Results for "Progressive Rock"

Roland Guerin

Born: November 15, 1968

With a new band and a new project entitled PROG:FUNK, New Orleans based singer-songwriter-bassist Roland Guerin is starting a new musical chapter. Drawing from a wide spectrum of genres, including American folk, blues, zydeco, rock and jazz, Guerin creates a singular style at the heart of which are stories told through multi-layered melodies, rhythms and expressive lyrics in the range of Steely Dan, Sting and Peter Gabriel. 

Raised in a musical family – his father was a great lover of jazz and classical music, his mother, a blues and zydeco bass player – Guerin began playing bass at the age of 11. Throughout his formative years, Guerin was strongly influenced by pop, rock and R&B music of the 70’s and 80’s. Bands and artists such as Cameo, Dazz Band, Rush, the Brothers Johnson, Gerry Rafferty, America, and Booker T & The MG’s seeded his love for great songs and inspired him to write music of his own. 
  
While studying Marketing at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Guerin joined legendary jazz educator Alvin Batiste’s Band, The Jazztronauts. Having inherited much of Batiste’s musical innovations and concepts, Guerin developed ways to bring his own musical voice to life. The jazz genre became his avenue toward success. Over the course of his career, Guerin toured and performed with legendary musicians, such as George Benson, Jimmy Scott, Frank Morgan, Vernel Fournier, Gerry Mulligan, Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, John Scofield, Mark Whitfield, Ellis Marsalis, Marcus Roberts, and Paul Gilbert. He also participated in the recording of numerous albums, including the Blind Boys of Alabama’s Grammy Award winning album Down in New Orleans, Marcus Roberts’s Grammy Award nominated recording of George Gershwin’s classic Rhapsody in Blue, and Allen Toussaint’s album Connected. 
  
As a member of the Marcus Roberts Trio from 1994 to 2009, Guerin performed at the head of symphony orchestras across the world, among which the Berlin Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, and Seiji Ozawa’s New Japan Philharmonic. From his collaboration with Ozawa and Roberts, Guerin developed a deeper understanding and appreciation of orchestration and arrangement, both of which carry great importance in his own musical composition. 
  
In 1998, Guerin released his first album, The Winds of the New Land, featuring Peter Martin on piano, Nicholas Payton on trumpet, Donald Edwards on drums, and Mark Whitfield on guitar. The record was acclaimed for its innovative style of composition and arrangement. JazzReview called it "a literal piece of art", while the New Orleans Magazine named Guerin a Contemporary Jazz All-Star. He followed up with an album from the Roland Guerin Sextet, Live at the Blue Note, released by Half Note Records, and Grass Roots on Louisiana Red Hot Records. Guerin performs with his own band at major venues and festivals worldwide, such as the Blue Note in Tokyo and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. 
  
Guerin joined the Allen Toussaint Band in 2008, touring and performing with Toussaint until his passing in 2015. Soon thereafter, Guerin joined the band of legendary Dr. John, becoming his last Musical Director. During his time with Toussaint and Dr. John, Guerin found his way back to his musical roots. Integrating American folk melodies, blues, zydeco, African rhythms, and rock with jazz soloing and orchestral arrangements, Guerin creates an entirely new and singular musical experience.

Alexander Kelley

Ronald Van Deurzen

Ronald Van Deurzen is an acclaimed pianist & composer who creates contemporary instrumental & cinematic music. He uses a wide variation of instrumental backing, ranging from orchestra to world instruments and synthesizers.

Ronald's music frequently draws inspiration from genres such classical, jazz and global fusion. In addition, he has collaborated with numerous bands (folkrock / prog) and live orchestra, and releases his own albums and singles. Ronald received prestigious accolades from the InterContinental Music Awards & Hollywood Music In Media Awards.

J. Kimo Williams

Born: January 8

On June 1, 1969, J. Kimo Williams was captivated as he witnessed Jimi Hendrix's spellbinding performance of "Spanish Castle Magic" at a Waikiki Shell concert in Hawaii. This transformative experience solidified his unwavering commitment to a life devoted to music. Subsequently, on July 4, 1969, he enlisted in the Army and was deployed to Vietnam. His service in Vietnam and departure from Sunset Beach, Hawaii, led J. Kimo to embark on a journey that saw him pursuing his musical aspirations at Berklee College of Music in Boston. 

While at Berklee, his inspiration expanded as he encountered the music of the Jazz-Fusion ensemble Mahavishnu Orchestra. This encounter steered him toward honing his skills in music composition. 
An educational milestone came in the form of a pivotal class titled "Styles and Analysis," where the classical compositions of Mussorgsky and Messiaen entranced him. This encounter introduced him to yet another avenue for musical expression.

Ray Ferretti

Born: July 31, 1958

Ray Ferretti started playing guitar in his early teens and was first drawn to music by the 70’s rock bands. Moving on to rhythm and blues and funk he started to gravitate toward jazz via Joe Pass. After hearing Wayne Shorter and Tribal Tech fusion bands he realized the style of music he wanted to play and compose. In the 90’s while starting to explore jazz fusion composition one found its way on Kristin Garson’s 1998 release ‘Music Under the Influence’ on the Vectordisc label. After an eight year hiatus from music and recovering from life changing circumstances in 2006 he started to play and compose music again. This new life seemed to bring out the creative juices that were lying dormant for years. Three years and sixteen tracks later ‘Nice View’ was released in November 2009 on the Vectordisc label.
 

New Release

Javier Rosario

Guitar virtuoso, composer, bandleader, educator and recording artist, Javier Rosario is the first ever Michel Camilo Scholarship winner. The scholarship was an initiative of the Dominican born, Grammy, Latin Grammy and Emmy Award winning pianist. It has been the first scholarship of its kind in the history of the Dominican Republic, where Javier was born in Santo Domingo. In 2006, Javier attended Berklee College of Music with full scholarship, graduating with the highest ratings ever given to a guitarist. In 2009, he performed at the Berklee Jazz and Blues Guitar Night: a concert which only featured the very top players of the entire school. In 2010, Javier decided to further his studies at the Longy School of Music of Bard College with a master’s degree. There he was awarded a Presidential Scholarship and was acknowledged by his guitar teachers as possibly the highest-level guitarist ever to enter the jazz program. 

Tobin Mueller

Born: December 3, 1955

Tobin Mueller is a composer, playwright and interpretive pianist living in Connecticut. His musical compositions range from Jazz Fusion to Progressive Rock, Broadway musicals to Old-School Funk, Jamband classics to Classical ballet. In the late 1970s he was one of several composer-pianists who developed what became known as New Age music, although Tobin's style identifies more closely with complex modal/post-bop jazz. Mueller is a NYC Dramatist Guild playwright/lyricist, a member of ASCAP, and has appeared on over 35 albums.

Jan Knutson

Washington based guitarist and composer, Jan Knutson, incorporates elements of Jazz and Classical , Bluegrass and Pop to create his original works and unique takes on classic jazz standards. His music explores and stretches the wide range of the guitar as a solo instrument, showcasing his lyricism and virtuosic command. He has performed with some of the world’s finest guitarists including Frank Vignola, Martin Taylor, and Julian Lage, and recorded four solo albums, Looking Both Ways (2016) ,Out of Nowhere (2014), Tunnel Visions (2023), and  Here's the Thing (2023). He has performed in several music festivals including the Savannah Acoustic Music Seminar, Richmond Folk Festival, True Blue Jazz Festival, Marlow International Guitar Series, and was an Artist in Residence at the Strathmore Music Center in Washington, DC.

Pat Strawser

Born and raised in Athens, Georgia, Pat began his music education with classical piano lessons starting in 1985. The eclectic and abundant musical atmosphere of Athens inspired in him a lifelong love of music. He played trombone in high school marching band and was 1st chair trombone in his high school jazz band. He later started his first band, Volaré, in 1993. Volaré blended an interesting mix of fusion, progressive rock, and jazz, and released The Uncertainty Principle (The Laser’s Edge) in 1997, achieving critical acclaim with an international audience.

Over the last 30 years, Pat has continued to expand his musical experience offering private piano lessons, studio production work, working as an audio-visual tech for various churches, performing in wedding and jazz bands, and working with singers/songwriters

Joshua Cedar

Joshua Cedar spent his formative years studying guitar and composition at the world- renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston. Over the years he has studied privately with many of our greatest, contemporary jazz artists including Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, Mick Goodrick, Mike Stern, Wayne Krantz, Jamie Glaser, Oz Noy, and others. Back home, in the Bay Area, he has always sought out and played with the finest musicians. He performs with numerous groups including the 1970’s Jazz-Rock Revue which performs instrumental arrangements of the music of Yes, Rush, Genesis, Dregs, Jeff Beck, Jean-Luc Ponty, Bruford, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Gentle Giant, and more.