Dennis Rea, born July 7, 1957, is an American guitarist, author and organizer of music events. He was an electronic music group Earthstar member in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. He is the leader of Moraine, a progressive rock band that he worked with Jeff Greinke at Land. Flame Tree, Identity Crisis and Iron Kim Style were some of his other significant roles. Rea has worked with Bill Rieflin, Trey Gunn, Trey Gunn, and Hector Zazou of King Crimson. He also cofounded Hawkwind, was a musician for Hawkwind, and is a member of the Chinese rock band Cui Jian. Han Bennink and Cabezas de Cera are Mexican experimental duos. To date, he has been featured on over 40 recordings on labels such as MoonJune and Sky, RVNG Intl. Light in the Attic Light in the Attic Light in the Attic, First World. Extreme, C/Z Purple Pyramid, Materiali Sonori and Palace of Lights. He has performed all over the U.S., as well as in China, Russia and Tuva, Germany. The UK, Taiwan, Mexico, and Taiwan. Rea worked with many prominent Chinese musicians in the 1980s and 1990s. Rea was among the first Western musicians who recorded an album for China Record Corporation, the state-owned China Record Corporation. His activities in East Asia can be found in his book, Live at the Forbidden city: Musical Encounters between China and Taiwan. He co-organizes the Seaprog Festival and several concert series. He has been involved in the organization of the Seattle Improvised music festival for more than a decade. Mike Nesmith, The Monkees’ guitarist, inspired Rea to learn guitar when he was nine-ten years old. In the Court of the Crimson King, by King Crimson, and 2001: A Space Odyssey’s soundtrack by Gyorgy Ligeti were two albums that had a huge impact on Rea. Soft Machine, Gentle Giant and Henry Cow are some of his influences. His influences as a guitarist include Jimi Hendrix and Terje Rypdal. His musical career started in the 1970s, when he founded the progressive-rock band Zuir in Utica, New York. Rea recorded with Earthstar, Craig Wuest’s band in Germany in the late 1970s. Earthstar was formed in 1977 by members of Wuest, Zuir and other Utica musicians. Earthstar signed with Nashville’s Moontower Records in 1977. The band’s first album Salterbarty Tales was released by Moontower in the following year. Schulze encouraged Wuest to move to Germany in 1978, where he recorded French Skyline as well as Atomkraft. Nein, Danke! Sky Records Hamburg. Rea was a member of Earthstar Germany’s Wuest, along with other Earthstar members in Germany, in 1979 and 1980. She attended sessions at Schulze’s IC Studio. Rea also appeared on both the releases. Earthstar was a participant in the German Kosmische Musik electronic song scene. Rea worked with K. Leimer, a composer, in the early 1980s to form his experimental band Savant. This was called by Philip Sherburne of Pitchfork “some of America’s most original and striking electronic music.” He lived in New York City from 1983 to 1983 and was active in the Downtown music scene. In the 1980s, he returned to Seattle and performed in avant-rock bands, such as Color Anxiety, Fred, and was involved in free improvisation with Bill Horist, Wally Shoup and Stuart Dempster. He was instrumental in the 1988 founding of the Seattle Improvised Music festival. He also acted as the “sonic alter-ego” of the title character in Shredder Orpheus that year. Rea lived in Taiwan and China for several years between 1989 and 1996. He performed over 100 concerts in cultural centers, universities and conservatories. The 1990 solo album Shadow in Dreams, which he recorded for the state-run China Record Corporation, sold over 40,000 copies. It was also cited by China Youth Daily as one of the top ten releases of the year. He also organized three concert tours in China by progressive Western bands (Identity Crisis and The Vagaries), and performed more than 40 concerts in Beijing and Chongqing. This was in addition to a performance at Sichuan China International TV Festival in 1991, which was viewed by hundreds of millions. He has performed with Wang Yong and Liu Yuan as well as Liang Heping and He Yong. He has published articles about Chinese and Asian music in CHIME and Routledge Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture. His experiences as a foreign musician living in the Far East are documented in his memoir, Live at the Forbidden city: Musical Encounters with China and Taiwan. Rea returned to Seattle in mid-1990s and worked with Land, which Jeff Greinke formed, a band Rea first met in Seattle in early 1980s. The group included Lesli Dalaba, trumpeter, Fred Chalenor and Greg Gilmore as drummers, Bill Rieflin, Greg Gilmore and George Soler as Chapman stick players. Rea was the leader of the free-jazz group Stackpole from 1998 to 2001. In 2000, Stackpole won a Golden Ear award by Earshot Jazz magazine as Best Northwest Jazz Group. He was a member of Eric Apoe’s bands for ten years. He has recorded albums for MoonJune with the free-jazz band Iron Kim Style and Jon Davis’s Zhongyu. Moonjune’s solo album, Views From Chicheng Precipice was released. It is an unconventional take on traditional East Asian music. Ffej has been a member of the Tempered Steel trio, along with Hawkwind founder Nik Turner, drummer Jack Gold-Molina, in Flame Tree and with his Tanabata Ensemble. Rea has performed in Mexico, England, Germany and Taiwan, as well as touring in Russia and Taiwan. He founded the Seaprog festival, which celebrates avant and progressive rock, and the Zero-G Concert Series. Both events take place in Seattle. Rea was awarded grants by the U.S. Department of State, Arts International Fund for U.S. Artists Abroad and Seattle Arts Commission. Wikipedia
