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Jazz/Commercial Roster
The Chicago Yestet Jeff Coffin - saxophone Connye Florance - vocals Tom Garling - trombone Randy Napoleon - guitar Steve Patrick - trumpet Jeff "Apt. Q-258" Sipe - drums Otis Taylor - trance blues Dan Trudell - piano/Hammond B3 Royel "Futureman" Wooten - Ethnomusicology/Percussion/Rhythm Download 2011-12 Jazz/Commercial Roster brochure The Chicago Yestet – www.chicagoyestet.com  Comprised of an all-star lineup of Chicago’s finest jazz musicians, the Yestet features original, groove-oriented jazz and the spoken word artistry of Rob Dz, and is one of the premiere jazz ensembles in the country. The Chicago Yestet is uniquely positioned to handle the sprawling clinician and guest artist demands of large high school and college jazz festivals. The band can conduct large clinics as an ensemble as well as focused breakout sessions utilizing its members individually – 3 saxophonists, 2 trumpet players, 2 trombone players (one of them is the group’s resident composer/arranger), a full rhythm section, a vocalist, and the unique perspective of its resident spoken word artist. Inquire about booking The Chicago Yestet Jeff Coffin – saxophone – www.jeffcoffin.com  3x Grammy-winning, internationally acclaimed saxophonist, composer, and educator Jeff Coffin is a member of Dave Matthews Band, and Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, as well as fronting his own band, the Mu’tet. He is a Yamaha Performing Artist and has presented nearly 200 clinics around the world.During his clinics Jeff reinforces, by example, the importance of fundamentals and helps the students further understand and discover the essential building blocks or “roots” of music. A perspective-changing, genre-busting solo performance starts the ball rolling and is followed by a thoughtful, open, candid, back-and-forth discussion with the students about what they heard, felt and thought. During this discussion, Jeff ties in the fundamentals he considers to be the most essential for students…"THE BIG 5 " ~ Listening Skills, Tone & Dynamics, Rhythm & Time, Harmony, and Articulation. The Mu’tet is available to be integrated into clinic and guest artist appearances. Jeff's original big band charts are also available from UNC Press/University of Northern Colorado. Inquire about booking Jeff Coffin or Jeff Coffin & the Mu'tet Connye Florance – vocals – www.connyeflorance.com  Connye Florance has enjoyed more than 25 years as a professional vocalist and performing artist, and was named “Jazz Vocalist of the Year” by Black Entertainment Television in 2000. She serves on the Executive Board of the Nashville Jazz Workshop and is one of its most sought after performance instructors. Connye is known for her personally engaged and straight-forward educational approach. She works with students to clearly identify their primary strengths and weaknesses in vocal performance, and to enhance their overall skill in presentation of prepared materials in areas of style, interpretation and presence. She’ll also help them to define and refine their professional development goals and needs including professional image, materials, confidence, and career preparedness. “I thought the class was about singing (and it was), but it turned out to be a turning point in my life. Connye taught me how to give my songs unselfishly to my audience. She taught me the importance of being vulnerable, as difficult as that is for me. And she taught me how to paint a picture and share my heart about that picture. Her instincts about what an individual singer needs in order to be at their best are impeccable.” -Lynn Lewis Inquire about booking Connye Florance Tom Garling – trombone – www.tomgarling.com  Buddy Rich: “Tom Garling is going to have a very, very strong future in jazz.” An alumnus of Buddy Rich’s last touring band, Tom Garling went on to complete two degrees at the University of Miami, amass performance credits that include Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, and Randy Brecker, and then join Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau Band, where he spent six years as Musical Director and Trombonist. As a well known artist that has been in high demand as a clinician and guest soloist around the world for the past 20 years, Tom is very comfortable in a number of formats, from one-on-one lessons to full auditorium lecture and performance clinics, to coaching big bands and small groups. A range of topics can be covered, such as jazz improvisation, composing and arranging, performance considerations, interpretation, and the business of music. Students will get clear and concise instruction, with demonstrations that will engage and inspire. Inquire about booking Tom Garling New Addition! Randy Klein - It's About the Music, It's About the Business of Music - www.randyklein.com More information coming soon... Inquire about booking Randy Klein Randy Napoleon – guitar – www.randynapoleon.com  Vintage Guitar Magazine (March 2010): What younger jazz guitarists stand out to you?George Benson: “I like the guitar player who's playing with Freddy Cole [Randy Napoleon]. He has an all-fingers approach; he doesn't use just thumb or pick. He's spectacular.” With stints in the bands of Michael Buble, Freddy Cole, and Benny Green, Randy Napoleon is one of the most sought after guitarists in New York, where he is known as a forward-thinking musician with a passion for the jazz guitar tradition. Randy’s clinics focus on key fundamentals that are often overlooked in jazz performance. How do you play the melody to a standard? What does it mean to comp? What are your priorities when playing an improvised solo? His career, both in the New York jazz scene and as an internationally touring sideman, has exposed him to a lot of different models for survival as a musician in the 2000’s and he enjoys sharing this perspective with students. Inquire about booking Randy Napoleon Steve Patrick – trumpet – www.spmusicalservices.com  A graduate of Indiana University, where he studied with David Baker, Dominic Spera, and Bill Adam, Steve Patrick is the top-call lead trumpet player in Nashville’s renowned studio scene and is in demand across all genres. His thousands of recording credits include Marc Broussard, Take 6, Colbie Caillat, Matchbox 20, Elton John, Trey Anastasio, Norah Jones, Vince Gill, Willie Nelson, and Garth Brooks, to name a few, and he has performed and toured live with artists such as Maynard Ferguson, Randy Brecker, Paul Simon, Ben Folds, Aretha Franklin, and Michael McDonald. Steve is a diverse musician that relates to the “common” trumpet player. His clinics reflect the variety of his career and cover all genres as well as all of the horns. He touches on everything from a systematic daily approach to the instrument to the way we listen to music, and discusses how those two concepts can be integrated to help us become the player that we hear in our head. Inquire about booking Steve Patrick Jeff Sipe (aka Apt. Q-258) – drums – www.reverbnation.com/jeffsipeakaaptq258  Jeff Sipe is a world renowned drummer whose performance credits include Phil Lesh, Aquarium Rescue Unit, Trey Anastasio Band, Sam Bush, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Jimmy Herring Band, Jeff Coffin & the Mu’tet, Jazz Is Dead, Bela Fleck, Earl Scruggs, Del McCoury, Taj Mahal, Waylon Jennings, Mike Stern, Steve Bailey, Victor Wooten, Chuck Leavell, Steve Vai, and the Jeff Sipe Trio. His print features include Modern Drummer magazine, Drumhead Magazine, The New York Times, and Relix, and he is an endorsing artist for Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks, Sonor drums, and Evans heads. Jeff is in demand as a teacher for students at all levels, both privately and through workshops and clinics. He specializes in offering insights into rhythmic phrasing for all instruments, techniques for honing time, style demonstrations, and patterns for building original beats. Inquire about booking Jeff Sipe Otis Taylor – it’s not about what instrument he plays, it’s about what he does with it… www.otistaylor.com  “Sometimes pigeonholed as a bluesman, Otis Taylor can’t be defined by any single category,” proclaims Spin magazine. According to Ann Powers at the Los Angeles Times, “Gentle upon first listen, blending the austerity of Delta blues with the expansiveness of free jazz, Taylor's ancient-sounding, avant-garde ‘trance blues’ has a dangerous pull.” DownBeat’s Critics Poll has recognized Taylor’s albums with “Blues Album of the Year” honors four times.Otis can strip away students’ inhibitions and show them a new way to approach music-making – a newly discovered doorway to the building that is improvisation and the creation of music and musical expression. A Class of 2000 composition fellow at the Sundance Institute, he will share his concept of “layering” and help musicians of all kinds to create variety in their music – in the absence of traditional chord changes – by creating a musical fabric that draws on any instruments and any musical backgrounds available. He will demonstrate his belief that anything is possible in music, and that there is more than one way to engage with the spirit of music, to hear it, and to find your own space in it. Inquire about booking Otis Taylor Dan Trudell – piano/organ – www.dantrudell.com  Voted a “Rising Star” by DownBeat, Dan Trudell has toured all over the world as a sideman with Aretha Franklin, Kenny Burrell, Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Buddy DeFranco, Roy Hargrove, Jeff Hamilton, Kurt Elling, Anne Hampton Calloway, Joe Williams, Jimmy Heath, Doug Lawrence, Jerry Weldon, Jim Rotondi, and Eric Alexander among others. He holds the piano chair in the Chicago Jazz Orchestra and fronts his own groups, appearing regularly at the famous Green Mill. Dan’s clinics focus on bridging the gap between jazz theory and real-life performance by allowing students to watch and listen to his musical samples. He demonstrates different techniques relating to touch on piano, playing bass lines on organ, etc., and explains why these techniques work and how they relate to rhythm and emotion in music. Dan’s collection of classic organ/big band charts allows him to present entire concerts as a guest organ soloist – including a complete holiday show. A list of charts is available upon request. Inquire about booking Dan Trudell Royel “Futureman” Wooten – Ethnomusicology/Percussion/Rhythm How Jazz and American Culture Revolutionized European Classical Music  "The future music of this country must be founded upon what are called the negro melodies... These are the folk songs of America." - Antonin Dvorak "You Americans take jazz too lightly." - Maurice Ravel "Jazz meant a wholly new sound in my music." - Igor Stravinsky Known throughout the world as the charismatic 5x Grammy-winning percussionist and founding member of the groundbreaking band Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Futureman is also an accomplished composer and probing musical historian and ethnomusicologist. In addition to percussion and rhythm workshops, he leads students in an exciting horizon-expanding performance/lecture presentation. His research and insights will invigorate and expose students to an unforgettable model for lifelong learning, emphasizing the great influence and impact of American music and culture upon European classical music. Inquire about booking Royel "Futureman" Wooten |
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