GambaDream an exciting new group based in New York City, brings a bold and colorful new sound to contemporary music. Growing from traditional jazz and classical roots but composed and played with the improvisational freedom and rhythmic energy of modern jazz and rock, GambaDream blends gorgeous melodies with inspired lyrics, lush harmonies, and innovative instrumentation. The group features the pioneering artist Jay Elfenbein on acoustic viola da gamba and the new electric Ruby Gamba, an ancient string instrument reborn, which bows like a violin or cello, but also plucks like a bass and strums chords like a guitar.

The viola da gamba below was made by luthier Charlie Ogle (www.violadagamba.com) and the electric gamba on the home page by Ruby Instruments (www.ruby-gamba.com).*

The group's pioneering CD, GambaDream, features nine exciting instrumental and vocal compositions by Elfenbein, ranging from traditional jazz forms and rock tunes to daring free-form improvisations, all with great rhythmic intensity. Also included are pieces by Dave Holland, Joe Henderson, and an innovative arrangement of "Pick Yourself Up" by Jerome Kern.

Jay Elfenbein: whose career spans both classical and popular musical worlds, has played bass and gamba with a range of artists such as Yo Yo Ma, Judy Collins, Paul McCartney, Lou Rawls, Leonard Bernstein, Christopher Hogwood, Dave Brubeck, Chris Potter, and Anthony Braxton, and plays early instruments on Paul Simon's gold CD You're the One.

* The instrument known as the viola da gamba, or viol, had its ancestors in medieval Spain, where a stringed and fretted instrument called the vihuela was played either with a bow (vihuela d'arco) or plucked and strummed (vihuela da mano). The bowed version made its way across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy along with many players and their families who were forced to leave in 1492 for religious reasons. There it evolved into the viola da gamba and grew in popularity throughout the Renaissance and Baroque eras, falling out of favor in the early 19th century. Rediscovered in the early 20th century, it has played a huge part in the early music revival of "authentic" period instrument practice, and continues to inspire creative instrument makers (like those of the first electric solid body viol, the Ruby Gamba) and players like myself, who strive to bring the wonders of the gamba in its many varieties and styles to the creative world of modern music.
"Ruby's Glow" is a separate solo venture created to feature the incredible array of sonic possibilities of the Ruby Gamba, a new development in electric instruments made by Ruby Instruments (www.ruby-instruments.nl or www.ruby-gamba.com). Every single sound you hear on this track, including percussion, was performed on the Ruby Gamba. Many thanks to Jan Goorissen et al at Ruby Instruments for their real ingenuity and great generosity.