Results for "jazz"

Michael Snow violin and keyboards

Grace Kelly

Born: May 15, 1992

As Grace Kelly defiantly reminds us on The Other One, a standout number from her upcoming

Album, Trying To Figure It Out, she’s not looking to be like anyone else. “Got my own thing,” she sings over the song’s urban, trance-like groove. Although the singer and saxophone player has been acclaimed by critics and audiences alike as a jazz musician, the track’s exhilarating chorus, haunting keyboard hook and brittle electro edge show an artist interested only in playing what she loves labels be damned.

While a current Kelly concert might delight jazz purists with Great American Songbook standards, it could just as easily inspire mainstream listeners with Gracei-fied takes on the likes of Daft Punk’s Get Lucky, Coldplay’s Magic or Sia’s Chandelier.

Gus Leighton

Born: October 28, 1995

Gus Leighton is an Australian contemporary tenor saxophonist based in Hobart, Tasmania. He is known for his improvisational skills and compositional style, drawing influence from notable saxophonists such as Lester Young, Dexter Gordon, Stan Getz, and Wayne Shorter. Gus is currently pursuing his PhD research at the University of Tasmania, focusing on these four saxophonists.

Aside from his research, Gus is actively involved in the music scene. He is a respected saxophonist, composer, arranger, and bandleader of various groups including Uncle Gus and The Rimshots, The Gus Leighton Quartet, and The Greenrises Jazz Orchestra. Gus has also performed at festivals and events as both a leader and accompanist, having shared the stage with artists like Dami Im, Andrew O'Keefe and The Melbourne Ska Orchestra.

Thomas Reilly

Born: December, 1998

Thomas Reilly is an award winning multi-instrumentalist and composer from Bernardsville, New Jersey. Playing in rock bands since the age of twelve, Thomas’ passion for music has taken him through many styles. In 2021, he received his Bachelor’s of Music in Composition from Rowan University, during which he studied classical and jazz performance on drumset, vibraphone and piano, as well as classical and jazz composition. Thomas received the 2019 New Jersey Jazz Society Young Artist scholarship for his endeavors in jazz performance. Continuing his studies, Thomas received his Master’s of Music in Jazz Composition and Arranging from the University of North Texas in 2023. While at the University of North Texas, he played and recorded with the GRAMMY- nominated One o’Clock Lab Band.

F. August Bish

Derrick Bounds

A native Chicagoan, growing up on the West and NW sides of Chicago listening to everything from James Brown and Duke Ellington to Scott Joplin and Sergei Rachmaninoff, Derrick Bounds begin studying the piano at age 11, at "Dorolyn Academy of Music" in Oak Park, IL (founded by Derrick's aunt, Dorothy Bounds in 1982), studying privately for 12 consecutive years under Ms Juanita Calermee.  Later studying with various pianists including Alan Swain of Evanston, IL and Kevin Gainer in Waukegan, IL. and more recently at the Chicago Conservatory of Music studying Advanced Classical with Michael Ruiz where Derrick has been in preparation for a solo piano Classical and Jazz Recital.  Derrick, began playing in church during his teens as well as playing in the Wilbur Wright College Jazz Big Band.  Later graduating from DePaul University, BS Computer Science and also studying Music.  Derrick has been giggin' around town and out of state since.  Playing piano/keyboards behind live stage performances at Chicago's famed "Black Ensemble Theater" for 10 years gave Derrick unmeasurable experience playing in the music ensemble setting.  Derrick has also played behind several notable professional talents as well.  Developing a range of music genres to include Jazz, Classical, Ragtime, Pop, Gospel, Blues....  Composing, producing and performing is what he enjoys most, hence ultimately turning toward music full time after the IT position was out-sourced.  In addition to Chicago, Derrick has accompanied artists in Michigan's "Idlewild Jazz Festival, in New York Times Square and North Carolina's "Black Theater Festival".  Locally, he can be seen playing solo piano at the "Chicago Chop House" in the River North Neighborhood.  Derrick's original music can be heard on internet radio world wide as well as his YouTube channel derrickboundsmusic hosting vlogs on various historic music sites.

Robert Balzar

Robert Balzar is one of the leading bass players on the Czech jazz scene

“....he sounds great, his solos are thought through, he's got unerring rhythm, he creates just the right sound for the band.” George Mraz

Born in Nachod, Czech republic. Robert Balzar began playing the acoustic bass at age eleven. Robert studied classical bass at Brno Conservatory- bass, piano. In 1985, he continued his career in Prague as a studio musician (TV Big Band) and a jazz artist.
In 1996 he establish group under his own name - Robert Balzar Trio.
As a performer, he has played with John Abercrombie, Benny Golson, Tony Lakatos, Victor Lewis, Hal Galper,  Raul Midon...
In the year 1990 Robert had begun working with the legendary Czech chanson singer Hana Hegerova.
Since 1998 began his association with funk group J.A.R.
Since 2000 Robert establish and play as a part of the Dan Barta’s - Illustratosphere, along with Filip Jelinek on keyboard, Stanislav Macha on piano, Jiri Slavicek on drums and Jaroslav Friedl on guitar.
In 1996, Robert Balzar formed a group under his own name - the Robert Balzar Trio
and 1998 recorded their first CD called TRAVELLING (Jazzpoint),
In 2000, The Robert Balzar Trio recorded their second CD titled ALONE (Cube),
In 2005, Robert Balzar Trio recorded OVERNIGHT (Sony/BMG),
In 2008, Robert Balzar Trio release CD with John Abercrombie TALE (B.C.W.D.Music).                                           In 2010 RBT release CD with Dan Barta - THEYORIES (Taita.Rec).                                                                              In 2013, Robert Balzar Trio recorded in New York - Sear Sound Studio with sound engineer James Farber                  CD - DISCOVER WHO WE ARE (BCWD rec.)                                                                                                             In 2014, Robert Balzar Trio release CD VuJaDé (BCWD rec.)                                                                                    In 2016 realease DVD One (Day BCWD rec).                                                                                                              In 2023 recorded in Poland (Bielsko Biala) album CONVERSATION

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.

Radha Thomas

'As I Sing' From SubContinental Records is Radha Thomas's 7th album.

For those who aren't from India, and unfamiliar with her work, she is one of India’s leading and most widely recognized figures in jazz, vocalist Radha Thomas has been creating her unique sound for many decades. Transitioning from early rock & roll and Indian classical roots to present-day jazz as well as her own original compositions, Thomas loves bebop, especially vocalese, which she writes and sings a lot.

Mário Franco

Born: October 20, 1965

Born in 1965, he started music lessons at the age of 4 in Centro de Estudos Gregorianos.

He studied music theory with Maria José Godinho and after moved to Academia de Amadores de Música where he continued his studies in music theory with Cristina Brito da Cruz, started to study double bass and chamber music with Fernando Flores and composition with Pedro Rocha.

In 1986-87 attended double-bass courses given by Ludwig Streicher in Estoril and in 1988 won 1st prize in the Prémio Jovens Músicos (Young Musicians Competition); later became a member of Orquestra Sinfónica Juvenil where he worked on classical repertory with conductor Christopher Bochmann.