Results for "modern jazz"

David Witham

Born: November 16, 1957

David Witham studied piano with Jaki Byard at the New England Conservatory of Music, and Alan Broadbent in Los Angeles. He's had writing and performing associations with saxophonist Ernie Watts, bassist / composer Jay Anderson, the Jeff Gauthier Goatette, and percussionist Luis Conte. David was Musical Director for George Benson from 1990-2007, and has also served as a producer for Tom Scott and Grover Washington. Recording and performance credits include Barbra Streisand, Patti Austin, Lee Ritenour, Jose Feliciano, John Patitucci, Bluezeum, Joao Bosco, Larry Carlton, Randy and Michael Brecker

Arthur Sadowsky

Born: November 3, 1967

Arthur Sadowsky is now considered one of the top electric bass players on the New York scene. Currently, he is performing, composing, arranging and the musical director of 'Arthur Sadowsky & The Troubadours' regularly gigging in Manhattan. 'The Troubadours' perform a modern vision of classic jazz that is stimulating to the jazz enthusiast while at the same time very melodically pleasing to the casual music lover. Born and raised in the icy tundras of the USSR Arthur was surrounded by music and art from a very young age and knew this was going to be a life-long passion. Studying Russian classical music throughout his childhood it wasn’t until the age of 14 when he heard the music of Joe Zawinul that his life would change forever

Peter Fraize

Born: August 4, 1965

A distinct voice as both a saxophonist and composer, Peter Fraize is known for his impassioned high-energy playing, intricate and melodic writing, and his "no-boundaries" sensibility. His music draws from deep within the jazz tradition, exploratory free improvisation, modern rock and pop, and music from around the world. Based in Washington, DC, he is also familiar to international audiences through concert appearances in Peru, Japan and Europe. Most recently he toured the UK with his transatlantic organ group ATLANTICUS, appearing at the 2018 Love Supreme Festival.

Raised in a musical family in Northern Virginia, Peter took up the saxophone age nine

Florian Hoefner

Born: August 29, 1982

Born and raised in Germany, trained in New York City and now based in Canada, Juno Award-winning jazz pianist and composer, Florian Hoefner, draws from a myriad of influences that culminate in his unique brand of modern jazz. Praised as a “composer-bandleader of insightful resolve” by the New York Times and a “harmonically daring pianist … reaching toward new sonic territory” by Downbeat, Florian Hoefner continues to make waves as an inventive creator and performer of exciting contemporary jazz. 

He has released 6 albums under his own name and many more as a sideman. “First Spring,” the debut album with his Canadian trio with Andrew Downing on bass and Nick Fraser on drums has received 2 East Coast Music Awards in 2020 and was nominated for a 2021 JUNO in the category “Jazz Album of the Year: Group.” The trio released its sophomore album, “Desert Bloom” on June 3rd 2022 on Alma Records. It was nominated for 2 East Coast Music Awards and won a Juno Award in 2023. As a touring artist he has played at venues and festivals on 5 different continents and has worked with artists including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jerry Bergonzi, Norma Winstone, Joe LaBarbera and Seamus Blake. He is the winner of 2 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards and the Stingray Rising Star Award at the Montreal Jazz Festival.

Guido Santoni

Born: December 11

Guido Santoni

Guido Santoni's music exists in the space between melody and silence, composition and improvisation. A pianist and composer deeply connected to the contemporary European jazz tradition, he has developed a personal language where the piano trio becomes a place of balance, interaction and continuous discovery.

At the center of Santoni's work is the idea that sound is not only what is played, but also what surrounds the notes. His compositions reveal a strong melodic identity, a refined sense of dynamics and a constant search for the expressive possibilities of silence and resonance. The result is a music that combines lyrical depth with the freedom of improvisation.

Brad Felt

Born: May 6, 1956

For over 35 years, Brad Felt (1956-2011) worked to advance the role of both the Tuba and Euphonium as front-line improvising instruments in the idiom of modern jazz. As a product of the fertile Oakland University jazz program if the mid '70's, Mr. Felt went on the receive two fellowships for composition and performance from the National Endowment For The Arts and a creative artist grant for composition from the Michigan Council For The Arts. In addition to working in the Detroit area, he led and co-led groups which have performed at such venues as The Hollywood Palace, Yoshi's At Jack London Square, and Pearl's of North Beach

Lauren Bush

Born: May 12, 1986

Canadian-born, London-based vocalist Lauren Bush has established herself as one of the UK's leading contemporary jazz singers, combining an expressive lyricism with an adventurous musical spirit. Equally at home interpreting the Great American Songbook as she is performing her own compositions, she has become known for her impeccable phrasing, conversational scatting and ability to uncover fresh perspectives within familiar repertoire.

Since releasing her debut album, All My Treasures (2016), produced by Ian Shaw, Lauren has developed an increasingly distinctive artistic voice. Her second album, Dream Away (2021), introduced a greater emphasis on original composition and collaborative writing, earning a place in Bebop Spoken Here's Top Ten Albums of the Year. Her latest release, Tide Rises (Mighty Quinn Records), premiered to a sold-out audience at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club and was later named the publication's No. 2 Album of the Year. The record showcases Lauren's evolving songwriting alongside inventive arrangements by longtime collaborator Liam Dunachie.

Giuseppe Pucciarelli

Born: January 29, 1993

Giuseppe Pucciarelli is a jazz guitarist and composer. He has been playing the guitar since the age of five when his father bought him a classical guitar for his birthday. From the age of 10, Pucciarelli received classical guitar lessons. A few years later, keen to further his expertise in advanced jazz improvisation and composition, he decided to go further with the music studies and, as a result, he moved to London for studying at the Guildhall School of Music. Shortly thereafter, he started to perform in the city’s most important jazz club including Ronnie Scott and Pizza Express and to teach all aspects of Music Theory, Jazz Harmony, Improvisation and Composition. Pucciarelli’s high level of motivation let him record his first original album ‘Shall We Say It Is Worth” at the age of 23

Bear Garden

Born: July 15, 1992

Bear Garden is a musical expression, neither more nor less. It´s music - it´s everything. Martin Wirén, the man behind the artist Bear Garden, is a many times rewarded composer and saxophonist with scholarships such as the Swedish STIM award and The Royal Swedish Academy of Music award on his personal record. On request from the Swedish Nobel Prize Museum he is also known for his musical interpretation of the Nobel Prize winner in literature 2016, Bob Dylan. Born in the small town of Gällivare in northern Sweden, Wirén was introduced to the saxophone at an early age. Spending the two first decades of his life in the garage of his family home practicing the horn, he later moved to Stockholm to attend The Royal College of Music. In Stockholm, he began working on his debut as a composer

Sabin Todorov

Born: October 13, 1966

Sabin Todorov was born in Bulgaria in 1966, and is a graduate of the Sofia conservatory, where he took music theory and harmony. He then studied further at the Brussels conservatory with Nathalie Loriers, Diederik Wissels and Arnould Massart. A talented composer and arranger, he appears in Belgium for several years, his trio OUSTRO OUKO and Lionel Beuvens. His music integrates musical influences from his home country, Bulgaria. For more than 3 years too, he is regular pianist of the Singers Nights at the Music Village in Brussels, bringing to the singers, not only his talent, but also his fantastic capability to listen, his calm and his exceptional kindness. He appeared in duo with singers such as Geneviève Fraselle, Marianna Tootsie, etc... He was the accompanyist for the Brussels International Young Jazz Singers Competition, organized by the Music Village.