Composer and Guitarist Jim Scully recalls his earliest exposure to music - his grandfather Carmen Caputo - playing jazz standards and TV theme songs by ear at the piano.  "He had a great ear, and tons of knowledge about harmony and melody.  When I was old enough to really listen to him, I learned a lot."

Scully started playing the guitar at age eleven, and practiced extensively throughout his teens.  He entered college at CSU Bakersfield in the fall of 1991 to study music.  He followed his heart - focusing on jazz guitar performance and composition. As an undergrad, his works were performed throughout California by jazz groups featuring students in the CSUB jazz program, helping him win composition awards presented by the Pacific Coast Collegiate Jazz Festival and the Bakersfield Symphony.  "I was fortunate to be at CSUB during an especially exciting time. I was able to perform regularly with stellar student colleagues who pushed me to be smarter, better and work harder at my craft.  Making music with Kris Tiner, Dennis Hamm and Kyle Burnham - among others - helped shape me musically."

After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, Scully began graduate studies in jazz composition with acclaimed pianists Billy Childs and Kei Akagi at University of California, Irvine.  He earned his Master of Fine Arts in Music in 2002.  "Kei was a joy to work with. He was always supportive, and his extraordinary skill always reminded you that there was much work to do.  You wanted to get better to show him you were worth his considerable effort."

"My most lasting memory of UCI might be sitting at the piano and playing my piece Bouncing About for violin and piano during composition seminar as a four-hand duet with Billy Childs.  It was fun to talk music with both of them - they were so generous with their knowledge."

In the Spring of 2003, Scully landed back in Bakersfield as a lecturer in Theory, Jazz, Technology and Guitar at CSUB.  Since his appointment, he has served as Director of Small Jazz Ensembles, the Guitar Ensemble, The Bakersfield Student Composers' Concert and The CSUB Audio/MIDI Lab.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Scully has kept busy as a composer.  He is an ASCAPlus Award winner, has received multiple grants from American Composers Forum and the Teacher Learning Center at CSU Bakersfield and has had works commissioned by Dr. Nicolas Deuson, Rachel Arnold and Ashley Addington and Dr. Keith Calmes.  His pieces have been performed around the US at concerts, recitals, master classes and various conferences.   Three works are commercially available on the Beauport Classical and Navona labels.

Ted Mason is a former member of the multiplatinum British rock/pop band Modern English and an EMMY nominated film producer. The band has sold over 6 million records in the United States with hit songs such as Melt with you, “Hands across the Sea, Ricochet Days,” 16 Days to name a few. He is a producer, composer (composing and producing the music for the Academy Award winning HBO doc “Prudence’s Song”) as well as a lead guitarist, Classical/Flamenco/Bebop guitarist, singer, songwriter he is President of his own Record Label Mi5 Recordings, a Universal distributed label.  He is also a prime investor and partner with the film company Umbrella Media LLC www.thisisumbrella.com

In addition to playing in Modern English, Mr. Mason has worked as a producer/musician with such artists as AKON, Chris Brown, Mary J Blige, Jeff Beck, Robert Plant, Santana, Dead Prez, Midge Ure, Bob Geldoff, the Verve, Jesus and the Mary Chain, Prince, Papa Wemba, Khaled, Youssou N’dour , Sandra Bernhard, Real Roxanne, Macy Grey, Thomas Mapfumo, and Peter Gabriel. He has successfully released back catalog and obscure Modern English tracks through his label as well as a huge roster of artists from Hip Hop to Africa Soukous. He now performs as a solo artist in the United States, Europe and Africa, blending British Rock with world and African music.

Producing
Mr. Mason has worked as a producer/musician with such artists as AKON, Chris Brown, Mary J Blige, Jeff Beck, Robert Plant, Santana, Dead Prez, Midge Ure, Bob Geldoff, the Verve, Jesus and the Mary Chain, Prince, Papa Wemba, Khaled, Youssou N’dour, Sandra Bernhard, Real Roxanne, Macy Grey, Thomas Mapfumo, and Peter Gabriel. In 2010 he has toured in Central Africa backed by Rwanda's Soukous All Stars and a duet with Lokua Kanza while producing the Fes Pad concert series for the country of Rwanda. He is currently producing a new solo album, an album with Hip Hop superstars Mobb Deep and a duet with Wyclef Jean and Mona Lisa.

Film Production
Mr. Mason has also worked as a composer and film producer on many films including the HBO Academy Award Winning Documentary film project "Music By Prudence," directed Roger Ross Williams. Past directors he has worked with included Milos Forman. He also works closely with his wife Jennifer Brunetti, (former company owner of Fbi Productions, Inc.) in producing video, film and live concert events most notably "Volvo for Life Awards" which included production logistics and booking of such acts as Sheryl Crow, Ziggy Marley, and Suzanne Vega.

The artistic scope of renowned saxophonist, composer, painter, and poet Oliver Lake’s half-century-long career is unparalleled. An extensive resume of his collaborations includes work with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Flux String Quartet, Bjork, Lou Reed, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Me’shell Ndegeocello, Anthony Braxton, James Blood Ulmer, William Parker, Vijay Iyer, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille and a veritable who’s who of the jazz vanguard. Oliver’s efforts extend far beyond the music, with his creation of the non-profit Passin’ Thru organization, becoming a mainstay at Pittsburgh’s City of Asylum, publishing two books of poetry and frequently producing visual artwork for exhibitions across the country.

Lake’s breadth of disciplines can be traced back to his formative years with the Black Artists Group, the innovative St. Louis collective of musicians, poets, dancers and painters he helped architect over 35 years ago. As a co-founder of the internationally acclaimed World Saxophone Quartet (with fellow luminaries David Murray, Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett), Oliver firmly established himself in the “Loft” jazz scene of the 1970’s in New York City, and has since produced a body of work that is both expansive and versatile enough to avoid falling solely into the trappings of the “avant-garde” and “free” labels. The fact that his work can stand on compositional merit alone, all while he has etched a place for himself as one of the elite saxophone players and improvisers of recent times, is a testament to Oliver Lake’s stature as an artist.

Lake’s output as an exacting and unequivocally original composer has long been celebrated, highlighted by commissions awarded from the Library of Congress, the Rockefeller Foundation ASCAP, the International Association for Jazz Education, Composers Forum and the McKim Foundation. He has been the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship and was also presented with the Mellon Jazz Living Legacy Award at the Kennedy Center in 2006.

In 2014, Oliver was honored with what is arguably the greatest recognition of his artistry and vision to date, becoming one of only nineteen grantees appointed for the prestigious Doris Duke Artist Award, a multi-year grant awarded to American artists in the fields of jazz, theater and dance. 

A trailblazer through and through, Oliver Lake continues to produce in the vociferous, uncompromising way he only knows how to, currently immersed in the work of such adventurous ensembles as the Oliver Lake Organ Quartet, Oliver Lake Big Band and Trio 3.

For more informations, visit oliverlake.net & facebook.com/oliverlakejazz


Anthony Donofrio currently teaches composition, theory, and new music at the University of Nebraska Kearney. His artistic influences include the relationship between literary structure and music, evening-length pieces, and the music of Morton Feldman. More information can be found at www.donofrio-music.com. Photo credit: Aleksandr Karjaka/Karjaka Studios. www.karjaka.com

Avant Guard/Electronic Record Label run by Artists

Meeting at the crossroads of Jazz and chamber music, David Dvorin (archtop guitar) and Matej Seda (violin) of Pull-string Duo create intimate and involving ensemble performances of original compositions. Truly un-classifiable, the group strives to synthesize seemingly disparate musical elements with such diverse influences as 17th century viol music, modern jazz, rustic blues, American and European folk music, and avant-garde chamber music.

14 Re - releases of my indie albums on my website savoirfairejazzviolinist.com, Buy ,Share ,Like !!Check em out !!

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