Chris Pasin, a graduate of the New England Conservatory, spent two years playing with the Buddy Rich band in the early 80’s, touring with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, and many others. Then he relocated to New York City. Much of the next decade was spent playing jazz with various groups, including the Toshiko Akiyoshi/Lew Tabackin big band. There was also work with Jack McDuff, many Salsa bands like Johnny Rodriguez and Brazilian bands like Amazon, and various other jazz ensembles, including the Lee Shaw quintet in recent years.
He’s performed at Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater, the Royal Albert Hall, the Village Vanguard, Ronnie Scott’s, and the Blue Note, among others, and toured Europe and Asia many times.
Contemporary Jazz Guitarist Jeff Ciampa has recorded and toured with some of the most demanding practitioners, including Harry Belafonte, Jon Lucien, Dave Matthews, Mark Egan, Bill Evans, Al MacDowell, Ornette Coleman, Lew Solof, Pete Levin, Tony Levin, Lenny White, to name a few. His fluid melodic style, steeped in the jazz tradition, continues to inspire fellow musicians and listeners worldwide.
Jeff has recorded two critically acclaimed recordings on Mark Egan’s Wavetone label, Signs of Life and House of Mirror featuring Mark Egan and Danny Gottlieb. Subsequently, the popular trio was booked into major jazz festivals, including the JVC in New York City, the Newport Jazz Festival
in Rhode Island, the St. Lucia Jazz Festival, and the St. Kitt’s Jazz Festival.
Todd Anderson began his musical career at 15 in the San Francisco Bay Area and was part of the “East Bay” sound, made famous by the Tower of Power. He played and recorded with Cold Blood and the Loading Zone and appeared countless times at the Filmore West. He then migrated East to the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he received a degree in Composition and then joined the faculty specializing in harmony and arranging. Eventually he moved to New York City where he joined congaro Ray Barretto’s band for ten years. He recorded many albums with Ray, the most renowned of which is the Fania classic, “Rican Struction.” Todd first came to the attention of the general public for his work on two classic Latin jazz albums by composer/vibist Bobby Paunetto, “Paunetto’s Point” and “Commit to Memory.” He was a featured soloist and contributed several compositions/arrangements, the most well known of which are “TAZ” and “Dragon Breath.” The critics of Latin New York magazine twice pronounced him Latin jazz soloist of the year for his work on these Grammy nominated albums. He was also one of the main recording engineers for “Commit to Memory” and is listed as one fo the producers along with Bobby Paunetto and Jim Czak. These albums have recently been reissued by R.S.V.P. Jazz Records as a double CD entitled, “Commit to Memory / Paunetto’s Point.”
Veteran trombonist Tim Sessions has spent more than three decades on the New York jazz and Broadway scenes, performing with the Dave Liebman Big Band, Bobby Sanabria, Clark Terry, Paquito D’Rivera, David Sanborn and Tony Bennett. A longtime Broadway musician and accomplished composer and arranger, Sessions brings a deep jazz pedigree and formidable versatility to the bandstand.
BRAM KINCHELOE is a professional musician and writer. He started studying drums with renowned teacher Barbara Borden at the age of four. At eleven, he graduated to her teacher, Chuck Brown, who had also taught Terry Bozzio, Will Kennedy, and Dave Garibaldi. He was the youngest student ever accepted into Chuck Brown’s studio. In 2002 at the tender age of sixteen, Bram moved to New York City on his own to pursue a career in jazz drumming. He attended Laguardia School of Performing Arts for one year before being accepted into Manhattan School of Music. While at Manhattan, attending on a Zildjian scholarship, he studied with Justin DiCioccio. During this time, he also studied composition and piano with Garry Dial, and was involved in various recording and performing projects headed by Dick Oatts, Steve Slagel, Kenny Wollesen, and many more. He has been honored to share the stage with Lee Konitz, Branford Marsalis, Ambrose Akinmusire, Wynton Marsalis, Ben Street, Steve Cardenas and many others.
Otto is a founding member of Schenectady’s Empire Jazz Orchestra, in which he has played for more than 22 years, along with such Jazz Master guests as Jimmy Heath, Lou Soloff, Curtis Fuller, Rufus Reid, and Benny Golson. He has also played with scores of artists including James Spalding, J. R. Montrose, Arthur Rhames, Buddy Greco, Margaret Whiting, Hal Galper, Nick Brignola, Randy Brecker, Lee Shaw, and Lincoln Mayorga.