Band - THE MAGNETIC EAR from New Orleans

The Magnetic Ear
Martin Krusche
A native of Munich, Germany, Martin began playing saxophone in his teens. He attended the Herman-Zilcher Conservatory to study with Lescek Zadlo (member of Elvin Jones' 'Jazz Machine"). Soon after graduation he won a full scholarship granted by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) to attend the jazz program at the New School in New York in '93. In '95 he moved to New Orleans where he was an active member of the local music scene for the next three years. Martin moved back to Brooklyn, New York in '98. Working in New York he kept steady ties to New Orleans, where he moved back in fall of 2004. He now lives in the Bywater, a neighbourhood largely unaffected by hurricane Katrina.

Over the last fifteen years Martin has performed and recorded with a large array of musicians and bands. Working in New York and New Orleans gave him opportunity to play with musicians such as: Nicholas Payton, Philip Harper, Valery Ponomarev, Brad Leali, James Andrews, Richard Payne, Tim Green, Johnny Vidacovitch, Victor Atkins, Ben Street, James Singleton, David Pulphus. Kirk Joseph, Matt Perrine and many others.
Martin played Jazzfest with Michael Ray and the Cosmic Crewe, The Revealers, Mouyba, Kirk Joseph Backyard Groove and Government Majik.

Over the years Martin has enjoyed success as a bandleader and composer.
His debut album 'Friendship Pagoda, live in New Orleans' featured Grammy winning trumpet star Nicholas Payton and was placed #5 among the '20 best local productions 2000' by the 'Times Picayune'. It's been played by jazz stations across the country and won favourable reviews in the US and Europe in media like Jazz Times, Jazz Thing, allaboutjazz.com, Jazz Zeitung, Jazz Podium, jazzplus.com.

In 2006 Martin released his second CD as the leader of his New Orleans based band 'The Magnetic Ear, after the rain'. The trio with saxophone, sousaphone and drums uses street beat traditions as a launching pad into a variety of contemporary musical expressions, fueled by the experience of the flood and its aftermath in New Orleans.
'The Magnetic Ear' was nominated by 'Offbeat' as 'best emerging artist/band 2006'.
In 2007 he added two more horns to this band, Daniel Ostereicher on baritonesax. and Jeff Albert on trombone.
The new band was recorded live at Saturn Bar in summer of 2007 and has won nominations for 'best contemporary jazz band' and 'best contemporary recording'.


Jon Gross – Tuba and Sousaphone residing in New Orleans. US-Citizen.
Jon started playing tuba in Altoona, Pennsylvania when he was 9 years old. He moved to New Orleans in 1993 to attend Loyola University on a music scholarship. Various gigs have taken him to many parts of eastern and western Europe, as well as all around America. He currently plays with The Magnetic Ear, Treme Brass Band, Panorama Jazz Band, The Loose Marbles, and is a substitute player for The Storyville Stompers and Anders Osborne. He is also an in-demand freelance tuba player around New Orleans.

Justin Peake - (b. 1981: Birmingham, AL) is an American drummer and artist currently residing in New Orleans. US-Citizen.
Justin is an active part of the burgeoning New Orleans music scene with projects ranging from electronic production to chamber music. He performs regularly with Magnetic Ear, ?tet, Diesel Combustion Orchestra, Nojack, and Beautiful Bells. He has performed with such notable musicians as Rob Mazurek, Jeff Parker, Nicole Mitchell, Frank Gratkowski, Wilbert de Joode, James Singleton, Simon Lott, Mike Gamble, Killick!. As a private student, Justin has had the fortunate opportunity to learn from legendary drummer Alvin Fielder as well as Billy Martin (Medeski, Martin, and Wood). Peake co-curates the Open Ears Music series in New Orleans which presents non-mainstream creative music. Peake is also a composer and visual artist as well as a disciplined researcher and educator to the public.

Jeff Albert - Trombonist and improviser based in New Orleans. US-Citizen.
Jeff leads the Jeff Albert Quartet and co-leads the Lucky 7s with Jeb Bishop. Lakefront Digital released the Lucky 7s first CD, Farragut, in September of 2006, in conjunction with the band's Chicago Jazz Fest performance. Other recent recordings include One, a quartet CD of original compositions. Jeff can also be heard with George Porter Jr. and the Runnin' Pardners, Magnetic Ear, Michael Ray and the Cosmic Krewe, the Naked Orchestra, and the New Orleans New Music Ensemble. Jeff writes the music and arts blog Scratch My Brain, and co-curates the Open Ears Music Series.
Jeff has had the pleasure of performing in improvised situations with Jeb Bishop, Hamid Drake, Wolter Weirbos, Jim Baker, Josh Abrams, Tatsuya Nakatani, Dave Rempis, Mike Reed, Jason Stein, Tim Daisy, Jonathan Freilich, Tim Green and many others. In his other life, he has also had the pleasure of performing with with a variety of musical acts, including Stevie Wonder, Bonnie Raitt, The Funk Brothers, Wardell Quezergue, Dr. John, Ronnie Milsap, The Temptations, Lou Rawls, The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Orleans Opera.

Dan Ostereicher – Bariton and Bass Saxophone. New Orleans Resident and US-Citizen.
Dan came to New Orleans in 2000 to study saxophone with Tony Degradi from Astral Project. He quickly established himself as a specialist on baritone and bass saxophone. He has been working with Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Jhelisa Anderson, James Singleton, The Other Planets and many more. He is currently working in Troy Andrews and Orleans Ave. Over the years he played with Sir Earl Toon of Cool and the Gang, The Subdudes, Johnny Vidacovich and the Naked Orchstra. He has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, The New Orleans Jazz Fest, The Ravinia Jazz Festival, The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, The Clearwater Jazz Holiday, The Mellon Jazz Festival, SF Jazz and the Berlin Popkomm.