|
|
| Good-Bye to SOJA Co-Founder Mary Jo Strickland and Jazz in the Home Event Sunday, January 31, 2010 The Core Event musicians are:
Joe Gransden on trumpet
Joe Gransden is from just north of Manhattan, in Yonkers, New York. Coming from a family full of musicians, Joe’s introduction to music came early on through his father, a gifted singer and pianist. His grandfather was a trumpeter of merit, playing professionally his whole life throughout New York. On his mother’s side of the family was the piano virtuoso Carmen Cavallero. Not long after high school, Joe was on the road as a sideman with the big bands of Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. A number of A.F.M. contracted sideman gigs include Barry White, The Moody Blues, Kenny Rogers, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, The Whispers, etc. Eventually moving to New York City, he performed with numerous groups, including sub work with Toshiko Akiyoshi and Chico O’Farrill. Meanwhile, Joe formed his own group, which performed in Brooklyn each week and included the venerable guitarist Joe Cohn and ex-Betty Carter bassist, Matt Hughes. “Exploring the music with a steady group of great players has enabled me to continually grow.”
Kenny Banks on piano
No photo or bio available at this time 
Justin Varnes on drums 
Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Justin Varnes studied music at the University of North Florida. After a brief stint with the Noel Freidline Quintet, Mr. Varnes relocated to New York City to pursue a master's degree in jazz studies at the New School. In New York, Justin toured for six years with vocalist PhoebeSnow, with whom he performed on the Roseanne Barr Show, as well as National Public Radio's "World Cafe" (he would later perform on "World Cafe" with pop group "Five for Fighting"). He also performed with Phoebe at Madison Square Garden, where he played alongside singers Jewel and Paula Cole. Justin Varnes has performed with several jazz greats in New York, including: Ben Wolfe (Harry Connick, Jr.), Aaron Goldberg (Joshua Redman), Wessell Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, Marcus Printup, Steve Kirby (Cyrus Chestnut), Peter Bernstein, and Eric Lewis (Wynton Marsalis). Currently residing in Atlanta, Justin Varnes performs regularly with the Christian Tamburr Quartet, as well as Bob Reynolds, Kevin Bales, Joe Gransden and Gary Motley. Justin is also a top call sideman for touring artists through Atlanta. He has performed with Vincent Herring, Kevin Hays, Victor Goines and recently has been tapped for some work with Earl Klugh.
Neal Starkey on bass
 Bassist Neal Starkey is one of Atlanta’s busiest musicians. His expertise on a full range of low-pitch instruments (from string bass to “gut-bucket” bass) has afforded him the opportunity to record with such luminaries as the CBS Jazz All-Stars, Mose Allison, Sonny Stitt, Chuck Mangione, Herbie Mann, and Nnenna Freelon. Jazz festival appearances range from the North Sea Jazz Fest to numerous dates at the Atlanta Jazz Fest, and commercial tracks include countless name-brand spots and the Georgia’s state song with Ray Charles. Starkey has played in the orchestra for touring Broadway shows including Chorus Line, The Wiz, Porgy and Bess, and Grand Hotel. He has backed names like Bob Hope, Carol Channing, the Coasters, the Ink Spots, and Martha Reeves; he was also in the orchestra for the 1988 Democratic National Convention. Starkey is a full-time musician, and appears frequently with a multitude of local, national and international artists. The JAM sessions with special musical guests: Gordon vernick on trumpet 
Dr.Gordon Vernick is a Professor of Music and Coordinator of Jazz Studies at Georgia State University. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY; a Master of Music in Education from the University of Miami, and a Doctor of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley.
As a professional trumpet player, he has performed in all musical mediums from symphony orchestra to jazz quartet and has free¬lanced in Miami, New York, Denver, Kansas City, and the Caribbean Islands. He is currently active in the Southeast United States as a clinician, an adjudicator, and as a freelance trumpet player.
As a jazz educator he is the past president of the Georgia Association of Jazz Educators, past chair of the International Association of Jazz Educators Curriculum Com¬mittee and was recently appointed as the Southeast Coordinator of that organization. He was the Director of the NARAS Georgia Grammy High School Jazz Band from 1994 to 1999. He is the co-editor of the book Teaching Jazz: A Course Of Study, published by MENC. He co-wrote the college textbook, Jazz History Overview, published by Kendall-Hunt. The text is in its 2nd printing and has been adopted by numerous universities around the country.
He is director he GSU Faculty Jazztet which performs regu¬larly in Atlanta and has appeared at the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Brasstown Music Festival, the High Museum Jazz Series, the Oxford University Music Series, the International Association for Jazz Education Conference and many other venues in the southeast. He has performed with such world-renown jazz artists as Kenny Werner, Clare Fischer, John Hart, Kevin Hays, Conrad Herwig, Marc Copland, Randy Brecker, Paul McCandless, and many others. The Jazztet was twice invited to perform in San Jose, Costa Rica by the Centro Cultural Costarricense-Norteamericano. During the summer of 2001 the Jazztet performed in Moscow, Russia at the Tribute to Willis Conover Jazz Festival and in March 2003 performed at Capitol University in Beijing, China. The group was invited to perform in November 2004 at the Curso e Colegio Bardal in Florianopolis, Brazil. As a jazz clinician he served a residency at the Conservatory of San Juan, P.R., the Taipei American School in Taiwan, the Singapore American School, the Bangkok International School and just returned from a residency at the Jakarta International School.
and Ken Gregory  trumpet, trombone, guitar, bass and keyboard Ken began playing trumpet in 1959, and played in the Northside Highlander Concert band from 1960-1963. After completing four years of private training, he played 1st chair trumpet in his high school concert band from 1963-1968. Immediately after that he worked as conductor and lead trumpet player for the Six Flags Over Georgia orchestra from 1968-1971. His natural musical interests brought him to playing guitar, electric bass, and keyboards, and he began working in nightclub bands, in which he played full-time from 1971-1980.
1981 he formed a partnership with an electronics technician, and moved into the professional studio business. Performance venues changed from clubs to private parties and concerts. He continues to develop his studio and has recorded over 1000 albums.
As a composer, he has been commissioned to write music for various clients such as Warner Bros. Films, CNN, the Weather Channel, many radio and TV advertisers as well as for songwriters and lyricists of all types. Ken has played trumpet, trombone, guitar, bass and keyboard on thousands of studio sessions, and is quite familiar with orchestration, arranging and composition, as well as audio engineering and MIDI programming techniques.
Ken's band "Solid State", performs their original compositions, and has been featured on WRFG, WBCX, & WCLK FM radio stations, PBS Television's "Jazz Atlanta", at The Montreaux Jazz Festival, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Inman Park Festival, and the Atlanta Arts Festival, as well in many jazz clubs and private parties. Ken continues to be active in the professional music and recording business in Atlanta.
| |
| Reservations and Guest List for this Performance: Seating is limited, and you can reserve your seat by e-mailing: sojaevents@bellsouth.net Donation: $25 for adults, $10 adult students (w/ID) Light bites and beverages provided
| | Next Announcement February 2010 Click here if you would like to suggest an artist. | |
|