Media kit
Electronic Press Kit
Approved bios, photos, artwork and Funkopia release and tour files for promoters and media.
Open EPKAbout the Funkestra
A studio band built for deep-pocket funk
Redtenbacher’s Funkestra is led by Austrian-born, UK-based bassist, composer, producer and bandleader Stefan Redtenbacher, alongside a changing cast of musicians from jazz, funk, soul and the session world.
Stefan writes from the bass upwards. The compositions and arrangements provide the framework, not the finish. The expectation is simple: bring your own musical personality. That's why the same tune can sound quite different depending on who's on stage.
At a glance
Styles
Funk, Jazz, Fusion, Soul/R&B, Jam-based energy, Horn-band writing, improvisation
Feel
Energetic, Upbeat, Joyful, Original funky grooves, High-energy live feel
Story
1995: Berklee beginnings / 1996: London and the Funkestra / 2005: The live band returns
The sound
Original funk with a session-band soul
Energetic, upbeat and horn-led, the Funkestra draws on funk, jazz, fusion, soul/R&B and jam-based energy, with horn-band writing, improvisation and featured players stepping forward at the right moment.
"Out and out spectacular Funk"
"A pure slice of unalloyed, joyful Funk"
"Fantastic wall-to-wall funk"
The players
A flexible family of serious groove people
Meet a core crew of long-running Funkestra collaborators whose playing shapes the sound on stage and in the studio.
Rhythm Section
Bass, composer, bandleader
Stefan Redtenbacher
Bassist, composer, bandleader, producer. Captain of the illustrious groove ship. Loves to conceptualise and to drill down to tiny minutiae all the same. As long as he can create he is happy.
Read Stefan's story
Drums
Mike Sturgis
Drummer. Educator. Seriously experienced drummer and bedrock of the band since 2005. Originally from the USA. Nicknames: ‘The Oracle’, ‘Sam The Eagle’. Deep thinker and maestro of mindfulness.
Artist website
Percussion
Karl Vanden Bossche
Percussion player to the greats. His awesome percussion skills and 'groove hook-up' with Mike Sturgis are equalled only by his warm personality. Proud of his Ghanian roots and less so of his coffee machine.
Artist websiteKeyboards
Keyboards
Pete Billington
Pete is an exceptional multi-instrumentalist and musical director, and has been part of the Funkestra’s inner circle since 2015. A formidable keyboard player with jazz at his core, he is equally at home driving the band on synth bass or bass guitar.
Pete on Facebook
Hammond organ
Liam Dunachie
Hammond Organ and Piano player. The Shropshire man has only recently joined our collective but has taken to us like the proverbial funky duck to water. Sharp wit and nimble fingers. Never short of ideas and always ready to offer them up.
Artist website
Hammond organ
Dave Limina
Hammond organ titan. Chair of the Berklee College of Music piano department. Longest standing Funkestra member | since 1996 despite the pond between us. Serious Jaco fan.
Artist profile
Hammond organ
Ross Stanley
Hammond organ supremo and unique British talent. Brings magic to the band without any fuss. Also known as #therossstanely on social media.
Guitars
Guitar
Carter Arrington
Austin-based Carter Arrington is one of the most exciting guitarists of his generation. After joining Stefan at a 2021 Masterlink Session with Mutya Buena, their collaboration led to the forthcoming album The Exchange and a limited-run UK tour.
Artist website
Guitar
Mike Outram
Polymath and the guitarist’s guitarist. He joined the band in 2018 after long standing guitarist Eran Kendler was looking for brighter pastures in life. Has never repeated any lick in any of his solos so far. Outstanding.
Artist website
Guitar
Tony Remy
Uber session guitarist. Tony has played with ‘everybody’. Is guaranteed to set fire to any music in the studio or stage. Larger than life character doing things his way - a ‘rock’n’roll original with ol’ skool values.
Horns
Tenor saxophone
Piers Green
Brilliant alto | tenor saxophone player and electronic music influenced producer. A quiet but huge musical force. Brings the Funk on the sax with cool yet friendly demeanour.
Piers on Facebook
Trumpet
Paul Jordanous
Super musical trumpeter and keyboard player. Loves to have a laugh and a joke. Always happy to share his arrangement skills and new found love for artistry expressed by JOP. Not the only one with a tricky last name in this band.
Paul on Instagram
Saxophones, woodwinds, arranger
Thomas Kleyn
Tom is an in-demand multi-woodwind player and arranger. He and Stefan connected through a shared love of big-band writing, while Tom’s biting saxophone sound proved a natural fit for Funkestra. He is now a key collaborator on the band’s horn arrangements and performances.
Thomas on Facebook