Artists Bio
MSU Professors of Jazz
with Sophie Milman
Straight Ahead
Hot Club of Detroit
Detroit Tenors
The Detroit Tenors, featuring tenor saxophonists Steve Wood and Carl Cafagna, are a celebration of one of the great traditions in jazz - the tenor saxophone duel. This tradition dates back to the swing era, when giants like Lester Young, Herschel Evans and Coleman Hawkins battled it out in big bands and at late-night jam sessions. Wood and Cafagna have performed together in a number of big bands, most notably the big band led by Scott Gwinnell, who accompanied Wood and Cafagna on piano. They are both involved in jazz education and maintain active performance schedules at clubs and concerts throughout the Midwest region.
Hot Club of Detroit
The Hot Club of Detroit plays a swinging style of gypsy jazz popularized by Django
Reinhardt’s Hot Club of Paris Quintet. With an authentic European Gypsy twist all
their own, the group’s sound is reminiscent of the 1920’s, 1930’s and
1940’s American traditional jazz music scene. Members of the Hot Club of Detroit
include
Evan Perri on lead guitar, Colton Weatherston on rhythm guitar, Paul Brady on rhythm
guitar, Shannon Wade on bass and Carl Cafagna on saxaphone.
[website]
Straight Ahead
Straight from the many stages of Detroit’s extraordinary jazz scene comes the groundbreaking, all-female jazz group Straight Ahead. A group of strong, inventive instrumentalists and vocalists, Straight Ahead has proven themselves to be a powerful and imaginative group of composers and arrangers. Widely recognized for their eclectic and soulful approach to creating music, the ensemble’s sound ranges from mainstream jazz to contemporary, Latin and hip hop. Straight Ahead’s live performances are a dynamic celebration of power and joy, with a wide range of musical textures, moods and tempos.
Community Music School Jazz Orchestra
This 20-plus-piece ensemble, under the direction of Rodney Whitaker and Diego Rivera, jazz studies faculty members from the MSU College of Music, is comprised of young, high school and middle school-aged musicians participating in the annual summer jazz camp hosted by the MSU Community Music School. This ensemble will play the music of jazz greats, including Duke Ellington and Count Basie.
Sunny Wilkinson Quartet
Sunny Wilkinson has claimed her place within an elite group of jazz vocalists who have stretched the boundaries and found themselves to be “one of a kind.” The Sunny Wilkinson Quartet is exciting, eclectic and intimate. They have played concerts across Michigan and Canada, exploring jazz standards, Brazilian music and contemporary jazz. Members of the Sunny Wilkinson Quartet include Ed Fedewa on bass, Ron Newman on piano, Larry Ochiltree on drums and Sunny Wilkinson on vocals.
Colton Weatherston
Famous around the Detroit jazz scene for his vintage style, Colton Weatherston performs with a classic blend of emotive ballads, groovy bossa nova, jazz standards and 1920’s swing. Colton is a quadruple threat when you combine his ability to sing, play guitar, arrange music and lead a band. Weatherston’s seven-piece jazz orchestra performs timeless repertoire by such luminaries as Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton and Fletcher Henderson. The sounds of the Roaring Twenties create a spirited setting for his elegant vocal stylings. [website]
MSU Professors of Jazz with Sophie Milman
The MSU Professors of Jazz are members of the jazz faculty at Michigan State University’s
College of Music. This stellar “hard-bop” band ensemble, led
by Rodney Whitaker,
was established in 2000 to facilitate outreach and recruitment at MSU. The group
has since expanded to an eight-piece ensemble, featuring Wes Anderson on the alto
saxophone, Derrick Gardner on trumpet, Randy Gelispie
on drums, Diego Rivera on tenor saxophone, Rick Roe on piano and artistic
director Rodney Whitaker on bass. [website]
The MSU Professors of Jazz will join international jazz sensation Sophie Milman. This Russian-born, 25-year-old jazz vocalist has released two albums since her arrival on the jazz scene in 2004. Her self-titled debut has sold almost 100,000 copies worldwide, hit the Billboard Top 5 in Canada and made it to the Billboard Top 15 in the United States. Her newest album, “Make Someone Happy,” was released in August 2007. Featuring 15 powerful, new tracks, the album shot to #1 on the iTunes Jazz Charts days after its release and recently won the Vocal Jazz Album of the Year at the 2008 Juno Awards. [website]
Tumbao Bravo
A six-piece Cuban jazz combo formed in 2003 by Alberto Nacif and Paul VornHagen, Tumbao Bravo has made a name for itself performing at numerous festivals and clubs in the Detroit area. Winning the Detroit Music Award for "Outstanding Jazz CD" in 2005 and "Best World Music CD" in 2007, the group has explored a wide range of sounds and a wide range of instruments, including mambos, cha chas, rumbas and boleros. Festival goers can expect plenty of dancing and excitement when Tumbao Bravo takes the stage this year with both new and classic Cuban jazz tunes. Members of the group include Alberto Nacif on the congas and bongos; Paul Vornhagen on the flute, piccolo and sax; Javier Barrios on timbales; Wesley Reynoso on piano; Bob Mojica on the trumpet and flugelhorn; and Pat Prouty on bass. [website]