Paul Bollenback Quartet

Paul Bollenback's emotionally expressive style and eclectic approach is the result of a wide range of influences, including Carlos Santana, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, John McLaughlin, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Winter and Lenny Breau. Born in Hinsdale, Illinois, Bollenback was raised in Hastings on Hudson, New York, a suburb of New York City. At the age of seven, he received a nylon-string guitar from his father, a scientist, classically trained trumpeter and lover of music. At the age of eleven, his family relocated from New York to New Delhi, India. It was there that he cultivated his life-long interest in exotic musical sounds and timbres, which is evident in even his most jazz-based work. When his family returned to New York, Paul's father bought him an electric guitar and he started to gig in rock and roll bands around the area. Then he heard Miles Davis and his world changed forever. Having relocated again in 1975, this time from New York to Washington, DC, Bollenback continued to study and play jazz and fusion. He attended University of Miami as a music major, then later studied privately for eight years with Baltimore-based professor of Theory/Composition Asher Zlotnik. In 1987 he made his recording debut on saxophonist Gary Thomas's Seventh Quadrant, for Enja records, and in 1990 made the acquaintance of organ legend Joey DeFrancesco, an association that lasted 16 years, and produced 14 recordings.In 1991 his two compositions, "Wookies's Revenge" and "Romancin' the Moon" (featured on Joey DeFrancesco's Reboppin') earned him the SESAC award for original music. In 1993 while touring in Europe, Paul was awarded a grant from the Virginia Commission on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts to compose and perform "New Music for Three Jazz Guitars". In 1997, Bollenback was named Musician of the Year at the Washington Area Music Awards.Bollenback's debut recording as a leader, Original Visions, on Challenge Records, is one of the most creative efforts by a guitarist in recent memory. Double Gemini, his second CD, features four of his own compositions and won the title of CD of The Month in Jim Fisch's distinguished jazz column in 20th Century Guitar Magazine. It won the same award from the renowned jazz radio station WBGO in Newark, New Jersey. His 3rd release on Challenge, Soul Grooves, won Ndigo Magazines Best Contemporary Jazz Album of 1999. Challenge has since released Dreams and Double-Vision. Bollenback released his 6th project as a leader, Brightness of Being, on the Elefant Dreams label, in March 2006. Along with extensive airplay, Bollenback has also received wide acclaim both in the United States as well as internationally for his ground breaking adaptations, arrangements and sonic treatments of classical pieces by Puccini and de Leon as well as pop classics by Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Neil Young. Brightness of Being was recently included on Jazz Week's Top 100 CD's for 2006 on their Jazz Album Chart.Paul Bollenback has appeared on the Tonight Show, Good Morning America, Joan Rivers, The Today Show, and Entertainment Tonight. He has played with an impressive spectrum of musicians, including Stanley Turrentine, Gary Bartz, Joey DeFrancesco, Jeff Tain Watts, Joe Locke, Gary Thomas, Tim Garland, David Fathead Newman, Steve Wilson, Geoffrey Keezer, Terri-Lyne-Carrington, Grady Tate, Shunzo Ohno, James Moody, Chris McNulty, Jack McDuff, Charlie Byrd, Paul Bley, Carol Sloane, Carter Jefferson, Herb Ellis, Jimmy Bruno, and East Meets Jazz, with Sandip Burman. Bollenback also shares executive and co-producing credits with vocalist-composer, Chris McNulty on both Dance Delicioso (2005) and her recently released, Whispers the Heart recordings (2006), also out on the Elefant Dreams label.In 1997 he returned to New York City, where he now makes his home.Weblinks:www.paulbollenback.com Pianist, composer, Jon Davis has been performing and touring with many of the finest jazz musicians around world for more than twenty five years. He has appeared on over 40 recordings, and has contributed compositions to many of them. Although perhaps most widely known for his association with the legendary bassist, Jaco Pastorius, which led to the critically acclaimed Standards Zone trio record, Jon has shown a rare versatility ranging from solo, to Big Band, and everything between. Recent highlights include performances with Phil Woods at the IAJE convention, Jon Burr Band recording, featuring Bob Mintzer, Anat Cohen, and Joel Frahm, Joris Teepe Big Band recording, featuring Gene Jackson, Rasheed Ali and Don Braden, as well as a collaboration with new vocalist Marcus Goldhaber on recent release, Take me Anywhere. A more extensive list of noted musicians Jon has performed and recorded with includes; Joe Henderson, Stan Getz, Tootie Heath, Eddie Harris, Marc Gross, Bob Berg, Milt Jackson, Bob Weir, Nora Jones, Victor Bailey, John Handy, Eddie Henderson, Stanley Turrentine, Marvin Smitty Smith, Rosanna Vitro, Will Lee, Dave Binney, Don Byron, Toots Thielemens, Brian Blade, Larry Grenadier, Sonny Fortune, Ron McClure, Claudio Roditi, Antonio Hart, Kenny Garrett, Adam Nussbaum, Dave Schnitter, Kenny Wolleson, Jeff Ballard, and many others. Currently Jon maintains a busy freelance schedule as well as playing with the Jon Davis trio Weblinks: www.jondavismusic.com Soviet born moscovite bassist moved to NYC 25years ago and after a while started serving as an Arranger and Musical Director for Mingus Big Band, Mingus Dynasty and The Orchestra, as well as leading his own projects. He has been a first-call bassist for : The Manhattan Transfer, Michael Brecker, John Blake, Ray Barretto's 'New World Spirit', Lew Tabackin, David Kikoski, Alex Sipiagin, Eddie Palmieri-Bryan Lynch 'Simpatico' and many others. Kozlov is on more than160 albums, 8 of his big band scores published by Hal Leonards. He also performs solo bass and teaches master classes around the world following the release of his acoustic solo album "Double Standard". His latest trio release on CrissCross ‘Conversations At The Well’ is out in 2016. 2 x Grammy Award winner. “Kozlov is one of the anchors of modern jazz” Todd Barkan “ The sophistication and harmonic sense I wish I could have in my next live” Anthony Jackson " Swung harder than anything else will this year" Chicago Tribune As the nephew of Hammond B3 Legend Jimmy Smith, Tommy Campbell was born into a musical family and was "surrounded by music and drummers since (he) was two years old." He worked with Dizzy Gillespie over a span of almost two decades, and also the same with Sonny Rollins. Tommy recorded and toured extensively with John McLaughlin and came up though the musicianship ranks with lifelong friend and mentor Kevin Eubanks. Campbells "Vocal~Eyes" is a concept he developed while playing with the Manhattan Transfer and living in New York City. Tommy concentrated on blending the straight up groove of Jazz with vocal melodies and syncopated lyrics and arrangements that pull from BeBop through Ethnic Music, Hip-Hop, and other wide varieties of music. The "Vocal~Eyes" band is pushing new boundaries in vocal/instrumental blending that satisfies the hunger of traditional jazz aficionados, while paving the way for a new, young generation of jazz heads. My goal with this project is to reacquaint all vocalists with the reasons why they became vocalists. After all, the voice and the drum are the first instruments!"