IGUANA
"The best for last"-Tour
featuring
Valérie Graschaire
We have the great pleasure to announce that Valérie Graschaire is our guest during a mini-tour of 6 concerts at the end of 2024.
An active musician on the French jazz scene for around 20 years, Valérie Graschaire has to her credit several albums recorded in collaboration with Franck Agulhon, Diego Imbert, Stéphane Belmondo, Pierre-Alain Goualch, Jean-Yves Jung, Pierre Cocq Amann… She tours regularly with different training projects of variable geometry, ranging from duo to big band. She holds a DE in vocal jazz, and has been teaching for around fifteen years in several conservatories in the Lorraine region, as well as at the Music Academy International in Nancy. She has already led several training courses in France and abroad…
She is also the author of the Feu vert chant method.
Félix Schaber, Luca Sales, Julien Petit, Valérie Graschaire, Gilles Wagner, Jean-Jacques Wathgen
Concert dates
August 17th 2024
Site culturel SOUS LES DEUX CHÊNES
Bois-le-bon 79120 Vançais
France
www.culture2chenes.fr
October 18th 2024
Théâtre STUED
Grevenmacher
Luxembourg
October 26th 2024
ArcA
Bertrange
Luxembourg
January 19th 2025
opderschmelz
DUDELANGE
Concert - special edition
Video Live recording
april 13th 2025
NEUMÜNSTER
Hall Robert Krieps
Luxembourg-City
new album
on 41 streaming audio services
under:
IGUANA 2.0 (new album)
IGUANA Myterious Planet (old album)
IGUANA 2.0
back on stage
IGUANA 2.0
live on stage again
Julien Petit, Félix Schaber, Jean-Jacques Wathgen, Gilles Wagner, Luca Sales
(left to right)
JAZZ FUSION at its best
The story
IGUANA was founded in1997 by Félix Schaber.
The members of that time were:
Nico Wegé - drums
Félix Schaber - keyboards
Vincent Nolot - bass
Jean-Jacques Wathgen - guitars
Eric Figel - sax
The main repertoire was composed by Félix Schaber and Nico Wegé.
1998
IGUANA decided to make a compact cd at the VAP studios.
1999
Release of the CD "MYSTERIOUS PLANET". Concerts in Germany and France followed quickly .
The concert in the famous concert hall "ATELIER" in Luxembourg remains the best live performance of the group. A live recording of public radio 100.7 bears witness to this.
2000
Opener of the jazz festival "Am Brunnenhof" in Trier. The live performances of Iguana were very much appreciated by a growing and loyal audience.
2002
After a large series of concerts, the band begins to wear out. A new repertoire is needed, but the protagonists no longer have the inspiration and strength to do so and therefore this leads to the end of this renowned Franco-Luxembourgish group in these days.
The project
IGUANA 2.0
2021
FéLix Schaber decides to reactivate IGUANA, and soon he wrote a new repertoire.
Two old members had to be replaced and the percussion set was added.
In December Nico left the band and was replaced by Gilles Wagner.
IGUANA 2.0 starts rehearsing.
2022
The concert dates can be found under the "news" section
The musicians
Gilles Wagner - drums
Born in Luxembourg in 1977, Gilles discovered his passion for the drum set at the age of 14. After 5 years in the drums class of Al Ginter at the conservatory of the city of Luxembourg, he began his studies at the jazz department of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels under the direction of Bruno Castellucci. During many workshops he got to know, among others Dave Weckl, Steve Smith, Terry Bozzio, Luis Conte, Rick Latham and Marco Minnemann. He played in many pop / rock groups such as "Low Densitiy Corporation", "Julien Arpetti Band", Cluster5, Thorunn, Guy Noel Band, Galliver, Feel Good etc. In jazz, he has performed with New Meander with Matt Borgmann, Maxime Bender, Marc Demuth, Robi Arend, Robi Glod, Claude Pauly and many others.
Since 1998, he has been teaching drums at the UGDA music school.
Félix Schaber - bass
Born in Luxembourg in 1955, Félix Schaber started to play trumpet at the age of 9 years. His interest in jazz began with dixieland bands like Chris Barber, Acker Bilk and others. This leaded him to perform with various big bands and jazz groups ( Hans Koller and Bart van Lier). At the age of 18, composing and arranging become more an more an important part of his passion. Music assignments for singers, big bands or broadcast are becoming more common. NETWORK in the 70’s, JAZZLINE in the 80's an IGUANA in the 90's were the three most important bands in his career until today. Responsible for many productions and recordings, he plays trumpet, trombone, piano, electric bass and ewi.
Jean-Jacques Wathgen - guitars
Very young, JJW discovered his love for music. After completing his piano studies at the Music Conservatory of Esch-sur-Alzette, he went to the Musikhochschule Saarbrücken. Under the guidance of Professor Wolfgang Lendle, JJ specialized in the instrument that fascinated him from an early age, the classical guitar. He turned his passion into his profession and became a classical guitar teacher at the Esch sur Alzette Conservatory. Along with his classical training, JJ specializes in electric guitar. Having already founded the group "Crash" in 1967, he created the group "Angelus Novus" which had great success on the international stages. Member in the groups Atmosphere, Park Café and Iguana, he participates in multiple studio recordings. Many are his solo concerts on classical guitar in Luxembourg and abroad. As a composer and musician of classical and pop music, he plays an essential role in the jazz fusion, pop and rock scene.
Luca Sales - keyboards
Born in Colombia in 1990, Luca Sales began his classical education on the violin and piano. At the age of 12, he discovered his great passion for jazz. His talent led him to Brussels, where he studied jazz piano with Diederik Wissels and Nathalie Loriers. After finishing his master's degree, he teaches at various music schools, but performing on stage is his world. Whether big band, pop, rock or jazz, Luca Sales masters every genre. He participated in the following bands, the who's who of the local jazz scene and beyond: Matt Börgmann's New Meander, Frank Landon, Georges Soyka 4tette, Hachoo, Marc Welter's Joint Bunch, GrundClub, Sven Sauber ... to name just a few.
Julien Petit - saxophones
Professional since 1994 (at age 20) he recorded three solo albums but 35 as a guest. He is also an arranger and writes brass parts for singers. A studio musician, he records for other artists. Julien Petit is also a complete artist who plays comedy, dances and does his show with the big company "Precious Diamond" or "SOS Fanfare". Many services throughout France. He is also part of a Latin music group called "LOS HERMANOS LOCOS". Electronic music is part of his life, he plays with DJ's like "Tony De Petrus", "DJ Suave", "Mickael Clément" or "Michel Laubacher". he has played with the best known jazz musicians in the eastern region of France. He played with Iguana during the concert at the Atelier 1999 replacing Eric Fiegel for one concert. www.julienpetit.com
Option to book us as a sexett!
Eric Durrer - percussion
Born in 1977, the Luxembourg percussionist is an ambassador of Latin music. After specialized studies in Rotterdam, he lived ten years abroad, between Cuba, New York and Miami, playing with the pianist Michel Camilo, holder of a Grammy Award. Back in the Grand Duchy for a few years, Eric Durrer tries to pass on this passion to his students at the Echternach music school. Being a founding member of the group " Choco y Cómplices ", Eric Durrer, among the best conga players in Europe, created the album " Buscando la calma " for 18 musicians and four singers, a cocktail of Cuban and Brazilian music, jazz and funk. Member and composer, it is almost impossible to list all the groups here he plays with.
Former members
Vincent Nolot (bass)
Eric Figel (sax)
Nico Wegé (drums)
Steve Greisch (sax)