Alan Burden
Alan plays a variety of drum and percussion instruments in many genres. His original music roots are jazz-based on the drumset. In parallel he developed an interest in Latin music and learned to play congas, bongos, timbales and other percussion instruments whilst living in London.
Musical involvements have included the Rodger Fox Big Band (drumset), Tangerine, (a Wellington based Middle Eastern trio featuring oud, violin and percussion); the Paradise Dance Band (a 1920s style Palm Court dance quintet); the Rodrigo Brothers (an eclectic Wellington rock band) and Many Hands (an Auckland based world music ensemble). He has been drum set player for the Capital Arts Performance orchestra and numerous dance bands in Wellington, including the group City Jazz.
In the early 2000s he joined Wellington based flamenco dance troupe “Desde Sevilla”, as their percussion player on the Cajon box drum, and performed with them around New Zealand for several years
Alan has an ongoing interest in Eastern European, Balkan and Arabic music. He plays frame drums, plus the doumbek [belly dance drum], riq [the middle eastern style tambourine], tombak [Iranian classical drum] and tapan [balkan bass drum], and has performed at concerts in Wellington.
He attends and plays at music festivals when possible, which has included a summer music school in New York state, and being a regular at a biennial festival of Arabic music in Queensland.
Alan has also done sound design for live theatre.
Alan Burden
Barry Korcheski
Barry has travelled extensively on personal travel and as a cruise ship musician throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Panama, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Miami listening and watching latin bands perform. He has always had a keen interest in Latin music and rhythms and the Los Galanes latin band creates a perfect opportunity to try out new latin music with Salsa beats.
Barry Korcheski
Pianist – Vocalist – Entertainer
Barry Korcheski
Jim Boyden
Jim is originally from Australia and spent many years playing drums in a variety of blues/rock/funk bands. He moved to NZ in 2009 and switched to playing guitar in order to avoid paying the excess baggage fees at the airport 😊
Jim spent 5 years playing soul/funk guitar in Auckland in popular bands 2's a Crowd and The Soul Pit Orchestra before moving to sunny Nelson in 2015 for a new lifestyle choice.
Jim's playing style is very rhythmic as a result of his drumming/percussion background and suits the styles of Soul, Jazz and of course Los Galanes!
Raffaele Bandoli Jim Boyden
NIGEL Benedict
Played percussion for over 15 years, and has also studied jazz drumming and bass. Played banjo in a Dixie band, entertaining tourists on the Christchurch trams for many years before moving to Nelson.
Nigel Benedict
Raffaele Bandoli
Raffaele Bandoli was born in Faenza (RA) Italy on 19/05/1971. He completed his musical studies at the Conservatory of Music Fratelli Malerbi in Lugo ( Italy ) under the guidance of Professor Marco Tampieri, a very prominent teacher at national and European level currently holding the chair of trumpet at the Bruno Maderna Conservatory of Cesena.
Graduated in 1991 with a 9/10 score, he participated in the Frentana Music Festival for 2 consecutive years playing in the Frentana Youth Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Donato Renzetti and studying with the trumpeter Maestro Andrea Dell'Ira. He subsequently perfected the study of the trumpet with Giancarlo Parodi from 1992 to 1995.
In 1996 and 1997 he studied trumpet at the Northwestern University of Chicago with Vincent Cichowicz (former trumpet of the CSO), Arnold Jacobs (former Tuba of the CSO) and William Scarlett (former trumpet of the CSO). During his time in Chicago he played in various chamber ensembles at the university and at the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.
In 1997 he returned to Italy and began playing regularly with the popular dance orchestra CASTELLINA PASI, winner of 3 RCA gold records, starting a relationship that lasted 4 years until 2001, with this orchestra he recorded several LPs and appeared in several videos music and television broadcasts. This intense musical activity will lead him to travel throughout Italy and part of Europe, starting to experience the world of pop music and jazz. He specializes in this period with the masters Marco Tamburini, Daniele Giardina, Tom Kirkpatrick and Andrea Tofanelli with whom he explores the jazz language and the high register of the instrument.
From 2001 to 2012 he began working with some R&B and funky bands such as T.O.P Love Band and The Scommitments soul music, participating in several concerts and festivals such as the Porretta Soul Festival. During this time he began teaching trumpet at the Music School of Fusignano and at the Malerbi school of Music in Lugo. At the same time he also played in duo with Sergio Mariani and Leonardo Rivola, proposing a jazz repertoire for trumpet and piano.
In 2012 he moved to Nelson (NZ) where he collaborates with the Nelson Symphony Orchestra, which sees him as a soloist in the concert for trumpet and orchestra by JN Hummel in E, performed on 3 May 2014 at the cathedral of Nelson and the Messiah of Handel. Later, in 2017 he will appear again as a soloist with the Nelson Symphony playing the Michael Haydn trumpet concerto in D, the very first and only public execution of that piece in New Zealand.
He started playing in duo with the pianist Daisuke Minamizawa and in several local bands in the jazz scenario of Nelson. He has also played with several bands and local musicians in every edition of the Nelson Jazz festival since 2013.
He also collaborated with the Nelson City Brass Band performing several times as a guest soloist virtuoso pieces like: Carnival of Venice variations, Napoli variation, The debutant and Gran Russia Fantasia.
Mr Bandoli currently teaches trumpet and cornet to his private students and he is enjoying playing with local bands like Los Galanes and Sun City Soul.
Raffaele BandolI