Peter White,
Rick Braun,
Nick Colionne,
Brian Bromberg,
Randy Brecker,
Gerald Veasley,
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Berks JazzFest
April 11, 2019
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Nick Colionne Biography
Nick grew up in a household full of music - and at age 9 he began to learn guitar from his stepfather, Edward. By the age of 15 he turned pro, touring all over the world with famous artists and bands. Because he was usually the youngest band member, he would sometimes paint a mascara moustache on his upper lip to make himself look older - so imagine his embarrassment when his grandmother attended one of his concerts and promptly wiped said moustache off with her ever-present handkerchief! "Jazz was my upbringing, but initially pursuing a career as a sideman meant I had to become well versed in R&B, blues and heavy metal. When I play live, I incorporate all kinds of music and have a lot of fun. All of these styles have contributed to defining my own sound as an artist." Nick Colionne's charismatic stage presence, combined with his guitar virtuosity, are evidence he's succeeded; audiences love the excitement and energy he brings to every performance. Nick Colionne's latest CD Keepin' It Cool on Narada Jazz found the first single "Always Thinking of You" propelling him to the top of the charts once again. This single was #9 for the year 2006 on Radio and Records, and Nick was the #9 Artist of the Year. On the charts for 45 weeks, and Top 10 for an amazing 19 weeks, this single was also # 1 for 2006 on Radio Waves Monitor Chart (Internet Airplay) and #1 on the World Jazz Top 20 Chart. In fact, Nick is on every major top 10 list for 2006! The second single, "If You Ask Me", went top 20 and his newest single, the title track "Keepin' It Cool" is currently climbing the charts. The CD has received rave reviews around the world
Brian Bromberg Biography
Brian Bromberg (born December 5, 1960, in Tucson, Arizona) is an American jazz bassist and record producer who performs on both electric and acoustic instruments. Though he tends to gravitate towards the genre of smooth jazz, Bromberg has released some straight-ahead jazz records in which he performs with a trio, and has even ventured into more rock-oriented jazz fusion territory as of late. His innovative and technically demanding style of playing extends to both electric and upright bass. On his acoustic bass albums, Bromberg performs jazzy interpretations of various pop and rock staples from the 1960s and '70s completely solo. Regarding his work with electric bass, Bromberg, among other bassists, helped popularize the piccolo bass, or bass with each string tuned an octave up, by releasing several albums in which he plays both the bass line and melody. For instance, upon first listen many will be surprised to learn that, although soaring guitar can be heard throughout the album, Bromberg's 2005 release Metal contains only Bromberg on two overdubbed basses, one of which is heavily effects-laden to make it sound like an electric guitar.
Biography:
Brian Bromberg was born December 5, 1960, in Tucson, Arizona. His father and brother, David, who both played drums, influenced him to take up the instrument himself. At the age of 13, he began seriously pursuing a career as a drummer. However, at around the same time, the leader of his school orchestra steered him towards the upright bass. From then on, he committed to stick to a strict practice regimen and even "tested out of high school early" because of the rigorous schedule he set for himself. Still, plucking away in his basement was only half of the plan. It was integral for Bromberg to gain experience playing in live situations. Thus, he accepted virtually every gig he could get. It was somewhat common for Bromberg to play "five to seven nights a week with several different bands." In 1979, Marc Johnson, the bassist working for the jazz pianist Bill Evans, heard Bromberg's playing. Johnson later suggested Bromberg to saxophonist Stan Getz, who was in search of a new bass player. Getz took the suggestion seriously, and auditioned Bromberg soon thereafter. Within only six years of him picking up the bass, Bromberg found himself at the age of 19touring internationally with Getz. Other than the thrill of playing with a world-class tenor-saxophonist, more opportunities began to reveal themselves to the young bass player, who would go on to work with many big names in the music business and eventually become a producer of various artists in his genre. "Bromberg" is the name that the Polish town of Bydgoszcz bore at the times when it fell under Prussian and then German rule.
Releases as a solo artist:
Bromberg's first several albums were of the smooth jazz variety. He began with two records that caught smooth jazz radio's attention: A New Day in 1986 and Basses Loaded in 1988. His third effort, 1989's Magic Rain "became the most played album on radio during the first week of its release". Bromberg's fourth record, BASSically Speaking, which is technically his oldest material re-mastered with some new additions, went top 5 on the radio charts and reached 7th on the Billboard sales charts.
At this point, Bromberg had a solid following among smooth jazz fans, which caused him to want to shift gears a little and put out a straight ahead jazz record. His fifth release was the aptly named, It's About Time, The Acoustic Project. This is an all-acoustic jazz record that reached number four on the mainstream jazz charts in 1991. Here, Bromberg is content with a trio that includes Freddie Hubbard and Ernie Watts. The warm tone of Bromberg's upright bass is very present in the mix, but never reaches a point where it infringes on the other instruments' space.
After It's About Time, The Acoustic Project Bromberg returned to making more modern smooth jazz music. His next record, Brian Bromberg (1993), was unsuccessful because the label endorsing it went out of business the week of its release.
In 1996, after a short break from recording to design basses for Peavey and touring as a clinician, Bromberg signed with Zebra records. He recorded what many consider to be his greatest smooth jazz album. In February 1998, Bromberg released You Know That Feeling The release featured Bromberg surrounded by other notables in the smooth jazz genre such as Rick Braun, Joe Sample, Jeff Lorber, and Everette Harp. The album became Bromberg's most successful, later to be topped by Wood, and his first smooth jazz number one record of his career. You know that feeling had three singles in a row that each went to number three on the charts. It Spent seventeen consecutive months on the charts, eight months in the top ten, nearly six months in the top five. Bromberg's CD was the fifth most-played CD from the top 100 CDs of the year in smooth jazz. Pieces from You Know That Feeling are still regularly played in smooth jazz stations across America. Additionally, in 2003, Bromberg made a record simply titled Jaco in which he performs many of Jaco Pastorius' notable pieces.
However, after You Know That Feeling, some of Bromberg's newer releases have stylistically deviated from his smooth jazz roots. 2002's Wood, produced by a Japanese label, features straight-ahead acoustic jazz playing, much like It's About Time..., but this time with pianist Randy Waldman and brother David on drums. However, Wood along with its 2005 follow-up, Wood 2, contains jazz renditions of pieces that other artists in his field would not touch. Songs such as Kansas' "Carry on My Wayward Son" and Paul McCartney's "Let 'Em In" are tackled by Bromberg alone. One may think that the solo tracks would feel empty when played by only one instrumentalist. However, on these tracks, Bromberg showcases all of his techniques, such as tapping on the upright bass and his ability to play two- and three-note chords on demand, and musical ability to sound often like four players at once, having his 300-year-old Matteo Guersam Italian upright bass digest the rock pieces and spit them out with jazz flavoring that does not completely alter their original feel. Other than the strictly solo pieces, Wood (recorded in 24/96 at Mad Hatter Studios in Los Angeles) and Wood 2 (the latter featuring drummer Vinnie Colaiuta in place of David Bromberg) contain the trio's interpretations of various pieces from other jazz composers such as Wayne Shorter and Woody Herman.
On an even sharper turn away from his smooth jazz past, Bromberg released 2005's Metal, which featured Bromberg on bass, Bromberg on a heavily altered piccolo bass made to sound exactly like a guitar, and drummer Joel Taylor. Bromberg uses the entire album to display his modern rock riff writing abilities, as well as his knack for soloing over them. Fans of Bromberg's technical side will not be disappointed here. The entire album contains furiously rapid-fire solos that successfully compete with the most accomplished guitar players today.
As a producer, Bromberg has produced eight top-ten hits, seven top-five hits and two number-one hits to date. Apart from his 300-yearold double bass, he uses Dean, Bob Mick, Mick Donner and Peavey basses with Epifani amplification. He also owns a signature edition Carvin bass.
Randy Brecker Biography
Randal Edward "Randy" Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter and flugelhornist. His versatility in different musical genres has made him a sought-after player, equally accomplished in playing jazz, rock, and R&B. He has also worked as a studio player for many famous musicians. He has performed or recorded with Stanley Turrentine, Billy Cobham, Larry Coryell, Bruce Springsteen, Lou Reed, Sandip Burman, Charles Mingus, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Horace Silver, Frank Zappa, Parliament-Funkadelic, Chris Parker, Jaco Pastorius, Dire Straits, Todd Rundgren, Blue Öyster Cult, Richard Barone, Spyro Gyra, Barbara Dennerlein and many others. In his formative years, Brecker studied trumpet with Bill Adam at Indiana University.
Early life:
Brecker was born on November 27, 1945 in the Philadelphia suburb of Cheltenham to a musical family. His father Bob (Bobby) was a lawyer who played jazz piano and his mother Sylvia was a portrait artist. Randy described his father as "a semipro jazz pianist and trumpet fanatic. In school when I was eight, they only offered trumpet or clarinet. I chose trumpet from hearing Diz, Miles, Clifford, and Chet Baker at home. My brother Michael Brecker didn't want to play the same instrument as I did, so three years later he chose the clarinet!" Randy's father, Bob, was also a songwriter and singer who loved to listen to recordings of the great jazz trumpet players such as Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie and Clifford Brown. He took Randy and his younger brother Michael Brecker to see Davis, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, and many other jazz icons. Brecker attended Cheltenham High School from 1959 to 1963 and then Indiana University from 1963 to 1966 studying with Bill Adam, David Baker and Jerry Coker and later moved to New York and performed with Clark Terry's Big Bad Band, the Duke Pearson and the The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra.
Career:
In 1967, Brecker ventured into jazz-rock with the band Blood, Sweat & Tears, on their first album Child Is Father to the Man, but left to join the Horace Silver Quintet. Brecker recorded his first solo album, Score, in 1968, featuring his brother Michael Brecker.
After Horace Silver, Randy Brecker joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers before teaming up with brother Michael, Barry Rogers, Billy Cobham, and John Abercrombie to form the fusion group Dreams. The group recorded two albums: Dreams and Imagine My Surprise for Columbia Records before they disbanded in 1971.
In the early 1970s, Brecker performed live with many artists including The Eleventh House, Stevie Wonder and Billy Cobham. He also recorded several albums with his brother under pianist/composer Hal Galper.
By 1975, Randy and Michael formed the Brecker Brothers band. They released six albums on Arista and garnered seven Grammy nominations between 1975 and 1981. Their first record featured Randy's composition "Some Skunk Funk".
After the Brecker Brothers disbanded in 1982, Randy recorded and toured as a member of Jaco Pastorius' Word of Mouth big band. It was soon thereafter that he met and later married Brazilian jazz pianist Eliane Elias. Eliane and Randy formed their own band, touring the world several times and recording one album together, Amanda on Passport Records.
In 1992 Randy and Michael reunited for a world tour and the triple-Grammy nominated GRP recording The Return of the Brecker Brothers. The follow-up, 1994's Out of the Loop, was a double-Grammy winner. In 1995 he was featured on Turtles, an album by Polish composer Włodek Pawlik.
In 1997, Into the Sun (Concord), a recording featuring Brecker's impressions of Brazil, garnered Brecker his first Grammy as a solo artist.
In 2001, Brecker released Hangin' in the City (ESC), a solo project that introduced his alter-ego Randroid with lyrics and vocals by Randroid himself. This CD was released in Europe, where Brecker toured extensively with his own line-up.
Brecker's next CD for ESC Records, 34th N Lex, won him his third Grammy for Best Contemporary Jazz Album in 2003. That summer he went back to Europe with the Bill Evans Soulbop Band.
In the summer of 2003 the Brecker Brothers appeared in Japan at the Mount Fuji Jazz Festival.
2004 saw Brecker touring Europe as co-leader (with Bill Evans) of the band Soulbop. The WDR Big Band also invited Brecker to perform at the Jazz Fest. The date was of significance to Randy as it was the last time he played with his brother, who took ill shortly thereafter with a rare form of leukemia known as MDS.
In 2005, Brecker's wife Ada sat in for the first time. Brecker's schedule continued with the Randy Brecker Band performing throughout Eastern Europe.
In 2007, Brecker was awarded his fourth Grammy for Randy Brecker Live with the WDR Big Band (Telarc/BHM), the live recording (also available in DVD format) of his performance with Michael at the Leverkusen Jazz Fest in 2004. Michael died that same year on January 13.
2007 also saw the release of a two-CD set of live recordings of the band Soulbop (BHM) featuring Dave Kikoski, Victor Bailey, Steve Smith, Rodney Holmes and Hiram Bullock.
Brecker returned to Brazilian music in 2008 for the album Randy in Brazil, which was recorded in São Paulo with Brazilian musicians and released on Summit Records. Chosen as one of the top 10 CDs of 2008 by All About Jazz, the CD won the Grammy for "Best Contemporary Jazz Album", bringing his Grammy total to five.
A Tribute to the Brecker Brothers featuring Randy and recorded live at the Hamamatsu Jazz Festival in Japan with Yoichi Murata's Solid Brass & Big Band was released by JVC Victor in Japan in late 2008.
In 2009, Brecker released Jazz Suite Tykocin, a project initiated and conceived by Włodek Pawlik, featuring Randy as a soloist with members of the Bialystok Philharmonic. Tykocin is the area in Poland where Brkecken's ancestors (mother's maiden name: Tecosky) hail from, a fact that Pawlik discovered.
2011 saw the release of The Jazz Ballad Song Book: Randy Brecker with the Danish Radio Big Band and The Danish National Chamber Orchestra, which garnered four Grammy nominations and critical acclaim. In 2012, Legacy Recordings released the boxed set The Brecker Brothers - The Complete Arista Albums Collection. In November of that year the album Night in Calisia, a collaboration between Brecker, the Wlodek Pawlik Trio, the Kalisz Philharmonic Orchestra and Adam Klocek was released in Poland. The album came out in the US in August 2013, and won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album, Brecker's sixth Grammy Award.
A Brecker Brothers Band Reunion tour of European festivals in the summer of 2013 supported Brecker's Brecker Brothers Band Reunion, a dual-disk project which was released on September 25, 2013 on Piloo Records. It features a live DVD recorded at the Blue Note in New York City with a new 11-song studio recording featuring members of the Brecker Brothers bands from throughout the years including David Sanborn, Mike Stern, Bill Lee, and Dave Weckl. George Whitty produced the album, and Brecker's wife Ada Rovatti also played saxophone. The recording was released in North America by Magenta/E-One, in Europe by Moosicus Records in November and in Japan by Victor. It is dedicated to his brother, Michael, and other departed Brecker Brothers Band members.
Gerald Veasley Biography
Gerald Veasley (born July 28, 1955) is an American jazz bass guitarist.
Veasley was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he played in R&B groups as a teenager. He worked with Joe Zawinul from 1988 to 1995, and began releasing his own records in 1992. He has also done extensive work as a studio musician. His 2008 release Your Move hit #12 on the U.S. Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.
Veasley has also worked as a smooth jazz DJ on WJJZ in Philadelphia.
Source content provided by: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Veasley
