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Akalibrio is an ongoing musical project that got its start several years ago in Jim Warner's home studio in Chicago, IL. With the help of some of Chicago's most accomplished artists, those songwriting sessions turned into a full-fledged professional recording project.

Regardless of the collaborator, these songs required more musicians to help their jazz, intelli-pop based sound flourish. The sessions moved to akalibrio studios in Lincoln Park for about a year and were engineered by Josh Richter. Josh brought a new level of professionalism to the project. He also helped expand the musician base by inviting Ernie Adams (drums and percussion), Marcin Fahmy (piano and keyboards) and Jeff Hanley (bass) to the sessions. This resulted in the impressive rhythm section of the band today.

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About

Ernie Adams

Drums, Percussion, & Composition

Ernie studied Jazz at North Texas State University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Since then, he has been one of the most sought-out drummers and percussionists in the area. Ernie has played on 3 CDs and a DVD with The Al DiMeola Electric Band, as well as all of the world tours for that band from 1996 to 2006. He has also played for 12 years with Ramsey Lewis and is also featured on 2 of his CDs. The list of people he has played with is extensive. It includes tours, gigs and/or recordings with Joe Williams, Douglas Spotted Eagle, Patricia Barber, Stefon Harris, Art Porter, Stanley Turrentine, Dizzy Gillespie, Dianne Reeves, Bill Summers, Kert Elling, Jimmy Stewart, Karen Briggs, Billy Dickens, Steve Cole, Phil Upchurch, Baabe Irving III, Von Freeman, Melvin Rhyne, Bobby Lyle, Richie Cole, James Moody, Rufus Reid, Buster Williams, Ursula Dudziak, Joe Zawinul, Slide Hampton, Frank Morgan, Arturo Sandoval, Charles Earland, Wycliff Gordon, Michael Wolff, Marvin Stamm, Clark Terry, Pharoah Sanders, Ahmad Jamal, James Spaulding, The Bodeans, Kenny Drew Jr, Anthony Jackson, Orbert Davis, Gazyna Auguscik, and Red Holloway, and clinics with Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey, Jack McDuff and Joey DeFrancesco. Ernie has also performed in numerous jazz, funk and worldbeat concerts under his own name. As well as being a large part of the national jingle scene, he is featured on over 60 recordings including Al DiMeola's The Infinite Desire, Flesh on Flesh and Consequence of Chaos, Al DiMeola's Live DVD in 2004, Ramsey Lewis Apassionado and Meant to Be with Nancy Wilson, Michael Cunningham's CD with Jimmy Haslip and Mike Stern. He also played on Ramsey Lewis' TV show Legends of Jazz with Kurt Elling and Al Jarreau. Ernie also co-wrote and performed on the soundtrack and appeared in the 1995 motion picture A Family Thing starring Robert Duvall and James Earl Jones. Ernie is also an experienced teacher. In addition to currently being a drum professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, he was a Ravinia Jazz Mentor from 1995 to 2003. This program allowed Ernie to go into Chicago's inner city high schools to tutor you drummers and percussionists to prepare them for professional gigs as well as impart on the lessons in life skills. Ernie is currently involved in regular residencies around the city as well as with various recording projects including akalibrio and Stonecutter Records Acoustic Chicago project.

Neal Alger

Guitar & Composition

After graduating from NIU with a bachelors' degree in jazz guitar performance in 1995, Neal moved to Chicago and has been freelancing there ever since. Neal has performed or recorded with Lin Halliday, Howard Levy, Grazyna Augusick, Leslie Gore, Ed Thigpen, and most notably, singer/pianist Patricia Barber. Neal has toured Europe, Canada, Brazil, South Korea, Russia and the U.S.Â with Patricia and he is featured on her Blue Note Records releases VERSE (2002), LIVE: A FORTNIGHT IN FRANCE (2004), MYTHOLOGIES (2006), and THE COLE PORTER MIX (2008). Neal has also appeared on recordings by Chicago-based musicians/groups including William Kurk Enterprise, Chris Madsen's KingsÂ of the Lobby, Jo Ann Daugherty, Typhanie Monique, Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble, Matt Geraghty, Sharay Reed, and Brian Gephart. As a leader, Alger's Blue Note Quartet and his Brazilian Trio have graced the stages of all of Chicago's jazz venues including the Jazz Showcase, Chicago Jazz Festival, Andy's Jazz Club, Green Mill, and Pete Miller's Steakhouse. Over the past 20 years, Alger's versatility have enabled him to perform in such varied contexts as Neo-Soul/R&B, jazz-rock fusion, Afro-Cuban music, classic rock, movie soundtracks, and studio work for various formats. Neal is passionate about jazz education and is on the faculty at both Elmhurst College and Roosevelt University

Amr Fahmy

Piano, Keyboards, & Composition

Pianist Marcin Fahmy, originally from Krakow, Poland is a graduate of Karlowicz Music School and DePaul Univeristy. Having started piano lessons at the age of eleven he quickly developed interest in improvisation and Jazz. Since his arrival in the US, his talent and dedication yielded many accomplishments and opportunities. While still in high shool, Marcin was one of only two pianists in the country chosen to play in the Grammy All-American Jazz Ensembles, joining an elite group of musicians in a series of concerts and recordings in New York City. This event gave him the opportunity to work with artists such Wynton Marsalis, Jon Faddis and Chick Corea. He was also invited to perform at the 1997 Grammy Awards and many its accompanying events. He has since been fortunate to share stage with some of the key figures in music today including , Gary Peacock, Peter Erskine, saxophonist Bill Evans, Dick Oatts, Nicholas Payton, Koko Taylor and Kenny Werner. He is currently one of the most sought after pianists performing in Chicago

Dave Hiltebrand

Guitar, Bass, Vocals, & Composition

Since graduating from DePaul University School of Music, Dave Hiltebrand has been steadily rising as a distinguished musician, songwriter and producer. He spent four years as a member of the critically acclaimed Latin group, Casolando, who were highly regarded by Billboard and Rolling Stone magazines. Their music was featured on numerous network and cable television shows, as well as the major motion picture "Way of the Gun" which starred James Caan and Benicio Del Toro. After leaving Casolando in 2001, Dave met and began working with Narada/Blue Note recording artist, guitarist Nick Colionne, with whom he has spent the last seven years as his bass player and musical director. Dave and Nick co-wrote the national and international chart topping contemporary jazz song "Always Thinking of You."(2006) In late 2003, Dave began a musical partnership with Narada/Blue Note saxophonist Steve Cole which led to co-writing and co-producing Cole's album "Spin"(2004). The first single,"Thursday" stayed in the contemporary jazz top ten for most of 2005. Dave was featured playing bass as well as acoustic and electric guitars and keyboards on "Spin"(2005) as well as "True" (2006). As a sideman, Dave has had the great opportunity to work with such artists as Nick Colionne, Steve Cole, Torcuato Mariano, Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters, Marion Meadows, Mathew Von Doran, Ronnie Laws, Terry Steele, Mike Cunningham, The Chicago Children's Choir, Sergio Pires, Dale Prasco, Typhanie Monique, Neal Alger, Dave Onderdonk, Mr A.L.I. and many others. Currently Dave is working on his first album of original material which he describes as "an imagined filmscore." The album,"Life In Motion" was released in the fall of 2007

Jeff Hanley

Bass & Composition

Jeff Hanley is a multi dimensional musician. Starting on the guitar at age 4 he switched to the electric bass guitar a few years later playing in mostly original rock bands influenced by Led Zeppelin with his older brother/guitarist Dan Hanley. Since then he has toured, recorded, and performed with many great musicians and bands throughout his career while living in Chicago and then NYC. He's been a part of akalibrio for 18 years now and is continuously excited about the next song and then the one after that. Everyone needs new music as much as they need new conversations.

Ryan Behling

Lead vocals, Background Vocals, & Composition

Ryan Behling is a vocalist and recording artist from Chicago, IL residing in the central coast of California. Ryan sings and plays bass and/or keyboards for RON: The Band and KAVA and records, mixes, masters and produces his own solo albums. He has toured extensively with the bands KAVA, RON, AfroZep, Starrunner, 56 Hope Road, Hundo and Henderson Inches.

Gus Reeves

Lead Vocals, Background Vocals, & Composition

Gus Reeves is a professional singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. While living in Chicago he was honored by the Illinois Arts Council with an Artist Fellowship Award and worked regularly at the famous Chicago Recording Company. He currently resides in Vashon, WA and works out of his home studio, serving clients around the globe, specializing in composition, lead vocals, and backing vocal arrangements. His great loves besides music are his wife, his daughter, his dog, and books.

Cheryl Wilson

Lead Vocals, Background Vocals, & Composition

Cheryl Wilson is a session singer who has had multiple No. 1 dance songs on the UK Billboard charts and has performed with many notable artists including Celine Dion, R. Kelly, Alice Peacock, Mavis Staples, The Smashing Pumpkins, Bertie Higgins, Michael Bolton, Bill Withers, Peabo Bryson, David Foster, Josh Grobin, Enrique Iglesias, Nick Carter, KMFDM, Cameo, Rod Stewart, Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Mel Torme, Spike Lee, Tony Bennett, Peter Cetera, and Martha Wash. She has also sung in commercials for companies such as McDonald's and is a member of the Jazz & Contemporary Studies Faculty at Roosevelt University in Chicago. She contributes vocals to Jim Warner's Chicago musical project, Akalibrio. Her performance on the KMFDM song "Power" was described as "soul-mama vamping".

Mari Anne Jayme

Lead Vocals, Background Vocals, & Composition

Mari Anne Jayme (pronounced 'high-me') spent time playing the piano and singing as a pastime, and later went on to study music and the vocal arts in college and graduate school. As a professional musician, she finds pleasure in singing traditional Jazz, R&B/Soul, and Original music. You can find her making good music & conversation, and promoting the consciousness that exceeds the current physical vibration of thought on Planet Earth. "Remember that it is practice that makes perfect, that it is motive that transfigures design, that it is beauty that transfixes the soul." -Saint Germain Let everything happen to you, beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final." -Rilke Vocalist Mari Anne Jayme is indeed a musician, having had an upbringing steeped in weekly piano lessons and soaking up popular music with radio & music television. She has filled the professional roles of student, teacher, singer, pianist & accompanist, composer, arranger, choreographer, dancer, drummer, voice & piano instructor, adjudicator, auditioner, auditionee, choir director, bandleader, and bassist. She previously taught Jazz Voice at Columbia College Chicago and at Jacksonville University in Florida. Alongside being a vocalist and teacher, she currently writes, arranges, and directs music Center For Spiritual Living in Chicago, and travels worldwide to perform in USO Shows with Gary Sinise's Lt. Dan Band. Mari Anne received a Master of Music from Roosevelt University in Chicago and a Bachelor of Science from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo. She also attended at the University of Kentucky, where she majored in Vocal Performance, and at Eastern Kentucky University, where she focused on Music Education and the Percussive Arts. Mari Anne began her professional music career in Jacksonville, Florida, and also sang in 'Voices of Liberty' at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World. She has been living in the Midwest for eight years.

Neal Alger

Guitar & Composition

Ernie Adams

Drums, Percussion, & Composition