Artists

Blake Aaron has come a long way from the kid who played rock shows on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood and toured with R&B acts like The Drifters, The Coasters, Little Anthony, Mary Wells, and Bobby Womack. Aaron, who, even from the beginning and through it all, always loved, played and studied jazz, is a guitarist who is known best for his passionate musical style, his memorable compositions, his soul and technical expression on the instrument, and his ability to connect with an audience. Since those early days, Aaron has been a staple on the national music scene for many years both as a live performer and in the studio.

Aaron has been the guitarist for such television shows as "MAD TV" (FOX), "The Starlet" (w/Faye Dunaway) (UPN), "10-8" (ABC), "The Jamie Kennedy Experiment" (WB), "Gary and Mike" (UPN),"The Ben Stiller Show" (FOX), "Sunday Night Comics" (FOX), and has recorded and/or performed with such artists as Steve Reid's Bamboo Forest, Eric Marienthal, Bobby Womack and Carlos Santana (Womack-Save the Children) and The Gap Band.

In 1995, Greg Vail released his debut solo record, eMotion on Brainchild Records. In 1996, when he left Kilauea, he recorded Sax by Candlelight for TimeLife. In 2000, Vail began his own record label, Greg Vail Music, and currently has five releases on the label including Christmas, the Hymns 2000, The GospelTruth2001, the re-release of eMotion 2002, Is It Christmas Yet? 2004, and The Gospel Truth Revisited 2006.

Scheduled for release in 2008, Smooth Jazz Classics on Innervision Records.

Smooth Jazz Classics contains 13 tracks of favorite, classic instrumentals. Songs including Klemmer’s Touch, Grover’s Make Me a Memory, Affirmation, Feel’s So Good, Biggest Part of Me and more.

Utilizing some of the hottest names in jazz, Vail and co-producer Tony Guerrero developed a fresh approach to these smooth standards, maintaining the heart of the originals while developing exciting arrangements and orchestrations and using the latest in recording technology. Favorite songs, amazing performances by a cast of world class musicians - Smooth Jazz Classics.

The band includes Tony Guerrero Keys and Brass, Gannin Arnold Guitar, and Melvin Davis Bass. Special guests include David Pack, Grant Geissman, Blake Aaron, Rob Whitlock, Steve Di Stanislao, Julio Figueroa, Wayne Bergeron, Keith Smith and Shannon Kennedy.

Greg Vail has been signed as a Yamaha Performing Artist for eighteen years; he also endorses the AKAI EWI, Audio Technica Wireless and KenKase Reed Cases.

In addition to his reputation as an artist/performer, Greg Vail has made a name for himself as an educator in the Internet world with dozens of educational music sites online and ongoing contributions to Forums, Blogs and News Groups. In his own words, “We have to learn all we can, and then give it away to ever really make a difference.”

Saxophonist Greg Vail has been a vital participant in the music industry over the last few decades and will continue to grow to be one of the most prolific musicians on the instrumental jazz scene. In the words of the national jazz author, Jonathan Widran, “Whether [he is] blowing a tenderly passionate soprano sax, firing up his exciting and playful alto, or edging into a more aggressive stance with his brilliant technique on tenor sax, Greg Vail is a show stopper nonpareil, and one of the most dynamic saxophone players on today’s instrumental scene.”

At age five, Shaun appeared in his first nationally televised commercial for the Lakeside Toys game called “Drop in the Bucket,” and he also taught himself to play drums. Shaun was faced with the decision to pursue a career in television as an actor or become a musician. This child prodigy has done all of the above. Shaun isn’t your typical jazz artist. He is the son of Larry LaBelle legendary TV producer on hit shows such as the Milton Berle show, and campaigns with Betty Crocker, Land O’Lakes and Hamm’s Beer.

Shaun learned from the best and it’s no accident where he is today. Shaun engulfs himself in the media entertainment business, from recording and producing a diversity of styles from Ray Charles to Everette Harp. To starring in the entertainment based show, What’s Up In Hollywood for KARE11, NBC-Minneapolis. Current date he’s in production with American Idol fame Paula Abdul on her new album and nominated for commercial advertisements in production and voice over work. Shaun is a multi-instrumentalist in bass, drums, keyboards and guitar and is a multi-top ten writer with a number one hit in Europe with Warner Bros Pop R&B artist Shola Ama, winner of Brits Best Artist. (UK’s version of the Grammy's)

After high school he attended Cal State University at Hayward and was selected as a freshman to play with Dave Eshelmann’s top Jazz Ensemble and was also working professionally to help pay for his college tuition. With the CSUH Jazz Ensemble, Daniel had the pleasure of touring all over California and parts of Nevada, as well as a tour of Southern Brazil. By this time Daniel had discovered the amazing music of such artists as Jaco Pastorious, Dave Holland, D’Angelo, and Squarepusher which inspired him to begin to write and perform his own music. At age 19 he’d been tabbed to be the bassist for Matt Catingub’s “Copa Cat Pack Band,” with Concord Jazz Records.

Daniel would go on to tour with several popular jazz artists, including, Rosemary Clooney and Michael Feinstein, as Bassist for The Big Kahuna and the Copa Cat Pack. With Rosemary and Michael, over a four year period, Daniel made several appearances on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” and “The View,” toured all over the continental U.S., Hawaii, Germany, and Canada, and performed at many popular Jazz Festivals, including, 2000 Stuttgart Jazz Open, 2000-1 Westbury Jazz Festivals, NY, 2001 Maysville Jazz Festival, KY, and also 2000-1 Human Rights Campaign, DC. With Big Kahuna, Daniel performed and recorded with the reputable Honolulu Pops Orchestra; and recorded four full length CD's with Concord Jazz Records, two of which were Grammy Nominated. And, he still managed to complete his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Performance and Composition at the same time.

Daniel has become one of the top call bassists in the San Francisco Bay Area. Recently, touring with Terry Disley from Acoustic Alchemy, Daniel has performed at the Jazz Trax Smooth Jazz Festival at Incline Village, Lake Tahoe and the Jazz Trax Smooth Jazz Festival at Catalina Island in 2004. Daniel is also featured on Terry Disley's latest album entitled, "Across the Pond." Since 2003 Daniel has released three full length original jazz albums of his own "The All For You Project," "Cruise Control," and "The Next Level," as well as masterful Christmas Album, "Have Yourself a Fretless Little Christmas." He is now working on yet a fourth album which will be out in August 2009.

Fans were introduced to Will Donato's musical and performing abilities with some of the best musicians in the west, including Grammy Award winner George Landress, Gregg Karukas, Blake Aaron, Tony Guerrero, Jeff Caruthers, Steve Reid ( The Rippingtons), Al Mckay (Earth,Wind, and Fire), Bruce Conte (Tower of Power!) and Steve Oliver. You can hear Will’s signature sound on Steve's phenominal chart topping 1 hit single “High Noon.” Will was one of the signature front men of Steve Reids - Bamboo Forest for four years! Outside the Contemporary Jazz genre, he has performed with Richard Marx and Gerald Levert and can be heard on the soundtracks of "Thelma and Louise," "The Untouchables" and "The Wedding Planner."

Live in concert, Will's charismatic performance sets pulses racing with his up-tempo, R&B infused jazz style that can switch from funk and groove to mellow ballads without missing a beat.

Will has over 200 performances scheduled this year throughout the country performing regularly at Jazz Festivals, Clubs, Corporate and Private Events, with various contingents including the Art of Sax. This project has enhanced his reputation as a fine showman as well as musician.

Musically, people had been taking notice of Daniel since the age of 12 when a junior high school music teacher, impressed with his ability to read music, handed him a bass and said, “If you can learn to play this over the summer you can be my bass player in the jazz band.” And so he did. Over the next few years, a lot of hard work, lessons, and hours of practice kept him advancing through high school jazz band.

Inspired by great teachers and legendary artists such as Billy Joel, Journey, Rush, and many more from all genres, Daniel began to focus his talents and by age 17, had become an accomplished jazz, swing, and rock bassist.

Often defined as “…[playing with] raging action… stunningly rich… charismatic… totally engaging…”, saxophonist Greg Vail has established himself as a key component of the music industry.

Greg Vail has toured and recorded with some of the hottest names in the jazz, pop, and Christian music scenes including Rick Braun, Peter White, Greg Adams, Josh Groban, Petra, Crystal Lewis, Natalie Cole, Al Jarreau, Michael McDonald, Earth Wind and Fire, and Smokey Robinson. Over the last 30 years, Vail has also made appearances for everything from television and cable, BET Jazz, History, Fox News, TBN, to the national commercial for TimeLife Records promoting the renowned Sax by Candlelight and Sax by Moonlight CDs which sold in the millions worldwide.

Vail first picked up the saxophone at the age of six and continued to play throughout his education, graduating in 1984 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Cal State Long Beach. After graduation, he worked with many local area bands until joining smooth jazz super group, Kilauea, in 1991. Vail recorded four albums

with Kilauea before joining up with smooth jazz guitar sensation Peter White.

Blake's debut Innervision release, With Every Touch (2001), included special guest appearances by Eric Marienthal and David Benoit. Three singles from this CD would remain in the Top 50 on the Gavin/SmoothJazz.com charts for at least 8 weeks each.

The single "She's So Fine" from his second album, Bringin' It Back (2004), propelled Blake into the forefront of contemporary jazz by remaining in the Top 30 on the Radio and Records charts for 8 straight weeks. Two singles would reach the top 100 of the year on the R&R charts.

Blake recently took a brief sabbatical from solo recording to focus on his studio career and live shows, but has returned with an exceptional new CD. Additionally, with the assistance of All Star Music Lessons, Blake has produced three instructional videos for the guitar. Meanwhile, he continued his studio work with several television shows, which included regular recording sessions and an appearance on Mad TV.

Shaun’s producing career has been filled with legendary groups such as David Pack, (Ambrosia) multiple records with Everette Harp, (1992- Present) Jeff Kashiwa, and Steve Reid (Rippingtons.) Shaun has worked with Branford Marsalis, and the group Pieces of a Dream. He founded Clive Davis’s group No Mercy who sold 5 million albums worldwide. Shaun performed bass on the Larger Than Life tour for Grammy award winning recording artist Jody Watley. Shaun is integrated with three major publishing deals that include two from Warner Chappell and today’s world’s largest music publisher EMI.

Now this accomplished producer is getting back to his roots. The record came to be, as numerous artist felt it was time for Shaun to come out with his own album. With a little help from his friends, Shaun called his music powerhouse entourage featuring Tom Saviano, (Executive Producer of Desert Nights) and Everette Harp. Platinum Mint Condition superstar drummer Stokley Williams and guitarist David Barry who is currently in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace performing on stage with Cher. Adding legendary Grammy award winning mixer Rob Chiarelli (All of Will Smith’s Albums and hits such as Gangsta’s Paradise) Desert Nights is a refreshing edge to smooth Jazz.

One of Western New York’s premiere instrumental performers, Jack Prybylski’s (purr-bill-ski) career as an award-winning saxophone player has included nine full-length recordings, endorsements, world travel and the opportunity to work with some of the most respected names in contemporary music

Jack grew up in a suburb of Buffalo, New York and first got his hands on a saxophone when he was in the third grade. The young student cut his teeth on Chicago and the hot soul bands of the day like Earth, Wind and Fire. His musical explorations led from soul to jazz and influential players like Tom Scott and David Sanborn. After graduating from State University of New York at Buffalo, Jack would make a name for himself by paying his dues on the East Coast club scene

Over the years Jack has been fortunate enough to further study saxophone with renowned jazz players David Leibman, Tim Price, David Schaivone and, former Buffalo Philharmonic bass clarinet-ist/saxophonist Edward Yadzinski. As a recording artist, he has released seven albums with Buffalo-based eclectic jazz group Them Jazzbeards, including the soundtrack for the motion picture Shadow Creature. As a performer, Jack has shared the stage with many of the top names in contemporary jazz including Richard Elliott, David Sanborn, The Rippingtons, and Spyro Gyra, and has performed with the prestigious Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Jack is a ten-time recipient of the Buffalo Music Awards top saxophonist award, having won the award for the fourth consecutive year in December 2008.

In 2001, Jack released his solo debut Soho Strut, which produced the Internet radio single Mandalay Bay. Smoothjazz.com President Sandy Shore hailed the CD as "Filling in the cracks between modern jazz and Smooth Jazz... Soho Strut is packed full with great compositions, sophisticated arrangements, creative improvisation, and stellar musicianship.”

Window Shopping, released in early 2006, employed the talents of acclaimed contemporary jazz guitarist and producer Ken Navarro. A mutual friend was responsible for the creative pairing when she suggested Ken contact Jack for some ideas on Internet radio resources. A longtime admirer of Ken’s work, Jack was thrilled. The two had a real connection right away, and as Jack was beginning preliminary work on Win-dow Shopping, he asked if Ken might be interested in contributing a song or making an appearance on the album. Ken was more than interested, and in addition to producing the CD, he provided all the guitar tracks as well as an original composition entitled “Bright Spot.” “It was great working with Ken on this pro-ject and drawing on his experience not only as a musician and producer, but also as a label owner and an icon in this genre for years,” says Jack.

An unpredicted firestorm of accolades followed the release of Window Shopping. A 2006 top ten with Smooth Jazz News, Window Shopping would also find itself a favorite on several other year-end lists and reviewers.

Jon Dalton is a consummate jazz guitarist.

After a successful career as an international touring session musician, Jon returned to the UK to form his first jazz based outfit the Latin tinged Dit-Da. BBC radio recorded numerous sessions of their original music for national and international radio broadcast.

The band's relaxed sound pre-dated the commercial acceptance of Smooth Jazz by almost a decade.

At the same time, in common with artists like George Benson and Chuck Loeb, Jon did not neglect his passionate study of more mainstream jazz styles and is

equally at home burning up on a classic standard like “Stella By Starlight” as he is composing radio friendly tunes like "The Gift" which reached number one on the New York based CIM jazz radio chart.

Jon relocated to Southern California in 1999.

His latest project is a swinging Guitar & Organ based trio featuring the amazing John-Paul Gard on Hammond and top London session player Andy Roger on Drums.

Their classic trio CD “Warm Ghosts (in a) Cold World” is scheduled for US release in ’09.

Jon's style has been compared to Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny and even Johnny Smith but his style is unique and instantly recognizable.

Also a prolific writer, his compositions have been featured on BBC Television and Radio, The Weather Channel in the United States and countless broadcast and internet radio stations worldwide. Jon is a contributing composer to Carlin Music Libraries.

A veteran of the music scene, Hart has opened for jazz legends like Ron Eschete, Tom Scott, Russell Malone, McCoy Tyner, Mel Torme, and Kirk Whalum. Seasoned by the American and European tour circuit, previous partnerships include a successful tour with Larry Pierce (Blood, Sweat and Tears).

Hart’s studio work and writing talents eventually landed him an appointment as co-writer and arranger for a pilot series and a full-time position as a music director for a music network.

A firm believer in the power of education, Hart has taught private lessons for many years and previously served on the faculty of Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Utah and in Oklahoma.

Hart’s style incorporates a variety of influences. From hard-bop to funk and soul, Hart possesses an energy-infused vibe that successfully bridges the genre gap. Most importantly, Hart intertwines both improvisation and melodic composition to create songs that interest the ear, while pleasing the soul.

Eric Bolvin is an award-winning California Composer/Arranger with a schedule that includes playing, writing, teaching, and producing music. As a session player and arranger, Eric has recorded over 50 CDs for A&M Records and Mesa/Blue Moon Records. He has played or recorded with Russell Ferrante, Jeff Lorber, Dennis Chambers and Greg Adams; as a composer and arranger, his works have been performed by Jerry Bergonzi, Ernie Watts, Grant Geissman and many others. Eric’s lush, soulful trumpet playing demonstrates why he was charted in 2008-2009 on Smooth Jazz Radio, playing on 85 stations nationwide and his songs and cues are currently carried by some of the industry’s top libraries.

Eric Bolvin has released four solo CDs on his EBjazz Records label; Eric Bolvin’s Quorum in 2002, The Night, The Rain And You in 2007, The Lost Recordings in 2008 and Workin’ It in 2009.

The list of iconic musicians Eric has performed with also include Richie Cole, Dave Weckl, Carl Saunders, Steve Smith, Bobby Shew, Dave Liebman, Dee Daniels, Wayne Bergeron, Tom Scott, Norton Buffalo, Brian Bromberg and many others

Eric owns his own publishing company, Faded Duck Music, which currently publishes his books and compositions. Eric is the author of The Really Big Student Songbook, The Arban Manual, The Modern Jazz Trumpet Method and Tongue Level & Air-26 Lessons to Efficient Trumpet Playing.

Eric maintains a website www.BolvinMusic.com which features free instructional videos, demos and music for all musicians.