When it comes to “hot young guitarists” in L.A. jazz and fusion circles, the name heard most frequently is that of Charles Altura. The Stanford Anthropology grad made a significant name for himself over the last two years touring with the Stanley Clarke Band, with Clarke giving Altura major props for his contributions to their 2010 Contemporary Jazz Grammy Award-winning album. Tonight, Altura offers up his own mix of originals, reworked popular tunes with an alternative/indie rock feel, and a few jazz standards. Altura will be backed by drummer Steve Hass, along with bassist Hamilton Price. Don’t be surprised if Clarke keyboardist Ruslan Sirota drops by late to join in the fun. Go, and you’ll see see why some refer to Altura as “(John) Scofield on Speed.” - Tom Meek, LA Weekly

Charles Altura website

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“Rosenboom is a phenomenon…His speed and singing high notes are amazing. He is a cool customer onstage, but what comes out of the mouthpiece is red hot.” - Mark Swed – Los Angeles Times

“Spectacular trumpet soloing…mesmerizing…” - BLG – Downtown Music Gallery

“Daniel Rosenboom’s trumpet and electronics tour de force Evolution caputres all the gravity of ’70s prog rock with a dramatic flair of Freddy Mercury -proportions…Rosenboom goes for the jugular both rhythmically and melodically, running through time signatures like a box of Kleenex at an AA meeting.” - Randy Nordschow – New Music Box

Daniel Aaron Rosenboom  is a creative trumpet artist, improviser, composer, and record producer who seeks break musical boundaries by fusing styles in new and inventive ways. By combining the sounds of creative improvised, contemporary classical music, rock, metal, hip-hop, jazz, experimental electronic, and traditional folk music from the Balkans, North India, and Middle East, he has created a brand of indefinable and hair-raising music.  For his compositions, he has been recognized with grants and awards from ASCAP, the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music, the American Composers Forum, and the Meet the Composer foundation.

In 2006, Rosenboom released his debut solo CD, Bloodier, Mean Son, which features world-premiere recordings of new works for solo trumpet and electronics, on Nine Winds Records.  In 2007, his gypsy-jazz-metal band, PLOTZ!, released their debut CD, Extraordinary Renditions, and in early 2008, his improvising experimental-jazz-metal band DR. MiNT released their debut album, Visions and Nightmares, on the pfMENTUM label.  In early 2009, Rosenboom released his own Book of Riddles, as well as PLOTZ!’s Live 2008, and DR. MiNT’s A New Symphony on SNP Records.  In 2009, Rosenboom was featured on his father’s album, How Much Better If Plymouth Rock Had Landed on the Pilgrims, both as a performer and co-producer.  In 2010, PLOTZ! released their highly anticipated 3rd album, The Kid, and Rosenboom was featured on Vinny Golia’s Octet album, Low and Inside: Music for Baritone Saxophones, and in 2011 The Daniel Rosenboom Septet released its debut album Fallen Angeles, featuring Daniel’s original compositions on Nine Winds Records.

He has appeared as a soloist and collaborator on festivals and in recitals at the International Trumpet Guild’s annual conference, University of York, England, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the La Mama Theater in New York City, at REDCAT (Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater), the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, California Institute of the Arts, the Eastman School of Music, the Hague Jazz Festival, the Midpoint Music Festival, Sounds Like Now: Interpretations at 15, the Aspen Music Festival, Music Academy of the West, the Chosen Vale and Lake Placid Trumpet Seminars, Idyllwild Arts and Interlochen Arts Academy.  With orchestras and chamber ensembles, he has appeared on such stages as Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Opera City in Tokyo, the Hollywood Bowl, and in music festivals all over the United States.

He plays regularly with The Daniel Rosenboom Septet, PLOTZ!, DR. MiNT, and the Vinny Golia Sextet, and is a member of the Industrial Jazz Group, Killsonic, Orkestar Mezé, Robby Marshall’s RootSystem, and GG’s Concert NineNet.  As a free-lance artist in Los Angeles, he has recorded for and been heard on ABC, ESPN, BMG, Killer Tracks, Paramount, Poobah Records, Nine Winds Records, 105.1 KMZT, and has played with such groups as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonie der Nationen, the New Century Players, the Los Angeles Valley Master Chorale, the Asia America Symphony Association, the Peninsula, Westchester, and Carson Symphony Orchestras. Other projects and collaborations include the Heidi Duckler and Collage Dance Theatre, Wadada Leo Smith’s Silver Orchestra, Vinny Golia Large Ensemble, the Los Angeles Trumpet Quartet (with John Fumo, Jeff Kaiser, and Kris Tiner), VR with guitarist David Veslocki, Irmin Schmidt from CAN, the Grande Mothers of Invention, Kai Kurosawa, Brad Dutz, Harris Eisenstadt, Markus Stockhausen, Sandeep Bagwhati, Pavel Novak, Matt Mayhall, Antony DiGennaro, Björkestra, and many others.

Daniel studied at the Eastman School of Music with master pedagogue James Thompson for his Bachelor of Music Degree. He also holds a Master of Music degree from UCLA where he studied with international trumpet virtuoso, Jens Lindemann, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts where he studied with Edward Carroll, Vinny Golia, John Fumo, Wadada Leo Smith, Miroslav Tadic, and Larry Koonse.  Other mentors have included Rosalina Sackstein, Roy Poper, Mark Gould, Markus Stockhausen, Thomas Sevens, Stephen Burns, and Gabrielle Cassone.

Daniel Rosenboom website

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Ruslan is a Grammy award winning pianist and composer.

Ruslan was born in Uman, Ukraine on November 4, 1980. His father, Yefim, who was an active local guitarist, had introduced him to music at an early age. Picking up guitar around the age of four, Ruslan had transitioned to piano around the age of seven. In 1990, his family moved to Israel, where he continued to study piano at the Bat-Yam music school. At approximately 14, Ruslan discovered jazz, instantly showing imminent interest. By the age of 16, he was the “wunderkind” keyboardist for the then-popular Israeli jazz fusion band, “Confusion”. With Confusion, he toured Israel and made several appearances at the Red Sea Jazz Festival.

At 18, Ruslan auditioned for the Berklee College of Music, where he received full tuition scholarship, and moved to Boston in January 2000. During his studies at Berklee, Ruslan displayed growing interest in R&B, funk and soul music, playing with local artists and eventually becoming the resident keyboardist in a club called “Wally’s Jazz Café”. Circa 2004, Ruslan joined the Stanley Clarke band and moved to Los Angeles, thus marking the beginning of his professional career.
Since then, Ruslan has been touring, performing and recording with major artists (in addition to Clarke), such as Dennis Chambers, Ne-Yo, Marcus Miller, Chick Corea, Seal, Brian McKnight, Eric Benét, Rachelle Ferrell and Diane Warren. Nowadays, although still playing with others, Ruslan is mainly focusing on recording his debut album; its release date is due Fall 2010. Guest appearances include Chick Corea, George Duke and Stanley Clarke, among others.

Ruslan Sirota website

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Photo Bob Barry/jazzography.com

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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Birthed by two dancer. loved and cherished and raised up healthy by a truly great and ever inspiring father and mother until nine and then by devoted and beloved mother and sister. Rode horses, played soccer, climbed trees, rode bikes roller blades and sketeboards, shot BB guns, fished, and played my heart out on a set of drums. Have made friends with some trully great souls and some that thought there souls to be great. listened heavily to jazz, stuck it through Boy Scouts. Played blues, jazz, rock, and r&b in many places on earth. Studied music and life with Terri Lynn Carrington, and Peter Erskine. Allow the music that so intertwined me to find outlets. Became intertwined with a beautiful, ( inside and out) woman. Pursuing inspiration and birth of musical energies and life and a relationship with the meriful creater and source of love and life on earth.

Gavin Salmon website

Joe La Barbera has enjoyed a long and varied career in music, a career that has taken him all over the world with some of the finest names in jazz. He is regarded by his peers as a musical drummer and a supportive accompanist. Jazz great Bill Evans summed it up best when he said that “Joe is very dedicated to playing quality music, and he’s willing to make the concessions of dues toward that end. He’s a top soloist and he does the right thing at the right time.”

Born in Mt. Morris, New York, his first musical experiences began at home as part of the family band with his parents and two older brothers, saxophonist Pat and trumpeter and arranger/composer John La Barbera. From his father he received a solid foundation in drumming as well as lessons on clarinet and saxophone. His education continued at the Berklee College of Music in Boston where his teachers included John LaPorta, Charlie Mariano, Herb Pomeroy and the great Alan Dawson.

After Berklee and two years with the U.S. Army band at Fort Dix, New Jersey, Joe began his professional career with Woody Herman and the Thundering Herd. The Chuck Mangione Quartet followed with gigs ranging from jazz clubs with the small group to symphony halls with full orchestra. Then it was onto New York and a fruitful two-year period of freelancing with Jim Hall, Phil Woods, Art Farmer, Gary Burton, Art Pepper, John Scofield, Bob Brookmeyer and Toots Thielmans to name just a few.

In 1978 Joe was asked to join Bill Evans in what was to become a landmark trio. Along with bassist Marc Johnson, the trio grew over a two-year period to become one of Evans’ finest. (see performances of My Romance, In Your Own Sweet Way and Bill’s Hit Tune on YouTube). After Bill’s untimely death in 1980, Joe joined pop singer Tony Bennett.

Currently residing in Los Angeles, Joe is involved in a wide range of music locally, nationally and internationally. On the local scene he is busy with his own quintet as well as sideman duties with many well known jazz artists. Recent dates in North America include performances with Bill Mays, Eddie Daniels, Randy Brecker and brother Pat LaBarbera.

During the last few years, Joe has toured Europe with Kenny Wheeler, Bassline (with Hein Van De Geyn and John Abercrombie) and the WDR Big Band. Most recently, he toured Japan with Lee Konitz, Europe with The West Coast All Stars and with Karrin Allyson, and South America with Bud Shank.

In 1999 along with Tom Warrington, Larry Koonse and Clay Jenkins, Joe created Jazz Compass, an independent recording company dedicated to the kind of creative music that has always been close to his heart. Joe has two releases on Jazz Compass, “Live” (JC1004) and “Mark Time” (JC1437)which was selected one of the top 10 2003 releases in Dr. Herb Wong’s Blue Chip Jazz CD Awards. He is also heard on other Jazz Compass projects including brother John La Barbera’s exciting new big band recordings, “On The Wild Side” (JC1007) and “Fantazm” (JC1011).

Since 1993, Joe has been on the faculty of California Institute For The Arts in Valencia, California. He is also a visiting artist at UNLV (Las Vegas), and a faculty member of the Bud Shank Jazz Workshop. In the past he has also served on the National Endowment For The Arts council in Washington D.C. and has been a guest at many other colleges as both performer and lecturer.

Joe LaBarbera website

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Born in Vancouver and raised in Los Angeles, Ben was educated at the Eastman School of Music in New York. Since graduating he has enjoyed a varied career as a performer, composer and producer. Recent highlights include multiple domestic and international tours with such artists as Cuban drumming legend Ignacio Berroa, Thelonius Monk Piano Competition Winner Tigran Hamasyan, Electronica artist Daedelus and Hip Hop artist Snoop Dogg. Ben is a founding member of the Grammy nominated group Kneebody.

In addition to playing saxophone, Ben also doubles on the bassoon and piano.

A frequent writer of film music, he co-wrote the score for John Krasinski’s 2009 adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s “Brief Interviews With Hideous Men.” Ben also won an ASCAP Jazz Composer Award and recently received the Chamber Music America “New Works Grant.” In the summer of 2007, Ben was honored to work with conductor Kent Nagano in producing a series of concerts for the Festpeil Plus in Munich, Germany. One of the performances (a collaboration between Theo Bleckmann and Kneebody featuring the songs of Charles Ives) was recently signed to Winter & Winter. Ben currently produces a new performing arts series at The Edye in Santa Monica, California.

Ben’s is a recording artist with Sunnyside Records, with plans for his second release in Fall 2011. Ben was a former Adjunct Professor of Jazz Studies at USC.

Ben Wendel website

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Dan Tepfer is a New York-based pianist and composer and one of the most formidable jazz musicians on the international stage — hailed as “brilliant” by The Boston Globe, “remarkable” by The Washington Post, a “player of exceptional poise” by the New York Times, “a singular voice” by Libération (France). “Tepfer eschews jarring dissonances, gratuitous clusters or poundings,” raves Down Beat magazine. “He has the ability to disappear into the music as he’s making it.”

By age 29, Dan has developed a rare improvisational gift and a complex yet deeply melodic approach to music. He has performed the world over in contexts ranging from solo piano to full orchestra, exploring a wide variety of idioms but always in the service of a personal aesthetic, a unified artistic identity. He has chronicled his talents on the solo disc Twelve Improvisations in Twelve Keys (2009) as well as the trio sessions Before the Storm (2005), Oxygen (2007) and Five Pedals Deep, his critically acclaimed 2010 Sunnyside release with bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Ted Poor. The album “lays out something like a personal manifesto“, says the New York times. “Tepfer unfurls his lyricism in great silvery arcs, with no allowance for awkwardness”.

Dan has also had the extraordinary privilege of a sustained, ongoing duo partnership with alto saxophonist and jazz luminary Lee Konitz. The two documented their rapport on the acclaimed 2009 Sunnyside CD Duos With Lee (“a benchmark of human potential” – JazzInsideNY). They have appeared together live at the Village Vanguard and many other leading jazz venues. Whether they’re freely improvising, exploring Dan’s original compositions or applying their interpretive prowess to the Great American Songbook, the Tepfer-Konitz duo achieves stirring results and embodies the notion of jazz as an artistic exchange across the generations. In addition, Dan has had the honor of performing with Steve Lacy, Paul Motian, Bob Brookmeyer, Joe Lovano, Ralph Towner, Mark Turner, Billy Hart and other innovators.

Born to American parents in Paris, France in 1982, Dan began classical piano studies at age six at the Paris Conservatoire Paul Dukas. He took a somewhat circuitous route to a jazz career, earning a bachelors degree in astrophysics from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. But beginning even as a toddler, Dan explored improvisation on his own. He played extensively on the jazz scene in college and enjoyed a brief stint as an opera conductor. After graduating in 2005 from Boston’s New England Conservatory, where he completed his masters under the guidance of Danilo Perez, Dan moved to New York and quickly became an in-demand player and composer.

Dan’s numerous awards include first prize and audience prize at the 2006 Montreux Jazz Festival Solo Piano Competition, first prize at the 2006 East Coast Jazz Festival Competition, and first prize at the 2007 competition of the American Pianists Association.

Dan has also been named a Cultural Envoy of the U.S. State Department, with recent travels to Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Czech Republic. He has lectured and led master classes at the Royal Academy of Music (London), the Seoul Institute of the Arts (South Korea), the Chopin Conservatory (Warsaw) and many more. He was recently commissioned by the Prague Castle Guard Orchestra to compose a concerto for wind symphony and improvising piano. Titled The View from Orohena, the work premiered in the Prague Castle on May 4, 2010.

On November 8th 2011, Dan released a solo album on Sunnyside/Naïve entitled Goldberg Variations/Variations. In this new work, he performs Bach’s original variations as written while adding his own improvised variations in between each, thus generating a dialogue with the old master. A contemporary commentary on a revered masterpiece, the project affirms the timelessness and continuity of musical expression.

In addition to working with his new trio, Dan continues to focus on full solo piano concerts of freely improvised music. As France’s Jazz Magazine has noted, he is “gifted with a heightened sense for form and an extraordinary confidence in his angles of attack.” His playing, whatever the context, is a model of fluidity and steady, effortless motion, immersed in jazz history but creating new history in turn.

Dan Tepfer website

Born and raised in Hollywood, Natasha Agrama is a natural born entertainer and multi-disciplinary artist. She got her BFA in New Genres in 2009 from the San Francisco Art Institute, with a focus in drawing, video, and performance. Upon graduating, she became the Art Director for Roxboro Entertainment Group, the jazz record label of renowned musician Stanley Clarke. Somewhere along the way, Natasha went from being the art director, to one of the label’s musical artists. In her short musical career, she has already performed at legendary jazz clubs around the world including the Blue Note NYC, as well as having recorded with Grammy award winning musicians for her upcoming debut record on the Roxboro label. She is currently studying full time at LA Music Academy.

Natasha F Agrama website

One of the most accomplished drummers of his generation, Ben Perowsky’s notable career has placed him among a small vanguard of players able to move between jazz, experimental music and cutting edge pop and rock. Starting at a very young age, Ben has worked with list of artists that form a who’s who in the music world. A few are: jazz legend James Moody, pop songstress Rickie Lee Jones, R&B star Roy Ayers, Miles Davis’ sidemen Bob Berg, Mike Stern and later John Scofield, Elysian Fields, Joan as Policewoman, Uri Caine, Steven Bernstein, John Zorn, Michael Brecker, Don Byron, Dave Douglas, Walter Becker, John Lurie’s Lounge Lizards, Lou Reed and Loudon Wainwright among others.
Ben has been prolific as a leader all the while, with many releases as producer including Lost Tribe records in ’92, ’93 and ‘98.
Ben Perowsky Trio ‘99 from which the title Segment was used for the movie Talegega Nights.
Camp Songs in 2003, John Zorn’s Tzadik label.
El Destructo: Volume I, 2006, El Destructo Records
Moodswing Orchestra, 2009, El Destructo Records/Red
Esopus Opus, 2009, Skirl records.
He also recently formed the band RedCred with Chris Speed, John Medeski and Larry Grenadier, played beats on the disco hit song “Blind” by Hercules and Love Affair, toured with Canadian popstars Tegan and Sara and continues to record and produce tracks with many artists while residing in NYC.

Ben Perowsky website

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time was that many and a few had seen and heard sound as a living being,now men and machines have become one in the same,the music we played reflected the common need for communication,now men and machines have come to play together,communication has moved into a different sphere,for those who want to know more about what and where i have been,done,sang and seen,,check out my cyberspace website,,,www.pablocalogero.com,,more history here would only be a double time,,currently i have been seen at the beach walking alone,or,sitting in my GARDEN!!,thinking about my newest project dealing with the music of none other than Hermeto Pasqual,,this led me to work with guitarist Fabiano Nacimento on the compositions from the book by Hermeto Pasqual’calendario do som’,,creating’DOU DO SOM’,that led to TRIORGANICO,my trio with Fabiano and percusionist Tiki Pasillas,this group has taken the pan ameRican diaspora into the 21st century,creating a rich canvas for each point of the triangle,things are what they are,,,CHANGO and CUBAN TRANCE have also been in the mix,check that out,FUTURE PRIMITIVE,things are what they are,my work with Mario Bauza,Tito Puente is well documented,the years of mentorship from these great men has been invaluable,what the future holds is only known by the face of destiny,,some have asked why Hermeto,,for me its the music of a universal and whole earth vision,there is only one planet we live on,[some might travel to other worlds but they almost always return],there are other worlds but this is where i find myself,removing borders,creating oneness,peace and thought is our mission,currently working on expansion of my own compositions, instruments,paintings,for now it is what it is,,those who chose to follow there path single minded and awake will see what it is,,for what it is,,peace Pablo C

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Tim Lefebvre (pronounced leh-FAVE) performs his very own retrohipster funk-jazz soundtrack while strutting around Europe (or wherever he happens to be) and so does his band Rudder, a group of New York City session cats currently storming the indie-jam-jazz scene with rowdy, greasy cuts like “Tokyo Chicken,” “Jackass Surcharge,” and “3H Club” from their brand new album Matorning [2009, Nineteen-Eight Records.] Lefebvre not only grooves his pants off, he fully embraces the offbeat hipster vibe from a tone standpoint. (Bryan Beller, Bass Player Magazine)

Lefebvre strives for modernity, mastering styles as diverse as drum and bass, electronica, rap, rock and many jazz styles including traditional, bebop and fusion, and creating his own hybrid. Lefebvre’s bass lines tend to waddle in and out (a la James Jamerson’s innate funkiness) of drummer Keith Carlock’s pounding, discovering hidden little caves of funk. “To be able to mesh all these diverse style and come up with something new is the most important lesson he ever learned from Wayne Krantz.” (Zachary Adam Cohen)

A native of Foxboro, Massachusetts who double-majored in political science and economics, Lefebvre spent three years gigging on a cruise ship before hitting New York and hooking up with drummer Zach Danziger, which led to gigs and recordings with guitarist Wayne Krantz. Once he began subbing for James Genus in the Saturday Night Live band, the walls to the TV world tumbled down, with gigs for The Sopranos, The Late Show With David Letterman, 30 Rock, and The Apprentice.

He has played on dozens of records, as well as performed and composed for several movie soundtracks, including Oceans 12, Oceans 13, The Departed,  Please Give, Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle, and Analyze That! In addition, he continues to be a freelance composer for JSM Music and Deetown Productions in NYC.

Mr. Lefebvre also placed in both the Downbeat Reader’s and Critic’s Poll in 2010 for electric bass. Also several articles have been written about him in Bass Player Magazine, Bass Musician Magazine, and Guitarre + Bass Magazine.

Mr. Lefebvre has been seen on TV and touring extensively with Chris Bottiand Rudder this year. He has appeared recently with Elvis Costello,  John Mayer, Sting, Patti Austin, Jamie Cullum, Mark Guiliana’s Beat Music, Uri Caine, David Binney, and Wayne Krantz..

Mr. Lefebvre has appeared or recorded with Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, AR Rahman, Tony Orlando, Donny Osmond, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Andy Garcia, Bette Midler,  Drew Barrymore, Snoop Dogg, Jim Belushi, David Holmes, Paula Cole, Melissa Errico,  Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Deborah Gibson, Karsh Kale, Russell Ferrante, KT Tunstall, Tenacious D, Hildegard Knef, Bob James, Mark Whitfield, Dr. John, Warren Haynes, Chuck Loeb, Les McCann, Bill Frisell, Chris Potter’s Underground, Arif Marden, Bill Evans, David Cassidy, David Johanssen & The Harry Smith’s, M People, Russell Gunn, Philippe Saisse, Les McCann, Bill Frisell, Angelique Kidjo, Chuck Loeb, Dennis Chambers, Jon Pousette-Dart, Larry John MacNally, Jim Beard, Chieli Minucci & Special EFX, Mitch Forman, Eddie Daniels, Tim Berne, Brian Blade, and  Jim Black.

He is Endorsed by Moollon Guitars, Callow Hill Guitars, MXR + Jim Dunlop Efx, Ableton Live, M Audio, Aguilar Amplification, and D’Addario Strings.

“How fortunate we are indeed that against all the odds that our lowbrow culture has stacked up against avant-garde musicians, we can still catch a glimpse every so often of authentic expression.” (Zachary Adam Cohen, Social Media Strategist)

Tim Lefebvre website

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-Staff at BlueWhale

Quartetto Fantastico is made up of longtime friends that share a classical upbringing and a desire for improvisation, dialogue and study of different cultures. All of the musical examples above are excerpts from improvisations. Having first played together serving as Dr. Dre’s string section in 2006, Quartetto Fantastico has continued to meet consistently and develop it’s own language. The members of this creative string quartet have played all around the world with musicians from many different backgrounds, some famous, some not, but all the while expanding our hearts and skills to bring you what we cherish the most.

Members
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Violin: Chris ‘El INCENDADOR’ Woods
Violin: Paul ‘AZUCAR’ Cartwright
Viola: Miguel ‘El TIGRE’ Atwood-Ferguson
Cello: Pete ‘DOS FALCONES’ Jacobson

Quartetto Fantastico website

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Through pieces that are musically complex, while still accesssible to all listeners, the Left Side Sax Alliance is bringing new audiences a broader appreciation of the many nuances of small ensemble jazz and the saxophone. Ear popping compositions and arrangements by its leader, Jeff Driskill, inspire the Left Side Sax Alliance’s innovative, modern approach to the saxophone quartet. Comprised of four distinct artists who’s backgrounds span the gamut of musical genres, the Left Side Sax Alliance delivers engaging, accessible performances not to be missed.

JEFF DRISKILL

Professional saxophonist, Jeff Driskill discovered his passionate love of music at a very early age. He began focusing that affection specifically on the saxophone at thirteen and around the same time discovered an intense fondness for jazz. By the time Driskill was in high school, he knew that a future filled with jazz was one he wanted to be a part of so he put his nose to the grindstone and got serious about pursuing music at North Texas State University.

In any given week you may find Driskill performing in the orchestra for the latest hit musical, lending his talents to a studio movie score, backing an A-list crooner or playing jazz in one of several respected big bands. Recently, Driskill worked with composer Randy Newman on the much lauded soundtracks for “The Princess and the Frog” and “Toy Story 3″. He also went in to the recording studio with John Williams and lent his talents to “Tin Tin: Secret of the Unicorn”.

Jeff has backed legions of luminaries including Prince, Alan Jackson, Michael Feinstein, Annie Lennox, Michael Bolton, Josh Groban, Steve Tyrell, and Fiona Apple to name a few. He has also recorded with some of the giants of modern jazz including Eddie Daniels, Arturo Sandoval, Take 6, Patti Austin, Clare Fischer, Dianne Reeves and Hubert Laws. For the past nine years, Driskill has been a member of Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band and has performed on four of his widely acclaimed albums including Grammy-nominated “XXL” and “Act Your Age.” He recently returned from a week-long stint with the BPB at the Blue Note in Tokyo. Jeff was a featured soloist on Bob Florence’s Grammy-winning track “Serendipity 18” from the album of the same name. He was a member of the Bob Florence Limited Edition from 1998 until Bob’s untimely death in 2008. Since 2004, Driskill has played with the impeccable Chris Walden Big Band. He has recorded three albums with the band and performed on the Grammy-nominated track “Home of My Heart.” He also worked with Chris on his Grammy-nominated orchestral project, Symphony No. 1- The Four Elements. For over ten years, Jeff has been a member of The John Daversa Progressive Big Band. The band has a standing gig at the world famous Baked Potato in Hollywood and plays to packed audiences. Recently, Driskill was one of two dozen top session musicians asked by Pat Williams to play on his anticipated album, “Aurora.” The album is Williams’ first all original big band album since the 1974 Grammy winner, “Threshold.”

BOB SHEPPARD

Over the course of an extraordinarily diverse career that has made him a first call musician in the realms of jazz, pop and the studio worlds, multi-woodwind specialist Bob Sheppard has always let his array of saxophones, flutes and clarinets do the talking. Superstar names highlight his resume, and jazz critics have been raving about him as both a sideman and leader for years, but such praise is simply a byproduct of Sheppard´s years of steady work and dedication to his craft – a tradition that continues on Close Your Eyes, his latest release as an artist and is the debut CD for the BFM Jazz label.

Going into the recording session for Close Your Eyes, Sheppard simply wanted to create a sonically rich interactive jazz experience. One of the distinct advantages of dividing his time between his home base of Los Angeles and New York is that he has forged working relationships with the best musicians on both coasts. Anchoring this session is top NYC drummer Antonio Sanchez (renowned for his work with Pat Metheny, among others), who Sheppard met while collaborating with him on the Billy Childs Jazz Chamber Sextet and Michael Brecker´s Quindectet tours. Completing a powerful rhythm section Sheppard chose the young bassist, Gabe Noel, and split the piano and organ duties between longtime friends John Beasley and Alan Pasqua. Other key contributors on this inspired CD are trumpeter Alex Sipiagen, percussionist Walter Rodriguez and guitarist Larry Koonse.

Sheppard has been a steadfast member of the Billy Childs Ensembles and the Peter Erskine trio for over a decade. Additionally over the years, he has toured with Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs, and brought his diverse talents to more recent performances with James Taylor, Natalie Cole and Queen Latifah and most notably with the legendary Joni Mitchell on her current four-disc set and her 2007 Grammy-winning, Shine. He also played on a live studio video with Mitchell and Herbie Hancock.

Other distinguished collaborations include eight years with Freddie Hubbard, and tours and performances with Chick Corea´s ensemble Origin, Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Horace Silver, Lyle Mays, Nat Adderly and Toshiko Akiyoshi/Tabackin Big Band. Some of his more significant recording credits include Scott Henderson, John Beasley, Mark Isham, Otmaro Ruiz, Bill Cunliffe, vocalist Kurt Elling, Marilyn Scott, Michael Franks and Diane Reeves, while including pop icons Steely Dan, Rickie Lee Jones, Rod Stewart, Randy Newman and Stevie Wonder. As part of America´s newest past time you can occasionally catch Sheppard soloing on the hit TV show American Idol.

Bob Sheppard has honed his intuitive personal style through collaborations with this remarkable range of artists as well as playing on over a hundred movie and television soundtracks. Having earned his Master´s from the Eastman School of Music, Sheppard draws upon his diverse musical background delivering musical intellect, commanding technique with a warm inviting sound to every performance.

As a passionate music educator, Sheppard is a part-time faculty member at the USC Thorton School of Music, and frequently a guest clinician at colleges around the country.

KATISSE BUCKINGHAM

Katisse graduated from the L.A. County High School for the Arts and then from the Grove School of Music where he studied with multi-Grammy winning jazz legend, Rob McConnell. He received an NEA Jazz Fellowship Grant to study with woodwind master, Bill Green, attended the National Music Camp at Interlochen Michigan, and won the L.A. Jazz Society’s New Talent Award. Upon hearing Katisse as a guest soloist with the LA Guitar Quartet Allan Kozinn of The New York Times described him as , “…a flutist whose ornate improvisations transformed this vocal score into a virtuosic instrumental work”. Tom Meek wrote this for the LA Weekly pick of the week- “Katisse Buckingham leads a double musical life, most often as one of the area’s most sought-after woodwind players. But on the last Thursday of every month, he leads his own band in a unique mix of jazz, soul, hip-hop & rap, beatboxing his way through flutes and leaving even seasoned studio veterans often in astonishment.”

Katisse plays Tenor, Alto & Soprano Saxophones, Flute, Alto Flute & Ethnic Flutes as well as spoken word. He has performed and/or recorded with Yellowjackets, Prince, Dr. Dre, Airto & Flora Purim, Billy Childs, Vanessa Paradis, Herbie Hancock, Poncho Sanchez, Dave Douglas, Andy Summers, Pete Yorn, Colin Hay, Brian Auger, John Patitucci, Ricky Lawson, Terri Lyne Carrington, Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Strunz and Farah, Bill Summers, Jimmy Haslip, Russ Ferrente, Bob Hurst, Tom Brechtline, Munyungo Jackson, Gary Novak, Gary Thomas, Alphonso Johnson, B-Sharp Jazz Quartet, Don Grusin, Dean Parks, Greg Phillinganes, Harvey Mason, Abe Laboriel (Sr. and Jr.), Sandro Albert, Otmaro Ruiz, Wah, Amma, Gerry Gibbs, Monday Michiru, Jaz Klash, Raya Yarbrough, Down to the Bone, Sara Gazarek, Jimmy Johnson, Will Kennedy, Russ Kunkel, Robben Ford, Mike Elizando, Deepsky, The Angel, Patrice Rushen, DJ Quik, Non Amiss, Xzibit and Kurupt. He has played on numerous films (including the “jazz flute” scene in the Will Ferrell film, Anchorman).

While staying as a busy freelance musician (based in Los Angeles) Katisse has his own self titled group which includes Judith Hill, Maiya Sykes (vox); Chris Wabich, Iajhi Hampden, Gene Coy, Nate Wood (drums); Dennis Hamm, Steve Weingart, Quinn Johnson, Ruslan Sirota (keys); Dan Lutz, Jerry Watts, Jimmy Haslip (bass). KATISSE is a genre-free blend of jazz, hip-hop, pop & world music. His debut album was recorded and co-produced by engineering legend, Tony Sheppard (Kenny Loggins, Take 6, Whitney Houston). The record, entitled Lyrical Worker, is now availible for purchase and digital download. Katisse will be releasing a new studio record of original music in 2012. You can also hear Katisse playing with his Oddsemble- a group focusing (for now) on playing jazz standards, most of which were originally in 4/4 time signature, in 11/8, 13/8, 15/8, and 17/8 time signatures. This group includes great players such as- Chris Wabich, Ralph Humphrey, Steve Hass (drums), Nick Mancini (vibes), Jerry Watts, Kaveh Rastegar, Greg Swiller (Bass), and Jimmy Mahlis (guitar).

ADAM  SCHROEDER

Los Angeles based Baritone Saxophonist Adam Schroeder has rapidly become a major force throughout the global jazz scene. Schroeder; a first call for a growing multitude of musical circumstances, is known equally for his hard-driving muscular swing, ferocious be-bopping, meticulous musicianship and leadership as well as his exquisite sound. For Schroeder’s debut release “A Handful of Stars” (Capri Records July 20th, 2010), his approach has been described as possessing soul a la Carney, intricate lines like those of Chaloff and Adams, the in-the-pocket swing of Mulligan and the hard-driving take-no-prisoners approach of Smulyan. This description of Schroeder’s approach is a concise ‘short list’ of the baritone saxophone lineage with which Schroeder’s name should duly be added for he is truly a master of the most unwieldy of traditional jazz instruments.

Born and raised in Sioux City, Iowa, Adam began his musical studies on alto saxophone while in grade school. After an introduction to Charlie Parker in 1992, Schroeder’s musical interest became fixed solely within the jazz idiom. Mr. Schroeder finally discovered his saxophonistic voice between his junior and senior years, switching from the alto over to the baritone saxophone. Later that same year, Adam was asked to fill the baritone role in the college big band at Clark Terry’s International Institute of Jazz Studies. The acceptance of this position sparked a relationship with the famed Clark Terry, which lead to a multitude of musical opportunities shared between the two players, ongoing still today.

In June of 2000, Downbeat Magazine named Mr. Schroeder the Co-Winner of the “Jazz Instrumental Soloist Award” (the 23rd Annual Student Music Awards); the first time that a Baritone Saxophonist has been given this prestigious honor. Later that same year, Mr. Schroeder’s career took off with calls coming in from Columbia Artists (Maureen McGovern & John Pizzarelli in Concert), Clark Terry (The QE2’s 17th Annual Floating Jazz Festival), & Ray Charles; a call that started a four and a half year relationship up until the singer’s untimely passing.

Throughout his career, Adam has had the fortunate opportunity to play and record with a growing list of musical greats. Among them are Clark Terry, the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Anthony Wilson, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli, Bill Cosby, Bob Mintzer, Bennie Wallace, Michael Buble, Sting, Chris Botti, Louie Bellson, Gilbert Castellanos, Gary Smulyan, Joe Magnarelli, Gerald Clayton, American Idol, Gordon Goodwin, SUPERSAX, Mary Mary, Max Weinberg, the late Nick Brignola and Jack Nimitz, as well as the American Idol television show. He is also endorsed by Yamaha and RICO Reeds.

While maintaining an active schedule, Schroeder’s presence in the jazz community, both stateside and abroad, is felt not only in his intense musicality, but also in his outreach to the community as well. When asked about his flourishing career, Adam replied, “Clark Terry has not ONCE stopped reaching out to others, always taking the time out of his life to give, be it mentoring in music or in life. He instilled that in me from the moment we first met; that’s a lesson I’ll never forget and a lesson I strive to live up to each & every day of my musical life.”

The Left Side Sax Alliance website

Jazz pianist, composer and Grammy Award-winning arranger Bill Cunliffe is known for his innovative and swinging recordings and compositions. Bill began his career as pianist and arranger with the Buddy Rich Big Band and worked with Frank Sinatra, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Benny Golson and James Moody. He has since established himself as a solo artist and bandleader, with more than a dozen albums under his name.

Bill’s recordings show his affinity for Latin rhythms (“Bill in Brazil,” Imaginación,” his orchestral work “fourth stream … La Banda”) and pay homage to some of his musical heroes, including Paul Simon, Bud Powell and Oliver Nelson.

His most recent film project was the score for “On the Shoulders of Giants,” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 2011 documentary about the legendary Harlem Rens basketball team of the 1930s.

Bill currently plays with his trio, his big band and his Latin band, Imaginación, and performs in the U.S. and around the world as a leader and sideman.

His latest solo-piano release is “That Time of Year” (Metre Records, 2011), his take on traditional Christmas tunes, with guest vocalist Denise Donatelli.

Bill is a winner of the Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition and has received stipends from the National Endowment for the Arts. Orchestras across the country and overseas have performed his works, and many of his recordings have charted in nationwide jazz polls.

He is a jazz studies professor at Cal State Fullerton and teaches at the Skidmore Jazz Institute and the Vail Jazz Workshop.
His books “Jazz Keyboard Toolbox” and “Jazz Inventions for Keyboard” (Alfred Music Publishing) are standard jazz reference works. His “Uniquely Familiar: Standards for Advanced Solo Piano” was published in 2010.

Bill has received four Grammy nominations and two Emmy nominations. He was awarded a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement for 2009 for “West Side Story Medley,” on the album “Resonance Big Band Plays Tribute to Oscar Peterson” (Resonance Records). He was nominated for a Grammy in 2010 for Best Instrumental Composition for his concerto for trumpet and orchestra, “fourth stream … La Banda,” performed by Terell Stafford and the Temple University Symphony Orchestra (BCM+D Records).

The Los Angeles Jazz Society honored Bill in 2010 with its Composer/Arranger Award. That year he was also named a Distinguished Faculty Member of the College of the Arts at Cal State Fullerton.

Bill grew up in Andover, Mass. He studied jazz at Duke University with pianist Mary Lou Williams and received his master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music.

Bill Cunliffe website

MISHA PIATIGORSKY   piano
CHRIS WABICH  drums

strings include:
KATIE KRESEK, CHARLENE HUANG, CHRISTIANA LIBERIS, CARMEL RAZ  violin
SURAI BALBEISI, CARMEL RAZ   viola
AGNES NAGY, NOELLE CRABTREE    cello
DANTON BOLLER, LARRY STEEN, FLEA   bass

Experience the daring, explosive mix of classic rock and originals; sonic temptations that are both seductive and unpredictable.  This piano trio with string quartet plays unique spins of Bowie, Zeppelin, Hendrix, and more. Sketchy Black Dog takes timeless rock songs and originals to places both irreverent and fragile.

Sketchy Black Dog is the brainchild of pianist Misha Piatigorsky and drummer Chris Wabich – both internationally recognized musicians.

The virtuosic and super-creative Jazz pianist, Misha Piatigorsky, is no stranger to Jazz audiences, but you’ve never seen – or heard – him quite like this! The Russian born Piatigorsky fled from behind the Cold War-era Iron Curtain and moved with his family to New York. It didn’t take long for this Classical pianist to morph into one of the most innovative Jazz artists on the international scene, taking first place in the Thelonious Monk Composers Competition, and playing everything from Brazilian music to straight-up Jazz with Mark Murphy, Joe Lovano and Jon Faddis. Sketchy Black Dog is his current obsession – cranking out his original arrangements of Classic Rock tunes alongside his own award-winning compositions. Piatigorsky’s fiery performances leave audiences screaming for more.

Chris Wabich has collaborated with the leading authorities in Jazz, World, and Rock music, including the Zappa family, Leonard Cohen, Sting, Nenette Evans (pianist Bill Evans’ widow) and Omar Faruk Tekbilek.  This three-time Grammy nominated artist is known for his dynamic extremities, clarity, melodicism and power.  Wabich’s understanding and cross-pollination of genres is evident in his original voice, sought after by the likes of Ludacris to Stanley Jordan.  Aside from being the rudder for Sketchy, Chris frequents as music director/producer for LA based artists and full-scale theater productions.   His soundtrack credits include “Malcolm in the Middle”, “American Idol”, and work with film legend Lalo Shifrin.

Together Piatigorsky and Wabich have toured in Japan, Russia and throughout the USA, taking Sketchy Black Dog to Jazz and Rock clubs, Philharmonic halls, Opera houses, and even won over the crowd in one mistakenly booked lumberjack bar.

Sketchy Black Dog website

MISHA PIATIGORSKY   piano
CHRIS WABICH  drums

strings include:
KATIE KRESEK, CHARLENE HUANG, CHRISTIANA LIBERIS, CARMEL RAZ  violin
SURAI BALBEISI, CARMEL RAZ   viola
AGNES NAGY, NOELLE CRABTREE    cello
DANTON BOLLER, LARRY STEEN, FLEA   bass

Experience the daring, explosive mix of classic rock and originals; sonic temptations that are both seductive and unpredictable.  This piano trio with string quartet plays unique spins of Bowie, Zeppelin, Hendrix, and more. Sketchy Black Dog takes timeless rock songs and originals to places both irreverent and fragile.

Sketchy Black Dog is the brainchild of pianist Misha Piatigorsky and drummer Chris Wabich – both internationally recognized musicians.

The virtuosic and super-creative Jazz pianist, Misha Piatigorsky, is no stranger to Jazz audiences, but you’ve never seen – or heard – him quite like this! The Russian born Piatigorsky fled from behind the Cold War-era Iron Curtain and moved with his family to New York. It didn’t take long for this Classical pianist to morph into one of the most innovative Jazz artists on the international scene, taking first place in the Thelonious Monk Composers Competition, and playing everything from Brazilian music to straight-up Jazz with Mark Murphy, Joe Lovano and Jon Faddis. Sketchy Black Dog is his current obsession – cranking out his original arrangements of Classic Rock tunes alongside his own award-winning compositions. Piatigorsky’s fiery performances leave audiences screaming for more.

Chris Wabich has collaborated with the leading authorities in Jazz, World, and Rock music, including the Zappa family, Leonard Cohen, Sting, Nenette Evans (pianist Bill Evans’ widow) and Omar Faruk Tekbilek.  This three-time Grammy nominated artist is known for his dynamic extremities, clarity, melodicism and power.  Wabich’s understanding and cross-pollination of genres is evident in his original voice, sought after by the likes of Ludacris to Stanley Jordan.  Aside from being the rudder for Sketchy, Chris frequents as music director/producer for LA based artists and full-scale theater productions.   His soundtrack credits include “Malcolm in the Middle”, “American Idol”, and work with film legend Lalo Shifrin.

Together Piatigorsky and Wabich have toured in Japan, Russia and throughout the USA, taking Sketchy Black Dog to Jazz and Rock clubs, Philharmonic halls, Opera houses, and even won over the crowd in one mistakenly booked lumberjack bar.

Sketchy Black Dog website