Dave Stahl

In 1987 Dave started his own record label: Abee Cake Records and started recording his own band, the Dave Stahl Band. Since then there have been 4 recordings of his band: Anaconda, Miranda, Live at Knights and Standard Issue. All the recordings are available through Dave’s label, Abee Cake Records, at PO Box 117, New Berlinville, PA 19545. Live at Knights is a live recording and all the others were done in studios in NYC. Also Dave established his own publishing company in 1987: Dave Stahl Music which is BMI affiliated. He started Dasta Music in 1989 which is ASCAP affiliated.

Dave’s main work was with Liza Minnelli. He continued to tour with her around the world as her lead trumpeter. 1987 was the record setting performance at Carnegie Hall which was recorded by Telarc, and later that year Liza toured Europe for 8 weeks. There were several concerts with Liza and Frank Sinatra, and in 1988 Liza recorded at the White House a PBS live concert attended by President Reagan and directed by Marvin Hamlisch. 1989 saw Liza touring in Europe with Sammy Davis Jr. and in 1991 Liza set another record at Radio City Music Hall and followed that with an 11 week tour of Europe which included a month in Paris with Charles Aznavour. In 1992 Liza recorded at Radio City both a CD and video of the record setting concert. In 1994 Dave took some time off from Liza to do the new version of Damn Yankees on Broadway. Originally the cast included Bebe Neuwirth and Victor Garber. The last part of the run featured Jerry Lewis in the main role.

In September of 1999, Dave was hired to play lead trumpet on the new Broadway show: Saturday Night Fever. That show ran at the Minskoff Theatre in New York City for 18 months. Liza did a 4 week limited engagement at the Palace Theatre in NYC in December of 1999 and that show was recorded on a CD. In Spring of 1999, Dave organized and formed his own Sacred Orchestra. It is a 23-piece studio orchestra (large big band with strings) plus 10 vocalists. He has been performing in churches in the eastern half of Pennsylvania since then.

By the beginning of 2005, The Sacred Orchestra had performed over 135 worship services or concerts of sacred music. Two recordings were made.  Those recordings are: How Great Thou Art and Praise Him.

Dave also reformed his local PA big band around 2001 and started doing weekly gigs with the band. Those efforts grew to working at various venues in Southeastern PA and a following that urged a recording of the band. That desire was fulfilled when Dave and his PA big band recorded their first recording on Dec 1 and 2,  2004. It was a live recording done at a club in New Holland , PA much like Dave’s previous live recording Live at the Knights. This new recording, Live at the Ritz, was officially released on March 17, 2005. It had been 15 years since Dave last recorded with his big band. 

Dave continues to freelance in and around NYC and also play trumpet on Broadway shows. And now, March of 2011, Dave has released a new recording of his NY band titled From A to Z. It’s a set of 12 selections that pretty much covers the styles of big band writing from A to Z.

Joe Magnarelli

Syracuse native Joe Magnarelli moved to New York City in 1986 and soon became a regular participant in the New York and international jazz scene. From 1987, he toured and recorded with Lionel Hampton and Brother Jack McDuff.

Joe currently has nine records out as a leader, and has played on numerous jazz labels as a sideman. In 1990, Joe was a semifinalist at the Thelonious Monk International Trumpet Competition in Washington, D.C.

Joe made his debut as a leader with 1994’s “Why Not” (Criss Cross). He followed that excellent album with three others on the Criss Cross label: “Always There” (1997), “Mr. Mags” (2000) and “Hoop Dreams” (2005).

He subsequently released “Persistence” (2007) and “My Old Flame” (2010), his first big band recording as a leader. He also made two albums co-leading a sextet with the legendary Philadelphia trumpeter John Swana: “Philly-New York Junction” (1998), and “New York-Philly Junction” (2003).

In 2003-2006, Mags performed with the great Latin jazz conguero Ray Barretto’s New Sextet. Joe recorded on Ray’s “Time Was, Time Is” (O+ Music), which was nominated for a Grammy.

Joe’s early career included touring and recording with Lionel Hampton, Jack McDuff, Toshiko Akioshi, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Harry Connick Jr. and the Hard Bop Quintet.

Also, Joe has worked and toured with the Vanguard Orchestra, Jane Monheit, Jon Hendricks, Jimmy Cobb, Louis Hayes, Alvin Queen, Dado Maroni, Marty Sheller, Tom Harrell Big Band, George Gruntz, Harry Whitaker, Walt Weiskopf, Grant Stewart, Charles Davis, Nick Brignola, JR Monterose, Gary Smulyan, The Carnegie Hall Orchestra, Don Sebesky, John Pizzarelli, Aretha Franklin, Rosemary Clooney, Joe Williams, Michael Feinstein, and the Lincoln Center Orchestra.

Joe is currently an adjunct professor of music at the Juilliard School of Music and Rutgers University. He also conducts clinics and master classes around the world, sharing his musical experience and his knowledge from his past teachers. These teachers have included Jack Palmer, Sal Amico, Tommy Turrentine, James Moody, Garry Dial, Arnold Jacobs, and William Vachianno.

Mags, as he is known, first played music at age 12, starting with guitar and trumpet lessons. He also picked out songs on the piano by ear. Joe’s early performance experience, from elementary through high school, came via playing the trumpet and guitar in church. Later, while attending Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, he was the pianist and choir director at the Central Baptist Church there.

In 1986, Joe received a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from the State University of New York in Fredonia, and that year, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in music.

Matt Finley

Matt Finley has played trumpet and flugelhorn professionally for 55 years. He studied composition with Edgar Curtis, Director of the Albany Symphony Orchestra, and performed seven years with Grammy-winning jazz sax player Nick Brignola. A CD of Matt’s compositions, “Brazilian Wish” garnered international recognition and sales, with two of his compositions placing in the finals at the 2009 Los Angeles Music Awards. He is featured on eleven CDs released since 2006.

Matt orchestrated and performed his Brazilian jazz compositions with the Northern Dutchess Symphony Orchestra, was a soloist and composer in the North Country Jazz Project, held the jazz soloist chair in the Albany Jazz Workshop and the Hudson Valley Jazz Orchestra, and for thirty years directed his own Brazilian jazz concert band, Rio JAZZ.

Matt is a retired dean of academic affairs and professor of computer information systems and music at Dutchess Community College, Poughkeepsie, New York. He is instrumental director for special services at the Smithfield Presbyterian Church. He lives in Pine Plains, NY and Lake George, NY.

Herm Matlock

Herm Matlock has been a music educator for fifty-one years, teaching 24 years in the public school of Indiana and New York, and 27 years at the college level, including Plattsburgh State and the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. He is currently retired as a music educator, but continues to teach as an adjunct lecturer at Plattsburgh. His playing credentials include performances along side Clark Terry, Nick Brignola, Phil Woods, and many others, including Doug Sertl.

Randy Brecker

Doug Sertl

Born and raised in the Capital District of New York State, Doug began playing the trombone at the age of ten. By the time he was a senior in high school he was playing professionally as a freelance trombonist at local concert venues backing up various touring artists.

Doug attended the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, New York from 1979 to 1980. During his studies at Crane, he got a call to go out on the road with Paul Anka.  For the next few years he toured with various pop and jazz artists before returning to the Hudson Valley of New York.

His first album as a leader was released in 1983. “Doug Sertl and The Jazz Menagerie” received a 41/2-star review in Downbeat. This album also began a 20 year association with legendary Baritone Saxophonist Nick Brignola with whom Doug would record a half dozen albums.

Over the last thirty years, Doug has built a reputation as one of today’s leading freelance and studio trombonists as well as a soloist releasing eight albums as a leader. He’s performed or recorded with a long list of artists including, Tony Bennett, Paul Anka, Andy Williams, Mel Torme, Mark Murphy, Chaka Kahn, Sammy Davis, Jr., Kenny Barron, Freddie Hubbard, Phil Woods, Conte Condoli, Carl Fontana, Anita O’Day, Slide Hampton, Bobby Shew, Roger Kellaway, Peter Bernstein, George Mraz  and Many more.

Today Doug resides in the Hudson Valley of New York maintaining a busy schedule of freelance, recording and guest artist appearances.

Doug Sertl performs on XO/Jupiter Trombones Exclusively.

Bruce Eidem

Bruce Eidem is one of New York City’s in-demand Broadway, freelance and studio trombonists. A jack of all trades. Bruce is equally at home in a Broadway pit orchestra, a big band or the NY Pops.

A gifted educator/clinician as well as a superb, lyrical soloist, Bruce remains busy both as a freelance and studio musicians, the Pit Orchestras of Broadway and touring with today’s greatest big bands.

Barry Cooper

Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Staff Sergeant Barry Cooper moved to New York shortly after graduating high school to attend the New School University, where he studied under jazz master Benny Powell. Shortly thereafter, Staff Sgt. Cooper became a regular touring member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, performed on Sunday nights at Birdland with the Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Orchestra, and had many other performances with other bands around New York City. Clark Terry was also very helpful to Staff Sgt. Cooper, inviting him to perform with a very young band he put together called “The Young Titans of Jazz.” Terry invited him to record in Bern, Switzerland, and as part of a live DVD in Birdland in New York City. While on tour with Terry in Switzerland, Staff Sgt. Cooper met the members of the Count Basie Orchestra and was invited to join. Since then, Staff Sgt. Cooper has performed all over the world, playing in concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, and Bunkyo Civic Hall in Japan. He has played with Tony Bennett, Nancy Wilson, Dianne Reeves, Liz Wright, Dianne Schuur, Manhattan Transfer, New York Voices, Jon Hendricks, and the Charles Tolliver Orchestra, to name a few.

Jennifer Wharton

Jennifer Wharton is a low brass specialist based in New York City. Though getting her start classically, Jen has deep roots in jazz, commercial, chamber and Broadway music. Like a virus, she won’t stop until she has conquered the world.

These days, Jennifer can be found performing in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical but has also held positions at The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Jekyll and Hyde, Scandalous, Wonderland, 9 to 5 and Curtains, as well as performing as a substitute in over a dozen other Broadway productions.

Jen is a member of two Grammy-nominated ensembles, Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and Alan Ferber Extended Ensemble. She has also performed on the Grammy-nominated cast albums for The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess, 9 to 5 The Musical and Curtains The Musical as well as the Grammy-winning recording of Beautiful The Carole King Musical.

She has performed and/or recorded with ensembles including the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie All Star Band, Ken Peplowski Big Band, Ronald McDonald House Brass Quintet, Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra, Woody Herman Orchestra, John Yao and His 17 Piece Instrument, Miggy Augmented Jazz Orchestra, Jack Mosbacher Band, Walking Distance, South Florida Jazz Orchestra, DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Fairbanks Jazz Orchestra, and the BMI Jazz Composers’ Workshop.

Jennifer is an XO Professional Brass artist and plays the 1240-LT bass trombone. She teaches bass trombone at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

Andrew Gould

Native New Yorker, saxophonist and composer Andrew Gould has established himself as one of the most in demand players on the NYC music scene.

He has performed with James Moody, Benny Golson, Wallace Roney, Jon Faddis, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Mambo Legends Orchestra, David Weiss, Ray Vega, Chuchito Valdes, Ricky Rodriguez and many more. He was a 2013 Thelonious Monk Saxophone Competition Semi Finalist and has recorded for MTV, Universal Records, Warner Bros Music, and Capitol Records for world famous artists including Fifth Harmony, Mac Miller and more. He has also performed live on the Today Show, ABC News, WBGO Radio, and at Winter Jazzfest, The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, Bermuda Jazz Festival and the Caramoor Jazz Festival. He has toured extensively around the world performing all over the U.S.A including Hawaii, as well as Bermuda, Europe, Asia, and Canada.

A graduate of both Manhattan School of Music and SUNY Purchase, Andrew continues to teach regularly, giving both private lessons and masterclasses to students of all levels.

Recent projects include a world premier performance and studio recording of Wayne Shorter’s “Universe” with the Wallace Roney Orchestra, horn section work and collaborations with Grammy winning hip hop producer 88 Keys, writing for and touring worldwide with funk/jazz group Nuf Said – 2nd album “Rise” recently released on Ropeadope Records, and performing/recording with pianist Steven Feifke in his Septet and Big Band. Andrew continues to compose for and perform with his own group and plans on releasing his debut album “First Things First” in March 2018 on Outside In Music.

Andrew is an endorsing artist with Yanagisawa Saxophones, D’Addario Reeds, and Silverstein Ligatures

Ted Rosenthal

Ted Rosenthal is one of the leading jazz pianists of his generation.  He actively tours worldwide with his trio, as a soloist, and has performed with many jazz greats, including Gerry Mulligan, Art Farmer, Phil Woods, Bob Brookmeyer, and James Moody.

Winner of the 1988 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition, Rosenthal has released fifteen CDs as a leader.   Rhapsody in Gershwin (2014), which features his arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue for jazz trio, reached #1 in jazz album sales at iTunes and Amazon.Wonderland (2013), was selected as a New York Times holiday pick, and received much critical praise:  “Sleek, chic and elegant” – Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune.  Impromptu (2010), showcases his reimaginings of classical themes for jazz trio.  “A serious listen to Impromptu will be a mind-changing experience…sit back and enjoy these wonderfully creative takes on ten compositions from the classical canon that have never sounded so cool.” – Elliott Simon, AllAboutJazz

Rosenthal’s solo album, The 3 B’s, received 4 stars from DownBeat magazine.  It features renditions of the music of Bud Powell, Bill Evans and his improvisations on Beethoven themes.  “With this subtly provocative solo recital, Ted Rosenthal merges three very different streams of piano history, putting his personal stamp on all of them. In Rosenthal’s hands all this music sounds as though it sprang from the same muse, and that’s the sign of a skilled, imaginative artist.”  – David R. Adler, All Music Guide.  

Rosenthal is artistic director of Jazz at the Riverdale Y and previously was artistic director of Jazz at Dicapo Theatre, both in New York City.  He has also performed with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and Jon Faddis and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band.  In addition, Rosenthal is the pianist of choice for many top jazz vocalists including Helen Merrill, Ann Hampton Callaway and Barbara Cook.  He appeared on Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz on National Public Radio and performed with David Sanborn on NBC’s Night Music.

Rosenthal’s orchestral performances include solo and featured appearances with The Detroit Symphony, The Boston Pops, The Grand Rapids Symphony, The Rochester Philharmonic, The Pittsburgh Symphony and The Fort Worth Symphony.

A recipient of three grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Rosenthal regularly performs and records his compositions, which include jazz tunes and large-scale works. He has also composed music for dance, including “Uptown,” for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.  “The Survivor,” a concerto for piano and orchestra, has been performed by the Manhattan Jazz Philharmonic and the Rockland Symphony Orchestra, with Rosenthal at the piano. In 2011, Rosenthal premiered his second jazz piano concerto, “Jazz Fantasy,” with The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony in New York City.

Rosenthal received his Bachelors and Masters degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. Active in jazz education, he is on faculty and the Board of Trustees at Manhattan School of Music and also teaches at The Juilliard School.  In addition, he presents jazz clinics throughout the world, often in conjunction with his touring.   Rosenthal was a contributing editor for Piano and Keyboard magazine and has published piano arrangements and feature articles for Piano Today, The Piano Stylist and The Juilliard Journal. 

Website: www.tedrosenthal.com

Joel Frahm

Born in Racine, Wisc., in 1969, saxophonist Joel Frahm studied classical piano and bassoon before taking to the tenor saxophone when he was 14 years old. In 1985, his family moved to Hartford, Conn., where he attended the jazz program at the high school. It was here that he and pianist Brad Mehldau first crossed paths and got to know each other.

After graduating high school, Frahm went to Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School for the Arts and from there earned his B.A. in Jazz Performance at Manhattan School of Music.

His natural and advanced ability for his age quickly led to a strong presence that attracted attention in New York. Initially, he worked with various blues and jazz bands meeting a coterie of like-minded musicians who were already a bit more established than he including but not limited to such artists as drummer Matt Wilson and pianist David Berkman; he would work and record with both on numerous occasions.

A player with varied musical sensibility and both traditional and modern leanings, Frahm began working with a wide variety of jazz mainstays – both those of different generations as well as a number of peers and colleagues closer to his own age. For instance, Frahm worked with elders and icons such as Maynard Ferguson, Betty Carter and Dewey Redman as well as Lee Konitz, Pat Martino and Andrew Hill. He also worked with near contemporaries or contemporaries such as Wilson, Larry Goldings, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Ben Allison, Ingrid Jensen, Dena Derose and Kyle Eastwood.

He also developed a reputation as a saxophonist who can accompany and work with singers – a quality that he exploits and mines to this day. In addition to working with the aforementioned pianist-vocalist DeRose and tonight’s bandleader Diane Schuur, a quick check of the Frahm discography underscores the point. Among the vocalists he has shared the bandstand and the studio with are: Cyrille Aimee, Rondi Charleston, Laine Cooke, Dana Lauren, Chris McNulty, Jane Monheit, Janis Siegel, Tessa Souter and Joan Stiles.

In 2004, Frahm, collaborating with Mehldau, released Don’t Explain, for the Palmetto label. No one was surprised that the two collaborated – other then by the music itself, which was just that: surprising and entertaining. At the time, Thomas Conrad, the veteran critic writing for Jazz Times, said in part, “…Frahm and Mehldau are notably successful in avoiding the primary risk of saxophone and piano duo recordings, which is their tendency to become austere, non-swinging recitals between contrapuntists. They conduct unhurried conversations over songs, closely listening and responding, like on ‘East of the Sun.’ But they also provoke, like on ‘Oleo,’ where they push one another so far from their starting point that their joint exercise in free thinking is conducted among faint shadows of Sonny Rollins’ idea. And the hook-up between these two classmates is deep: On Ornette Coleman’s ‘Turnaround,’ they function in and out of one another’s thoughts.

In the decade-plus, since, Frahm has become one of the more in-demand saxophonists – certainly standing among the top-tier players in New York as well as globally. He’s since released a number of recordings under his own name – mostly for the Palmetto, Anzic and Smalls labels. Additionally, his contributions to others’ recordings now exceed the 100-title mark.

Sam Dillon

Sam Dillon is a saxophonist, woodwind player, composer and teacher based in New York.  In 2013 Sam was selected as a semifinalist in the Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition.  As a semifinalist, Sam performed at The Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.  for Wayne Shorter, Jimmy Heath, Branford Marsalis, Bobby Watson and Jane Ira Bloom.  Most notably, Sam has performed at Carnegie Hall, Jazz @ Lincolin Center, Symphony Space, Smoke Jazz Club, The Iridium, Yoshi’s Jazz Club, Smalls Jazz Club, The 55 Bar, The Zinc Bar, The Kitano Hotel, Cornelia Street Cafe and live on WBGO 88.3 FM.  In 2009 Sam received his Masters in Jazz Performance from SUNY Purchase College.

Sam made his discovery of Jazz at age 9 and began studying saxophone shortly thereafter.  He played his first gig when he was 14 years old with legendary trombonist Al Grey and never looked back.  As well as leading his own groups, Sam has had the honor of performing with The Joe Chambers “Moving Pictures” Jazz Orchestra, The Smoke Big Band, The Artie Shaw Jazz Orchestra, The Cecilia Coleman Big Band and The Paris Wight Quintet featuring David Weiss.  In addition, Sam is currently composing and arranging music for his first CD.  He has gained great knowledge and experience by learning, performing and/or recording with some of the worlds finest musicians including Roger Humphries, Jimmy Cobb, Randy Brecker, John Riley, Bob Mintzer, Ralph Lalama, Ray Vega, David Hazeltine, John Fedchock, Jim Snidero, and Eric Alexander.

Sam has also been teaching music for over 8 years.  His private teaching studio includes students of all ages and levels on saxophone, clarinet and flute.  Sam’s students cover all areas of study from classical repertoire to jazz improvising.  Sam has also conducted several instrumental master classes and workshops for schools and summer programs including The North Shore High School Jazz Band and Combo, The Great Neck North High School Band and Orchestra and The Oyster Bay High School Jazz Band.  In addition, Sam has been a woodwind teacher for The All Island Music Center for the past three years.  Previously he has taught for The Tarrytown Music Works Program, The Hackley School Music Conservatory, The Laconia Music Center, Catalano’s Music Center and Hey Joe Guitar.  Sam was also part of the  2011 Vandoren sponsored “generation artists” program. 

Sam has appeared on television several times with Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks.  He was on HBO two times in Martin Scorsese’s T.V. Series “Boardwalk Empire” playing clarinet, and most recently for USA in “Royal Pains” playing saxophone.  Additionally, Sam recorded at Bennett Studios with the Dan Jameson Big Band featuring John Riley, and also recorded and performed with The Ted Piltzecker Group featuring Harvie S., Rogerio Boccato, and Jerad Lippi.  The newly released CD “Ted Piltzecker & Company” can be purchased on ITunes.  Sam was a finalist in the first Generations Jazz Competition held at Yoshi’s Club in San Francisco.  He has played live on WBGO Jazz 88.3 FM with the Purchase Jazz Endeavor three times.  In 2008 Ray Vega included Sam in an “all star youth” group that performed at the Cape May Jazz Festival.

Additional big bands, funk bands, pit bands and orchestras that Sam has developed a relationship with include The Big Apple Circus, The Josh Schneider “Easy Bake” Orchestra, The Howard Williams Jazz Orchestra, The David White Jazz Orchestra, The Joe Battaglia New York Big Band, The Swing Time Big Band, Lou Caputo’s Not So Big Band, New York’s Most Dangerous Big Band, Give it One (Maynard Ferguson Tribute Band), The Mike Rubenstein Jazz Orchestra, Soul Be It, Sound of Infinity and Nocturne.  Sam has also played with the house band behind the “Brooklyn Reunion” featuring legendary groups such as the “Classics”.

As a student, Sam had the honor of participating in several outstanding music programs and schools around the country.  In 2002, Sam received a scholarship to attend the University of Miami Jazz Program, where he studied with Gary Keller.  Sam completed his bachelor’s degree at SUNY Purchase College where he studied with Jon Faddis, Ray Vega, Todd Coolman, Steve Wilson and Ralph Lalama.  Sam continued his studies at SUNY Purchase College where he studied with Eric Alexander, receiving his Masters Degree in Jazz Performance in 2009.  Sam wrote his Master’s Thesis on solo construction and development.  Before and during high school Sam participated in several outstanding music programs including USDAN, The C.W. Post Jazz program, The Skidmore Jazz Camp, The Vermont Jazz Center Workshop and The Friends of the Arts Jazz Program.  Sam was selected into the Nassau All County Jazz Band for four years, New York All State Jazz two years in a row, and was first alternate for the All National Jazz Ensemble.  In his junior year, Sam was a featured soloist with his high school orchestra at Carnegie Hall.  In addition, he participated in the Nassau-Suffolk Jazz program for four years successively.

Steve LaSpina

Steve LaSpina has been a prominent bassist on the New York and national scene for over twenty years.

During that time, he has played and recorded with many great musicians in jazz history. He was a regular band member, toured and recorded with saxophonists Benny Carter, Stan Getz and Phil Woods, vocalists Joe Williams and Mark Murphy, trumpeters Clark Terry, Chet Baker and Randy Brecker, and guitarist Pat Martino. He has spent the last decade traveling around the world and recording with the legendary guitarist Jim Hall, has appeared on six of his recordings, including These Rooms featuring Tom Harrell.

LaSpina has appeared on many of the world’s foremost jazz festivals, including the North Sea and Umbia Jazz Festivals. He has been featured on a number of prominent jazz recordings such as the Return with Pat Martino. He ha also recorded several CD’s and albums under his own name, including The Road Ahead featuring Jim McNeely on the Ram Record label and Distant Dreams on the SteepleChase label featuring Fred Hersch and Ben Monder.

A respected teacher, LaSpina has been on the faculty at William Paterson University since 1999 and prior to that taught for seven years at New York University and The College of St. Rose. He is also a busy clinician, with presentations at The Berklee College of Music Skidmore Jazz Institute and annually at the William Paterson’s summer jazz Workshop.

LaSpina also has a great dedication as a composer of both jazz and classical music. He has been featured as a guest composer by the Jazz Composers Collective of New York City, and was awarded a Jazz Fellowship by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts for performance and composition. He has recorded over 75 original tunes on the Steeplechase and Ram record labels.

Sherrie Maricle

From the drum set Sherrie leads The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, her quintet FIVE PLAY, The DIVA Jazz Trio and co-leads the 3Divas. From Carnegie Hall, she performs with The New York Pops and from celebrated stages everywhere, she is music director and drummer for Broadway star Maurice Hines. Sherrie is also a busy freelance performer and a published composer/arranger.

With her bands Sherrie has performed at many of the world’s most acclaimed music venues and festivals; from Lincoln Center to the Kennedy Center and the Hollywood Bowl, to Jazz Festivals in Germany, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Ireland, England, Croatia, Japan, Vietnam and Israel and beyond. Additionally, DIVA was featured at the 2017 NEA Jazz Master’s Awards Ceremony, the soundtrack for the 2014 NBC-Macy’s Fireworks Spectacular; on CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood, on TCM’s televised broadcast of the 25th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center and NHK Japan’s New York Jazz. The band also co-stars in the award-winning documentary film The Girls in the Band.

Sherrie has received several awards and honors which include a 2014 Ovation award for “Best Music Direction” in Tappin Through Life; the 2009 Mary Lou Williams-Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award, a 2013 State Department grant for FIVE PLAY to tour Vietnam, a tour grant from Arts International, The Kennedy Center Alliance Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Arts, a grant from Meet the Composer, a Doctoral Fellowship from New York University, the New York City Music Educator’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and was twice selected New York University “Music Teacher of the Year.”

As an educator, Sherrie runs a private drum set and percussion studio. She is also a clinician for Yamaha Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Aquarian Drum Heads and Vic Firth Drum Sticks. On a national level, she has served as guest conductor, soloist and adjudicator for collegiate and high school jazz and All-State festivals. Sherrie also created and directs Musical Magic, a hospital outreach program for The Ronald McDonald House – New York.

After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985 from Binghamton University Sherrie moved to New York City and attended New York University, where she completed a Masters of Arts in Jazz Performance in 1986 and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Jazz Performance/Composition in 2000.

The DIVA Jazz Orchestra’s 25th Anniversary Project (2018, ArtistShare) is the band’s most recent CD, featuring all original music composed by band members. Other DIVA CDs include: Special Kay (2016, Independent), featuring the music of DIVA’s founder, Stanley Kay; A Swingin’ Life (2014, MCG Label) with vocal legends Nancy Wilson and Marlena Shaw; “LIVE” at Dizzy’s Club with Carmen Bradford; and Johnny Mandel: A Man and His Music. In 2016 the 3Divas recorded their self-titled inaugural CD “live” at WVIA Radio and in 2015 FIVE PLAY recorded “LIVE” at The Deer Head Inn.

Visit Sherrie at www.divajazz.com or on Facebook (@divajazz), Twitter (@divajazzorch), or Instagram (@divajazzorchestra).

Slide Hampton

Slide Hampton’s distinguished career spans decades in the evolution of jazz. At the age of 12 he was already touring the Midwest with the Indianapolis based Hampton Band, led by his father and comprising other members of his musical family. During these tours, Hampton encountered jazz musicians such as J.J. Johnson and Wes Montgomery, who became early influences. By 1952, at the age of 20, he was performing at Carnegie Hall with the Lionel Hampton Band. He then joined Maynard Ferguson’s band, playing trombone and providing exciting charts on such popular tunes as “The Fugue,” “Three Little Foxes,” and “Slide’s Derangement.”

As his reputation grew, he soon began working with bands led by Art Blakey, Dizzy Gillespie, Barry Harris, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, and Max Roach, again contributing both original compositions and arrangements. In 1962, he formed the Slide Hampton Octet, which included stellar horn players Booker Little, Freddie Hubbard, and George Coleman. The band toured the U.S. and Europe and recorded on several labels.

From 1964 to 1967, he served as music director for various orchestras and artists. Then, following a 1968 tour with Woody Herman, he elected to stay in Europe, performing with other expatriates such as Benny Bailey, Kenny Clarke, Kenny Drew, Art Farmer, and Dexter Gordon. Upon returning to the U.S. in 1977, he began a series of master classes at Harvard University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, De Paul University in Chicago, and Indiana University. During this period he formed the illustrious World of Trombones: an ensemble of nine trombones and a rhythm section.

In 1989, with Paquito D’Rivera, he was musical director of Dizzy’s Diamond Jubilee, a year-long series of celebrations honoring Dizzy Gillespie’s 75th birthday. Hampton’s countless collaborations with the most prominent musicians of jazz were acknowledged by the 1998 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Arrangement with a Vocalist for Dee Dee Bridgewater’s recording “Cotton Tail.” In 2005, he received the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement on The Vanguard Orchestra’s album The Way with recording “Past, Present, and Future.” Most recently, he is leading his own big band “The Slide Hampton Big Band.” A charismatic figure, master arranger, and formidable trombonist, Hampton holds a place of distinction in the jazz tradition.​

Slide Hampton continues to write and perform in Orange, NJ where he currently resides.

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Callum Au

Callum Au is a professional trombonist, composer, orchestrator, and arranger. Based in London, Callum has worked with some of the UK’s top big bands and orchestras, and has fast made a name for himself as one of the UK’s finest young musicians.

Callum was privileged to be taught in his youth by veteran trumpet player Terry Reaney, pianist Brian Harrison, and top UK jazz trombonist Mark Nightingale. He was a member of Bill Ashton’s National Youth Jazz Orchestra from 2005 – 2010, during which time he played lead trombone and was one of the band’s principal arrangers.

Callum works as a trombonist and principal arrangers at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, alongside illustrious bandleader and clarinettist Pete Long). In this post, he has worked with many of the world’s top professional jazz and commercial artists, including Joss Stone, Seth MacFarlane, Jason Robert Brown, Liane Carroll, Tim Minchin, Peter Erskine, and two thirds of the Spice Girls! Callum is active as a freelance trombonist and has worked with many of the top ensembles in the UK, including the John Wilson Orchestra, Echoes of Ellington, and in the pit of several West End shows. In 2014 he performed at the BBC Proms Battle of the Big Bands in the James Pearson Big Band, where he also contributed several of the arrangements.

As a freelance composer and arranger, Callum has written or arranged music for a huge variety of ensembles and artists, including the BBC Big Band, Jamie Cullum, the RTE Concert Orchestra, Clare Teal, and the Swingle Singers. Callum is in high demand for his orchestration skills, and has arranged music for several major touring shows including ‘Lorna Luft: The Songbook of Judy Garland’, ‘The UK Salutes Frank’, and ‘From Rags to Ritzes: the Irving Berlin Story’. Callum has also arranged and orchestrated a variety of TV, film, and library music, including the film ‘A Royal Night Out’ starring Emily Watson & Rupert Everett.

In 2014, Callum was selected as one of seven up-and-coming arrangers from around the world to participate in the Metropole Orchestra Arrangers’ Workshop, where he worked with composer/conductor Vince Mendoza, and vocalist Gregory Porter. Since then, Callum has been invited to work with the Latvian Radio Big Band, in a project arranging the music of J.S. Bach for big band, featuring accordion soloist Ksenija Sidorova.

Callum is the orchestral manager and musical director of the Callum Au Big Band, which features some of the finest jazz musicians in the UK. The band released its debut album ‘Something’s Coming’ in 2012, which featured as its centrepiece a suite of music based on the musical ‘West Side Story’. The band has also worked on an arrangement of George Gershwin’s masterpiece ‘Rhapsody in Blue’, which premiered at Ronnie Scott’s in 2014 and featured pianist James Pearson. Callum also performs with his jazz quintet, co-led by baritone saxophonist Richard Shepherd, and inspired by the Brookmeyer/Mulligan group.

Callum is the trombonist and principal arranger for the ‘Close To You’ ensemble, a collaboration between the acclaimed Tippett Quartet and the James Pearson Quintet. A unique chamber ensemble featuring both jazz and classical elements, this hand-picked group explores the canon of the Great American Songbook, working with top vocalists Matthew Ford, Claire Martin, and Anna-Jane Casey.

In Autumn 2014, Callum was appointed as the guest MD of the Leeds College of Music Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, where he directed the band through his West Side Story Suite for a term. Callum has also directed workshops with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, and his arrangements are played in many schools and colleges around the world.

In his free time, Callum likes tropical fish, Asian food, Star Trek, and strategy games.

Polly Gibbons

Fully embracing the inspiring, expansive array of American jazz, soul and blues influences that have infused her dynamic career as an artist and live performer, Polly Gibbons fashions a frolicsome, freewheeling musical history lesson on Is It Me…?, her second release on the indie jazz label Resonance Records.

Capturing the joyful essence of the 12-track collection, the multi-talented British singer, a staple of the UK Jazz Scene since the mid-2000s and recently nominated Vocalist of the Year by Jazz FM says: “It’s a massive melting pot, varied but beautifully linked because I love every style I’m singing. Jazz would never have happened without the blues, which came out of the gospel tradition – and blues is the foundation of contemporary Western culture and pop/soul music, and so on.”

Polly has cultivated her craft and eclecticism over the past decade, performing at all the leading UK jazz clubs, international festivals and as a regular at the legendary venue Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, where she has sung with the All-Stars, led by pianist and house musical director James Pearson. “There’s always this element of surprise from people who haven’t seen her perform,” says Pearson, Polly’s longtime songwriting collaborator and arranger. “She astounds me, too. She’s unpredictable.” In 2016, she opened the sold out UK tours for George Benson and Gladys Knight and had two acclaimed performances at the Royal Albert Hall. She was also a featured singer with the Liverpool Philharmonic in a presentation of the music and life story of John Lennon.

Polly is quickly establishing herself in the States as well, with shows these past few years in Florida, Boston, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Los Angeles and Birdland in NYC. She released her critically acclaimed UK debut album My Own Company in 2014.

Sharing Polly’s belief that creativity and art are our greatest gifts and that it’s the artist’s obligation to share their innermost truths is George Klabin, the legendary jazz producer who signed her to his label, Resonance Records and released her U.S. debut Many Faces of Love in 2015. Klabin’s production on Is It Me…? has grown in line with the emotional depth of her voice and her innate musical curiosity. She’s especially excited by the buoyant seven-piece horn section, which enhances both her R&B and big band swing vibes. The piano and most of the arranging are shared by Pearson and Tamir Hendelman, the Israeli born, L.A. based jazz pianist to the stars, including Barbra Streisand and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.

Continuously open to colorful new ideas, Polly and Klabin’s set list mines many unusual and unexpected, but supremely cool sources. She opens with a vibrant, jazzy twist on “The Ability To Swing,” a cut from Thomas Dolby’s 1988 album Aliens Ate My Buick, and brings a bluesy elegance to the hopeful theme of “Sack Full of Dreams,” introduced by Grady Tate in 1968 but later covered by Donny Hathaway. She taps into the Great American Songbook for a spirited stroll through “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams” (sung by Bing, Dean, Frank, etc.) and Duke Ellington’s “I Let A Song Go Out of My Heart,” on which Polly and L.A. studio trumpeter Willie Murillo showcase their chops at a whirlwind pace.

Polly captures compelling slices of different aspects of Americana via the sparsely arranged “Wild Is the Wind” (title song from the 1957 film, originally recorded by Johnny Mathis and, of course, the iconic version by David Bowie) and a lively retro-big band spin through a sizzling Bill Cunliffe arrangement of “Basin Street Blues,” a song she had recorded on her first demo at the age of 18. Polly’s other re-imaginings include a whimsical and waltzy take on “Pure Imagination” (from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory); and the bold and soaring seduction she brings to Aretha Franklin’s classic “Dr. Feelgood..” The collection’s final track, the soulfully swinging “Don’t Be On The Outside” – which has been recorded by everyone from Sarah Vaughan to Shirley Horn – is officially a bonus track on the CD. As the only live track on the collection, it has a unique flavor all its own that sets it apart from the 11 studio tracks.

It’s testament to Polly and James Pearson’s intuitive chemistry as songwriters that their three originals hold up so well against the nine other chestnuts on Is It Me…?Polly takes us to church and explores her rich passion for gospel on the smoldering “Midnight Prayer,” which earned the two first place in the singer-songwriter category of the 2014 Indie International Songwriting Contest. She brings jazz and R&B together powerfully on “You Can’t Just,” a song about a love that’s on the rocks. The graceful, easy flowing title track “Is It Me…?” offers a gentle oasis in the midst of the deep blues, soul and jazz intensity, with Polly pondering a move from fear to confidence while figuring out, as she muses, “how to love someone else and let that person love you.”

A farmer’s daughter who grew up in Framlingham, a small market town in Suffolk, England, Polly is one of seven siblings in a family that shared all types of different musical loves. Her mum cherished classical and choral music (Bach, Mozart, Chopin), her dad was an electric bassist who played in bands in the 70’s, her brothers loved R&B and her sisters were all vinyl collections, playing everything from hip hop and soul to jazz and folk.

Polly took obligatory piano lessons at age four, but didn’t realize she could sing till she was around 13. Crippled by an initial shyness, at her first public performance at a school Christmas concert, she sang with her back to the audience. Though she sang hymns regularly at the Baptist church her family attended, her musical sensibilities were galvanized when her sister played Billie Holiday’s “I’m A Fool To Want You” — which Polly found “extraordinary!”

Inspired by Billie, the budding singer experienced an initial flurry of excitement in discovering jazz and blues, listening to such artists as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Donny Hathaway, Thelonious Monk, etc. She notes, however, that although she doesn’t have a very “folky” voice, she was also greatly influenced by artists like Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Rickie Lee Jones and Bob Dylan, and she continuously listens to classical music, too! Participating in a local music workshop, she met British singer Ian Shaw, who took Polly under his wing and secured her first gig in London when she was 17. Participating in other workshops, she cultivated her talent with bassist Gill Alexander, Jacqui Dankworth (daughter of Cleo Laine) and later, James Pearson.

Reflecting on her subsequent success on the British club scene, Polly says, “I have found that singing is most inspiring for me when I bring a certain lightness of being to it, a certain joy and levity that allows me to communicate more fully with my audience – as if each moment was both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. I have learned to follow my passion wherever it leads me. It’s a fascinating journey that’s always in flux and there are always exciting new goals to work towards.”

Polly’s road now leads her to one of those extraordinary places with the release of Is It Me…? The album is a journey all its own – a culmination of so many moments that also signifies a meaningful new beginning for both the singer and contemporary jazz.

John F. Mastroianni

John has performed as a professional musician since he was fifteen years old.  His talents as a saxophonist, woodwind doubler, composer, and arranger have led him to a diversity of musical experiences.

John earned a B.S. in Music Education and a B.M. in Jazz Studies from the University of Bridgeport, an M.A. in Jazz Performance/Composition from New York University, and is currently enrolled in the 092 Administrative Certification Program at the University of Bridgeport.  He has studied saxophone with Phil Woods, Dick Oatts, Joe Lovano, and Gary Klein, and composition with Jim McNeely, Bill Finegan, Tom Boras, Neil Slater, and Mike Carubia.

John has performed, toured and/or recorded with artists such as Mel Lewis, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Smokey Robinson, Louie Bellson, Charli Persip and Supersound, Harvie Swartz, Jim McNeely, Jay Leonhart, Rufus Reid, Gerry Mulligan, Lew Anderson, Clint Holmes, Roger Kellaway, the Glenn Miller Band, Sonny Costanzo, Johnny Mathis, Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Donna Summer, Tony Bennett, Barry Manilow, Nick Brignola, the New England Jazz Ensemble, and many others!  He also has performed with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Norwalk, New Haven, and Hartford Symphonies, and at the Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, Shubert, Palace, Goodspeed Opera House and Oakdale theaters.  John also played in the orchestra for the Broadway(NYC) production of “Three Penny Opera,” and has been a featured artist at the New England Saxophone Symposium.

John’s three recordings as a leader, entitled Cookin’ On All Burners (Stash), The Time Being (Jazz Alliance), and Live at the Silvermine (Jazzheads), have all earned him critical acclaim.  He is also a featured soloist and composer/arranger on the New England Jazz Ensemble recordings, Version 3.0 (Brownstone), Storm Before the Calm (Sea Breeze), Wishes You A Cookin’ Christmas (Sea Breeze), Live at the Pittsfield Jazz Festival (Sea Breeze), and Peter and the Wolf (NEJE).

In addition to being a free-lance musician, John performs with his own quartet, and leads his own sixteen piece jazz orchestra that he composes and arranges all of the music for.  John’s music has been performed and recorded by his quartet and jazz orchestra, the Sonny Costanzo Big Band, the John Allmark Jazz Orchestra, the Army Blues Band (Washington D.C.), the New England Jazz Ensemble, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, DIVA, and many high school, college, and professional jazz ensembles throughout the United States.  His big band charts are currently published by Walrus Music Publishing/Otter Distributors, and Barnhouse/Smart Chart Music Publications.

John has taught at New York University, Albertus Magnus College, the University of Bridgeport, the New York State Summer School for the Arts, Bridgeport Central High School, New Canaan High School, Hall High School, the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz at the Hartt School of Music, and for the Canton Public Schools.  Currently, he is an Assistant Professor in Residence of Jazz Studies at the University of Connecticut, and the founder and music director of the Young Artists Summer Jazz Workshop.  In December 2002, John was named by SBO Magazine as one of 50 directors in the United States that “make a difference,” and in March 2004, John was chosen by the Connecticut Music Educators Association (CMEA) as the Secondary School Teacher of the Year.  In 2010, he was honored by Starthmore’s Who’s Who as an individual who has demonstrated leadership and achievement in his profession.  John was chosen as the 2013-14 West Hartford Public Schools Teacher of the Year, and he is a two-time Music Educator GRAMMY nominee.  He was honored by the University of Bridgeport as a 2014 Distinguished Alumni.  John was named and honored as the 2014 Connecticut Teacher of the Year!

Rick Montalbano

Rick Montalbano, pianist, organist, composer and arranger, started his career in the early 1960’s and has performed with a long list of jazz greats.

Rick served as pianist/conductor for singer Lou Rawls in the early 70s. He currently plays solo piano at The Savoy in Rome, NY., performs with and contracts bands for the Showroom at the Turning Stone Casino and is much demand as an accompanist.

In addition to operating the Music Factory recording studio, Rick teaches jazz piano at Colgate University, Hamilton College & Syracuse University and is the assistant director of the Central New York Jazz Orchestra.