BAND

HAZMAT MODINE plays the kind of Blues one might have found in a barrelhouse in New Orleans had the city been inhabited by gypsies who performed with Otis Redding and the city had been built on the Black Sea. The band is driven by harmonicas, tuba, drums, guitars, Banjo and a full horn section. Guests play such exotic instruments as the Romanian cimbalom, the banjitar, and the Claviola. Front man Wade Schuman has the appropriately throaty voice of someone who has both hopped freight trains and collaborated with the Throat Singers of Tuva. For the past fifteen years, the band has been touring in over 40 countries worldwide. They have collaborated/performed with a vast range of artists including Bombino, Kronos Quartet, Cat Empire, the Gangbe Brass band from Benin, Son of Dave, Balla Kouyate and Natalie Merchant. The title track from their first CD BAHAMUT was used in the 3D film Pina by Wim Wenders, and currently in a performance by Pina Bausch and the Stuttgart Ballet. Their second CD Cicada was awarded the Charles Cross award in France for best blues album of the Year, and topped number one on the World Music Charts in Europe. More recent CDs include Hazmat Modine - Live, Extra-Deluxe-Supreme, and Box of Breath out now on Geckophonic records. 

("Hazmat" is a portmanteau of "hazardous material" and "Modine" is the name of a company that manufactures commercial heaters but may be used to refer to the heater itself.)

Wade Schuman
Diatonic Harmonica, Lute Guitar, Guitar, Lead Vocals

Playing the harmonica since the age of ten, Wade is an accomplished master in the early Blues and musical styles of the 1920's and 30's. He grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan which has long had a vital and interesting musical scene, and currently resides and works in New York City. He draws musical inspiration from among others: Desmond Dekker, Jaybird Coleman, Sidney Bechet, Taraf De Haidouks and Slim Gaillard. Recording credits include Joan Osborne's "Relish" which was nominated for four Grammys.

Pamela Fleming
Trumpet, Flugelhorn

NYC trumpet player and composer Pam Fleming is the leader of original world jazz group Fearless Dreamer. Pam is best known for her work with Lilith Fair artists Natalie Merchant, Sarah McLachlan, Indigo Girls; Reggae stars Burning Spear, Dennis Brown and Maxi Priest; and Klezmer groups Metropolitan Klezmer and Isle of Klezbos.

Steve Elson
Baritone Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet, Duduk, Flute

As a teenager, saxophonist Steve Elson toured with the legendary Johnny Otis Rhythm and Blues Revue, featuring Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Shuggie Otis and the Three Tons of Joy.He has gone on to play in a wide variety of settings including world tours with David Bowie, film soundtracks for Philip Glass, several hundred pop, jazz, klezmer, R&B and new music recordings. Elson has been a recipient of numerous composition grants and fellowships from the NEA, NYFA and Mary Cary Flagler. among others. He leads his group Steve Elson's Lips and Fingers Ensemble.

Reut Regev
Trombone, Flugabone, Slide Trumpet

Reut Regev was born and raised in Israel. Since arriving at NYC in 1998 Reut has taken part in various musical projects, playing Jazz, Latin music, Improvised and Contemporary Classical, Klezmer, Blues, Rock, and more. She has worked with Anthony Braxton, Butch Morris, Frank London Klezmer All-stars, Firewater and Grupo Irek among many others. Her debut recording as a leader, This is R Time, is scheduled to be released Jan 2009 on Ropeadope Records.

Erik Della Penna
Guitar, Banjitar, Vocals

Erik is a songwriter and guitarist living in New York City. He studied western classical music at The Mannes College of Music. After graduation he spent years performing around the Northeast in ensembles informed by American roots music traditions. Erik then went on to write, record and tour extensively with artists such as Joan Baez, Natalie Merchant, Joan Osborne and David Yazbek.  Erik has written music for A&E television, The New York Historical Society, as well as dozens of documentary films. His guitar and drum duo, Kill Henry Sugar, is currently in the process of recording their seventh collection of original songs. In addition, Erik is working on two musicals now in development, one in Chicago and one in New York City.

Daisy Castro
Violin, Vocals

Daisy Castro’s unique style refreshes and renews with a modern edge and global influence and instrumentation, bridging the distance between Django’s generation and her own in a very exciting way.
Daisy has been an active member of the “Gypsy Jazz” community both in the United States and in Europe since she was quite young. She has played on stages on both continents and beyond with all of the most revered players of this style, earning the respect of these luminaries and their discerning audiences. With a repertoire encompassing everything from the Django songbook to Salsa to traditional Turkish music to original compositions, along with an occasional addition of effects pedals, a whole new world of musical exploration awaits all who attend a performance. 

Kenneth Bentley
Tuba

Kenneth Bentley Jr. was born in Austin, Texas on August 26, 1976. Raised in Round Rock, Texas, he began playing the tuba at age 11. Kenneth studied with Steve Bryant at The University of Texas at Austin and graduated in the spring of 1999 with a Bachelor's degree in Orchestral Performance. During his summers at UT Austin, he worked for the Walt Disney Company at the theme parks in California, Paris and Tokyo. In the fall of 1999, Kenneth moved from Texas to New York City to study at the Manhattan School of Music with Toby Hanks and and received a Master's degree in Classical Music from MSM. Kenneth is a founding member of the Sugartone Brass Band based in New York City. He played on Sugartone's first album "Live in Brooklyn" (2008) and performed and produced the band's second album "Fourth Man Down" (2012). Kenneth also performed on and produced Sugartone's third album "Things are not the Same" (2014) and "Live at Vegetable Buddies" (2018).
Kenneth joined the YoungBlood Brass Band in 2004, touring America and Europe from 2004-2007 and 2009. As a member of YoungBlood, he recorded on two of the band's albums: "Live. Places."(2005) and "Is that a Riot?" (2006). In 2023, Kenneth joined the Radio City Musical Hall Orchestra. He has also had the pleasure of playing Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding the Musical at St. Ann's Warehouse (2023) and Jelly's Last Jam at the New York City Center (2024). Kenneth currently performs with Slavic Soul Party, Howard Fishman and the Biting Fish Brass Band, Red Baraat, and Brass Against and Hazmat Modine.

Varun Das
Drums, Percussion, Vocals

Varun Das is a New York-based drummer, composer, and educator whose distinctive sound blends the sophisticated rhythms of Indian classical music with the soul of Jazz/Black American Music and the energy of progressive rock, earning him national recognition across the jazz, fusion, and Indian music worlds. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music with a Bachelor (2022) and Master (2024) in Jazz Performance, Das is a freelance artist who has recorded alongside Joey DeFrancesco, Dayna Stephens, Matt Brewer, and Luis Perdomo, and has performed in groups led by Miguel Zenón, Kavita Shah, and Summer Camargo. Das is a core member of Red Baraat and Hazmat Modine, while also performing with Bollywood legend Kavita Krishnamurthy and other Bollywood legends. His honors include selection as the GRAMMY Jazz Band drummer and GRAMMY Alumni Band member, a National YoungArts finalist in jazz percussion, and multiple DOWNBEAT Magazine "Best/Outstanding Soloist" awards. Following his 2021 debut EP Solitude, Das recently released his contemporary jazz-rock fusion album Childlike, reflecting his personal stories and outlook on society.