10.20.12 Hamilton Price + Matt Zebley + Adam Benjamin + Aaron McLendon

Hamilton Price began playing Tuba at age 14 in his hometown of Jonesboro, Arkansas. At 17, he switched his focus to the upright bass. He received his Bachelors degree in Classical Double Bass Performance from the University of Texas at Austin. Hamilton studied improvised music with bassist John Fremgen and pianist Jeff Hellmer, and studied Classical Double Bass with David Neubert and Jessica Valls. He played in Gerry Gibbs’ Thrasher Band for five years, which led him to Los Angeles where he lives today.

Hamilton has performed with Billy Childs, Geoffrey Keezer, Eric Reed, Kenny Werner, Joanne Brackeen, Tamir Hendelman, Tigran Hamasyan, Otmaro Ruiz, Patrice Rushen, Dewey Redman, Dave Liebman, Steve Wilson, Bob Sheppard, John Abercrombie, Gary Bartz, Sam Rivers, Ravi Coltrane, James Moody, Walter Smith III, Tom Scott, Hubert Laws, Terry Gibbs, Kevin Mahogany, Roberta Gambarini, Jon Hendricks, Anthony Wilson, Chico Pinheiro, Larry Koonse, Peter Sprague, Mike Stern, Larry Coryell, Tom Harrell, Randy Brecker, Gilbert Castellanos, Steve Turre, Brian Blade, Willie Jones III, Terreon Gully, Antonio Sanchez, Marvin “Smitty” Smith, Mark Ferber, Clarence Penn, Vinnie Colaiuta, Francisco Mela, Peter Erskine, T.S. Monk, Lewis Nash, Steve Hass, Gary Novak.

Hamilton Price website

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Matt Zebley is a unique artist. As a woodwind player he has developed his style on a variety of reed instruments. He also continues to compose original works for the various ensembles that he has created and been associated with.

Matt began playing the alto saxophone in grade school band programs, but throughout his college and professional experiences, he began to include the clarinet and flute families as well. After hearing Joe Lovano in 1992, Matt began to explore some of the more elusive instrumental sounds like Eb alto clarinet and C melody saxophone. He now uses all of these tonalities to create a rich sonic variety in his live performances and compositions.

Matt began composing at Berklee College of Music where he studied arranging, composition and jazz performance. He graduated magna cum laude in 1993. While in Boston he studied with world-renown players and teachers; Joe Viola, Billy Pierce, Herb Pomeroy, Hal Crook, Bob Brookmeyer and a host of other great musical minds. These experts gave Matt a solid understanding of what it takes to become a professional musician and expressive artist.

He released his first solo CD in 1999 entitled Live at Moondog. It includes a bebop standard and nine original tunes. The band; consisting of three horns, bass and drums; continues to work today and has established itself as a unique voice for Zebley’s compositions. In 2000, he joined a new group entitled Kingcake. A recording of Arthur Blythe in 1974 inspired this trio which features reeds, tuba and hand percussion. In addition to their debut recording, Kingcake has toured the West coast and plans to release their second CD in 2002. Matt also joined another wonderfully rich ensemble in 2001 called GO:Organic Orchestra. Created on commission by the master percussionist Adam Rudolph, this new project combines 14 woodwind specialists and 11 percussionists. The music, which combines 21st century composition techniques with African and Mid-East inspired grooves, is completely modern and deeply emotional. Matt also continues a three year stint with the Brian Setzer Orchestra. This high profile, rock and roll big band enjoyed huge commercial success in 1999 and Matt received a Grammy for his work on “Caravan” from their 2000 release entitled Vavoom. With this group, Zebley participated in two world tours, numerous TV appearances and three movie soundtracks. He also performed with Tony Bennet, Bob Dylan and a number of other outstanding musical celebrities. Matt just released an additional DVD with Brian entitled Live in Japan.

Since 1993, Matt has developed his career in southern CA. Playing, recording and touring with such diverse and wonderful musicians has enabled deep and sincere artistic growth. In 1995, Matt created a private lesson studio where he reaches the local communities with his own musical experiences. In that same year he started Vibrant Productions, a business that administers every aspect of his growing career. He now resides in Redlands, owns a digital recording studio and works diligently towards his personal and artistic goals.

Matt Zebley website

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Adam Benjamin is a Grammy-nominated and critically acclaimed pianist, keyboardist, composer and writer based out of Los Angeles, who is recognized as a Rising Star in Jazz in Downbeat magazine’s critic’s and reader’s polls for two years running. While his unmistakeable sound crosses stylistic boundaries and challenges traditional notions of jazz, he maintains a humble and humorous approach that connects him with his audiences worldwide.
He is a founding member of Kneebody, a electric quintet widely recognized as one of the most unique ensebles in jazz. Their 2009 Grammy-nominated release is a radical reinvention of the songs of Charles Ives in collaboration with singer Theo Bleckmann (Winter and Winter, 2009). Their upcoming release You Can Have Your Moment (Winter and Winter, 2010) is the fourth full-length album from the “spontaneous and exciting” (Downbeat) “freakishly talented quintet” (All About Jazz).

His latest solo piano album, Alphabets and Consequences (f.Boo Records, 2010) is a unique series of improvised miniatures that transform familiar jazz and folk melodies into quirky impressionist etudes bursting with both humor and gravity. This follows Long Gone (Kind of Blue, 2008) and his notorious 2007 self-release It’s a Standard, Standard, Standard, Standard World, which captures 37 jazz standards through the lens of Garageband 1.0 technology. This hilarious yet strangely expressive release quickly became a underground favorite, and was hailed as “a majestic tour de force” by Dave Douglas.

He has also toured and recorded extensively with Dave Douglas’ electric band, Keystone, including 2010 world tours debuting Spark of Being, a collaborative work with filmmaker Bill Morrison. Adam’s contribution is central to the Keystone albums Live in Sweden (Greenleaf, 2006) and Moonshine (Greenleaf, 2008).

Adam has also performed, collaborated and toured with artists as varied as Jimmy Chamberlin Complex, So Percussion, Joshua Redman, and Beck, and has contributed to many film scores, including co-writing the score to John Krasinski’s 2009 adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s Brief Interviews With Hideous Men. He has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, and North Sea Jazz Festival, and has been a guest lecturer and faculty at Stanford University, the Banff International Jazz Workshop, CalArts, University of Southern California, and the School for Improvisational Music.

Adam Benjamin website

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Born & raised in Southern California, drummer / composer / educator Aaron McLendon has become a unique voice in his generation.

Raised by musician parents, Aaron developed a keen sense of musicality during childhood. From early on, he was exposed to Western Classical music, 60s/70s rock & soul, jazz, and the pop world of the 80s.

After four years of piano lessons, and with his parents’ encouragement, Aaron began playing drums at the age of thirteen, taking lessons every Sunday at Mike’s Drum Shop with Barry Birmingham.

While in high school, he studied drum set technique & all styles with the renowned Craig Thatcher, who gave him the inspiration to become a professional musician.  His high school band director, Isaac Jenkins, taught him not only how to function as drummer in a band, but how to be a musician first. Emanuel ‘Bucket’ Baker (who has worked with Erykah Badu, Macy Gray, & Michael Jackson) taught him of the importance of time, groove and ‘pocket’ in music.

McLendon’s first collegiate experience was at William Patterson University, in Wayne, NJ, where he studied with the late James Williams, Harold Mayburn, Horace Arnold, and John Riley (author of the influential books, The Art of Bop Drumming & Beyond Bop Drumming).

Upon transferring to California Institute of the Arts, Aaron immersed himself in the unique West African Program, studying Ewe Music extensively with Alfred and Kobla Ladzekpo. His jazz educators at CalArts included Joe LaBarbara, Aaron Serfaty, Charlie Haden, Darek Oles, Larry Koonse, Vinny Golia, Ishmael Wadada Leo Smith, and Macedonian guitarist Miroslav Tadic.

After receiving his Master of Fine Arts Degree from CalArts, McLendon remained in Los Angeles, where he performed with such diverse artists as Alan Pasqua, Ben Wendel, Tigran Hamasyan, Miles Mosley, The Circle, Kamasi Washington, George Clinton, Josh Nelson, Raya Yarborough, and Angelo Moore (of Fishbone), amongst others. He also appeared in the music video for Sean Kingston’sBeautiful Girls.

In 2005/2006 Aaron toured in support of Concord Records’ A New Generation Goes Back to Cool, performing with roommate Taylor Eigsti, Christian Scott & Erin Boheme. Eigsti & Scott have since been Grammy-nominated. McLendon later performed on Eigsti’s acclaimed 2008 release,  Let It Come To You(Concord).

In Los Angeles he also met pianist Eldar Djangirov, with whom he toured the world with in 2007. One such trip brought them to Arturo Sandoval’s Jazz Club in Miami, where the owner himself sat-in for an entire evening. Television appearances included  Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel and the Jo Suarez Show (in Sao Paulo, Brazil).

That same year, McLendon relocated to New York City. He has since performed with such artists as Kurt Elling, Ben Monder, Sam Barsh, Taylor Eigsti’s Free Agency (with Gretchen Parlato, Becca Stevens, Gerald Clayton, & Harish Raghavan), Red Baraat, The East/West Quintet, and Build, amongst others.

Aaron has also recorded and toured with Academy Award-Winning Actor/Singer/Songwriter Terrence Howard. McLendon was featured throughout Shine Thought It (Sony/BMG), Howard’s debut album, which peaked at No. 6 & spent 14 weeks on the Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B Chart. Television appearances included The Late Show with David Letterman, The Today Show, and The View.

Current projects include an original songwriting project, an original instrumental project, as well as freelancing with the finest names in music today.

Aaron McLendon website