Alexia Bomtempo

Alexia Bomtempo is an artist of multiple worlds. The Brazilian-American singer and songwriter has been heralded by The Washington Post as a “top-shelf Brazilian jazz musician” and has released five critically acclaimed albums as a solo artist. Highlighted on NPR Music’s All Songs Considered as one of the best releases of the week, her most recent album DOCE CARNAVAL is a love letter to the timeless soundtrack of Brazilian Carnaval, with Bomtempo reimagining classic Carnaval songs and infusing them with her own intoxicating vocals and “doce” (sweet) musical flourishes.

Born to an American mother and a concert-promoter Brazilian father, Alexia was raised in the beach culture of Rio de Janeiro, while traveling to America frequently over the years. She grew up listening to Brazilian popular music and Bossa Nova, as well as rock, folk and jazz. Since relocating back to New York City, Alexia has fully embraced, challenged, and redefined the Northern half of her American artistic roots. Her sound is individual and confidently feminine, navigating genres ranging from classic American song to exploratory Tropica?lia.

For more artist information, visit www.alexiabomtempo.com

Links: Spotify | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram

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Rick Germanson

RICK GERMANSON has been a highly in-demand pianist on the New York City Jazz scene for well over a decade. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rick relocated to New York City in 1998. Rick won the GRAND PRIZE at The American Pianists’ Association Jazz Piano Competition in 1996. He was awarded “Best of New Talent” in 2004 by All About Jazz NYC.

Rick has four recordings out as a leader: The first two are on Fresh Sound New Talent: “HEIGHTS” and “YOU TELL ME”. His recording “OFF THE CUFF” on Owl Studios reached #15 on the Jazz Radio Play Charts. The latest is on SmallsLive “RICK GERMANSON: LIVE AT SMALL’S”. Downbeat and JazzTimes magazines have given Rick’s recordings rave reviews. Rick has also been documented on over forty recordings as a sideman with many of the top musicians in jazz today.

Since 2001 to the present, Rick has been touring and recording with The Cannonball Legacy Band featuring Louis Hayes. From 2003-2008 Rick also toured with master guitarist Pat Martino. Currently, Rick is also the pianist for guitarist Russell Malone, bassist Kyle Eastwood, trombonist Papo Vazquez’s Mighty Pirates Troubadours among many others.

Rick has performed throughout the world, at the top festivals, concert halls and clubs with the following jazz artists: Elvin Jones’ Jazz Machine; Louis Hayes; Jimmy Cobb; Grady Tate; Pat Martino; Russell Malone; Dr. Eddie Henderson; Tom Harrell; Brian Lynch; Jeremy Pelt; Jim Rotondi; Duane Eubanks; Curtis Fuller; Slide Hampton; Papo Vazquez; Frank Lacy; Steve Davis; Delfeayo Marsalis; Cecil Payne; Charles Davis; Frank Morgan; Charles MacPherson; Donald Harrison; Vincent Herring; Sherman Irby; George Coleman; Javon Jackson; Eric Alexander; Craig Handy; Wayne Escoffrey; Steve Nelson; Marlena Shaw; Kevin Mohagany; Carolyn Leonhart; Regina Carter; Gerald Cannon; Jay Leonhart; Mingus Dynasty; Ray Mantilla and Space Station.

Rick is also an experienced educator, having given clinics and master classes at such institutes as New York University; The Julliard School; Jazz at Lincoln Center. He is currently on faculty at The Jackie McLean Institute at The Hartt School of Music at The University of Hartford.

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ABOUT SASHA DOBSON

Sasha Dobson has performed all over the world in diverse contexts as a leader and first-call collaborator. The
singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist represents one-third of hit trio Puss n Boots, alongside Catherine
Popper and Blue Note Artist Norah Jones, with whose band Sasha has toured fairly regularly for the past eight
years. As a guitarist and songwriter, Sasha bonds intuitive phrasing and refined storytelling chops with her honest,
witty lyric-writing. Daughter of vocalist Gail Dobson and highly sought pianist and arranger, the late Smith Dobson,
Sasha developed a core understanding of the lineage of jazz from an early age — one that has allowed her to
develop into the powerhouse singer and multi-instrumentalist she’s become. In addition to traveling the world as a
three-dimensional performer, Sasha spent her early days in New York hitting as a leader at many of the city’s noted
venues including Jazz at Lincoln Center and Smalls Jazz Club where she and her band are a regular fixture. In recent
years, she’s led her own project at Farm Aid and opened for Willie Nelson. In 2020, Sasha released Simple Things,
her anticipated EP featuring Don Was on bass and production and Jay Lane on drums. Her 2021 release of Girl Talk
featuring guitarist Peter Bernstein reflects her most personal contribution to the music to date.

More info at https://www.sashadobson.com/

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Ken Peplowski

Ken Peplowski – clarinet & saxophone
Glenn Zalesky – piano
Peter Washington – bass
Matt Wilson – drums

ABOUT KEN PEPLOWSKI

“When you grow up in Cleveland, Ohio, playing in a Polish polka band, you learn to think fast on your feet”, says Ken Peplowski, who played his first pro engagement when he was still in elementary school. “From my first time performing in public, I knew I wanted to play music for a living.”

Ken, and his trumpet-playing brother Ted, made many local radio and TV appearances and played for Polish dances and weddings virtually every weekend all through high-school. “That’s where I learned to improvise, ‘fake’ songs, learn about chord changes, etc.- it’s exactly like learning to swim by being thrown into the water!”

By the time Ken was in his early teens, he was experimenting with jazz by playing in the school “stage” bands, and also by jamming with many of the local jazz musicians. “By the time I hit high school, I was teaching at the local music store, playing in our family band, and playing jazz gigs around town while still getting up early every day for school.”

After a year of college, Ken joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow. “Buddy heard me with my quartet at a Cleveland jazz festival along with Teddy Wilson’s trio and the Dorsey band, and made an offer right then and there for me to not only play lead alto, but to have a feature spot on the clarinet with the rhythm section. It was a great ‘road-school’ – we learned the discipline that goes with playing one-nighters every day for 48 weeks out of the year, and Buddy was a great, very generous bandleader.”

Peplowski met Sonny Stitt while on the road with the Dorsey band, and studied with him. “He was, and is, an inspiration to all of of us who make a living ‘on the road’ – I’ve never heard anybody play with such amazing consistency as Sonny, through all kinds of settings.”

In 1980, Ken moved to New York City,and was soon playing in all kinds of settings, from traditional to avant-garde jazz. “Everything’s a learning experience in jazz music – there’s always an element of the unpredictable.” In 1984, Benny Goodman came out of retirement and put together a new band, hiring Ken on tenor saxophone.

Peplowski  signed with Concord Records, under the tutelage of Carl Jefferson, the founder and president, and recorded close to 20 albums as a leader, including “The Natural Touch” in 1992 which won Best Jazz Record of the Year by the Prises Deutschen Schallplatten Kritiken, and “The Other Portrait”, recorded in Sophia Bulgaria with the symphony orchestra and highlighting Ken’s classical side. He also recorded two records on the Nagel Heyer label,”Lost In The Stars” and “Easy To Remember”, the latter of which features Bobby Short on his last recording. “I loved Bobby Short’s approach to the American songbook, and we’d talked about doing a record together for a while – I’m glad we got this one ‘in the can.’

READ PEPLOWSKI’S FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE

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Ken Peplowski – clarinet & saxophone
Glenn Zalesky – piano
Peter Washington – bass
Matt Wilson – drums

ABOUT KEN PEPLOWSKI

“When you grow up in Cleveland, Ohio, playing in a Polish polka band, you learn to think fast on your feet”, says Ken Peplowski, who played his first pro engagement when he was still in elementary school. “From my first time performing in public, I knew I wanted to play music for a living.”

Ken, and his trumpet-playing brother Ted, made many local radio and TV appearances and played for Polish dances and weddings virtually every weekend all through high-school. “That’s where I learned to improvise, ‘fake’ songs, learn about chord changes, etc.- it’s exactly like learning to swim by being thrown into the water!”

By the time Ken was in his early teens, he was experimenting with jazz by playing in the school “stage” bands, and also by jamming with many of the local jazz musicians. “By the time I hit high school, I was teaching at the local music store, playing in our family band, and playing jazz gigs around town while still getting up early every day for school.”

After a year of college, Ken joined the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow. “Buddy heard me with my quartet at a Cleveland jazz festival along with Teddy Wilson’s trio and the Dorsey band, and made an offer right then and there for me to not only play lead alto, but to have a feature spot on the clarinet with the rhythm section. It was a great ‘road-school’ – we learned the discipline that goes with playing one-nighters every day for 48 weeks out of the year, and Buddy was a great, very generous bandleader.”

Peplowski met Sonny Stitt while on the road with the Dorsey band, and studied with him. “He was, and is, an inspiration to all of of us who make a living ‘on the road’ – I’ve never heard anybody play with such amazing consistency as Sonny, through all kinds of settings.”

In 1980, Ken moved to New York City,and was soon playing in all kinds of settings, from traditional to avant-garde jazz. “Everything’s a learning experience in jazz music – there’s always an element of the unpredictable.” In 1984, Benny Goodman came out of retirement and put together a new band, hiring Ken on tenor saxophone.

Peplowski  signed with Concord Records, under the tutelage of Carl Jefferson, the founder and president, and recorded close to 20 albums as a leader, including “The Natural Touch” in 1992 which won Best Jazz Record of the Year by the Prises Deutschen Schallplatten Kritiken, and “The Other Portrait”, recorded in Sophia Bulgaria with the symphony orchestra and highlighting Ken’s classical side. He also recorded two records on the Nagel Heyer label,”Lost In The Stars” and “Easy To Remember”, the latter of which features Bobby Short on his last recording. “I loved Bobby Short’s approach to the American songbook, and we’d talked about doing a record together for a while – I’m glad we got this one ‘in the can.’

READ PEPLOWSKI’S FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE

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Ali Jackson – drums
Yotam Silberstein – guitar
Neal Caine – bass

Award-winning musician, composer, arranger, educator, and percussionist Ali Jackson developed his talent at an early age. A virtuoso, Ali has contributed significant musical works as a composer and arranger and he holds the distinction of being the first percussionist to perform and create music across the entire spectrum of musical styles.

He began playing drums at the age of two and piano by the age of five. As a child growing up in Detroit, Ali found himself immersed in serious study alongside his father, the great jazz bassist Ali Jackson Sr., who gave him an intense introduction to music, taking him on gigs where he began playing professionally at eight years old.

Ali’s natural ability and passion for music bloomed and by the age of 11 his aptitude flourished as a result of a steady stream of lessons and mentoring from an all-star lineup of music legends, including Max Roach, Milt Hinton, Dr. Donald Byrd, Betty Carter, Aretha Franklin and James Mtume. During one lesson when he was 12, Ali met Wynton Marsalis and impressed the trumpet virtuoso and future collaborator with his maturity and his advanced knowledge of the piano and music theory — skills rare among drummers.

Ali graduated as a music major with high honors from Detroit’s prestigious Cass Tech High School, a program with a rich legacy of consistently producing the country’s top musicians.

As a student at the New School University for Contemporary Music in New York City, he was privileged to study with Max Roach and Elvin Jones. He attended college on a full academic scholarship, earning an undergraduate degree in music composition. In 1994 Ali was selected as the guest soloist for the Beacons of Jazz program honoring legendary jazz drummer Max Roach. The Thelonius Monk Institute and Jazz Aspen selected him to participate in the first annual Jazz Aspen for gifted and talented musicians. Ali was also the first recipient of the state of Michigan’s prestigious Artserv Emerging Artist award in 1998.

After moving to New York for college, Ali became highly sought after for his distinctive, powerful swing, which is marked by a comprehensive knowledge of different styles, genres, and historical eras. Known for playing innovative, melodic drum solos utilizing all of the surfaces of the drum set, Ali’s playing is compact, tight and full of a simmering intensity that is unmistakable.

Upon graduation, Ali spent several years touring and recording with a diverse group of musicians before accepting the role of Drum Chair of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in 2005. Ali was the driving heartbeat of the big band, which was founded by Wynton Marsalis to bring together the world’s top jazz musicians on every instrument to showcase the music of Duke Ellington and other great composers and arrangers. As an integral part of the rhythm section, Ali’s playing helped define the sound of the JLCO and Wynton Marsalis for more than a decade and is documented in hundreds of recordings and videos of concerts that were witnessed by millions around the globe.

Read Ali’s Full Biography HERE

Tyler Blanton – vibraphone
Gary Versace – piano
Jay Anderson – bass
Ferenc Nemeth – drums

Brooklyn based vibraphonist Tyler Blanton is becoming known as a new and identifiable voice on the instrument. With his distinctly lyrical and nuanced 4-mallet approach to the vibraphone, he has been praised as “an heir to the swinging and melodically charged throne of post-bop masters such as Gary Burton and Bobby Hutcherson.”

A prolific composer, Blanton’s musical endeavors consistently involve top musicians in the New York music scene such as Donny McCaslin, Nate Wood, Ari Hoenig, Drew Gress, and Johnathan Blake, among others.  His compositions range from modern and eclectic to soulful and rooted, all the while painting a unified musical identity.

As a leader, Blanton has toured the US, Europe, and Asia and received press from many major publications such as the New York Times, Village Voice, Time Out New York, and Downbeat magazine. Blanton’s third album will be released in April for Destiny records. It finds him in the company of bassist Drew Gress, drummer Johnathan Blake, and pianist Jon Cowherd for a program of original tunes and standards which are treated with a sense of adventure, virtuosity, and sincerity.

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Richard Baratta, Drums and Leader
Vincent Herring – Saxophone
Bill O’Connell – Piano
Paul Bollenback – Guitar
Michael Goetz – Bass
Paul Rossman – Percussion

Grammy nominated Richard Baratta, began his musical journey at the age 12, playing sax, flute and drums, and eventually, exclusively drums, playing mostly jazz  all through his teens.

From 1975 thru the mid 80’s he played with Hal Galper, Johnny Hartman, John Stubblefield, Mike Richmond, Kyo Kawasaki, Stu Goldberg, The Saheb Sarbib Multinational Big Band, Jack Wilkins, Peter LaBarbara, the Marveletts, and others. In 1984, Baratta decided to alter paths and pursued a movie career.

Since 1984, Baratta has worked on over 50 movies, first as a location manager, then Unit Production Manager, and for the past 15 years as a Co-Producer and Executive Producer. Some of his recent films have been JOKER, CHICAGO 7, Martin Scorsese’s IRISHMAN, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, TAKING OF PELHAM 123,  5 SPIDERMAN movies, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, MAID IN MANHATTAN, AWAKENINGS, BIG and many ,many more.

In 2017 he decided to return to his roots and main love and began performing music again, as well as producing films.  In the past year he has played with Eric Alexander, Vincent Herring, Walter Blanding, Marcus Printup, Gerald Cannon, Bill O’Connell, Emmett Cohen, Mike LeDonne, Jerry Weldon, Rogerrio Bocatto, Dave Kikoski, Mike Goetz, Paul Bollenback, Dave Stryker, Pat Bianchi,etc.

In 2019 Baratta released his  CD, COMEBACK, a live recording of Latin/Jazz at the Astor room. In 2020 he released MUSIC IN FILM-THE REEL DEAL to critical acclaim.

From that recording he and bandmate Bill O’Connell received a 2022 Grammy Nomination. In September of 2022, a new recording, MUSIC IN FILM – THE SEQUEL, was released to great reviews. . He has been performing frequently with his GOTHAM CITY LATIN JAZZ SEPTET, as well as THE 3B’s + 2.

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