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Take Five with Tap Dancer Petra Haller
by AAJ Staff
Meet Petra Haller Petra Haller, based in jny: London, UK, is a respected figure in the fields of tap dance and music. Honored as a Rising Jazz Artist by Jazzwise Magazine and mentioned as one of Reader's Digest's 10 Female Jazz Musicians You need to Know" Haller has swiftly risen in prominence in the UK and beyond. Haller's artistic niche includes jazz, free jazz, improvised music and multimedia performances. In 2018, she initially collaborated with pianist Richard Lewis ...
read moreTake Five with Pianist Shereen Cheong
by AAJ Staff
Meet Shereen Cheong Shereen Cheong is a New York-based Malaysian pianist, composer, arranger, producer and educator who developed a sense of music from the tender age of three. Pursuant to her classical training, she studied jazz piano with Malaysia's jazz veteran, Michael Veerapen. She is a graduate from Berklee College of Music, holding a dual degree in Contemporary Writing & Production (CWP) and Music Business & Management (MBus). Shereen has arranged, orchestrated and conducted for world-renowned artists like ...
read moreTake Five with Saxophonist Nick Stefanacci
by AAJ Staff
Meet Nick StefanacciPop/jazz saxophonist, music educator and philanthropist Nick Stefanacci has been a lover of music and performance his entire life. Having started playing saxophone at age 10, he began performing at 16 with the then-rising southern rock guitarist, Derek Trucks. Stefanacci has since worked with some of the industry elite, including, Latin Grammy Award-winning rock group, Diamante Electrico, hip-hop legends Ja Rule and DMC (RunDMC), Cindy Bradley, Dog Eat Dog, Bernard Pretty" Purdie, and The Four Tops to name ...
read moreMeet Tubist Jim Shearer
by AAJ Staff
Meet Jim Shearer Jim Shearer was born in Water Valley, Mississippi, in 1964. His family owned the local newspaper, The North Mississippi Herald, from 1943-2004, and his father was an active musician on the side, playing jazz saxophone and serving as Minister of Music at the family church (but never at the same time!). After spending several years as a flautist at a young age, Jim became a tubist because no one else in the beginning band would play the ...
read moreTake Five With Pianist Olivia Perez-Collellmir
by AAJ Staff
Meet Olivia Perez-Collellmir Olivia Pérez-Collellmir is a solo pianist, composer and music director from Barcelona, Spain. Currently, Olivia is a member of the faculty in the Berklee piano department. As a tribute to her heritage, she incentivized the formation of the first Berklee Contemporary Spanish Music and Flamenco Jazz Ensemble. As a performer, Olivia has performance residencies at The Beehive, the Beat Hotel, La Fábrica Central and performs at many other venues in the US and internationally: El Gran Teatre ...
read moreTake Five With Bassist / Composer Jakob Dreyer
by AAJ Staff
Meet Jakob Dreyer Jakob Dreyer is a New York City based jazz musician, bassist, and composer. Born and raised in Germany he moved to New York in 2014. He appears on over 30 albums as a sideman, and as a leader he has released two albums on Fresh Sound New Talent: Songs, Hymns & Ballads Vol. 1 and Songs, Hymns & Ballads Vol. 2. Both volumes feature Jason Rigby on saxophone, Jon Cowherd on piano, and Jimmy Macbride on drums. ...
read moreTake Five with Multi-Instrumentalist Jason Vitelli
by AAJ Staff
Meet Jason Vitelli We now find Brooklyn-based musician Jason Vitelli standing at a crossroads, pivoting from being a prolific songwriter into an eclectic composer. Though he has previously written for video, his upcoming 4th album, 1. Ambient Corridors (2024), stands out as an inaugural collection of captivating works. He curates an opus of twelve pieces, weaving together acoustic instrumentation, such as cello, piano, and clarinet, with synthetic elements that include electronic programming and sampling. Each track, from the expansive orchestral ...
read moreTake Five With Pianist Sean Mason
by AAJ Staff
Meet Sean Mason On Friday, November 17th at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey, pianist Sean Mason will lead a five-piece ensemble and two wonderful singers in a special tribute to Disney's centennial. In a one-night only concert, audiences will hear 100 years of Disney through the lens of jazz. When You Wish Upon a Star--A Jazz Tribute to 100 Years of Disney" presents popular songs from famous Disney films such as Snow White, Mary Poppins ...
read moreTake Five with Tulio Araujo
by AAJ Staff
Meet Tulio Araujo Tulio is a Brazilian musician, carrying advanced degrees and experience in the fields of Percussion, Music Production and Sound Engineering. He has studied with renowned masters Ian Guest (Hungary), Santiago Reyther (Cuba), Marcos Suzano (Brazil), among others. Through his experimentation and study, he dreamt and effectively conceived a way to merge the pandeiro with the improvisation universe that jazz provides. Araujo grew obsessed with metric, rhythmic modulations and polyrhythms. His intense study led him to ...
read moreTake Five with Benny Benack III
by AAJ Staff
Meet Benny Benack III By age 32, Emmy-nominated trumpeter and vocalist Benny Benack III has already become a leading voice in jazz for his generation, while his trademark ebullience onstage assures his audiences he's got A Lot of Livin' to Do" still to come! His sophomore album sharing that title featured the likes of bass luminary Christian McBride and drummer/producer Ulysses Owens Jr. and even achieved viral online fame with his vocalese rendition of Social Call" ft. Veronica ...
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