Thursday Jazz Musicians

Thursday jazz features Mark Lewis with one or more other musician. Check the schedule page to see who's playing this week. Regulars and special guests:

Mark Lewis, a native of Kitsap County, is one of the most lyrical saxophonists of his generation. Mark lived for years in Holland, where he gained renown as one of Europe's leading instrumentalists. Mark lived and performed for several years in San Francisco and Victoria, BC as well. Mark has recorded or produced over 20 albums on various labels and composed over 1000 songs. Mark's CD "In The Spirit," recorded at Music Annex in Menlo Park, CA, made the Top 40 on Billboard Magazine's Jazz Albums chart. Jazz musicians Mark has performed and recorded with include pianists Mark Levine, Overton Berry, and Ted Gioia; drummers Candy Finch, Eddie Moore and Billy Higgins; bassist David Friesen; saxophonists Johnny Griffin and Art Foxall; trumpet player Randy Brecker; and vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson. Mark often subbed for Stan Getz and John Handy during his time in San Francisco.

Norm Bellas holds a Master of Music degree in composition. He won the Washington State Blues Society "BB" for Best Keyboard and was nominated for best songwriter. Norm's eclectic style is a synthesis of jazz and blues with bursts of funk, R&B, Latin and country. He might be said to play bluesy jazz or jazzy blues. Norm's CD of original jazz compositions "Out of the Norm" was played on heavy rotation for six months on the Seattle jazz station, KPLU. Norm has played with jazz artists such as Tutti Heath, Don Lanphere, Jessica Williams, Frank Wess, and Art Lande, and has played and/or recorded with many blues and R&B legends including Big Momma Thorton, Buddy Miles, Carlos Santana, and the Temptations.

Overton Berry, a Northwest jazz legend, has played piano extensively in venues around the world including Japan, China, Viet Nam, Thailand, and Egypt. Overton is a voting member for the Grammy's, music director for the TOBE School of Music, and regular performer at major Northwest jazz festivals. Overton has worked with such jazz greats as Carmen McRae, Joe Pass, Dave Brubeck, Vonne Griffin, and Peggy Lee.

Art Foxall studied music at the New England Conservatory of Music and at the Schillinger House of Music (now known as The Berkeley School of Music). Art has performed for over 60 years at venues and jazz festivals around the world on tenor saxophone and as a vocalist. Art was featured as a Legend of Seattle Jazz in the 2005 Earshot Jazz Festival. Musicians Art has performed with include Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughn, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge, Little Richard, Ivory Joe Hunter, and Jaki Byard.

Steve Luceno is not only a guitarist but also a highly respected Northwest acoustic bassist for a number of regional artists, and has produced CDs of his own original jazz compositions. Steve's playing experience includes many trips to Mexico with the Jerry Michelsen Trio and working with a variety of artists in the Northwest, including Obrador, Kelley Johnson, Bert Wilson, Jack Perciful, John Stowell, Slim Galliard, Sonny Simmons, Mose Allison, Ocho Pies and Hadley Calliman.

Steve Nowak has been a well-respected guitarist in the Pacific Northwest for many years. After touring nationally in the 1970's and '80's, Steve has spent the past two decades in Seattle, honing his formidable jazz and rhythm and blues skills. Playing and recording with talented performers such as Lonnie Williams, Jay Thomas, Norm Bellas, Seattle Women in Rhythm & Blues, Jay Roberts, the Drifters and numerous others, Steve Nowak brings another seasoned talent to the El Coral line up.

Ray Ohls teaches jazz piano at Olympic College and performs extensively in the Bremerton and Seattle area as well as in Canada. Ray recently retired from the US Navy Band. He was Chief Protocol Piano Player for Navy Band Washington DC and first call pianist for the vice-president under two administrations. Jazz artists Ray has performed with include Marcus Belgrave, Wendell Harrison, Bobby Shew, and Andy Martin.

Bud Schultz holds a Bachelor of Music degree from University of Puget Sound. Bud plays both piano and vibraphone, and combined with the rich acoustics in the Ponderay, Bud's vibraphone is not to be missed. He has played and recorded with such greats as Milt Hinton, Larry Bunker, and Martin Denny. He is the former accompanist for Patti Suzuki, and has accompanied such jazz notables as Mel Torme, Johnny Desmond, Dorothy Dandridge, and Helen O'Connell.

Pete Toyne, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist, is a Northwest native who has played hundreds of venues all over the globe over a fifty year career. Pete has operated his own jazz clubs, the most recent in Port Townsend, WA. He has shared the stage with jazz luminaries Herb Ellis, Howard Roberts, Charlie Byrd, and others. He is presently involved in CD and DVD recordings of his own compositions.

Rick White is a classically trained composer and jazz bassist, which combine to make both his compositions and his playing truly unique. His first experiences as a bassist were in R&B bands playing clubs all over the Western U.S. giving him strong roots in groove oriented music. After this he chose to pursue a more formal music education and received a masters degree in Music Composition from Northern Illinois University, where his compositions received top awards each year he attended. While in school Rick maintained a busy schedule as a sideman as well as back up to many guest artists such as Tito Puente, Clark Terry, Mark Murphy, and Bob Mintzer to name a few. Currently, Rick is the Director of Instrumental Music at Olympic College where he teaches music theory, jazz theory, bass lessons, and conducts both the Jazz and Wind ensembles.