| João Dilberto |  |
Greg Keranen |
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Contact |
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"I hear everything I
love in bossa nova. It has deep rhythm, rich harmony,
beautiful melody and profound, romantic poetry. |
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email:
web:
Current Repertoire (Partial Listing, Alphabetical)
All song files are encoded in mp3 format; your web browser may require configuration to play these automatically, or you can download to disk and play later.
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Song Title |
Performed By |
Composer |
Recorded |
File Size |
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João Dilberto - guitar, bass, tamborim, pandeiro |
Luiz Bonfá |
11/12/2003 |
7340 KB |
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João Dilberto - guitar, bass, tamborim, pandeiro |
Luiz Bonfá |
11/12/2003 |
1619 KB |
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João Dilberto - vocal, guitar |
Tom Jobim & Vinícius de Moraes |
11/12/2003 |
5466 KB |
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João Dilberto - vocal, guitar, tamborim |
Noel Rosa |
11/12/2003 |
3966 KB |
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Song Title |
Performed By |
Composer |
Recorded |
File Size |
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Greg Keranen - doublebass; Ludi Hinricks - trombone |
J.S. Bach |
1998 |
2.6 MB |
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Greg Keranen - doublebass & arranger w/ 'Countdown': Peck Almond - trumpet; Bill Beatty - piano; David Rokeach - drums |
Armando 'Chick' Corea |
1989 |
828 KB |
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Greg Keranen - funky bass w/ 'Countdown': David Gardner - lead vocal; Dane Post - sax; Bill Beatty - piano; Mark Lee - drums |
Paul Tillman |
1989 |
1.7 MB |
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Greg 'Curly' Keranen - bass & backing vocal w/ 'Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers': Jonathan Richman - lead vocal, guitar; Michael Guardabascio - drums; Carla Brownlee - sax; Ellie Marshall - backing vocal |
Jonathan Richman |
1984 |
568 KB |
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Greg Keranen - bass, guitar, percussion, flute; Sadashiv - lead vocal; Jeanette Sartrain - backing vocals |
Sadashiv / Greg Keranen |
1982 |
1.1 MB |
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Greg Keranen - lead vocal, guitar w/ 'The Brother Buzz Memorial Blues Band': Tommy Dunbar - lead guitar; Ralph Granich - drums |
Greg Keranen |
1969 |
1 MB |
João Dilberto is a stage name for Greg Keranen.
"It's a funny reflection of my dual identity as a bossa nova musician and software engineer: I'm a Dilbert by day and a João Gilberto by night. Nobody would know I play Brazilian music if I used a Finnish name!"
Keranen began playing guitar at age 9, took up electric bass a few years later and expanded to doublebass in high school.
In 1970, he formed the rock group, The Rubinoos, which recorded on the Beserkley Records label where, in 1975, Keranen began his association with Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. Under the stage name of "Curly", Keranen helped Richman make rock and roll history and his solid and swinging bass groove provided the foundation for the #1 instrumental dance hit, "Egyptian Reggae" which topped the European charts in the summer of 1977.
Keranen later studied jazz at the Berklee School of Music in Boston and gigged with the legendary "Kansas City" Joe Turner. While living in Europe in the 1980's, Keranen performed as doublebass soloist with the Galway Symphony and recorded on vocalist Mary Coughlan's debut LP which sold over 100,000 copies. During this period, Keranen also studied classical guitar and traveled to Spain to study flamenco with Paco Peña.
Upon his return to the SF Bay Area, Keranen continued his academic studies in classical harmony, counterpoint and jazz arranging, and completed a B.A. in Statistics and a B.S. in Computer Science while working as a freelance musician in the local jazz scene. Upon graduation, Keranen postponed a career in software engineering to accept the rare opportunity of a full-time gig with his jazz band, Countdown, showcasing the talents of Diane Witherspoon, Margie Baker, Nicolas Beard, William Beatty, Kenny Wollesen and others.
"Having the opportunity to work 6 nights a week, 6 sets a night with great players is something few musicians get to do nowadays. You have to become really creative to keep yourselves and your regular audience interested. You have to think, read and listen really well to accomodate a new singer every night and keep a smile on your face!"
In 1989, Keranen had the opportunity to perform with one of the biggest names in bossa nova music: Stan Getz.
"I still remember that wonderful tone Stan had", Keranen recalls. "I grew up listening to his records with João Gilberto and got a real soul-injection to connect with that energy."
Since 1997 Keranen has focused, almost exclusively, on Brazilian music. Most recently, he has studied, in the Bay Area, with Marcos Silva, Claudia Villela, Mestre Beiçola and in Brazil, with Jilo do Pandeiro of Salvador, Bahia.
"I hear everything I love in bossa nova. It has deep rhythm, rich harmony, beautiful melody and profound, romantic poetry. It has spirituality and sex - what more do you want!"
The zen-like simplicity of "Bim-Bom" would come to characterize all future João Gilberto compositions. Over the intervening forty years, they've been considered works of pure perfection. At the time, however, the only impression such music made on João's father was a growing belief that his son was mentally disturbed. An embarrassment to his family in Juazeiro [Bahia], the errant son was dispatched to a psychiatric sanatorium in Salvador, where he was subjected to a battery of psychological interviews. In the course of one of those, staring out of the window, João remarked, "Look at the wind depilating the trees." The psychologist committed the error of saying, "But trees have no hair, João," to which remark he responded, "And there are people who have no poetry." He was released from the sanatorium after a week's stay.
