The Players:

Harold Danko piano Pianist/composer Harold Danko is best known for his long-term associations with an impressive list of jazz legends including Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, Woody Herman, and the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. For most of the last decade he has performed and recorded with his Quartet, featuring tenor saxophonist Rich Perry, which has released seven highly acclaimed CDs on the SteepleChase label.

Following more than a quarter century on the New York city jazz scene as both a performer and educator he accepted an appointment from Eastman as associate professor of jazz and contemporary media in 1998. He teaches jazz piano and jazz history, directs the Jazz Performance Workshops and heads the Eastman Jazz Trio, whose first CD is being released later this year. Harold’s featured column, Solo Piano, appears bi-monthly in Keyboard Magazine, and his keyboard improvisation method, The Illustrated Keyboard Series, is a widely used reference.

Neil Swainson bass Active in the Toronto jazz scene, Neil Swainson has played with Herb Ellis, Sonny Stitt, James Moody, George Coleman, Joe Farrell, and Slide Hampton, to name just a few. He did several tours of Europe with Woody Shaw, and appeared on two of his recordings: Solid and In My Own Sweet Way. He has toured worldwide with George Shearing, playing in Japan, Australia, Germany, Great Britain and all across North America. Neil has made numerous recordings with George Shearing, including Dexterity, A Perfect Match, I Hear a Rhapsody, Walkin’, How Beautiful is Night, That Shearing Sound, and Paper Moon. In 1989 Neil’s own recording 49th Parallel was released featuring Woody Shaw and Joe Henderson, and five of the recordings on which he plays have won Canada’s Juno Award. Several of his compositions appear on recordings by other artists, including George Shearing. He continues to compose and record his original music with JMOG, a cooperative band, and is a member of the Rob McConnell Trio and the Kirk MacDonald - Lorne Lofsky Quartet.

Pat LaBarbera saxophone Pat La Barbera is known internationally for his years on tour with the Buddy Rich Big Band, and Elvin Jones’ Jazz Machine. He also performed with the big bands of Count Basie, Woody Herman, and Louie Bellson. He has worked and recorded with musicians such as Chet Baker, McCoy Tyner and Dizzy Gillespie; performed at major international jazz fetivals and jazz clubs; appeared in numerous radio and television shows and film documentaries; and recorded over 100 albums. He continues to write and perform with his own trio and quartet and his latest album, From The Heart, will be released this fall.

Pat has been a faculty member at Humber College in Toronto since 1977 where he teaches advanced improvisation and repertoire, leads the Humber College Jazz Ensemble, and teaches private woodwind students. He is much in demand as a national adjudicator and performer at several music festivals, and as a guest lecturer at many Canadian and American universities and colleges.

Clay Jenkins trumpet Well-known in jazz circles as a performer, recording artist and teacher, Clay Jenkins has played with Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Count Basie, Harry James, Diana Krall and the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, among many others. The long list of jazz artists with whom he has recorded includes Stan Kenton, Peter Erskine, Harry James, Billy Harper and Joey Sellers, and his own album, Yellow Flowers After, received outstanding reviews in the jazz press. His educational contributions include clinics and workshops all over the United States, as well as South Africa, Japan, Italy, Germany, Korea, and Russia, and he has held teaching positions at The Colburn School of Performing Arts in Los Angeles; California State University, Northridge; The University of Southern California and California Institute of the Arts. He has just accepted a new appointment as Associate Professor of Jazz Trumpet at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.

Steve Houghton drums Click here for Steve's Bio

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