Sonja Rough TAMBOURINE 6 28 1

Chucho

Invitation

Manteca edited

Memories of Tomorrow

05 Fall

Off the cuff xmas eve jam SOLO 12.24

Besame Mucho

Bounces lullaby am 8.4.11

Zack Ferris started piano at the ripe age of five and has continued to this day pursuing his love of playing the keyboard. Zack has composed pieces ranging from twelve tone rows, to four part contrapuntal fugues, to TV jingles to brass fanfares to big band charts to pop singles. He practiced Mizu Chiiki karate with 9th Dan professor Brooklyn based Grandmaster Hanshi O. Lane. After receiving his BA in Filmscore from Berklee College of Music six years ago Zack decided to hit the west coast. He got his feet wet as an educator focusing specifically on the art of improvisation at the Blue Bear School of American Music. Then he landed a job instructing students about motif writing at Cogswell College. He shared his knowledge of music theory teaching at Pyramind in San Francisco and educated others in piano improvisation at New Mozart School and the Palo Alto School of the Performing Arts. Currently, he has instructed all ages at Vibomusic and has taught theory and Emagic Logic intensive courses at Cogswell College.

 

Additionally he provides tech support for all musical applications with a company called obedia.com.He signed with an independent label called Music in the Vines in 2000. Ferris scouted for Promofm.com. Ferris did music synthesis for somatone.com. His influences include Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Danilo Perez, Keith Jarrett, Meschell N’dechello, Bobby McPherrin, Soulive, Kenny Garrett, Mccoy Tyner, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Arturo Sandoval, Guillermo Rubacaba, Eddie Palimieri and Sting to name a few. He has appeared as a guest artist on KCSM with his last jazz release Chasing the Cheetah. He is working on his next two releases one entitled 1,2,3 which is mostly solo jazz piano and the other is an album dedicated to Afro-Cuban music. He is cowriting a Las Vegas style show mirroring Benise.com with dancer/educator Brie Kaanoi debuting in March which is being directed by Vernon “Ice” Black (worked with Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Chakka Kahn and many others) . Zack played with the 70s coverband Remix featuring Larry Jazz Thomas ( MJ, Whispers). He was an understudy with Coto Pincheira( who was mentored by Chucho Valdes and Gonzalo Rubalcaba.) and is currently a sideman at Rasselas with Gary Flores.

 

In Jan 2010 he was asked to direct Orcestra Conquistado with congero Carlos Ramirez. Recently he joined hands with Brie Kaanoi (Stevie W, Janet J, Miss World Fitness 1990) to form Funktofugue productions. He also plays with Quanti Bomani (Harlem, NY) and the Urban Insight Group. He has collaborated with Baba Tunde Leah, Carl Perazzo (Santanaís percussionist), Naim Satya,Ledisi, Josh Jones, Curtis Ohlson, Bobby Bryant, Stymie and the PJLO, La Gran Orquestra, Mingo Lewis (worked with many jazz greats), Josh Jones, Nicole “Butta” Pearson (American Idol finalist) , Larry Jazz Thomas and Ziggy Modeliste.

Funktofugue

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