King Masala | live jazz

About Us

ABOUT US

King Masala was formed in 2021 by a group of tenured musicians who shared a passion for the jazz idiom. Each member of the group brings a unique background and musical perspective. “Masala” is a reference to a mixture of spices common to South Asian cuisine. There is a wide variety of masalas that have grown in popularity over time. “King Masala” relies on a broad range of spices impacting the final dish in dramatic fashion. We felt that this confluence of diverse influences was an apt reflection of our approach to the music we perform.

Lance Rickman - Sax, Flute, Clarinet

As a music composer, arranger, producer and band leader, Lance is consistently working on music projects for different groups, clients or his own original music. Lance has backed many famous artists such as Tony Bennett, Charo, Cab Calloway, Nancy Wilson, Al Martino, Diane Shuur and Jack Jones (just to name a few). He has also backed the American Idols Bo Bice and Taylor Hicks on the Tonight Show and GMA.

Recently, Lance worked with The Temptations (yes, the original group) and The Four Tops. Also, he played at the 2018 Playboy Jazz Festival with the legendary blues guitarist Roy Gaines and the Tuxedo Blues Orchestra. Since 2023, Lance also works with 4 different big bands, a Latin jazz band, Mambo Son, and his own jazz quartet, ‘Lance and the Top Cats’. In addition, Lance is a long-time band member of the hard working Motown group called ‘Stone Soul’.

James Leslie - Guitar

Jim began playing guitar at age 11, taking group guitar lessons for two years. His progress was limited until he began taking private lessons with future studio guitarist Joe DiBlasi. Within a year, Jim was playing lead guitar in several local bands. He took up classical guitar when he was 16, and studied with Andres Segovia in Geneva when he was 22 and graduated with a degree in classical guitar from CSUN in 1985, where he met fellow bandmate Bill Owen. Jim played in a popular wedding band through the 80’s and 90’s while raising two sons with his wife, Denise, an accomplished singer and multi-instrumentalist. Jim eventually became a music director at a church for 18 years, where he composed hundreds of choral works. When Covid abruptly ended his tenure there, his focus switched back to playing electric guitar, including a period studying with jazz great Mitch Holder.

Greg Spaulding - Keyboards

Greg Spaulding is a versatile and much sought after pianist. He is classically trained, with a degree in music from U.C. Santa Barbara and a passion for jazz. Notable musicians he has performed with include Airto Moreiro, Ed Shaughnessy, Carl Saunders, and Bobby Rodriguez. A skilled composer and lyricist, Greg has composed for film and writes and directs children’s musicals. He has been accompanist and/or musical director of productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Shrek, In the Heights, The Sound of Music, Grease and many others. Greg has played with the Ojai Pops Orchestra, the Ray Mehlbaum Quartet, Swing Shift Big Band, the Greg Spaulding Trio, the Ventura Jazz Collective, the Ventura Klezmer Band and many other groups.

William (Bill) Owen - Bass

Bill grew up being heavily influenced by rock, playing guitar in numerous band situations through his teens. After being introduced to jazz he realized that he needed to expand his awareness of music theory application, leading to his graduation from Cal State Northridge with a Bachelor of Performance degree. After a 30 year hiatus focusing on family and career development, Bill began practicing bass guitar in earnest. He’s played with numerous groups of various styles over the years, and is still with the jazz fusion band Axiom. With Axiom, Bill has opened for Larry Carlton, Jon Anderson (Yes), Poncho Sanchez, Brand X, Hiroshima and other major touring acts. Bill also produces reference charts for King Masala, and has been responsible for the audio mixing and video editing of the media found on this site.

Paul Tavenner - Drums

Paul's career as a recording engineer, producer, musician and educator spans more than 30 years and thousands of recordings. Paul's professional musical career began at age 16 as a drummer for many local music groups in Texas. In 1986, he graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied music production/engineering and performance. He has studied with Alan Dawson, Gary Chafee, Skip Hadden, Joe Hunt, Dean Anderson, Alan Shinn, Peter Erskine, Chad Wackerman, Jeff Hamilton, Tamir Hendelman and Joe LaBarbera. He has performed at The Playboy Jazz Festival, The Hollywood Jazz Festival, Silverlake Music Festival, NoHo Music Festival, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Oxnard Performing Arts Center, The Broad Stage Santa Monica, Vibrato Grill Jazz, Venice West, The Mint, The Garden Amp, The Three Clubs, and many other venues. He is the owner of Big City Recording Studios in Granada Hills, CA, where he records and produces many styles of music.

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