Alex Goodman Quartet

Winner of first prize and the Public's Choice Award at the 2014 Montreux Jazz Festival International Guitar Competition, Alex Goodman has been hailed as "among the most promising talents of [his] jazz generation" (JazzTimes), "a definite musical voice" (Guitar International), "one of New York’s most vital young guitarists" (Jazziz), “an important emerging voice on his instrument” (New York City Jazz Record) and as a player of “fluid lyricism” (Downbeat). In addition to being featured as a soloist on multiple Grammy and Canadian JUNO nominated recordings, the Alex Goodman Quintet's 2011 debut album Bridges, was also nominated for a JUNO, as the year’s best contemporary jazz album. In his time on the New York scene, he has performed at the city’s top jazz clubs, including the Jazz Standard, Blue Note, Smalls and Jazz Gallery, as well as at such venues as Lincoln Center and National Sawdust. The guitarist has also performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Massey Hall in Toronto as well as at such festivals as Winter Jazz Fest in New York, the Montreux Jazz Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival and further afield at festivals in China, Ukraine and Bulgaria. In addition to his seven albums as leader or co-leader, Goodman is featured on recordings alongside such artists as John Patitucci, Dick Oatts, and Rich Perry. The guitarist plays regularly in ensembles led by Manuel Valera (José Marti en Nueva York), Lucas Pino (quartet album coming 2022), Mareike Wiening (Future Memories, Metropolis Paradise), Remy Le Boeuf (Architecture of Storms, Assembly of Shadows), Martina DaSilva, and Roxy Coss among many others. Goodman has won an ASCAP Herb Alpert Jazz Composer Award, and along with writing scores for jazz and chamber groups, orchestra, big band and string quintet, has composed and recorded a book of solo guitar etudes. He is a graduate of the Master's program in Jazz Performance at the Manhattan School of Music. Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Chris Cheek, the son of a junior high school band director, began playing the alto sax at the age of 12. Chris played in a variety of local Jazz and Blues bands in the St. Louis area while attending Webster University. In 1988, on scholarship, he went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts where he studied with Joe Viola and Hal Crook, eventually receiving a bachelors degree in performance. Chris moved to New York in 1992 and since then has played and recorded with a number of different groups including: Paul Motian's "Electric Bebop Band", "The Bloomdaddies", Charlie Haden's "Liberation Music Orchestra", The Brian Blade Fellowship, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Luciana Souza, David Berkman, and Guillermo Klein's "Los Guachos". Chris has played in Japan, China, Russia, Canada, throughout much of Europe and the United States, with these and other bands. In addition to appearing on over 60 albums as a sideman, Chris has recorded 4 albums as a leader on Fresh Sound Records, "I Wish I Knew", "A Girl Named Joe", "Vine", and most recently "Blues Cruise", featuring Brad Mehldau. While he continues to be actively involved in a number of different musical projects, Chris plays regularly with his own band at various clubs in the U.S. and abroad.Weblinks:www.chrischeek.net Ben Street is a New York-area jazz double-bassist. He has played with many great jazz artists, notably Kurt Rosenwinkel on the Album "Next Step," Ben Monder on the Album "Dust" and the legendary Sam Rivers on the Album "Violet Violets."He studied the Acoustic Bass with the former Weather Report bassist Miroslav Vitous.He is the son of Saxophonist and Saxophone mouthpiece maker Bill Street and is native of Maine.He has an appreciation of New Zealand white wines, amongst others.Weblinks:www.benstreet.net Born in Toronto, Adam Arruda has been surrounded by music from a very early age, growing up in a musical family. Adam began playing the drums at the age of 3, and began studying music via the ORFF method at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto at 5 years of age. Later that year Adam began taking drum lessons with Steve Mancuso and playing in Jazz combos at the Humber College Community Music School, led by Cathy Mitro. By his teenage years he was already actively working on the local scene, and began leading his own combo at Humber. Adam received the prestigious Zildjian Outstanding Young Drummer and Combo Drummer Award from 2001-2008 at Music Fest Canada, as well as other honorary awards, and played in the Yamaha All Star Band from freshman year until senior year while he attended Claude Watson School for the Arts. At Claude Watson, Adam gained experience playing in Symphonic Band and delved even deeper in his studies. While in high school, he played in the Jazz FM Youth All Star Band every Saturday, in his senior year. He also attended the Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony in 2006 and 2007, the Vail Summer Jazz program, the School for Improvised Music, the Creative Music Workshop and other workshops in the U.S.A and Canada. In 2007 Adam was invited to the Grammy Awards to perform with the Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Jazz Big Band, and was chosen to study at the University of the Pacific for one year as a Brubeck Institute Fellow along with four others in 2008 under Joe Gilman on full scholarship. At the Brubeck Institute, Adam had the privilege of studying with Joe Gilman, Taylor Eigsti, Jeff Ballard, Geoffrey Keezer, Ray Drummond, Yosvanny Terry, and many others and got a chance to play Jazz Festivals across the U.S, such as Detroit with greats like Christian McBride. The ‘08/’09 Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet received Downbeat Magazine’s Best College Combo twice. Shortly thereafter, he attended Berklee College of Music in Boston until 2013 on scholarship, where he studied with Terri Lyne Carrington, Ralph Peterson Jr., Neal Smith, Jamey Haddad, Alain Mallet, Dave Santoro, Darren Barrett, Hal Crook, Jim Odgrin, Lennie Nelson and many others. Now residing in Brooklyn, New York, Adam is among the most sought-after drummers in the music world and has had the privilege of working with such artists as Greg Osby, 3WI, Dayna Stephens, Gilad Hekselman, Sam Yahel, Simona Premazzi, Joshua Crumbly, Nick Hempton, Orlando le Fleming, Glenn Zaleski, Tomoko Omura, Kevin Eubanks, Romain Collin, Luques Curtis, Florian Hoefner, Todd Bashore, James Moody, Phil Woods, Tom Scott, Orrin Evans, Godwin Louis, Nick Hempton, Randy Ingram, Alice Ricciardi, Yasushi Nakamura, Jeremy Pelt, Will Vinson, Corcoran Holt, Bill McHenry, Philip Harper, Erena Terakubo, Jason Palmer, Billy Buss, Sarah McKenzie, Ralph Alessi, Sean Wayland, Matt Marantz, Jonathan Kreisberg, Yotam Silberstein and many more. Adam has performed at the 2007 Grammy Awards, 2004 North Sea Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, Monterey Next Generation Jazz Festival, Brubeck Jazz Festival, D.C Jazz Festival, The Kennedy Center, Leuven Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, The California Hall Of Fame, Wally’s Jazz Club, The Green Mill, Bohemian Caverns, The Rex Jazz and Blues Bar, The Cellar, Smalls Jazz Club, Minton’s , Fat Cat, Jazz Standard, The Jazz Gallery, National Arts Center, Smoke, Yoshi’s, Jimmy Mak’s and many more venues and festivals. Aside from performing, Adam also teaches private lessons and ensemble playing to all ages. Adam is also a proud endorser of Canopus Drums and Vic Firth drumsticks.