Glenn DeLaune

Born on October 19th, 1961 and classically trained at the age of five years old, Glenn started on a musical journey that to this day is still taking him down many roads. He quickly learned to perform and by first grade he was up in front of his classmates singing and playing songs like ?Sweet Georgia Brown? and ?Camp Town Races.? Glenn attributes his talents to his grandfather Lester J. Lalande who taught Glenn to play at the age of four.

Glenn attributes his talents to his grandfather Lester J. Lalande who taught Glenn to play at the age of four. Growing up in South Louisiana, he was exposed to many different kinds of music. He played the trumpet throughout his Jr. years in school and his father was also a big influence as his band director. Glenn started a band in tenth grade with a few friends and performed in many school functions.

By the time he graduated from high school in 1979, he started to immerse himself into jazz recordings from Jean Luc Ponty, Jeff Beck, Larry Carlton, Bill Bruford, Yes, Kansas and others. Not too long after that Glenn went on the road playing everything from rock & country to blues music styles with various bands.

During the 1980's and early to mid-nineties Glenn fronted the rock band 'Gangster'. Original members included Glenn, Pete Trowbridge, Ed Hale and Brad Bourgeois. This band gained notoriety in the southern region of the U.S. In 1984 the band broke up and Glenn re-formed with new members a year later.

Gangster's first CD entitled ?Rock and Roll Hit Men? did very well in the southern regional market. They toured with many nationally known acts such as Foreigner, 38 Special, David Lee Roth, Kansas, Zebra, BTO, Grand Funk Railroad, Foghat, Saigon Kick, and others. After the untimely death of one of the members (Pat Bearb) they disbanded. The remaining three members, Jackie Domengeaux, Wydell Chataginer and Glenn recorded a tribute CD to their friend. The CD is entitled ?I'll See You Again? and is available at www.gangsterusa.com.

At that time Glenn was getting into contemporary Christian music. He built a studio combining analog and digital recording gear and started writing the songs for a new Christian CD. The CD, entitled ?Calling All Hearts?, was finally completed at the end of 1998 and was released on the Divine Recordings label.

He also started a concert series for schools called the ?Calling All Hearts Youth Concert Series?. The series featured Glenn playing music from his CD and candid conversation about his life experiences and what music has meant to him. "Calling All Hearts" CD was so successful that he went into the studio and wrote all of the songs for another project. This project entitled ?Your Love Has Lifted Me? was released on December 28, 1999 on the Divine Recordings label and was very successful.

So where does the jazz come in? Well, it just seemed like a natural progression to go back to the music that he studied earlier in his musical career. It took a year to perform and record ?Shades of Smooth?. This was Glenn's first smooth jazz project and was released in 2002 on the Divine Recordings label. Recorded in his studio, Glenn played all of the instruments except Hammond Organ, played by Robert Burton and Alto Sax, played by John ?Bodie? Zerangue.

The CD was well received by local jazz critics and got radio airplay on major jazz radio stations all over the country. In December 2006 ?Play On Words? was released. Glenn's second smooth jazz release on the Divine Recordings label, features intricate guitar melodies woven into and around smooth jazz chord structures. He performed and recorded all of the tracks on the entire CD.

Heavily influenced by recordings from Larry Carlton, Fourplay, Jeff Beck, Jean Luc Ponty and The Rippington's, Glenn has achieved his own smooth, flowing style of guitar magic. Realizing that speed is great but is just an extra and feeling is everything, he strives to write melodies that will be remembered for their beauty and content, not complexity. His versatility on all instruments shines through on the recordings he produces from his studio.

Glenn is affiliated with BMI as a writer and publisher with a catalog of over 180 songs to his credit.

Glenn has just released his latest album entitled "FUSION III". This mix of Funk/Fusion & Progressive Rock is reminiscent of the older Jeff Beck / Jan Hammer recordings from the ?Wired? and ?Blow By Blow? era but with a funk backbeat. Sort of like Jeff Beck meets Joe Satriani meets Average White Band.

Influences:
Russ Freeman, Larry Carlton, Incognito, Fourplay, Rick Emmett, Jean Luc Ponty, Allan Holdsworth, Journey, Ann Wilson, Neal Schon, Jeff Beck, Steve Smith, Steve Howe, Steve Walsh, Joe Satriani, Al Dimiola, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Denver, Chet Atkins .