GruvAvenue

contemporary jazz group in southeast asia, lead & produced by Bassist Vincent Ong, plays jazz, contemporary, and original materials.

Formally known as "Black Machine", GruvAvénue exploded onto the KL music scene with its inaugural performance in The Actors Studio, Plaza Putra in 2001. The show saw the dynamic band combining its aptitude for improvisation to an eclectic selection of music.

Black Machine has continued performing actively, securing regular stints in jazz clubs such as the legendary No Black Tie, Jazz Bar @ The Orange and Livehouse Niche along the way. The year 2004 saw Black Machine making its successful debut in the Sunrise Carlsberg Jazz Festival. The band is also a regular feature in many local jazz-themed restaurants, cafés, bistros and wine bars.

Not keen to rest on its laurels, the self-titled debut album "GruvAvenue" consisting of entirely original compositions was released in August 2005. Preceding to this, a sneak preview was held at Alexis Wine Bar & Bistro, Ampang in July, followed by a major re-introduction of the band at the regional foremost music festival - Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Fest in August.

The band headed back to Avanti Italian American Ristorante in Sept, enthralling jazz aficionados with their brand new musical styles and approaches; while their music is in heavy rotation in Australian smooth jazz station - The Breeze106.3 on the coastline overlooking the remarkable Great Barrier Reef. In October, revolutionary national radio program - Jazz Selecta interviewed GruvAvénue. The two-hour interview was air nationwide live on Traxx.FM (90.3 /100.1 FM in the Klang Valley) and available for live streaming globally. The band invaded Bangkok Jazz Thai Bistro in November and developed a close rapport with a full house. Whilst experimenting with modern technology, the band paid homage to jazz legend on showcase at Cotton Club in December. The debut album, "GruvAvénue" is available in Tower Records KLCC and Tower Records ONE UTAMA within Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya.

In March 2006, GruvAvénue geared back to jazz-themed restaurant - Avanti, beguiling patrons with their intimate originals and contrasting electronica pulse. The group returned by popular demand to the Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Fest in July 2006 and took thousands of audience by storm with their festive moods and funky grooves, cross-genre rapping by local hip hop artiste and new addition of powerful vocal. Their recent one-off performance at Alexis was a full house with cheers from fans and supporters while the second album is in preparation as band-leader Vincent heads back into the studio.

As contemporary jazz band, GruvAvénue keeps a simple and yet organic instrumentation bass, saxophone, drum and keys. In the studio, GruvAvénue blends traditional jazz harmony and heartfelt original melodies with contemporary grooves to create a unique and sincere sound. Their music absolutely captivating, full of delicate melodies, subtle intricate changes, strong rhythmic sense, vibrant harmonic nuances, are perfected by flawless live playing. On stage, they take their energetic performance a step up by incorporating pulsating grooves and intoxicating loops through modern technology.

Reluctant to stay in their comfort zone of nostalgic standard jazz music format, the band constantly expand their signature sound spectrums and experiment with a wide diversity of musical genres ranging from soul, traditional swing, House, R&B, hip hop, dance beats, pop and fusion. Masters in projecting both: sophisticated seduction of intimate acoustic jazz and vivacious raw grooves of electronica, here's the amazing sound!

Getting Personal: Started with four members, GruvAvénue was re-organised in January 2005 by Black Machine founder - double bassist and producer, Vincent Ong. He was joined by Shazzy on saxophone (from 2004) and other stellar sessionists on keyboards, drums and other instruments. Each member is an accomplished musician and skilled arranger. Vincent, the band leader doubles as the songwriter while Shazzy is commonly known by local press and media as the most promising hip hop recording artiste. The group had a reunion with Black Machine’s original member, Justin on keys during his recent summer holiday in KL at the Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Fest 2006. Other members include Julian, Benjamin and Kevin on Saxes, and Vanessa on Vocal. New additions of the group in year 2007 include Martin on Drums and educator Cher Siang on keys after completing his BA in University of West Virginia.

Performance for Public (random order):

Outlets: Alexis Wine Bar & Bistro, Avanti Italian American Ristorante, Bangkok Jazz & Thai Bistro, Cotton Club No Black Tie Music Festivals: Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Festival 2006 Sunrise Jazz & Rhythm Festival 2005 Sunrise Carlsberg Jazz Festival 2004