Berkeley’s own bassist Kurt Ribak learned he loved composition and songwriting while at Berklee College of Music. His early tunes reflect a strong Thelonious Monk influence. Later tunes bring to mind the South African composer Abdullah Ibrahim a.k.a. Dollar Brand, Horace Silver, Lee Morgan, and Cannonball Adderley. He describes his sound as: "Charles Mingus meets the Meters. They play at Duke Ellington's house, and Thelonious Monk and Cachao sit in once in a while.”
http://ribak.com