Branford Jazz Events Schedule Summer 2012

After graduating from Musician's Institute in Hollywood, CA., B.D. continued his studies at the College of New Jersey, where he graduated with honors.

He has played in bands ranging from pit orchestras to rock bands, big bands to jazz combos and even an Elvis impersonator!

B.D. has released 7 recordings of his melodic jazz/funk (Tell The World, Lost and Found, Simple Life, Tomorrow's Too Late, Straight Up, Hit It and Quit, Five & Live) and has recorded or performed with such artists as Randy Brecker, Will Lee, Joel Rosenblatt, Mark Egan, Richie Cannata, Mark Ledford, Ada Rovatti, Christine Martucci, tU pHAce, Lelica, Greg Federico, Jeff Callahan, John Virag, MAOR, Blue Number Nine, Kathy Phillips, and Ron Velosky among many others.

His music can currently be heard on over 100 television shows internationally including such networks as MTV, VH1, USA, A&E, Comedy Central, PBS, Spike, CMT, Discovery, etc.

Coming soon. Download the official 2012  Branford Jazz on the Green Series poster or program guide!

NYC Based singer/songwriter and pianist Nicole Zuraitis is one of the most unique and astonishingly talented young artists on the scene today. Genre-bending is her forte; cultivating her diverse musical background into a sound that can only be described as hybrid innovation. A broad mixture of jazz, pop, R&B and indie fusion, Nicole bridges the gap between brands while utilizing her unparalleled vocals.

Since graduating with a Bachelor of Music in classical voice from New York University, Nicole has done it all: debuted on the Main stage of the world-renowned Litchfield Jazz Festival, starred in a Mozart opera in New York City, danced in a regional musical theatre production and opened for living jazz legend, Dave Brubeck at Infinity Hall in Norfolk, CT.

In July 2008 she released her first jazz album
full of cherished classic love songs "Nicole Zuraitis; Spread the Word", featuring Luques and Zaccai Curtis as well as drummer Winard Harper. She is fortunate to have collaborated and performed with jazz all-stars such as Bobby Militello, Rachel Z, Don Braden, Dave Stryker, Charli Persip, Winard Harper, Helen Sung, Cyrille Aimee and Chris Brubeck. Other accomplishments include weekly/monthly residencies in New York hot spots such as the Friar's Club, the Waldorf Astoria's Bull and Bear, Club Macanudo, Ella Lounge and Ashford and Simpson's Sugar Bar.

She is in the process of producing her first album of all original compositions.

Jazz in the Air” has performed all the well known jazz standards including show tunes and swing dance tunes, along with its unique brand of jazz pop, at many weddings, anniversary parties, clubs, restaurants, birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, theaters and other events throughout the greater Boston and New England area at venues such as Harvard University, the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, the Worcester DCU Center, the Hartford CT Expo Center, the House of Blues, the Mandarin Hotel, Lenox Hotel, Boston Harbor Hotel, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Museum of Fine Arts, etc. We also have had the honor of performing for a former President and First Lady.

Coming soon. Download the official 2012  Branford Jazz on the Green Series poster or program guide!

Arthur Lipner has emerged as one of the leading vibes and marimba voices in jazz today. His critically acclaimed recordings, concerts and clinics reveal a fresh energetic approach to contemporary mallets. Chuck Berg of JAZZTIMES called him "a virtuosic master of vibraphone, marimba, and steel drums..whether coaxing rich, rainforest sounds...or letting loose free-flowing arcs."

Over fifty of Arthur's compositions have been released on recordings. His works have been used on radio, film and tv soundtracks in such places as Finland, Japan, Belgium The Netherlands, and England.

His work as a NYC session player has led to tracks for everything from Bluegrass to Christmas albums, the tv shows "Sesame Street," "Designing Women," Bill Cosby's "It's A Different World," Japanese tv, a French film score, and dozens of radio and tv commercials. Other album recordings to his credit include projects with bassist Brian Torff, guitarist Sal Salvador and vocalist Glen Medeiros.

Lipner's bookings have taken him to Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, Morocco, Malaysia, Europe and the Caribbean. He appeared at the VII International Percussion Festival in Opole, Poland (1994), and toured there for one week. The Arthur Lipner Group played The Blue Note (NYC) in 1994 and '95. He was on tour in Brazil during May '96 and in Mexico City in '97. 1999 tours will include Scotland/England and Australia.

On the education scene, Arthur has presented over 200 workshops throughout the world. He is sponsored in the USA by the Selmer/Ludwig Company and Mike Balter Mallets as an artist/clinician, and has performed at three PASIC conventions. For several years he was a Guest Faculty member of The Brabants Conservatory in Tilburg, Holland. In April '97 he was invited to present a workshop at the world-famous Juilliard School in NYC. He is currently on the faculty of SUNY Purchase.

Arthur is on the PAS Board of Directors and is a Contributing Editor for the magazine Percussive Notes. His text THE VIBES REAL BOOK is the most comprehensive guide to jazz vibraphone ever written. All compositions and arrangements are available through MalletWorks Music. These include works for solo vibes, vibes/marimba duo, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble (arr. Mintzer)and Drumline Mallet Features.

Coming Soon. Download the official 2012 Branford Jazz on the Green Series poster or program guide!

Steve D'Agostino has been performing the songs from the "Great American Songbook" for 20 years. His journey to a commitment of "expression" through the music and lyrics made popular in the United States and around the world by vocalist such as Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash took root a long time ago.

In the early 80's, Steve started playing guitar and singing "live" with his first band "Finesse". The band experienced quite a following and established themselves as a successful GB (general business) group in Connecticut performing an average of 100 engagements a year. As Steve continued to evolve, his voice began to be an essential skill that his band began to rely on. As a result of his vocal development, in the the late 80's, Steve began to dedicate himself more on the development of his singing skills.

Today, Steve's 30 years of experience are evident with every performance as he tenderly delivers melodies on ballads or relaxes the placement of a lyric on any "medium" to "up-tempo" swing tune. This vocal artistry has taken Steve from "coast to coast" and through the dedication of he and his live band, Steve has become "the standard" of this genre of music on the local scene.

In addition to regular engagements at some of the finest restaurants and night clubs in Connecticut, Steve's performing credits include appearances in Las Vegas at The Paris Casino Hotel, Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT, The Pequot Room at Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard, CT and the MGM Grand Theatre.

Steve continues to honor and maintain the tradition of the Great American Songbook today by humbly interpreting the timeless music and lyrics of Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer, Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn. Every time he stands in front of an audience, his interpretations of these great American songs reminds his audience about the skill and importance of the "art and craft" of songwriting and public performance.

Coming Soon. Download the official 2012 Branford Jazz on the Green Series poster or program guide!

Coming Soon. Download the official 2012 Branford Jazz on the Green Series poster or program guide!

KJ’s performances will move you to laugh, to dance and even to cry. Her special blend of urban folk & jazz has earned her four Independent Music Award nominations and in ’09, she was named as one of Jazz.com’s top female vocalists. She’s appeared at scores of festivals and has residencies at the ’55 Bar’, Smoke in NYC, at the Baz Bar in St. Barth’s, and the prestigious Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy. Her very latest, “Album No.9″, a collection of 60′s jazz, pop and rock standards  released on Motema Music in Europe & the US in the fall of 2010.

KJ’s talents have taken her all over the world, including St Barthelemy in the French West Indies, where she has had a winter residency at the popular Baz Bar for nearly a decade.  A self-proclaimed Francophile, KJ here debuts. – “Chanson Baz Bar,” the first song in French which she penned with a little help from her Baz Bar friends St Barth locals, Natalie and Armel. The song is marked by a hint of sadness, admits KJ. “What happens when you discover paradise on earth?  The joy of experiencing such a beautiful place is balanced with how hard it is to know that your time there is fleeting, as well as with seeing how the passage of time changes even paradise.”

Consistently praised for her pathos, originality and impeccable musicianship, KJ is a one of a kind songwriter, guitarist and performer, not to be missed.

Coming Soon. Download the official 2012 Branford Jazz on the Green Series poster or program guide!

Described as a musician with a sound that is “very rich”, “gorgeous” and “always elegant, sophisticated and swinging”, Chris Coulter has been performing on saxophones, flute, and voice in the tri-state area for over thirty years.

Chris studied saxophone with Gary Klein (Woody Herman/Mel Torme), the legendary teacher Joe Allard, and Grammy winning jazz artist Joe Lovano.  

Chris has performed with such jazz greats as Clark Terry, Gerry Mulligan, Pepper Adams, Slide Hampton, Bob Brookmeyer, Richie Cole, and Dave Weckl. He has recorded commercials, award winning educational videos, and is featured on several cds with local composer/pianist Rob Silvan, which also feature musicians such as Randy Brecker, Bobby Watson, John Ragusa and Jody Sandhaus. 

Currently Chris performs with The Bales/Gitlin Band, The Rob Silvan Quintet, Steve D’Agostino (and is featured on saxophone on Steve’s new CD), and his own jazz quartet. His groups have appeared at countless concert halls, church halls, synagogues, catering halls, country clubs, night clubs, restaurants, town gazebos, “First Night Concerts” and the like. Some highlights have included performances at the Rainbow Room and Tavern On The Green in NYC, the Katherine Hepburn Theatre, The Yale Bowl, the Charles Ives Center, arts festivals in towns such as Norwalk, Norwich, Trumbull, Westport, and the now legendary Silvermine Tavern in New Canaan.

Chris recently released his new CD titled “Back In Your Own Backyard” featuring Pete Malinverni (piano), Lee Hudson (bass), and Tom Melito (drums) on Watch Hill Records. It is a relaxed, swinging jazz record featuring classic songs from the Great American Songbook.

He is a Connecticut state-certified music educator and currently teaches instrumental music in New Canaan, Connecticut. Chris is also directs the Trumbull Summer Band Camp’s jazz program. He adjudicates at state music festivals and has been a guest soloist and clinician at schools in the tri-state area.  Chris studied and received his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Bridgeport.  It was there that Chris played for four years in the now renowned University of Bridgeport Jazz Ensemble under Neil Slater.  Chris has his Master's Degree in Music Education from Western Connecticut State University. 

 Coming Soon. Download the official 2012 Branford Jazz on the Green Series poster or program guide!

Contemporary jazz-styled soprano saxophonist Marion Meadows was born in West Virginia and raised primarily in Connecticut; after adopting the classical clarinet at age nine, he moved to the saxophone as a teen, later studying composition and arranging at Boston's Berklee College of Music. A protege of Joe Henderson and Eddie Daniels, Meadows later served a long stint as a member of Norman Connors' Starship Orchestra; after a series of session dates and sideman gigs, he made his solo debut in 1990 with the RCA release For Lovers Only, followed in 1992 by Keep It Right There. Resurfacing two years later with Forbidden Fruit, after 1995's Body Rhythm Meadows jumped to Discovery to issue 1997's Pleasure. Another Side of Midnight followed in 1999.

Click here to see a video of Marion Meadows!

Coming Soon. Download the official 2012 Branford Jazz on the Green Series poster or program guide!

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS THE BEST JAZZ SERIES ON THE PLANET!