Walter Duda
Best Heard Chilled
from Sole Intention CD
from Sole Intention CD
| Walter Duda is a self-taught musician. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, graduated from The University of Detroit with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and attended Wayne State University and Fairfield University graduate schools. After a year of teaching a foreign language on the high school level, he decided that music is his language of choice. With his earliest interest in music, he identified with the vocal styles of rock and roll singers Dion and Bobby Darin. Then he became a fan of the vocal harmony arrangements of Brian Wilson. While in Detroit, he was influenced by the soul and rhythms of the Motown sound. Next, progressive rock groups King Crimson and Yes caught his imagination. Eventually, jazz fusion keyboardists Brian Auger and George Duke inspired him enough to switch from playing guitar to piano. His songwriting influences also include Michael Franks, Mose Allison and Bobby Caldwell. His first demo recording placed him as a finalist in a nationwide contest sponsored by The Berklee College of Music, Boston. After hearing an audition and a solo performance at Catch A Rising Star in Manhattan, George Butler of CBS Records set up a demo recording session for him at New York City's legendary A & R Recording studios. He recorded his first CD Revitalized at Acme Recording, Mamaroneck, NY. Musicians included Dave Weckl, Will Lee (David Letterman Show) Joel Rosenblatt (Spyro Gyra) and Danny Wilensky (Steve Winwood). This recording became the initial release on the World Alert Records label. DayLight Again was recorded in New York City by Jeff Jones, who also produced and mixed the project. This CD has achieved significant air play on several radio stations throughout the USA, in Canada, Europe, Brazil, Australia and Japan. The track No Matter What was selected as the opening track on Jazz, Volume 1 by Online Artist Network (top-selling compilation). The title track Daylight Again was voted as the best from WSVN Radio Hall of Fame, Volume 8. Sole Intention was also produced in New York City by Jeff Jones. For this project, Walter recorded some of the basic tracks himself, played piano and sang on the CD. In addition to Dave Weckl, Will Lee, Joel Rosenblatt, Danny Wilensky and Tim DeHuff, musicians also include Chris Parker, Reggie Pittman, Preston Vismala, Jimmy Madison and The Harris Bros. Horns. Notes From The Coast is the latest release by Walter Duda. He composed all the music and recorded and mixed some of the tracks. Musicians featured are Will Lee, John Tropea, Chris Parker, Tim DeHuff, Steve Clarke and Bill Harris. |
