Results for "Original Music"

Nancy Erickson Lamont

Nancy Erickson Lamont, a seasoned jazz vocalist who studied with the renowned jazz instructor Frank DeMiero, has been leaving her mark on Seattle's music scene for over three decades. Her impressive vocal range, lush alto, and distinctive approach to the jazz tradition have captivated audiences and earned her a reputation as one of the city's most engaging and natural vocalists. On May 10, 2024, Nancy unveiled her fourth studio album, Through the Passages, produced by the acclaimed Grammy-winning, twice nominated vocalist and producer Johnaye Kendrick.

Featuring an array of jazz talent, including lauded pianist-composer-bandleader Josh Nelson (Natalie Cole, Sara Gazarek), Sean Jones (Jimmy Heath, Dianne Reeves), pianist Shawn Schlogel, bassists Chris Symer and Michael Glynn (Cory Weeds, Dave Grusin), and drummer Stefan Schatz (Jon Hendricks, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra), Through the Passages is a contemplative collection of original songs exploring life’s miraculous and mysterious seasons. Nancy’s first record of originals, written in collaboration with Schlogel and pianist Darin Clendenin, Through the Passages draws its lyrics from poems Lamont has written throughout the last 10 years of life transitions.

Greg Osby

Born: August 3, 1960

Saxophonist, composer, producer, educator and curator Greg Osby has been a formidable presence on the international music scene as a leader of his own ensembles and as a guest artist with other acclaimed groups for the past 39 years. Highly regarded for his insightful and innovative approach to composition and performance, Osby is an inspired voice among the ranks of improvising musicians. He has earned numerous awards and critical acclaim for his recorded works and passionate live appearances and has been recognized by The New York Times as one of the "most provocative musical thinkers of his generation".

Dave Mattock

Born: December 9, 1980

A professional piano, organ and keyboard player living outside Philadelphia PA, Dave Mattock divides his time between running the Mattock School of Music, performing, and teaching. Dave is a member of the faculty at Camden County College, University of Pennsylvania, and Lafayette College, where he teaches piano, theory, music history, music business, jazz ensembles and introductory music classes. His recording career consists of three full length jazz albums under his own name, dozens of recordings as a sideman, and composition credits for TV. Dave can also be found freelancing around Philadelphia in various jazz ensembles, cover bands, wedding bands and studio appearances

Taeko Kunishima

Born: September 2

"I was born in Japan and studied classical piano performance at university. When I heard Miles Davis on the radio, I switched to jazz.

I had a long absence from musical activity while living in the Middle East, and shortly after, in my youth. By experiencing different cultures and listening to Japanese, classical, jazz and  Arabic music I was inspired to write my own diverse compositions ." —Taeko Kunishima (June 2022)

Kunishima has released five albums on 33 jazz records and been played on  BBC Radio 3 Late Junction, Jazz FM, BBC World, and Resonance FM.

Deb Rasmussen

Canadian jazz vocalist and songwriter Deb Rasmussen has been enchanting audiences for 20 years. Deb often takes a soft, understated approach to a song, but make no mistake, she can swing! She’s known for her spacious, playful interpretations of standards, performing her own tunes, and for the way she makes time stand still as she connects heart-to-heart with listeners. A proud continuator of the jazz tradition, Deb counts among her influences Carmen McCrae and Abbey Lincoln, and gives back to jazz with her work on the Board of JazzYYC, Calgary’s jazz collaborative. Deb has studied with vocal jazz greats including Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton at the Banff Centre for the Performing Arts as well as with Nancy King, Dee Daniels, Cheryl Fisher and Madeline Eastman

Andrea Goretti

Born: December 25, 1990

EDUCATION

Born in 1990, he graduated in classical piano from the Music Conservatory in Parma. With Fabrizio Ottavucci he studied John Cage’s prepared piano and the music by other important composers from the 1900s, such as Giacinto Scelsi and Morton Feldman.

He joined the Erasmus program studying at the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk (Poland). During that period, he fell in love with jazz. He continued studying jazz in Parma with Masters Alberto Tacchini, Roberto Bonati and Roberto Dani. In 2016, he completed the bachelor in Jazz Piano with the highest mark, presenting a thesis about John Taylor’s music. In the meantime, he studied composition with Master Luigi Abbate and saxophone with Master Massimo Ferraguti. After that, he continued studying with pianist Umberto Petrin and graduated from Conservatorio di Milano with a thesis about Carla Bley’s compositions.

ARTISTIC ACTIVITY

Melissa Stylianou

Born: September 30, 1976

Jazz vocalist, lyricist, and educator Melissa Stylianou, hailed by piano master Fred Hersch for her “gorgeous instrument, superb musicianship, and great taste,” has garnered acclaim as both a gifted songwriter and a bold, imaginative interpreter of wide-ranging material spanning diverse many genres, from the Great American Songbook to Johnny Cash to Joanna Newsom. Stylianou is also one-third of the infectious, Boswell Sisters-inspired close-harmony vocal trio Duchess, which has amassed many mentions in year-end critics’ polls and received the 2021 & 2022 Vocal Group of the Year Award from the Jazz Journalists Association.

In addition to her five albums as a leader and four with Duchess to date, Stylianou has documented her close musical bond with guitar legend Gene Bertoncini and sought-after bassist Ike Sturm on the 2022 album Dream Dancing

Roberto Zechini

Born: July 23, 1968

Julie Slim

Born: July 12, 1960

Julie is a multilingual, multicultural vocalist who sings in Arabic, French, English, Portugese, and Spanish. With a focus on jazz and world music, Julie brings forth her cultural influences in her music, reviving American and international jazz and pop standards between the 1920's and 1960's with her unique arrangements and rich, warm vocals, while also mixing in her own compositions. She currently lives in Austin, TX.

Julie Slim & RendezVous is the project closest to her heart, a collaborative quintet with Austin musicians, specializing in French, American and international standards from the 1920s to the 1960s. Julie is honored to feature special arrangements by jazz legend, Dr. James Polk. The band premiered in 2013 to a sold out house at Esquina Tango in Austin, TX with Dr. James Polk on keyboards, Roberto Paolo Riggio on violin, Michael Stevens on bass, Michael Maddux on accordion and Ethan Vlah on percussion. Since then, RendezVous has performed widely and become a meeting place for many talented local musicians and budding friendships. Julie has self-produced a 3-song EP, a five-song live EP recorded in Austin, TX, and a full length album, Promenade Sentimentale, an 11-track journey through the many faces of love from loss to discovery. Over the years, Julie has revisited her Lebanese roots, expanding her musical repertoire to include Arabic music. Julie began her musical life in Musical Theatre in Allentown, PA. In 2009, she cofounded Layalina with oud player, Sari Andoni. Julie has also collaborated with Austin's 1001 Nights Orchestra, Ojàla, Indimaj, and Atlas Maior and has appeared on stage with Ann Hampton Callaway. She is a member of Swan Songs, an organization that fulfills musical wishes for senior citizens. She is also a member of the Threshold Choir, an international volunteer organization of women who sing for patients on their final journeys, locally at Hospice Austin's Christopher House where she and her Threshold Choir sing every Tuesday morning.

Joan Hutton

Born: May 18, 1969

Joan Hutton is a woodwind performer, composer and music educator residing in Minneapolis and hailing from Toronto, Canada. Her varied musical interests have led her over the years to classical, jazz, funk, free improvisation, pit orchestras and more. Joan has released two albums of original music on Shifting Paradigm Records with co-leader Sue Orfield: Take That Back (2022) and Splash (2024). She is also a long time member of the Ancia Saxophone Quartet, with recordings on the Naxos and Albany labels.