Greg Tells 259 Trio plays Verona each and Every Wednesday, the finest Jazz in the perfect mid week venue, come get groovy daddio!
Greg Tell is a drummer, percussionist, songwriter, recording artist and teacher, has over 35 years professional experience playing, recording and teaching all over the world.
His unique talent emerged in the Los Angeles CA. nightclub scene where he began playing at the tender age of 11 with jazz greats including Art Pepper and Horace Tapscott Jr. His early teachers included legendary drummers Billy Higgins and Max Roach.
Greg holds a Bachelor of Music with Honours from UCLA, and later studied percussion with Armando Peraza of 'Santana'.
At 18 he was noticed by Hugh Masekela and invited to perform at the LA 's famous Lighthouse Jazz Club, resulting in his first recording contract with the Chisa Blue Thumb label.
In the early 1970s he toured the USA with The Sylvers, recording Top 10 hits such as Boogie Fever and Hotline, and with the Young Hearts.
In 1975 he moved to Australia to join the Renee Geyer Band, Australia's premier funk ensemble. He wrote and recorded on four of Renee's Gold albums: 'Ready to Deal', 'Really Really Love You' , 'Winner' and 'Be There in the Morning'.
His bands Greg Tell Express and South Harlem Concerto supported Elton John, the Average White Band, Jose Feliciano and Lou Reed, to name a few.
Greg has recorded and played with many artists over the years, including Marcia Hines, Sir Harry Secombe, Ronnie Laws, Freddie Hubbard, Larry Carlton of 'Fourplay', Dionne Warwick, Vanetta Fields, Doug Williams, and The Tower of Power Horns.
Greg's theatre credits include performing in London in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical 'Five Guys Named Moe' and he has appeared on numerous TV shows including Soul Train, and the Johnnie Carson and Michael Parkinson shows.
In addition to performing and recording, Greg has held many popular drum clinics for brands such Yamaha, DW, Paiste and Pearl.
Greg is now based in Auckland, New Zealand, where he works with artists as diverse as Suzanne Lynch, Anonymous hip hop group, singer songwriter Josephine Costain, Tama Renata from 'Herbs', Roy Venkaturamen from House of Shem and noted Latin percussionist
Miguel Fuentes.
In 2010 Greg recorded on Andy Atwill's critically acclaimed jazz album 'Three Sides of the Same Coin' and performed in Los Angeles at the 42nd Street Jazz Festival with Jessie Sharps, to sellout crowds.
He has also made a return to his nightclub roots playing a series of percussion gigs with Auckland DJs at venues such as the Supper Club and Pyramid.
Greg currently leads the '2Five9 Latin Jazz Trio' , with recent regular gigs at local venues such as 1885 Basement Bar, and currently at Verona Café in town. 2Five9 Trio also made popular appearances at the 2010 and 201 Queenstown Jazz Festivals, and Auckland domain’s ‘Jazz at the Rotunda’.
