Born
and raised in East Los Angeles, Kurt Rasmussen has, for many years,
been in great demand with musicians and producers from many different
genres. His numerous CD projects include "Amigos," (a compilation
of duets by Ricky Martin, Julio Iglesias, Juan Gabriel, Jose Jose,
Celine Dion, Tom Jones, Patty Labelle, and Barry Gibb), a featured
soloist on Steve Allen's "Fast Cars and Fascinating Women",
Debbie Yeager's "Mood Swings" and vocalist Barbara Morrison's
runaway hit album "I'm Gettin' Long Alright”.
Experienced in percussion techniques from around the world, Kurt also
played percussion and bodhran on the acclaimed debut recording by The
Young Dubliners. Kurt has been a part of the Latin and Brazilian scene
in Los Angeles for years, performing with Los Angeles based Latin artists
like Poncho Sanchez, Fred Ramirez and Bobby Redfield. On the Brazilian
side, he has performed with L.A. Samba, Katia Moraes, Moacir Santos
and Kleber Jorge. Contemporary artists include pop legends Donovon
and Bill Medley. His jazz credits include John Klemmer, Bill Cunliffe
and Tom Kubis among many others.
At one time Kurt was the percussionist for Paul Anka and toured with
him worldwide for ten years. He also feels honored to have had the
opportunity to perform several times with Quincy Jones along with Kenny
G. including playing in Quincy's big band at the star-studded Frank
Sinatra Memorial Benefit Concert.
After a lifetime of touring and performing with Sergio Mendes, David
Foster, Tania Maria, Diane Schuur, Marilyn McCoo and others, Kurt ran
away to join the circus! Cirque du Soleil, that is. Kurt joined in
1999 and moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. He has been the percussionist
for "O" by Cirque du Soleil production for over ten years. The
original score, composed for "O" by Benoit Jutras, lets Kurt
use the entire range of his experience with Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian,
Middle Eastern, and "legit" percussion techniques. The percussion
setup for "O" is tremendous! A virtual warehouse packed full
of drums from every corner of the world, percussion instruments of
every description and all the bells and whistles.
Although busy with Cirque du Soleil, Kurt finds time to keep up his
Los Angeles recording career. He continues to add to his long list
of recording credits, which includes a myriad of projects for film
and television, like the award-winning IMAX film "Everest" with
ex-Beatle George Harrison. Among his newest projects are recording
for Disneyland's theme park "California Adventure",
Universal Studio Tours and most recently The World of WarCraft, "Wrath
of the Lich King".
Kurt's recently released CD projects include the debut album, "Baila," also
featuring Jonathan Moffet on drums, Pianist Alex Clements "Between
Stops" and the long-anticipated CD by piano whiz Quinn Johnson.
This last project was particularly fun for Kurt as it gave him the
opportunity to record with long-time friend and fellow LP artist Ron
Powell.
For years Kurt has been traveling to Brazil to perform with his Escola
de Samba VAI-VAI. He is the only "gringo" to have been accepted
into the Escola, and he has become a four-time champion winning in
1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Kurt started teaching percussion and the University
of Nevada Las Vegas in 2004.
He heads up the world percussion department and is director of the UNLV Brazilian
Percussion Ensemble "Mocidade Rebelde" (Rebellious Youth). In 2010
Kurt won the Outstanding Teaching by Adjunct Faculty Award. "I have been
blessed with long and successful career in music and could not have done this
without the support of everyone at LP and the finest
percussion instruments in
the world.”
Born
and raised in East Los Angeles, Kurt Rasmussen has, for many years,
been in great demand with musicians and producers from many different
genres. His numerous CD projects include "Amigos," (a compilation
of duets by Ricky Martin, Julio Iglesias, Juan Gabriel, Jose Jose,
Celine Dion, Tom Jones, Patty Labelle, and Barry Gibb), a featured
soloist on Steve Allen's "Fast Cars and Fascinating Women",
Debbie Yeager's "Mood Swings" and vocalist Barbara Morrison's
runaway hit album "I'm Gettin' Long Alright”.
