“It all started at a party...”
It was Ian's birthday in July 2023. Ian Wijesinghe's that is. It's tricky when you have two Ians in a band! And Ian wanted a band to play at his garden birthday party. It had to be the best he could gather that weren't away on holiday. Ian runs Vancouver Jazzy Jams so he did know quite a lot of good musicians and he lucked out and gathered together these amazing guys among some other friends too.
After a superb party, we decided to keep playing.
And then someone said, “Hey we should play some gigs”.
And someone else said “We need a name!”
And thus The Hipponauts were born - to explore what sounds hip in the universe!
Biographies
Hae-il Jung
PIano and Keyboards
Hae-il (pronounced "Hail") started studying classical piano as a child but over the years has expanded his interest to include pop and jazz. Influences include jazz giants from the 50s and 60s such Bill Evans, Miles Davis and Jim Hall. Hae-il also plays guitar and melodica. Today Hae-il plays in a couple of bands locally and can often be found attending local jazz jams.
Alex Hernandez Martinez
Drums
Alex grew up in Chile and began his musical studies during his school years, participating in various school orchestras. During his university years, he dedicated his free time to studying jazz through drumming. Additionally, he explored the World music genre by participating in Alminar Ensemble. Throughout his career, he has been involved in different projects spanning multiple genres, including flamenco, jazz, and even rock. His most notable project is the band Inilia, with which he recorded two albums. He also stands out as a drummer in the Balkan music band La Tromba, with whom he recorded an album. Nowadays, he lives in the city of Vancouver, Canada, where he has developed as a musician, performing with Lussilia, a Venezuelan-Canadian singer exploring the fusion of traditional Venezuelan music, flamenco, and Latin music. Additionally, he is part of the VSO Jazz Combos program, where he seeks to develop his knowledge in jazz.
Ian Wijesinghe
Bass Guitar
Ian has played guitar since a teen. Quite badly alone in a bedroom! Or entertaining his kids. When his youngest son took up playing the drums, he switched over to bass and discovered the joy of the low end. Soon after, he was in a rock covers band, a surf band and an original rock band. And then onwards into jazz. He started Vancouver Jazzy Jams which is a jazz jamming community now with over 600 members. Through the jazz community, he found opportunities to play in trio's and quartets around town and is now thrilled to be teaming up with The Hipponauts experimenting with funky urban rhythms underneath rich jazz harmonies.
Ian Leyland
Guitar
Ian started playing guitar at the age of 15. Like most guitarists he started out playing blues and rock. Eventually Ian drew inspiration from the likes of Wes Montgomery and Miles Davis. Today, Ian’s style weaves together the diverse threads of blues, rock, and jazz into his playing.