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Scott Neumann -- Drums The cat that gives us the drive is none other than one of New York's best drummers, Oklahoma's own Scott Neumann. His bio follows: Scott Neumann, a Bartlesville Oklahoma native, began playing drums professionally at the age of thirteen. His first major work was with The Woody Herman Orchestra, which he joined in 1988. Since moving to New York City, Scott has established himself as one of New York’s most creative and versatile drummers. Scott currently leads and composes for his band Osage County. The band’s critically acclaimed members include David Berkman, Sam Newsome and Don Falzone. Osage County’s self titled debut CD is being released in the spring of 2006 on Chicken Coup Records (Summit). The band has been touring throughout the Northeast the past three years. Scott's Jazz credits include touring with Anthony Cox, Makoto Ozone and Brother Jack McDuff. While in New York City, Scott has worked with Grady Tate, Chris Potter, Joshua Redman and Kenny Barron. “Downtown” musical associations include collaborations with Steven Bernstein and The Jazz Composers Collective (Ben Allison and Michael Blake). Large Ensemble performances include the Grammy nominated Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and Maria Schneider Orchestra. Scott has played on over 25 albums and has recorded with artists including Kenny Werner, David Liebman, Eddie Gomez and Claudio Roditi. Since 1998 Scott has been in the forefront of the emerging “Jam Band”/ “Roots” musical phenomenon. Scott joined the Vermont based Jazz Mandolin Project in 1998 for a year. Since 2000 Scott has been a member of banjo virtuoso's Tony Trischka's band. The band's latest recording “New Deal”(Rounder) further exemplifies Scott's ability to traverse a wide spectrum of musical terrain. Scott has collaborated with Tony to perform with Vassar Clements, Darol Anger and Mike Marshall. Since 1999, Scott has also demonstrated his musical versatility with his work in Broadway musicals. Scott was the featured drummer in Swing! Other show credits include 42nd Street, Cabaret, and Avenue Q. Scott is currently the director of drum set studies at Lehigh University. And, he teaches percussion and jazz ensembles at The Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn, New York. Scott has been an artist in residence at high schools, colleges and universities throughout the United States and Europe. Scott's educational background includes a Bachelor of Music Education from North Texas State University, where he studied with Colin Bailey and Henry Okstel. In 1985 and 1986 Scott received a scholarship to attend the Jazz Workshop at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. Scott plays G.M.S drums, Sabian cymbals and Aquarian drumheads exclusively.
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PETE McGUINNESS Trombonist/Arranger/Educator As a young man growing up in West Hartford, Connecticut, Pete spent his teen-age years studying jazz trombone and arranging, sitting-in with the local Hartford-area professionals musicians, as well as participating in the renowned Hall High School jazz program. By this time, Pete had become firmly committed to a future as a jazz musician. He went on for his formal musical training at the New England Conservatory, the University of Miami (Bachelor of Music in jazz 1986), and finally onto New York City, attending the Manhattan School of Music (Master of Music in jazz, 1987). From that point on, Pete became busy in the NYC jazz scene as a trombonist, an arranger-composer, and later a jazz vocalist and jazz educator as well. As a trombonist, he has performed with such well-known jazz artists/groups as The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, the Woody Herman big band (dir. By Frank Tibieri), Lionel Hampton, Dave Pietro, Mike Holober, Anita Brown, Scott Whitfield, the nonets of both Jim Cifelli and Mike Kaplan, and appears on over 20 jazz CDs. He also became very busy in the New York Broadway show scene, having performed with the orchestras of over 17 shows since 1991. From 1988-1990, Pete studied with Bob Brookmeyer and Manny Albam as part of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, and has since established himself as a respected composer-arranger. He has received numerous commissions over the years for original compositions and arrangements, including those from from the National Endowment for the Arts, Dave Liebman, The Gotham Winds Symphony, and the University of Miami Concert Jazz Band. Pete is a regular contributing arranger for the Westchester Jazz Orchestra, as well as the composer/arranger for his own ensemble - The Pete McGuinness Jazz Orchestra (click on the Jazz Orchestra page for more on the group). In the early 1990's, Pete formed the first of several groups he would lead/co-lead, with The Pete McGuinness Quintet. The group's debut CD "Sliding In" was released nation-wide in 1998 on Kokopelli Records, receiving much radio airplay and acclaim. It was in these years that Pete also developed his jazz vocal talents, landing him in the semi-finals of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Vocal Competition (1994). His most recent project is the formation of his own big band - The Pete McGuinness Jazz Orchestra, which began performing in the NYC area in 2006. The group's debut CD "First Flight" was released nation-wide in June of 2007 on the Summit record label (see the Jazz Orchestra page for more on the band/info on ordering the CD). As a jazz educator, Pete has been on the music faculty of New Jersey City University (Jersey City, NJ) since 1994, where he teaches jazz trombone, arranging, improvisation, and coaches various ensembles. He has also been invited to give clinics on a variety of jazz subjects at both high schools and college jazz programs throughout the country, including the University of Miami, and City College, NYC (CUNY), Temple University, and Hall High School (West Hartford, CT). Pete is available for concerts/clinics year-round. He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife Joan and their dog Daisy.
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For his debut as a leader, tenor saxophonist Michael Karn teams up here with two of his Criss Cross labelmates, guitarist Peter Bernstein and pianist David Hazeltine. The rhythm section players, bassist Reuben Rogers and drummer Gregory Hutchinson, happen to have appeared on Beyond, the 2000 release of another fine yet far more recognized tenor man, Joshua Redman. Karn is in excellent form, displaying a husky sound and an advanced, fleet-fingered improvisational approach. Bernstein contributes the singing-yet-biting solos for which he's well known. Hazeltine shines, especially as an accompanist on Karn's tenor/piano ballad "D and B." Overall, the playing is more interesting than the compositions themselves. There are some nice arranging touches, however. The quintet plays "Smile," a Charlie Chaplin tune once recorded by Dexter Gordon, in a furious double-time. They play "A Time for Love" in the usual ballad fashion, but with Bernstein providing the only accompaniment and Hazeltine laying out. Karn reaches into the hard bop vaults with Grant Green's slow-grooving "Grant's Tune" and Clifford Jordan's "The Highest Mountain." He roars on his own "One Bedroom Blues" and craftily negotiates the contours of "Momentum," the opener. The record doesn't exactly break any ground, but it's a solid straight-ahead outing that gets Karn's career as a leader off to a good start. ~ David R. Adler, All Music Guide | | | |
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Sean Smith Bassist and Composer Bassist and composer Sean Smith has been part of the international jazz scene for more than 19 years. He has appeared in many of the major jazz rooms and concert halls all over the world.
Sean has performed with many jazz superstars including Gerry Mulligan, Phil Woods, Benny Carter, Flip Phillips, Clark Terry, Lee Konitz, Art Farmer, and Tom Harrell. He has also been the accompanist of choice for such world-renowned vocalists as Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, Mark Murphy, Jimmy Scott, and Andy Bey. A Manhattan School of Music graduate, Sean is also a prolific composer whose works have been played and recorded by such artists as Phil Woods, Mark Murphy, Bill Charlap, Gene Bertoncini, Bill Mays, and Leon Parker. His Song For The Geese was recorded by Mark Murphy as the title track of Murphy’s RCA/BMG release, which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1998. Sean received a Bistro Award for outstanding instrumentalist in 2007. Sean’s first recording, Sean Smith Quartet Live! (on Chiaroscuro), featured some of his compositions and was received with outstanding reviews. Sean’s most recent recording, Poise (on Ambient), features new compositions performed by his working quartet. Sean’s quartet consists of John Ellis (saxophones), Keith Ganz (guitar), Russell Meissner (drums), and Sean on Bass. Sean Smith is based in New York.
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Tim Regusis hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico and was born in an Adobe condominium. His earliest experience with the piano came when he took a job as a piano mover just shy of his sixth birthday. The family was poor and only had one piano so Tim had to go to work to supplement their habit. His prodgious talent on the instrument became apparent when it was realized he could not move a piano without playing "Knights In White Satin" on it while the instrument was moving with increasing velocity down stairs. Tim received many requests for that time-worn chestnut as well as for "Free Bird", "American Pie" , and for his tour de force, "Ring Around The Rosie" with Miles Davis. Of course, Miles was much younger then. Many years later, Regusis graduated from "college" after five-to-ten years of hard "work" (he later boasted that he "graduated" early due to good behavior) and accompanied Patti Austin (vocalist) to the opening night performance of "Horowitz in Moscow" in Minsk. When Regusis unexpectedly pushed Horowitz off the stage, he moved the general public by playing several pieces by Scriabin beautifully. He also guessed the weight of the audience, demonstrated the abrupt diminuendo associated with Russian Roulette (the audience particpant later played the harp with great virtuosity), sawed a trombone in half and pulled Lenin out of a hat. Regusis, who boasts a range of over four octaves-- not however on the piano--has also been a favorite of David Byrne now that Byrne wears clothing that fits. An avid Marxist just slightly to the left of Trotsky, Regusis never misses an opportunity to perform Tschaikovsky, Stravinsky or Mussorgsky for Vladimir Putin except when Putin is violating human rights in Georgia. Tim is currently working on a sonata appropriately entitled "Happiness is a Thing called Joe Stalin", an original piece for balalaika entitled "Urals Always On My Mind" and a major reworking of "Georgia On My Mind" complete with double entrendres featuring a large solo passage for Sousaphone. Regusis cites his primary influences as Stephen Foster, Scott Joplin, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Harry The Horse, Nicely Nicely Johnson, Nathan Detroit, Fats Waller, Fats Domino, Minnesota Fats, Art Tatum, Art Carney, Duke Ellington, Erroll Garner, James Garner, Dodo Marmarosa, Teddy Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Flip Wilson, Woodrow Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, Natalie Cole, "Bituminous" Cole, Kenny Barron, Baron Von Richthousen and Schroeder. A regular member of The Joe Traina Quintet (unless any other paying gig crops up and then he's there in a heartbeat), Regusis considers it a privilege to perform with Traina because the payment is usually in cash, traveller's cheques or rubles and he can (and certainly does) wear foam ear plugs on the gig without detection. Regusis has left his piano to the NYU Medical Center to be studied after his departure to JFK. The Center will be coming for Tim and the piano any day now. Tim also performs jazz.
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