VYVIENNE LONG

BIOGRAPHY

Vyvienne Long is a musician from Co. Dublin, Ireland. A classically trained cellist from the College of Music, Dublin and the Escola de Musica in Barcelona, she also sings and plays piano and writes music for her quintet which comprises 2 cellos, piano, doublebass and drums.

After touring for many years with Damien Rice, Long released an EP entitled Birdtalk in 2006. Her well-known cello heavy cover version of "Seven Nation Army" appeared on Even Better than the Real Thing, Vol 2, a charity compilation of cover versions by Irish artists.

In March 2009, she released a single from her album called "Happy Thoughts". The song, originally used for a cheese ad, asks a number of whimsical questions relating to the unusual habits of various wild animals. Her debut album Caterpillar Sarabande, recorded in The Cauldron Studios Dublin, was released in Ireland and digitally on 12 March 2010.

She headlined A Gig For Haiti, a benefit concert for Oxfam in Dublin on 27 March 2010, which featured other Irish artists such as Sweet Jane, The Last Tycoons and Rob Smith.

Electric Burma : Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award 2009 to Aung San Suu Kyi

VIDEO

SONNY LANDRETH

BIOGRAPHY

Slide guitar master Sonny Landreth was born in Mississippi and raised in South Louisiana. Inspired by the finger-picking approach of Chet Atkins and the sounds of Delta bluesmen like Robert Johnson, he went on to develop his unique “behind the slide” technique for slide guitar . Mentored by Zydeco patriarch Clifton Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band, he continued recording solo albums and went on to work with John Hiatt’s Goners, John Mayall, Leslie West, Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Buffett, Allen Toussaint, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani and many others. He’s also appeared at all three of Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festivals.

LUCA

BIOGRAPHY

Coinciding with the release of “Toast to Freedom,” Amnesty also sponsored a competition encouraging musicians all over the world to enter their own musical interpretations and arrangements of this catchy tune. Of the many entries received, “Toast to Freedom – The Berlin Mix” by the young Berlin artist Luca, was unanimously chosen by the judges as the winner. Inspired by Berlin’s own struggles against tyranny, Luca succeeded in creating a moving arrangement that captures a deep and intense yearning for freedom. Accompanied only by sister Maria on cello and by unadorned acoustic guitar and fragmentary bass, Luca’s “Toast to Freedom – The Berlin Mix” delivers equal parts reality and rapture. Appropriately, the song’s video is set on both the rooftops and the streets of the city.   Luca’s version was also a clear winner for songwriter Carlton: “The message of the original, which is about each individual’s right to freedom and the protection of human rights around the world, is in Lucas’ version transformed into a very personal one. In the original, we used many musicians to create a powerful and colorful sound, and to do justice to a multicultural understanding of rights and freedoms. By contrast, Lucas’ version is fragile, sensitive, but at the same time it delivers a very concrete message. This is a young voice coming forward to make the point that the fight for freedom and human rights takes place in our very own back yards every day.” Executive producer Jochen Wilms says, “Luca’s Berlin Mix adds a new and very personal dimension to the artistic initiative. She recorded it independently in Berlin and, together with Berlin cameraman Daniel Devecioglu and co-director Tom Richter, also produced her own video – a truly impressive and moving professional production!”

JOHN LEVENTHAL

BIOGRAPHY

John Leventhal is a Grammy Award-winning musician, producer and composer whose credits include work with is wife, Rosanne Cash, and her father Johnny Cash, Rodney Crowell, MIchelle Branch, Shawn Colvin, Marc Cohn, Joan Osbourne and others. More than 100 songs have been recorded by assorted artists – including Colvin’s Grammy-winning “Sunny Came Home” in 1997 – and he’s played sessions for Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Elvis Costello, Bruce Hornsby and more. Leventhal also wrote the score for the 2005 film “Winter Solstice.”

DARRELL LEONARD

BIOGRAPHY

Darrell Leonard is a Grammy and W.C Handy Award winning trumpet player, arranger, composer and producer. After growing up in Iowa and studying music at North Texas State University he moved to Los Angeles where in 1969 he met the legendary Delaney Bramlett and began a career as an active touring and recording musician.

He has played at major festivals and concert halls around the world touring with Delaney and Bonnie, Dr. John, Taj Mahal, Bonnie Raitt, Elton  John & Leon Russell, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Glenn Frey, and Little Feat. He has arranged and played on hundreds of records, films,  and TV shows  including Grammy winning recordings by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Taj Mahal, B.B.King, Buddy Guy, Keb Mo, Bonnie Raitt and the Rolling Stones. His numerous TV appearances include American Bandstand, Solid Gold, David Letterman, Craig Ferguson, and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, and, Conan O’Brian.He is an active theatre composer with works that have been produced at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago and the Kansas City Repertory Theatre.

Most recent projects include playing and arranging horns on new projects by Jakob Dylan, Robert Randolph, Gregg Allman, and  Elton John/Leon Russell.