DAVID YOUNG
A multi-talented singer, guitarist, and one of the world's most famous flautists, David has written and produced 70 albums of various styles of music, selling over a million CDs. David has had over 25 million streams/downloads of his music. He has written three musicals, and authored four books on spirituality.
Contributing to David’s recordings are world class musicians, including Tony Levin, Jerry Marotta, Ricky Peterson, John Philip Shenale, and Bebu Silvetti.
After getting two jaywalking tickets in 1990 and running out of money, he formed Celestial Winds with Lisa Franco. While performing at Venice Beach playing his two flutes wearing a white puffy pirate shirt, David inspired the writers of Seinfeld to create the “puffy shirt” episode. Celestial Winds sold 10,000 hand colored cassettes at the beach, eventually selling 100,000 CDs and had the #1 selling independent album in Canadian history, #1 import, and #2 album on the charts when Elton John was #1, November 1993.
Steve Reid (The Rippington’s founder and multiple winner of JAZZIZ Percussionist of the Year) and Tony Franklin (Jimmy Page’s The Firm, Pink Floyd) were the rhythm section in Celestial Winds.
David played recorders (Renaissance flutes) on one song on Steve Reid’s first solo album and the label named it the title track of the album, Bamboo Forest. The single became a top five Smooth Jazz hit in 1993 with David trading verses with a new sax player on the LA scene, Dave
Koz.
CLIFFORD CARTER
After attending The University of Miami Frost School Of Music, Clifford moved back to his birthplace, New York City, and began playing and recording with numerous artists, including Herbie Mann, Idris Muhammad, George Benson, Don Cherry, Narada Michael Walden, Yusef Lateef, and Hank Crawford.
Carter's solo release Walkin' Into the Sun is a combination of instrumental and vocal songs with support from bassists Steve Rodby and Will Lee, saxophonist Bob Sheppard, percussionists Luis Conte and Steve Thornton, and guitarist Tim Weston.
He is featured with Elements, a jazz-fusion group led by bassist Mark Egan and drummer Danny Gottlieb, with saxophonist Bill Evans.
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Clifford has worked on numerous Bill Evan's solo recordings including the 2022 release Common Ground, a session co-led by guitarist Robben Ford, which features Daryl Jones (bass) and Keith Carlock (drums). Clifford co-wrote and co-produced the album's title song.
Other artists Clifford has worked with include Chris Botti, Shunzo Ohno, Hiram Bullock, and Don Grolnick.
GREGG BISSONETTE
Gregg Bissonette is one of the most versatile drummers in the business. Since 2008, he has had the honor of performing with Ringo Starr's All Starr Band at concerts around the world.
Bissonette has played with David Lee Roth, James Taylor, Santana (on his Grammy-winning album Supernatural), Don Henley, Joe Satriani, Andrea Bocelli, and countless others. He has recorded music for numerous films (The Bucket List, Finding Nemo, Best in Show, The Bourne Supremacy, The Devil Wears Prada, The 40-Year-Old Virgin), TV shows (Friends), and the Buddy Rich memorial concert and video.
Bissonette has three solo albums, Gregg Bissonette, Submarine, and Warning Will Robinson, an award-winning two-disc DVD, Musical Drumming in Different Styles (Hudson Music), and recently recorded video lessons for Kennan Wylie’s Drumset Method books (Hal Leonard).
TONY FRANKLIN
Known as the “Fretless Monster”, Tony Franklin has played alongside some of the greatest names in music history. Franklin’s signature fretless growl was a distinctive and instantly recognizable element. Franklin has performed with David Gilmour, John Fogerty, Lou Gramm (of Foreigner), Pat Travers, Tony McAlpine, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Italian superstars Vasco Rossi and Eros Ramazzotti and many others. An in-demand session bass ace, he has appeared on hundreds of albums.
In January 2006, Fender proudly introduced the Tony Franklin Signature Model Fretless Precision Bass guitar, a replica of the instrument Franklin has used throughout his career. In it's 14th year of production, Fender introduced a new color, Lake Placid Blue to the line in January 2020. 2006 also saw the Sony release of Tony Franklin: Not Just Another Pretty Bass, Franklin’s first sample loop library. In 2011, Franklin joined Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s band, and toured extensively throughout the world.
Franklin can be heard on Shepherd’s album, “Goin’ Home”, released in Summer 2014. 2015 saw Franklin recording and touring with Heart Of Storm, live Rock Ballet - with world class Russian ballet, and live rock band featuring Doug Aldrich, Gregg Bissonette, Derek Sherinian, Brent Woods and Brandon Fields.
With a bass solo album nearing completion, Master Classes, counseling, constant writing, touring and recording, Franklin says: “I’ve only just begun!”