Results for "West Coast Jazz"

Pete Kelly

Ten Terrific Sax Plus Organ Combinations

by Artur Moral
February 12, 2025

OK, maybe the electric guitar was its first and most celebrated love affair, but the organ's alliances with the saxophone's family members are undoubtedly among the richest musical combinations, both in terms of sound and the intense interrelationships that typically develop in such encounters. Whether it be a tenor with a Hammond, a soprano with an ...

Stephanie Porter

Born: June 1, 1974

American Jazz Vocalist, Stephanie Porter was first heard nationally in the mid-nineties, reaching the top 100 Gavin National Jazz Radio Chart.  A world class vocalist with a rare contralto range, Porter has been on a total of 14-album releases, including her latest, “Radio Theatre”, where she penned seven original tracks. An album featuring multi-platinum trumpeter, Steve Madaio.  

Stephanie has shared stages with original jazz greats Ernestine Anderson, Buddy Catlet, Bob Hammer, Jack Percival and Red Kelly, to name a few.  She has also opened for contemporary artists, including Michael McDonald, Chaka Khan, Cameo, Kansas and more. As a special guest, Porter has worked with The Tacoma Symphony under the direction of both Harvey Felder and Sarah Ionnides, The Harry James Orchestra, The Radio Rhythm Orchestra,  The Full Circle Jazz Orchestra, SRJO and Roadside Attraction.  As a background vocalist, she has performed with The Steve Miller Band in concert. Stephanie also toured with Hit Explosion during the 1990's, a very popular dance band, booked regularly at Portland's Crystal Ballroom, The Seattle ShowBox, Fenix Underground, Kingdome and Key Arena.   

Darius Jones Shrek

Born: July 7, 1997

Susanna Bartilla

Raised to the sounds of Ella, Billie, Frank and Peggy Lee singing the Great American Songbook, the Berlin born Parisian vocalist Susanna Bartilla always knew she would be a jazz singer.

She inherited an unconditional love for the genre from her father, a crooner and sax player, who regularly took her out to see live music from an early age on, and it has often been said that she owes her sure sense of timing and swing to her gypsy grandfather.

All through her childhood she sang the alto voice in a choir and after moving to Paris aged 18, quite naturally studied to be an opera singer. After spending some years touring and recording with a professional vocal baroque group and gaining valuable stage experience, she found her way back to her roots and studied vocal jazz at renowned EDIM Jazz school and with some of the best French and American vocalists.

Marína Ósk

Born and raised in Keflavík, Iceland, Marína Ósk started playing music at an early age when her mother handed her a recorder at the age of 2 and a half. After years of studying classical flute, Marína found her passion for jazz and started focusing on singing. She was accepted into the Jazz vocal department at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and graduated from there in 2017 with a BA in Jazz Vocals. In 2021 she graduated from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with a Master's degree in Jazz performance.

Her musical idols include Chet Baker, Paul Desmond, Billie Holiday, Blossom Dearie and Lester Young and her favorite musical flavours include melodic vocal jazz from the 50's and the 60's, West Coast Jazz and lyrical improvisers from that era. 

Todd Sickafoose

Todd Sickafoose is a Tony and Grammy award-winning composer, producer, arranger, orchestrator, bandleader and double bassist. He has performed on hundreds of recordings, toured internationally, appeared at music venues and festivals from Carnegie Hall to New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and played on national television and radio programs including the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with Conan O’Brien, The Artists Den, and NPR’s Mountain Stage. Known as a musical cross-breeder who stretches across genres, Sickafoose has been described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “a captivating improviser, imaginative composer, and master of collaboration”.

Ulli Juenemann

Born: June 7, 1967

played and toured with Ack van Rooyen, Christian Kappe, John Marshall, Silvia Droste, Martijn Sohier, Jens Loh, Thorsten Grau, Hugo Read, Frank Timpe, Wolfgang Schmidtke, Jens Düppe, Keith Copeland, Jasper van’t Hof, Bobby Shew, Hugh Fraser, Slide Hampton, Mike Herriott, Adam Nussbaum, Ingrid Jensen, Ugonna Okegwo, Jon Wikan, Ian McDougal, Gerald Wilson, Arnie Chekovsky, Gene Jackson, Jay Anderson, Joris Teepe a.m.m. festivals/clubs/awards Bühl, Emsdetten, North Sea Jazz Festival, Leverkusen, Esslingen, Getxo, a.m.m. most clubs in germany, clubs in austria, switzerland, denmark and canada teaching: Conservatory Mainz, Heppenheim, main teacher jazz-saxophone, Musikhochschule Franz Liszt Weimar (2009/10), Musicschool Niedernhausen

Justin Chart

Born: February 6, 1970

Universal Music Group artist Justin Chart is a visionary alto saxophonist and a prominent figure in the modern West Coast jazz scene. Jazz Europe rates Justin Chart as one of the top ten modern day hard bop saxophone players in the world. Known in jazz circles as “The Blizzard” for his explosive playing and intricate compositional changes, Chart is a trailblazer who is one of the modern masters of Hard-Bop jazz. His unique style is characterized by a seductive yet familiar vibe, offering a harmonic edge that remains deeply rooted in the jazz lineage while standing out as distinctly modern in color.

Modern Sounds From California

March 15, 2021

West Coast jazz was the music of migrants. After World War II, work opportunities for skilled jazz musicians skyrocketed in Los Angeles, attracting gifted artists from different parts of the country. Two principal architects of the West Coast jazz sound in the early 1950s were Gerry Mulligan and Shorty Rogers—transplants from the East Coast. Many other ...