios, he can apply creative composition to create his
music. The album has a place among the greatest! The dedicated Gene Shelby was born in
Perth and grew up in a musical family. He started playing drums at the age of ten, and in his
teens he took every opportunity to participate in jams. At the age of 21, he received a
scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. After that, he signed
with Warner/Chappell Publishing and spent several years performing his own material and
working with world-renowned producer Mark S. Berry (David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Duran
Duran) in Los Angeles Melton, according to Wikipedia: "Traditionally made from wool,
Melton twill is a very dense fabric whose finishing processes completely conceal the twill
pattern.... Its dense, quasi-felted texture results in minimal or no fraying. It is durable, wind
and weather resistant." If Shelby chose this as the title of the album, it could be said of all
the songs on the album. How durable, perfectly woven, timeless, and eternal every song on
the album is!
By Zsuzsanna Hegedüs
Album Review
Gene Celiberti is a talented drummer who was born and raised in Australia where he was largely self taught. He moved to the U.S. to study at Berklee when he was 21 and spent time living in Toronto and Los Angeles (2000-04) before returning to Australia. He has performed a wide variety of music (including playing guitar and singing) but high-powered jazz is obviously his main love. Celiberti went to Bali in 2010 where he was surprised at the wealth of musical talent that he found. In 2013 he visited Jakarta, Indonesia where he also met a lot of fine musicians. The eight selections on Temple Of Groove, which were recorded during 2014-18, showcases some of the top creative musicians in Indonesia along with Celiberti. All but one piece features a guitar-keyboards-electric bass-drums quartet (one performance has a trio without keyboards) although the personnel changes from song-to-song. Celiberti wrote four of the eight originals while the others are from his sidemen. While one can call this music fusion due to the mixture of rockish rhythms and sounds with sophisticated jazz improvisations, the music (which is built around grooves) is often unpredictable and finds the musicians stretching themselves. Guitarist Aiden Ishmael takes honors with a stirring solo on the opening “Sir Dig It,” keyboardist Eghay Synth does well on “Gyro Spiral,” Celiberti has a fine concise drum solo on “Kretek Dreams” and “After Jam,” which has chord changes similar to “Impressions” and “So What,” features a particularly catchy groove and some nice organ-sounding keyboards from Synth. “High As A Kite” is the closest that the music comes to straight ahead jazz. It is a driving piece with excellent solos from guitarist Kadek Rihardika and Synth along with inspired drum accompaniment. Guitarist Ishmael creates a particularly lively solo on the bluesy and episodic “Rainy Day,” Achmad Anada’s guitar is quite explosive on “3am Jam,” and catchy rhythmic figure makes “Time To Change” a fine closer. In addition to the musicians mentioned, Bassists Franky Sadkin, Indro Hardjodikoro and A.S. Mates, guitarist Yankjay Nugraha, and keyboardists Usereal Fitri and Yongki also make worthy contributions to the music. Listeners who enjoy spirited and fresh fusion will want to check this CD out which is available from www.geneshelby.com.au
