A four-time Down Beat Magazine Award winner, including composition and arranging honors for the year 2000, Javier Arau has received commissions and performances of his works from, among others, the legendary Benny Golson and David Garibaldi (Tower of Power).  Arau has been commissioned by several college and high school bands, and his works continue to be performed in jazz festivals and jazz camps across the country. As a jazz saxophonist, Arau has performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry, Chico O'Farrill, Charlie Haden, Maria Schneider, Diana Krall, Richie Cole, and Louie Bellson, among others.  He has played in jazz festivals all over the world, including the main stage at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals, and venues in Japan and Australia. Originally from California, Arau received his master's degree in jazz composition from New England Conservatory in May 2000, graduating with honors and distinction.  Arau also earned two bachelor's degrees, in both economics and jazz composition, from Lawrence University.  His principal teachers have been Bob Brookmeyer, Ken Schaphorst, Allen Gimbel, Jerry Bergonzi, and Steve Jordheim. 

Maurice Brown began playing trumpet in high school band and quickly realized a natural affinity for the instrument.  Spurred by Wynton Marsalis' endorsement, the sixteen year old began to study jazz music seriously.  Maurice was appointed in All State Honors Combo and The National Grammy Band.  During his junior year in high school he studied with greats like Rufus Reid, Jon Faddis, Eric Alexander and David Baker.  At age seventeen he attracted the attention of Ramsey Lewis who hired him to perform in concert at Chicago's Symphony Center.  He was featured on Harry Porterfield's ABC television news segment, "Someone You Should Know", as well as Chicagoland TV news. Maurice received a full scholarship and attended Northern Illinois University.  During his first semester at NIU he was contacted by trumpet great, Clark Terry by the recommendation of Mr. Marsalis.  Maurice joined Terry for performances in Europe and aboard the QE2, where he was invited to sit in with jazz luminaries such as Oscar Peterson, Nicholas Payton, Vanessa Rubin, Etta Jones and Houston Person, and Lou Donaldson. Maurice Brown recently continued his studies at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana under the tutelage of esteemed educator and clarinetist, Alvin Batiste.  In June, 2001 Maurice won first place in the National Miles Davis Trumpet Competition in St. Louis, MO.  He has performed with recently lauded saxophone great Von Freeman and has appeared on his first recording with guitarist/ leader, George Freeman for the Savant label. Maurice has also recorded with Roy Hargrove, Curtis Fuller, Young Bleed and Michelle Carr. 

Quamon Fowler began his musical journey on the tenor saxophone at age 12 in Fort Worth, Texas. He obtained a focus not like any other amongst his peers in music when he took up an interest in jazz music at age 15. He has been honored locally and nationally throughout high school and college. Presently, he is a senior at Southern University with an Associate's Degree in Jazz Studies directed by clarinetist Alvin Batiste. Quamon began composing at 18 and recorded his first cd of his compositions at 19, Introducing Quamon Fowler. Quamon has proven himself to be a very persistent, inquisitive artist that has allowed his relationship with Christ to be his primary source of inspiration musically and as a complete person. "In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path" Proverbs 3:6.

Ross Garren is a 17 year old high school senior at the Stevenson School in Monterey, California. He is a pianist, organist, and harmonicist whose style reflects an admiration for the jazz, blues, and gospel idioms from roughly 1930 to the present. As a pianist, he has performed at the Umbria Jazz Festival, won the Monterey County branch of the Music Teachers' Association of California's piano competition, was selected to tour Europe with the Monterey Jazz Festival Honor Band, has received numerous IAJE citations for musical excellence from various jazz festivals, has received numerous scholarships, and works professionally on the Monterey Peninsula. As a harmonicist (chromatic harmonica and diatonic), he has drawn the praise of Toots Theilemans, transcribed recorded solos for the Harmonica Masterclass, taught at the Harmonica Masterclass Workshop in New York, and performed alongside such notable artists as Lee Oskar, Charlie Musselwhite, and James Cotton. Ross is also a composer who writes tunes that dwell somewhere between the hard-bop/bebop/new-age idioms and are most Notable for their interesting harmonies. Ross is currently working on college applications, audition tapes, and aspires to enter a double degree program at a conservatory and university.

Gordon Haab began composing music at the age of twelve and has been focused on this craft since.  Gordy studied music composition at Virginia Commonwealth University from 1994 through 2000.  While there, he studied privately with Allan Blank, Doug Richards, Dika Newlin, and Peter Knell.  Having studied with such diverse composers, Gordy's compositional language has become very broad. Gordy was a founding member, trombonist, and composer for the Richmond based Big Band, "The Devils Workshop", where he composed modern jazz music, and also "The Bluebeat Revue" where he wrote music in the style of Bob Marley and Steel Pulse.  He has also has been commissioned to write classical music for members of the Richmond Symphony.  Gordy served as musical assistant to Grammy Nominee, Doug Richards on the recording "It's All in the Game" featuring John Faddis and Renee Marie.  Gordy has also served as a member of the arranging staff for the national tour of "Funny Girl, "starring Deborah Gibson. Currently, Gordy resides in Los Angeles, CA and is writing music for film.  While in LA he was selected as one of fifteen composers to attend a one-year graduate program for film scoring at the University of Southern California, where he has had the opportunity to study with such composers as David Raksin.  Currently Gordy is a member of the music editing staff for Yamaha's "Garson SPS Development Team," which re-creates existing jazz albums to be played by the Yamaha Disklavier. Gordy was internationally selected as one of three composers sponsored by The ASCAP Foundation to attend the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestral Jazz Music Festival, in the summer of 2002. 

Jeremy Pelt

A native of Seattle, WA, composer/jazz pianist Greg Reitan relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 to attend the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California as a composition student and dean's scholar.  Since graduating, Greg has scored a number of television productions, network commercials and feature films.  Clients include CBS Television, NBC News, CNN, and ABC News.  One recent film, ³Dumbarton Bridge², won ³Grand Prize: Best Score² at the 1999 Providence, RI film festival. As a professional jazz pianist, Greg is the leader of an award-winning trio that frequently plays clubs in the Los Angeles area.  Two songs written and performed by Greg are featured in the upcoming film ³Bark², starring Lisa Kudrow and produced by Tom Reed at Propaganda Films. Greg also writes music for the concert hall.  His ³Clarinet Concerto:  In Three Movements²  was performed by the USC Symphony under the direction of Donald Crockett, with Donald Foster soloist.  ³Full Fathom Five: Intrepid²  was also given its premiere by the USC Symphony.

Bob Reynolds was born in Morristown, New Jersey, and raised in New York and Florida, Bob began playing the saxophone at age 13. He is an honors graduate of the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts in Florida and the Berklee College of Music in Boston. While still in college, he performed at New York's Blue Note Jazz Club, led his quartet in a featured performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival, toured Europe and Japan, and performed at The Kennedy Center. Bob has received many awards including Berklee's prestigious Billboard Endowed Scholarship for Outstanding Academic and Musical Achievement. In 2000 he graduated summa cum laude from Berklee and relocated to New York City. Bob has since performed with a variety of notable jazz artists, including Brian Blade, Aaron Goldberg, Gregory Hutchinson, and Bob Brookmeyer. He is currently performing as a leader and sideman in local clubs, and touring as a member of the Jonah Smith Band.

Sherisse Rogers is currently a Jazz Composition Masters student at the Manhattan School of Music and is studying with Michael Abene. She recently relocated from he Los Angeles area were she received her Bachelors in Music Industry Studies at California State Northridge. It was at that school while that she began studying arranging with Matt Harris. At the time she was working as a freelance bassist. After graduation in 2004 from MSM she aspires to one day be a professional composer/arranger/freelance bassist.

Scott Kevin Routenberg is currently completing his Master of Music degree in Jazz Piano Performance at the University of Miami.  He has also been accepted into the University of Miami's Doctor of Musical Arts program in Jazz Composition (under the direction of Gary Lindsay).  Scott has studied jazz piano, composition and arranging with Manfredo Fest, Vince Maggio, Chip Crawford and Scott Warner.  Past recording projects include Shapeshifter (2000), an independently produced CD featuring original compositions in the jazz piano trio format.  Scott is currently producing an eclectic CD of original electronic compositions, merging the styles of found sound sampling, electronica, jazz, classical and world music.

Jeremy Siskind, a 16-year-old junior from Irvine, California, has been playing the piano and improvising since he was only four years old. As part of Yamaha's JOC (Junior Original Concert) program, he has been able to perform his compositions of varying styles around the world; twice, he has been invited to share his music with appreciated audiences in Tokyo, Japan. Last year, Jeremy was chosen as a members of the Southern California Jazz All-Stars, an honors group from around Southern California composed of sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Jeremy would like to thank his family, composition teacher Linda Martinez, jazz teacher Tamir Hendelman, and band members M.B. Gordy, Bart Samolis, and Matt Quirk for assistance with his award-winning piece, "Infinity," written when he was fifteen. Composer, saxophonist Maxwell Snyder has performed throughout the United States and in Europe, where he was the featured soloist with the Festival Chamber Orchestra.  In 2001 he appeared in major festivals across France and Italy, including the Classique au Vert in Paris, where he played Jacques Ibert's Concertino Da Camera.  He has also performed in Europe as a member of the North Carolina School of the Arts Jazz Quintet, and as soloist with the orchestras in the United States.  He is a recipient of the Persichetti prize for composition.  Maxwell Snyder continues to compose and perform across the globe.

Nicholas Urie began playing drums during the 6th grade for his junior high band. During his 7th and 8th grade years, he was a member of the city and county honor bands, where he played timpani. During Nicholas' freshman year, while attending his local high school, he participated in the band program, which included: drum line, jazz band and marching band. During the same year he was the drum line section leader and the principal percussionist in the wind ensemble. Nicholas was given the Academic Award of Excellence for the Instrumental Music Department, as well as Best Musician award for his drum set musicianship in the jazz band. In the beginning of his Sophomore year he left high school and began studying music at the Orange County High School Of The Arts (OCHSA). Being at OCHSA has given Nicholas the opportunity to study music theory and history. When he went to OCHSA, he began learning how to play vibraphone. He plays in several ensembles at the school, including: chamber orchestra, big band, jazz combo, wind ensemble, brass and percussion ensemble, and vocal jazz ensemble. Nicholas also has his own groups outside of school, these include: The Urie Consortium, which plays all original music; Combo 2, which plays casuals; he also plays percussion with the Orange Coast College Symphony Orchestra. As a senior, Nicholas is currently studying composition with Chris Creswell at the Orange County High School of the Arts. His private studies on vibraphone are with Charlie Shoemaker and he is working towards attending one of several music conservatories for college where he will major in Composition and Jazz Vibraphone.

Brian VanArsdale is an up-and-coming tenor saxophonist currently based in Jacksonville, Florida. After growing up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Brian moved to Atlanta, Georgia where he was able to start his own musical groups, starting as young as age 14. A member of the Georgia All-State bands, and the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Band, Brian first went to school at the University of Illinois where he gained a mentor in Ron Brian then transferred to the University of North Florida where he has become a student of legendary saxophonist and jazz legend Bunky Green. Additionally, Brian performs around the southeast with his quartet and as a sideman in other groups.  Brian also received an individual citation for Outstanding Extended Composition for his composition ³Finding Home², which is featured on UNF's 2001 CD release, Things to Come. While in school, Brian has also had a chance to write for several other different groups. Brian's large ensemble compositions have been performed by the University of Illinois Jazz Band I and II, the Disney All-American College Band, and the UNF Jazz Ensembles 1 and 2. Additionally, Brian's small group writing has been documented through the combos at both the University of Illinois and University of North Florida, and his own traveling quartet. In addition to his work already recorded, this year Brian will be featured as a performer and composer on a new CD by the UNF Jazz Combo, and on Second Thoughts, a new CD by the UNF Jazz Ensemble 1, both of which are set for release in early 2003. Brian is currently a teaching assistant at the Eastman School of Music, where he will studies with renowned composer Bill Dobbins while pursuing a Masters in Jazz Composition degree.

Ezra Weiss is a 23 year-old composer/pianist from Phoenix, Arizona.  He graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Wendell Logan, Neal Creque, Dan Wall, and Michael Philip Mossman.  Ez has composed and/or arranged music for Leon Lee Dorsey, Billy Hart, Thara Memory, and Stan Bock, among others.  He lives in Portland, Oregon, where he leads the jazz sextet Blues Connotation.  Ez's new album, The Five A.M. Strut, will be released early in 2003 on the UMOJA label.  For more information, check out www.ezraweiss.com

 

Ben Wendel is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Jazz Studies and Composition.  A sax player who doubles on flute and piano, he currently performs in the Los Angeles area with multiple groups, works as a studio musician and teaches privately.  Ben recently returned from his first European tour, performing with an electronica project led by DJ Daedelus. During the past year, he completed a score for a short film that was later released at the Sundance Film Festival. Ben has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with such notable performers as Phil Woods, Adam Rudolph, Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler, Lalo Schifrin, Billy Higgins, Bob Brookmeyer and Manny Album.  A recorded version and audio samples of "Touche" can be found on the album "Wendel," available at http://www.kneebody.com/wendel