FACULTY

John Blake Jr.
Jazz Violinist - Composer - Producer - Teacher - Lecturer - Author
He was voted one of the top two jazz violinists in the Down Beat Readers' Poll. John Blake Jr. will direct "You must Believe in String" Ensemble. John has presented his jazz for strings method at numerous A.S.T.A and I.A.J.E.workshops nationwide. John has performed with many of the jazz greats including McCoy Tyner and Dr. Billy Taylor.

As well as performing with his quartet and as a solo, he has appeared with the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the McCoy Tyner Trio, Turtle Island String Quartet, Quartet Indigo, the Steve Turre Sextet, and the Billy Taylor Trio.

Blake has augmented his work as an instrumentalist, composer and producer by becoming an author, teacher and lecturer, passing on his unique and hard-won knowledge. He presents hundreds of educational concerts and workshops annually to musicians on all levels. He has co-written, JIME, The Jazz Improvisation Method for String Players with Suzuki teacher Jody Harmon, the definitive beginning string jazz method book and CD, in use all over the world. He also lectures on campuses all over the country and is a faculty member at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and at the Manhattan School of Music in New York, and he has been a guest lecturer at Berklee School of Music in Boston. He was the winner of the 2004 winter semester Basler Chair of Excellence at East Tennessee State University, and the 2004 winner of the Chamber Music America ­ Jazz Composer Grant/Award.

He has also been Artist in Residence for the States of New Jersey, Ohio, Nebraska and Pennsylvania. Blake has become a leading voice in jazz improvisation for string players. He is constantly sought after by string organizations such as the Suzuki Foundation in various cities throughout the U.S. and the American String Teachers Association. His concerts, seminars and workshops have taken him all over the United States, South America, Europe and Japan.

Armen Donelian, has performed with Sonny Rollins, Mongo Santamaria, and Chet Baker. Armen Donelian is a Fulbright Scholar and two-time Fulbright Senior Specialist. He has received six NEA Jazz Fellowships, five Meet the Composer grants, one New Jersey State Council on the Arts 2000 grant, one CEC International Partners/Artslink Collaborative grant, and one Faculty Development grant from New School University. He is the author of Training the Ear and Training the Ear Vol. 2 (Advance), articles in Rutgers Annual Review of Jazz Studies, and Downbeat and Keyboard magazines. He is on the faculty of the New School and William Paterson University.

Billy Hart, one of several percussion instructors, is one of the most established lyrical and creative drummers in the jazz world. He has performed with Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Pharoah Sanders, and Stan Getz.
Billy Hart is a Yamaha Artist.

Christian Howes, an up-and-coming young jazz violinist, has 5 self-produced recordings, regularly performs in Europe and the US, and has worked with Greg Osby, D.D. Jackson, and others.
Christian Howes is a Yamaha Artist.

Mike Lee, saxophonist, is a Selmer clinician and helps to coordinate our annual UNITED WE JAM celebration of Jazz for students, teachers, and families. Mike has performed with Joe Lovano, Rosemary Clooney, The Woody Herman Orchestra, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, The Maria Schneider Orchestra, Eliot Zigmund, Tim Hagans, John Hart, and Natalie Cole. Mike Lee is the esteemed director of Cecil's Big Band, performing Monday evenings at Cecil's Jazz Club in West Orange.

Michael Mossman will teach trumpet and will direct the Latin Jazz Ensemble. Michael Philip Mossman has been active on the international scene since the age of 17. Composer/arranger in Afro-Cuban and Brazilian jazz, Michael currently publishes music with the Hal Leonard Corp., Three-two Music, Really Good Music, and his own Ryamos Music Co. He has composed and arranged music for Mario Bauza, Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, Eddie Palmieri, Paquito D'Rivera, Joe Henderson, The Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, and the Mingus Big Band.

Michael has toured and recorded with Horace Silver, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Joe Henderson, McKoy Tyner, Gerry Mulligan, Joe Zawinul, Slide Hampton, Toshiko Akiyoshi, George Gruntz, Bob Mintzer, Steve Turre, Anthony Braxton, Roscoe Mitchell, Tom Pierson, The Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, the Charles Mingus Orchestra, Benny Carter, the Gil Evans Orchestra, and the Count Basie Orchestra, Machito, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Chico O'Farrill, Ray Barretto, Daniel Ponce, Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Paquito D'Rivera, Bebo Valdez and Michel Camilo. Michael is featured in the highly acclaimed documentary on contemporary Latin Jazz "Calle 54" as both performer and commentator. Michael served as staff arranger and trumpet soloist for the legendary innovator of salsa, Mario Bauza and his Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra.

Michael has composed and arranged scores for Joe Henderson¹s Grammy winning Big Band album, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, the Count Basie Orchestra, The Charles Mingus Orchestra,Tito Puente, Mario Bauza, Slide Hampton and the Jazz Masters Orchestra, Paquito D'Rivera and the United Nation Orchestra, the UMO Orchestra of Finland, the NDR Big Band of Hamburg, Germany, the Heineken Jazz Festival Orchestra in Puerto Rico, Giovanni Hidalgo, and Ray Barretto's New World Spirit. Michael has also arranged music for the film Bossa Nova.

Michael has given numerous clinics in music performance, composition, and music business in the United States and abroad. These have included the Oberlin Conservatory, the Eastman School of Music, Princeton University, Purchase College, the 1999 IAJE Convention, the New Jersey Teen Arts Festivals.

His arranging credits include The Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, The Chico/Arturo O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz Orchestra, as well as music for the movies "Brazil" and "Calle 54".

He has toured and recorded with numerous groups and artists representing many jazz styles including the Machito Band, Mario Bauza and his Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra. the Charles Mingus Orchestra, The Horace Silver Quartet, OTB, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, Joe Henderson, McCoy Tyner, Michel Camilo, Gerry Mulligan, Joe Zawinul, Steve Turre and others.

He is the Director of Jazz Studies at Queens College/City University of New York. Michael Mossman is a Yamaha Artist Clinician.

Mike Richmond, bass instructor, has performed with Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. He has performed on over 150 CDs. He is on the faculty of NYU and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers State University.

Michele Rosewoman has been heralded for her distinct sound, ensemble concept and compositional approach. She is a recipient of the 2002-20003 CMA grant for her "Quintessence" ensemble and is composer/arranger/director of the "New Yor-Uba" Afro-Cuban Jazz ensemble conceived to perform her original compositions and arrangements which integrate Afro-Cuban folkloric music and contemporary cutting-edge jazz. She has performed with Jimmy Heath, Julian Priester,Oliver Lake, Billy Hart, Rufus Reid, Celia Cruz, Orlando' Puntilla' Rios, Greg Osby, Steve Wilson, Steve Coleman and others. In 2003, she received a Chamber Music America ­ Jazz Composer Grant/Award and worked with students in the Newark Public Schools including Rafael Hernandez Middle School of the Performing Arts. In 1984, Dizzy Gillespie, Marian McPartland and Lester Bowie awarded Michelle Rosewoman the ASCAP/Meet the Composer Commission for Emerging Composers resulting in the opportunity to write a new work for performance by the 40-piece Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra with a quintet of improvisers.

Radam Schwartz brings his great expertise and experience in developing young jazz players. Several of his students were winners of the New Jersey Symphony / Charlie Parker contest. Radam has performed with Arthur Prysock, Cecil Brooks III, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis. He is affiliated with the Jazz Institute of New Jersey.

Glen Barros, President of Concord Jazz Records, is a constant source of advice and inspiration. His most recent success is linked to the new Paul McCartney recording, the first to be released on the Starbucks record label.

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