The JazzMn Big Band is a professional jazz orchestra which follows the models of classical orchestras, striving for artistic excellence. The group brings the talents of outstanding jazz musicians from throughout the Twin Cities together to perform quarterly with visiting jazz greats.
The JazzMn Big Band has featured international jazz artists such as Arturo Sandoval, Phil Woods, James Moody, Dave Weckl, Terry Gibbs, Joey Defrancesco, Slide Hampton, and Buddy DeFranco. ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Dr. Douglas R. Snapp (Artistic/Executive Director)
- Dr. Snapp currently serves as the Director of Jazz Studies and
Trumpet professor at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and plays
principal trumpet in the Mankato Symphony. Doug Snapp received his
doctorate from the University of Northern Colorado, and his Bachelors
and Masters degrees from the University of North Texas. During
his
tenure at the University of Northern Colorado, Snapp served as
Assistant Director of Jazz Studies, where he directed and performed in
many groups that received prestigious Downbeat
magazine awards in the Big Band, Combo, and Vocal Jazz categories. In
1998, Snapp founded the JazzMN organization. Since that time, the
JazzMN Big Band has featured artists such as Slide Hampton, Phil Woods,
Arturo Sandoval, Dave Weckl, the New York Voices, and many others along
with the top-call musicians in the Twin Cities.
SAXOPHONES
 Photo by Andrea Canter
David
Milne (alto saxophone)
performs as a guest artist in concerts and workshops with arts schools,
public schools, and colleges in the US and Europe. He is an annual
guest artist since 1996 at the Frei Kunst Schule Summer Jazz Workshop
in Berlin, Germany. Milne is Associate Professor of Music at the
University of Wisconsin-River Falls, where he has taught since 1990. He
also teaches at several prestigious music schools (Eastman, Indiana U.,
MacPhail). At UW-River Falls, David directs the Jazz Ensemble and
teaches courses in Jazz History, Jazz Improvisation, and Woodwind
Performance. Based in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, David regularly
performs in the jazz, classical and new music idioms. His compositions
are published locally and in Germany. Milne's performances and
educational appearances as an artist-clinician are supported in part by
the Selmer Company. A native of Rochester, New York, he earned a BA in
Music and Communications and a M. M. in Woodwind Performance/Jazz
Studies at Indiana University, and a DMA in Performance and
Literature/Saxophone at the Eastman School of Music.
Dave
Karr (tenor saxophone)
has performed with name bands, symphony orchestras, Broadway shows and
recording sessions. His saxophone and original compositions can be
heard at local jazz venues, such as the Artists' Quarter in St. Paul.
He has been composing and producing music for radio and TV since 1970,
and with Mark Henderson formed Mark & Dave Music and Sound Design
in 1996.
Greg
Keel (tenor saxophone)
has performed with Anthony Cox, Geoff Keezer, Mel Torme, The
Temptations, Bobby Vinton, Andy Williams, The O'Jays, Frankie Valli,
Bob Hope, and blues guitarist Luther Allison. He is on the faculty at
MacPhail Center for the Arts and Normandale College in Minneapolis. He
has been a visiting conductor in the UW-Eau Claire Jazz Studies
Department, and developed the jazz improvisation course for the annual
summer UWEC High Potential Institute. Greg is on the faculty of the
Indianhead Arts Center Jazz Camps in Shell Lake, and is an
artist/clinician for Selmer Saxophones. Greg attended the University of
Wisconsin at Eau Claire, Madison, and Concordia College in St. Paul. He
studied saxophone with Harry Miedema, Brian Grivna, Ruben Haugen,
Richard Fletcher and Bill Grahn.
Kathy
Jensen (baritone saxophone) is a member of the Hornheads,
a
Billboard
magazine award-winning a capella jazz group. As a group, they have
released two solo albums. As a horn section, they have recorded
hundreds of tracks for artists in the U. S., Argentina, Denmark,
Portugal and the UK From 1991 through 2001, the Hornheads recorded nine
albums with Prince and the New Power Generation and toured Europe,
Japan, Australia and the U. S. Before this, Kathy performed with
several local groups, including Moore by Four at jazz festivals in
Italy and Finland. Kathy is a pit musician for musical shows and
theatrical productions at the Orpheum, Ordway and Guthrie theaters. She
has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra and with touring artists
such as Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Frank Sinatra, Jr. and Natalie
Cole. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in
music education.
TROMBONES
 Photo by Andrea Canter
Dave
Graf (trombone)
- One of the most versatile trombonists in the Twin Cities, Dave has
worked in a wide range of musical settings: Dixieland, straight ahead
jazz, salsa and Brazilian music, big bands, pit orchestras and
recordings. He has backed entertainment legends such as Natalie Cole,
Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Harry Connick, Julie Andrews and
Rosemary Clooney. Dave is proud of his eleven-year association with the
late trumpeter Red Wolfe (Port of Dixie Jazz Band and Ellington
Echoes), and continues to perform with the latter ensemble, which is
now led by saxophonist Percy Hughes.
Ethan
Freier (trombone)
graduated in 1988 from Indiana University with a Masters Degree in Jazz
Studies and a Performance Certificate in Trombone. He then came to the
Twin Cities and has enjoyed much success as a freelance trombonist
performing Latin, jazz, classical, Broadway, rock and pop music in a
variety of settings including pit orchestras, recording sessions,
nightclubs, corporate events, weddings and shows that feature touring
artists. Many of Freier's arrangements can be heard performed by the
groups Synergy and Latin Sounds Orchestra. He is also a teacher at
Northfield Middle School and Hamline University.
Wade
Clark (bass trombone)
- Wade's wide-ranging musical career has taken him all over the
country: to Boston, where he attended the Berklee School of Music; to
San Francisco as a freelance player; and finally, to the Twin Cities,
where his finesse on the large horn has been in high demand for the
past 20+years. His big band resume includes stints with Buddy Rich, Les
Elgart, Nelson Riddle and Buddy Morrow. He has backed up countless
shows, from Sammy Davis, Jr., to the Moody Blues to the San Francisco
Ballet. Wade also has logged extensive "pit" time (at the Guthrie, the
Ordway, and the Minneapolis Children's Theater, to name a few), and is
an active session musician, having recorded on hundreds of commercials,
soundtracks, etc. In addition to his performing credits, Wade stays
busy as a freelance arranger, orchestrator, and copyist.
TRUMPETS
Bob Hallgrimson (trumpet)
performs regularly with the Cedar Avenue Big Band, Mick Sterling and
the Stud Brothers, as well as various Latin bands in the Twin Cities.
He has backed such well-known artists as Burt Bacharach, Ray Charles,
Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Woody Herman, the Temptations and
Rosemary Clooney. Hallgrimson attended North Dakota State University,
New England Conservatory and LaMont School of Music (Denver, CO).
Bernie
Edstrom (trumpet)
- Known for both his lead and jazz trumpet playing with big bands and
small groups, he leads the Bernie Edstrom Big Band, the Jazz Composer's
Art Ensemble, the Starlight Orchestra and his quintet MOVE. He has
played locally with the Wolverines Big Band, the State Fair Orchestra,
and the Minnesota Pops Orchestra. He has also toured with the Woody
Herman Thundering Herd. One of his brightest and most fulfilling
moments has been performing the music of the late Charles Mingus in the
"Tribute to Mingus" band. Edstrom graduated from the Berklee College of
Music in Boston and still returns occasionally for jazz clinics.
Dave
Jensen (trumpet) is a member of the Hornheads, a Billboard
magazine award-winning a capella jazz group. As a group, they have
released two solo albums. As a horn section, they have recorded
hundreds of tracks for artists in the U. S., Argentina, Denmark,
Portugal and the UK From 1991 through 2001, the Hornheads recorded nine
albums with Prince and the New Power Generation and toured Europe,
Japan, Australia and the U. S. Before this, Dave spent three years
touring with the Artie Shaw Orchestra. Dave is a pit musician for
musical shows and theatrical productions at the Orpheum, Ordway and
Guthrie theaters. Dave has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra and
is a faculty member at Musictech College. He graduated Summa Cum Laude
from Boston's Berklee College of Music.
John
Ahern (trumpet)
has played with the Jim Tolck Little Big Band for the past five years
at The Manor in St. Paul and can be regularly heard with the Cedar
Avenue Big Band and the Nova Big Band. He attended the University of
North Texas and U. W.-Eau Claire in music. He is also a composer
specializing in big band charts.
RHYTHM
 Photo by Andrea Canter
Dave
Singley (guitar)
has shared the stage with numerous jazz artists, including Tal Farlow,
George Shearing, Butch Thompson, Larry Elgart and Jim Snidero. He has
also performed with Perry Como, Jimmie Rodgers, Debbie Reynolds, Rich
Little, and many others. He can be heard on nearly a dozen CD's by
local artists, including his own debut CD "How My Heart Sings." Dave
holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Jazz Composition/Arranging from the
Berklee College of Music in Boston, and a Master of Music Degree in
Jazz Studies from Indiana University.
Terry
Burns (bass)
has been a professional bassist for 30 years. His credits range from
Linda Rondstadt and Joe Walsh to performances and recordings with the
greatest names in jazz including Gene Harris, Dewey Redman, Lee Konitz,
Marlena Shaw, Jane Monheit, Freddy Hubbard, Stanley Turrentine, David
“Fathead” Newman, Ray Bryant and Billy Higgins. Terry has released two
solo recordings on SONGSPEAK Records to critical acclaim and received
nominations for “Jazz Recording of the Year” and “Bassist of the Year”
in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 from the Minnesota Music Awards. He is
currently the Director of the Bass Department at Musictech, St. Paul.
Joe
Pulice (drums)
has worked with such jazz greats as Stan Getz, Slide Hampton, David
Liebman and Jack McDuff. As a show player, he has performed with many
artists, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Harry Connick,
Jr.
In 1979, Joe won The Northern Midwest Regional Louie
Bellson/Slingerland Drum Contest. In 1986, he toured with Woody Herman
and his Thundering Herd during Woody's 50th Anniversary Tour. He has
won two Minnesota Jazz Music Awards -- one for Best Jazz Vibist and one
as a member of world-renowned drummer Eric Kamau Gravatt's group
"Kamanari." Joe holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Music Education
and a Master of Music degree in Percussion from the University of
Minnesota. |
Thursday, 23 May 2013
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