Results for "composer/conductor"

Cathy Elliott

Born: August 5, 1974

Cathy Elliott Cathy Elliott (vocalist, composer, arranger, pianist) was raised in the Washington, DC area and has played piano, sung and composed from an early age. By 10, she was competing in piano competitions. At 11, she was invited to study with Helmut Braunlich, member of the composition faculty at The Catholic University Music School. In high school, she won a Mitsubishi scholarship to study voice privately with Susan Dash. She has written music for the Richmond Symphony Orchestra as well as the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. Her arranging work has been heard on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” She has won a grant from the American Composers Forum to write a piece celebrating the renaissance and history of the U street area of Washington, DC

Terry Vosbein

Born: February 8, 1957

New Orleans born composer, Terry Vosbein has received numerous commissions to write new works from such organizations as the Cleveland Orchestra and the Cleveland Museum of Art. He has composed works for orchestra, wind ensemble, various chamber ensembles and choir. He written works for jazz bands of all sizes. And his compositions have been performed all over the world.

"Stunning" is what jazz writer Will Friedwald called Vosbein's latest release with the Knoxville Jazz Orchestra. FLEET STREET (Max Frank Music) is “full of surprises and is infused with a sense of humor that adds a special dimension that is too often missing in contemporary big band writing” (Joe Lang, Jersey Jazz). Of this setting of the music from Sweeney Todd, Jack Bowers (All That Jazz) said “the voice that emerges is unmistakably Vosbein's, placing a fresh and indelible big-band stamp on Sondheim's cogent narrative.”

The Swing Cats Big Band

Born: September 29, 1974

The Swing Cats Big Band is composed of top musicians dedicated to the performance and preservation of big band music. Reminisce back to the swingin’ sounds of Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Harry James, Tommy Dorsey and many others. The Swing Cats take pride in our musical repertoire and provide the audience with an entertaining show that is sure to get the crowd on their feet. No matter if you want to cut a rug with a jump tune, foxtrot, ballad, mambo or waltz, we have the music to suit your dancing needs. Our groups have performed all over Southern California for corporate functions, weddings, proms, city concerts and special events

Burt Bacharach

Born: May 12, 1928

Burt Bacharach is one of the most accomplished popular composers of the 20th Century. In the ’60s and ’70s, he was a dominant figure in pop music, responsible for a remarkable 52 Top 40 songs. In terms of musical sophistication, Bacharach’s songs differed from much of the music of the era. Bacharach compositions typically boasted memorable melodies, unconventional and shifting time signatures, and atypical chord changes. Combining elements of jazz, pop, Brazilian music and rock, Bacharach created a unique new sound that was as contemporary as it was popular. Lyricist Hal David, Bacharach’s primary collaborator, supplied Bacharach’s music with tart lyrics worthy of the best Tin Pan Alley composers. David’s unsentimental, bittersweet lyrics were often in striking contrast to Bacharach’s soaring melodies. While in the late 1970s Bacharach’s name became synonymous with elevator music (due in great part to its sheer familiarity), a closer listening suggests that his meticulously crafted, technically sophisticated compositions are anything but easy listening.

Meeco

Born: May 2, 1976

Meeco is a French/German pianist, producer and composer based in Berlin, Germany as well as in Paris, France. He is also an active DJ and photographer. Meeco has recorded with jazz greats (such as Benny Golson, Gregory Porter, Ron Carter, John Scofield, Hubert Laws, Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, Kirk Whalum, Richard Bona, Casey Benjamin, Mary Stallings, Freddy Cole, Kevin Mahogany, Bennie Maupin, James Moody, Eddie Henderson, Shedrick Mitchell, David “Fathead” Newman, Eric Reed, Vincent Herring, Victor Lewis, Stefon Harris, Lionel Loueke, Cedar Walton, Charlie Mariano, David Friedman), hip hop and soul legends (such as Talib Kweli, Masta Ace, Smif n Wessun, Lil Fame of M.O.P., Yahzarah, Jean Baylor, DJ Stylewarz), along with big names of the latin and pop genre (such as Joe Bataan, Jane Birkin, Jaques Morelenbaum and Romero Lubambo)

David Schumacher

Born: May 17, 1974

David Schumacher is a composer and saxophonist who began his schooling with Branford Marsalis and Andrew Speight at Michigan State University. While there he worked with Charles Ruggiero and Mark Sullivan to complete a BM in Composition/Theory in 1997. Following that he spent two years studying composition with Bob Brookmeyer at the New England Conservatory of Music earning a MM in Jazz Studies-Composition (with distinction in performance). Along the way Schumacher has also studied with jazz greats George Russell, Jerry Bergonzi, Rodney Whitaker, and Marcus Belgrave. David has been a member of the BMI Jazz Composers' Workshop led by Jim McNeely and Mike Abene, and is currently co-leader of Sound Assembly (www.soundassembly.net) in New York City

Lionel Belasco

Born: 1981

Lionel Belasco was the Scott Joplin of calypso: he composed West Indian music from folk sources, which he found on his many travels throughout the islands, and was the first person to popularize calypso outside of Trinidad. Piano player, bandleader, composer, and entrepreneur, Belasco recorded more West Indian songs before World War II than any other performer. A musical pioneer, Lionel Belasco was born in Barbados in 1881 and raised in Trinidad. During his youth, he learned to play European classical music on the piano but was drawn to the traditional music that was all around him, especially Afro-Trinidadian genres. By 1900 he was leading his own band and, in the mid-1910s, he moved to New York, which became his base of operations for much of the rest of his life

Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra

Born in Córdoba, Argentina in 1977, Pedro Giraudo moved to New York City in 1996. Since then, aside from being an in-demand bass player and prolific composer, he has collaborated as arranger on a variety of musical projects with Pablo Ziegler (Astor Piazzolla), Kenny Garrett (Miles Davis), William Cepeda (Dizzy Gillespie) and many others including Daniel Binelli, Marco Granados, Chris Washburn, Hector Del Curto, and Fernando Otero. He has participated in various Jazz and Music Festivals throughout the United States, Europe, South America, the Caribbean and Asia, and performed in venues such as The Blue Note (Japan); Birdland (Vienna); Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.); Iridium, Jazz Standard, Blue Note, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall (New York City).

Tim Davies

Born: October 27, 1972

Ever since he was given a cassette of Australia’s Daly Wilson Big Band at age 12, Tim Davies had the dream to write for and play drums in his own big band. That dream was realized in 1998 when he formed his first big band in Melbourne, Australia. Although it only had a short run before Davies moved to the States, the band made quite an impact. Since 2000 Davies has led a big band in Los Angeles featuring top session and touring players. The band's first album, Epic, was released in 2003 and a new album, Dialmentia (Origin Records) is available in May 2009. Grounded in traditional swing, Davies' music adds elements of classical, rock, metal and hip hop, creating a blend that is truly unique

Daniel Jamieson

Born: August 12, 1986

New York based musician Daniel Jamieson grew up in Toronto, Canada where he attended the Claude Watson Arts Program at Earl Haig Secondary School and participated in the Humber College Community Music School Program. Dan holds a bachelor degree from the University of Toronto in Jazz Performance. Currently, he is pursuing his masters degree at the Manhattan School of Music in New York and studies with composer / pianist Jim McNeely. Dan has appeared as a guest artist in various jazz festivals across Canada and has performed as a soloist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Daniel has performed with artists such as Tony Malaby, Tim Ries, Ingrid Jensen, Guido Basso and Dave Young to name a few