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Allen & Heath Focusrite Nord Uncategorized

American Music & Sound Makes Key Executive Changes 

Exertis | Jam, the leading Pro Audio, MI and CE distributor in the United States and Canada, today announced two key leadership appointments. Lynn Martin, the founder and long-time President of American Music & Sound will fill the new role of Director of Strategic Development for Exertis | Jam. Pat Sullivan has been tapped to fill the role of President of American Music & Sound. 

American Music & Sound, an Exertis | Jam business, has been led by Lynn Martin for almost 20 years. Given his stellar track record and keen eye for new products, companies and wider consumer trends, Martin will now fill a wider role as the Director of Strategic Development across Exertis | Jam. Replacing Martin as President, American Music & Sound is Patrick Sullivan, recent President of InMusic and past Vice President, Merchandizing at Guitar Center. 

Marty Szpiro, President, Exertis North America comments, “Lynn is an industry legend and a friend, he has done brilliant work developing and leading American Music and Sound (AM&S). Pat has had a stellar career and is highly respected across the Pro Audio and MI world. We welcome Pat and look forward to great things under his leadership.” 

Stuart Frenkel, President, Exertis | Jam states, “We are all delighted that Lynn will stay with the team and look forward to working with him in his new role. It’s great to have Pat on board bringing his exciting new view and ideas to our mission.” 

Despite sales exceeding $400 million annually, Exertis | Jam remains a customer-centric company at heart. Even as growth accelerated through acquisition and diversification, the company realized that each division – whether it be MI, CE, PA or lighting – had its own unique way of doing business. AM&S has demonstrated their high level of success from day one through superior supply chain management, excellent customer service for dealers and end users, superb sales management, world-class marketing and aggressive promotion. Today AM&S distributes and supports brands such as Allen & Heath, CAD, Focusrite, Fostex, Glorious, Hercules, Kurzweil, Nord, Novation, PLAYdifferently, Reloop, Studiologic and Xone. 

“What a great ride this has been with Jam and AM&S over the decades,” Martin notes. “I was there at the birth of the division, and have seen huge growth, all thanks to our great partnerships with fantastic brands. I am delighted to hand off the stewardship to Pat, we couldn’t have a better person in place for this transition. I look forward to playing an important role strategically in the future and will support Pat where I can.” 

Sullivan adds, “I am excited to join the growing Exertis | Jam team and build on the success that Lynn and the AM&S team have created. Their perspective on the opportunities within the industry match completely with my experience and vision for the future.”

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Nord

Introducing the Brett Williams Sessions

Press Release, Stockholm 2019-09-25

We are happy to present a brand new Nord Live Session featuring Brett Williams – a series of exclusive performances from US keyboardist Brett Williams (Marcus Miller, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Keyon Harrold).

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of having the in-demand keyboard player Brett Williams and special guest Kate K-S visit Stockholm for an exclusive Nord Live Session. The Brett Williams Session series contain impressive live performances blending genres such as jazz, funk, gospel and folk music. Brett combines stunning trio jams featuring drummer Morgan Ågren and bass player Gustaf Hielm with more stripped-down duo performances with gifted singer/songwriter Kate K-S.

The opening episode is a funky piece named “Tonin'” where Brett is jamming out on some vintage EP and B3 sounds backed by Morgan Ågren and Gustaf Hielm. The Brett Williams session was recorded live at RMV Studios in Stockholm, September 4th 2019 and the remaining episodes will be published in the coming months.

Brett Williams
Pittsburgh born Brett Williams began working with the multi-Grammy-award-winning bassist Marcus Miller at the age of 22 and has been touring with him ever since. Brett is also featured on Miller’s latest Grammy-nominated recording, Laid Black. Through this opportunity, Brett has had the pleasure of playing with many talented artists and musicians — among them, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Mumford and Sons, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Chris Thile, Kevin Garrett, Snarky Puppy and Robert Glasper. He has performed all over the world, including the United States, Europe, South America, Africa, China and Japan. Brett also has played at many esteemed festivals — the North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Vienne Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival and Newport Jazz Festival. Earlier this year Brett released his debut EP “S3asons”. 

Kate K-S
Australian born Kate K-S moved to Brooklyn, New York at age 25 to pursue her career as a songwriter and recording artist. Until recently she worked as a side-woman for artists such as Mavis Staples, Joss Stone, James Morrison, Kesha, Macklemore, Cyndi Lauper and Ghost Face Killah (Wutang Clan) on keyboards, voice and saxophone. Kate is releasing her debut EP ‘Somebody’ in 2019.

BRETT WILLIAMS SESSIONS: “TONIN'” 

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Nord

Introducing the Mike Bereal Signature Sound Bank

Press Release, Stockholm 2019-08-28

We are proud to present the Michael Bereal Signature Sound Bank for Nord Stage 3 – 25 unique patches created by legendary gospel keyboardist/producer Michael Bereal! 

The sound bank is based on the Nord Stage 3 factory sounds and includes Michael’s custom Acoustic and Electric Pianos, Layers, Synth Leads, Synth Brass, Strings and much more. A unique patch collection from one of the finest musicians in gospel music! 

“If you want to have fun and if you want to create a vibe like no other check out my signature sound bank for the Nord Stage 3!” 

DOWNLOAD

The Michael Bereal Signature Sound Bank is compatible with Nord Stage 3 and available for free download at nordkeyboards.com.

ABOUT MICHAEL BEREAL 

Multi-talented Gospel veteran Michael Bereal is based out of Los Angeles, CA and is one of the most influential musicians/producers in contemporary Gospel music. Michael has worked with artists such as Snoop Dogg, Faith Evans, Charlie Wilson, Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp, Mary Mary, The Soul Seekers, Dave Hollister, Donnie McClurkin, Kim Burrell, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Beverly Crawford, Tank, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Bishop Charles E. Blake, Bishop Clarence McClendon, Ernest Pugh, Kurt Carr, Juanita Bynum and Norman Hutchins. Read more

TEASER VIDEO

Introducing the Mike Bereal Signature Sound Bank

Categories
Nord

Introducing the Rai Thistlethwayte Sessions

Press Release, Stockholm 2019-06-26

We are thrilled to present our exclusive Rai Thistlethwayte Sessions – a phenomenal live session series featuring Rai Thistlethwayte (KNOWER, Thirsty Merc, Oz Noy, Christian McBride)!   

The Rai Thistlethwayte Sessions contain eight episodes of brilliant performances ranging from funky soul to 80s’ pop vibes and jazz – all featuring the brand new Nord Grand. First out is a funky piece called “Chase The Clouds” with Morgan Ågren behind the drums and Gustaf Hielm on bass.

The sessions were recorded live at RMV Studios in Stockholm, May 2019 and the remaining episodes will be published in the coming months.

Rai Thistlethwayte
Rai is a one of Australia’s most respected musical talents: a highly accomplished pianist, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. His band, Thirsty Merc, has sold over 250,000 albums in Australia, and has been nominated for 5 ARIA awards. Aside from his work in Rock and Pop, Rai performs as a solo artist, based around his love of Jazz, Soul, and Groove music. He has released 4 Solo EPs and has toured Australia and the U.S. since 2012. Some of his notable collaborations have been with ARIA award‐winning guitarist James Muller, Trumpeter James Morrison, and Grammy Nominated U.S. jazz bassist Christian McBride (Sting, Wynton Marsalis band). Currently based between Sydney and Los Angeles, Rai tours globally with U.S. Funk/Electronic band KNOWER and New York based guitarist Oz Noy. Thirsty Merc has just completed 72 shows for their ‘Summer 2019’ Tour and Rai is performing select solo shows in Australia to close out the year.

RAI THISTLETHWAYTE SESSIONS: #1 “CHASE THE CLOUDS” 

Introducing the Rai Thistlethwayte Sessions