Results for "Author"

Judy Niemack

Born: March 11, 1954

Born and raised in Pasadena, California, Judy gained her early experience singing in her church choir from the age of 7. She first heard jazz through her mother’s Nancy Wilson records, and discovered that she could easily sing harmonies when she and her sister sang background vocals on folk songs behind their brother. As a teenager, she sang in a wide variety of settings including musical theater, rock bands, bluegrass groups, madrigals and in a vocal jazz quartet.

Judy then studied classical singing and was encouraged to make it her focus, but the turning point in her young career was when she met the great tenor-saxophonist Warne Marsh (who followed in the footsteps of his teacher, pianist Lennie Tristano by becoming an important jazz educator). “I became Warne’s first vocal student. He treated me just like I was a horn player, and assigned me solos by Charlie Parker, Roy Eldridge and Prez to learn. He taught me to improvise. He always called it instant composition.” Attending Pasadena City College, she had lessons with alto saxophonist Gary Foster, and later studied classical singing at New England Conservatory and Cleveland Institute Of Music.

Tim Fitzgerald

Tim Fitzgerald is a Chicago based jazz guitarist, bandleader, educator and author. Named “Wes Montgomery scholar and visionary” by DownBeat Magazine, he is also the recipient of Chicago's 2021 Individual Artist Program Grant, a grant provided by the Illinois Arts Council Agency and the National Endowment for the Arts.

As a performer, Tim has played the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Woodstock Jazz Festival, the Gene Harris Jazz Festival, and the Chi-Town Jazz Festival, among others. Tim has played clubs across the country from New York City's Mezzrow to Memphis' Crosstown Arts to Chicago's Green Mill to Seattle's Tula's to Alice's in Homer, Alaska. 

Phillip Haynes

Born: June 15, 1961

A veteran artist based in New York for 25 years, Phil Haynes is featured on more than 85 LP, CD, and DVD releases by numerous American and European record labels. Haynes’ debut, The Paul Smoker Trio’s QB with Anthony Braxton, was named the #1 recording of 1985 by esteemed critic Kevin Whitehead. The international media have compared his drumming to masters Jack DeJohnette, Roy Haynes and Elvin Jones, and his compositions to Duke Ellington, Charles Ives, Charles Mingus and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. His performances were recently noted to be “The perfect middle between tradition and avant-garde, between power and sophistication, between accessibility and adventure. . . standards with a new sense of drama, dynamics, and true moments of fun.”

Jeremy Steinkoler

Born: October 5, 1970

Jeremy has been playing drums professionally for over 25 years. He performs regularly with a wide array of musical projects, including his award-winning saxes-and-drums funk trio Mo’Fone, pop-jazz group Jenna & the Charmers, the Bait & Switch Blues Band, Jennifer Jolly & Friends, the Erika Oba Trio, Jean Fineberg's JAZZphoria, his own J. Steinkoler Quartet, and various other jazz players and singer/songwriters. His groovy, feel-based approach to the drums has earned him prodigious credits as a sideman, including performances and recordings with members of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Dave Ellis, Kirk Joseph, Clarence Bucaro, Jenna Mammina, Mamadou Sidibe, Chelle & Friends, Guru Garage, Valerie Orth, Rachel Efron, Flyover States, the Kevin Beadles Band, Featprints, Hot Links, Phatlip, the Jolly Gibsons, Sam Rudin, and many other top musicians around the Bay Area

Rick Lawn

Born: May 15, 1949

Richard (Rick) Lawn is the former, now retired Dean of the College of Performing Arts at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia (uarts.edu) where he now following retirement professor emeritus in the School of Music. Previously he was the Founding Director of Jazz Studies, Chair of the Department of Music, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. Before joining the Texas faculty Rick was Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Northern Iowa. Rick holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Eastman School of Music where his principal teachers were Rayburn Wright, Bill Dobbins, Chuck Mangione and William Osseck

Anna Luana Tallarita

Born: March 8

Steven Kirby

Guitarist, composer, educator Steven Kirby has built a reputation for performing exciting, melodic, lyrical and expressive mainstream and contemporary jazz as well as being active as performer in other contemporary styles. He has appeared on over 25 released recordings (including two as a leader “Point Of Balance” and “North Light”—available via iTunes, Amazon and at CDBaby). His newest recording, “Illuminations”, is slated for release in early 2016. He has performed and/or recorded with many of today’s most respected contemporary musicians including Chris Potter, George Garzone, Scott Colley, Bruce Barth, Joe Lovano, Harvie Swartz, Joe Hunt, Steve Hunt, George Schuller, Allan Holdsworth, Matt Malley (of Counting Crows) and others

Joan Cartwright

Born: December 7

Joan Cartwright has toured five continents and 16 countries including the U.S.A., eight European countries, Brazil, Jamaica, Mexico, Ghana, Gambia, South Africa, China, and Japan, with her swinging brand of jazz and blues. She is a composer and her book, IN PURSUIT OF A MELODY contains 40 songs and lyrics to standard songs: "A Night in Tunisia" by Dizzy Gillespie, "Blue Bossa" by Kenny Dorham, "Tune Up" by Miles Davis and "Bessie's Blues" by John Coltrane. Joan's book also contains two lectures that she's given to over 5,000 children and college students, in U.S., Switzerland, Sicily, China and Japan: WOMEN IN JAZZ and SO, YOU WANT TO BE A SINGER? Her workshops are dynamic and educational, highlighting the pitfalls and benefits of the music business

Brian Woods

Born: September 5, 1980

Brian Woods is an African-American pianist, vocalist, producer, songwriter, actor, and author. Brian’s musical roots are based out of the gospel church in Akron, Ohio where he has performed for most of his life, but his musical accolades expand far beyond that. Serving as a radio DJ for 88.9 “The Edge,” he began to broaden his musical tastes. In college, he also ran security for the national entertainment acts that were brought in. It was there that Brian saw his future. On a fateful evening working detail for Blessed Union of Souls, Brian saw one man playing a piano and singing and watched as it transformed the entire atmosphere

Richard Best

Born: January 23