Rodney Holmes

Currently touring with saxophone legend Wayne Shorter, and having played with; The Brecker Brothers, Steps Ahead, Carlos Santana, Jean Paul Bourelli, Special EFX, Victor Bailey, Leni Stern, Randy Brecker, Joe Zawinul, Michael Urbaniak, and Urbanator, Rodney Holmes has formed Sleestack. Sleestack is Rodney's first recording as a co-leader of a band.

Born in NYC, he grew up in a musical household. He began playing the drums at age 9 and cites a wide variety of influences from Earth Wind and Fire to Max Roach. While playing straight ahead gigs throughout NYC he was introduced to Clyde Criner.Shortly after hearing Rodney, Clyde asked him to play on his album Behind The Sun which included Marcus Miller, Carlos Santana and Omar Hakim. The reputation and musical ability of those players should make evident the level of musical maturity Rodney had reached at the age of 22.Thousands of gigs and hundreds of recordings later, The Brecker Brothers asked Rodney to play on the song African Skies on their album Out Of The Loop which won a Grammy Award for best instrumental performance.

It was while playing in Michael Urbaniak's band Urbanator, that Rodney met keyboard player Jon Dryden. Jon's similar age and shared diversity of influences were the foundation of a friendship that lead to the forming of Sleestack. When asked what he likes about playing with Jon, Rodney replies, "He is a very versatile player. He's not boxed in by conventionality and cliches. People like that are very hard to find."

Rodney and Sleestack bassist Stomu Takeshi have played on so many sessions and gigs around town that neither remembers where they first met. "Stomu is a unique, highly creative player with his own voice on the bass." Rodney says, "I enjoy playing with Stomu because his textural playing pushes me in different directions that I wouldn't normally go."

Now after forming Sleestack Rodney is enjoying the experience of having less structure than usually provided in his extensive experience working as a sideman. As a result the music is more personal for Rodney and has lead to what he describes as "magical moments born out of nothing," the type of moments that all great musicians aspire to be a part of. Back To Top