Results for "Los Angeles"

Paul Marangoni

Born: January 28

Paul Marangoni began drumming at the age of 13. Primarily self-taught, he was lucky enough to study privately with some very talented musicians: David Kent (Toronto Symphony Orchestra), Paul DeLong (Domenic Troiano, David Bendeth, Kim Mitchell), Mark Craney (Jean Luc Ponty, Gino Vannelli, Jethro Tull), and Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa, Allan Holdsworth). Paul has performed and/or recorded with: Jazz Martyrs, Jazz Because, The Trio of Stridence, The Brothers Dimm, Janeen Leah, Freddy Curci, Alex Masi, Phil Naro, The Works, Adrian Davison, Coney Hatch, FM, Zappacosta, Eugene Smith, and David Gibson.

Earl R. Johnson Jr.

Earl R. Johnson Jr. is a graduate of Boston’s Berklee College of Music with a degree in Film Scoring. He has captivated audiences on five continents; Johnson’s command of several writing and playing styles has afforded him the opportunity to have worked and/or toured with many of the music industry’s top legends, including Patti Austin, Brian McKnight, Chaka Khan, Jeffrey Osborne, Beyonce, Wynton Marsalis, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Kenny Lattimore, and R. Kelly, to name a few. Earl has composed dramatic underscores for several films (“Living With Faith,” “Two Can Play That Game”) and television projects (Showtime’s “Linc’s,” “Breaking The Code”)

Rita Edmond

During an era when there are many female singers who are attempting to sing jazz, Rita stands apart from the crowd. A California-based vocalist who is making quite an impact on the Los Angeles jazz scene, she has a very appealing voice, a four-octave range, and is able to express a wide variety of emotions. Rita swings at every tempo and does justice to the lyrics that she is singing but is also a classy and spontaneous improviser who is not shy to stretch herself or to take her music in unexpected directions whether interpreting up tempo swing, sensuous blues or a heartbreaking ballad

Christian Jacob

Multi-Grammy nominated pianist and arranger Christian Jacob first gained widespread exposure as music director for Maynard Ferguson and later as leader of the Christian Jacob Trio and co-leader of the Tierney Sutton Band. Christian is also the musical director for both Broadway legend Betty Buckley and American icon Jack Jones. He has performed around the globe, with many of the musical giants that inspired him since childhood. Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, Randy Brecker, Miroslav Vitous, Benny Golson, Bobby Watson and Bill Holman to name just a few.

Born in Lorraine, France, Christian Jacob fell in love with classical music at age 4 and discovered jazz at age 9. After graduating with “First Prize” from the Paris Conservatory, Jacob came to America to study improvisation at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.  While attending Berklee Christian won a number of awards, including the Oscar Peterson Jazz Masters Award, the Great American Jazz Piano Competition and "Downbeat" magazine's distinction as Top Collegiate Jazz Soloist. He went on to teach at Berklee, tour with Maynard Ferguson, perform and record with a number of jazz legends and was listed by The Japan Times as one of the best-selling foreign jazz pianists in Japan. His extensive discography includes five critically acclaimed trio recordings and six Grammy nominations from his alliance with vocalist Tierney Sutton, drummer Ray Brinker and bassists Trey Henry and Kevin Axt. Christian also received a Grammy Nomination for his arranging work with The Phil Norman Tentet.

Stephen Teipe

Born: July 5, 1964

Angela Carole Brown

Born: January 1

Los Angeles native Angela Carole Brown has been a veteran of the L.A. music scene for two decades as a vocalist, recording artist, and songwriter. She has recorded voice-overs, movie cues, jingles, and CDs for herself and other artists, including Josh Groban's hit single "You Raise Me Up" on his Closer CD for Warner Bros. Records; and demos for Matt Stone & Trey Parker. She has worked theatre, clubs, concert halls, television, and radio, in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

She is also the author of three published books, The Assassination of Gabriel Champion, The Kidney Journals: Memoirs of a Desperate Lifesaver, and Trading Fours, and is a recipient of the Heritage/Soulword Magazine Award in poetry

Kathleen Grace

Kathleen Grace grew up in the West, its vistas etching an impression that would stay with the Tucson native as she traveled to the dry hills of Los Angeles. Forging a career that has sent her around the globe, Grace has played for a worldwide audience whose diversity reflects her own eclectic musical tastes. Emerging from her jazz roots, Grace’s sound bridges traditional and nostalgic with an approachable modernity, taking her into the blues, folk and pop-leaning realms. “Jazz is a value system,” Grace explains, “I may not always be creating music specific to that space, but I try to let its deepest truths of freedom, listening and trust guide my path, my choices.” Over time, Grace’s organic evolution has led her to an expansive career, not only as an interpreter of song, but also a respected songwriter in the modern folk and Americana worlds

David Longoria

Born: January 7, 1971

David bought his first trumpet on layaway at Ben's Loan, a local pawn shop in his hometown of Renton, Washington over the span of a year and a half of weekly payments.

– the price, $65 was  a sum “hard to raise in a hurry when you’re ten and poor,” he says.   Amazingly, he still plays the same gold plated trumpet to this day. The two have been on an amazing journey, starting every Sunday at church and including practicing every day of his childhood in his front yard. He still apologizes to his childhood neighbors.

Growing up in a family rich in love, yet financially challenged meant that David couldn't afford private lessons to learn the trumpet. The local Renton Salvation Army offered free music classes where David was taught how to read music and the fingerings for the trumpet. "I appreciate so much the loving mentorship of the officers there, Brigadeers Charles and Edith Bennett who gave freely of their time and teachings to lift me up and help me to learn music", David says, adding "to this day I still try to continue that spirit of giving, sharing with others by teaching young people to play and cherish music." David discovered he could earn money playing on a street corner in Seattle on weekends, which helped him learn to improvise and play hundreds of requested songs on the spot.

Jeffrey Fisher

Born: March 18, 1948

Currently performing as jazz/world fusion pianist 7/15/16 Highland Springs Resort Grand Oak Steakhouse with drummer Jennifer Vallely Fisher has performed with jazz great Frank Morgan, the Thelonius Monk-inspired traditional jazz group Evidence Quartet, the Charles Connally Texas Blues Band, Stax Records vocalist Lee Sain, folksinger Sun-Day Martinez, Spanish music legend Antonio Apodaca, world-music bandleader Achyutan, and New Mexico's Trio Jalapeno, among others. Fisher even performed Gaelic music on ice instruments at a ski resort situated at 11,000-feet elevation. Training Beyond the world of music, Jeffrey is a truly eclectic person

Sylvia Brooks

Born: May 18

The path that led Sylvia Brooks back to her jazz roots provided her with plenty of dramatic stories to tell. Possessing a sumptuous, velvet-rich voice, she’s earned critical raves for each of her four albums, including 2022’s Signature, which marked her emergence as a gifted songwriter. Her emotionally direct delivery imbues the music with bracing honesty and keen emotional intelligence.

Brooks came to music as a birthright. Her father, pianist/arranger Don Ippolito, was a first-call jazz accompanist who performed with giants such as Stan Getz, Buddy Rich, Peggy Lee, Sarah Vaughan and Dizzy Gillespie. Her mother, Johanna Dordick, was a conservatory-trained opera singer who also dazzled audiences singing standards and pop tunes at East Coast night clubs and resorts (she went on to found the Los Angeles Opera Theater in 1978).