New Arts Jazztet

Bob Allison, trumpet/flugelhorn
Tim Pitchford, trombone
Dick Kelley, reeds
Phil Brown, bass
Ron Coulter, drum set and percussion
Met Goot, piano

The New Arts Jazztet The New Arts Jazztet has long been regarded as southern Illinois' premier jazz group, regularly presenting an engaging selection of original works, forged in the energy of neo bop and the eclecticism of contemporary jazz. The NAJ’s club dates have included Cincinnati’s Blue Wisp, Chicago’s Pops for Champagne, and other nightspots around the Midwest; its concert, clinic and festival engagements have comprised a number of universities and other performance venues throughout the Heartland. The group has appeared with several prominent jazz artists, and performed as part of a live statewide television broadcast, Arts Across Illinois: CenterStage (2004), at WTTW/Channel 11, Chicago. The New Arts Jazztet was recently selected for inclusion in the Illinois Arts Council’s 2007-08 Artstour Artist Roster. Each spring, the group presents a formal all-original concert as part of the Southern Illinois Jazz Festival, and is a featured ensemble at the Southern Illinois Music Festival each summer. The New Arts Jazztet is in residence at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where most of its members are School of Music faculty.

Bob Allison, trumpet/flugelhorn

Bob Allison, the only founding member of the New Arts Jazztet, hails from Memphis, Tennessee, and is presently Associate Professor of Trumpet and Jazz Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  He has also taught at Millikin University and the Latvian National Conservatory in Riga, Latvia.  Besides fulfilling his teaching duties, Dr. Allison is active as a recitalist and clinician.  He has been a soloist with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra on numerous occasions. Dr. Allison has performed with several jazz artists, including Stanley Clarke, Cal Collins, Willie Thomas and James Williams. He received most of his training at the University of Illinois, where he was a student of Ray Sasaki, David Hickman and Mike Tunnel.  Dr. Allison has studied extensively with jazz trumpeter, Willie Thomas, and is also a former winner of the International Trumpet Guild's Jazz Improvisation Competition.

Tim Pitchford, trombone

Tim Pitchford is a native Floridian. He is the new trombone instructor at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and joins the New Arts Jazztet in Fall 2007. As a professional trombonist, Dr. Pitchford has performed with Joe Williams, Maureen McGovern, Arturo Sandoval, The Manhattan Transfer, John Pizzarelli, Patti Austin, Byron Stripling, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, the Woody Herman Orchestra, and many others. He has recorded on several Grammy- and Latin Grammy-nominated albums and numerous independent and commercial recordings. He is a member of the Kai Winding Award-winning Piedmont Trombone Society, a jazz trombone ensemble from Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Pitchford received a B.M. from the University of North Florida, an M.M. from Georgia State University, and a D.M.A. from the University of Miami. Currently, he performs throughout North, Central, and South America with K.C. and the Sunshine Band.

 

 

Dick Kelley, reeds

Presently Lecturer in Saxophone and Music Theory at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Dick Kelley has performed at many venues both in North America and abroad.  As a classical saxophonist, Mr. Kelley has performed at several conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance and World Saxophone Congress.  Additionally, Dick has also been fortunate to perform at the United States Navy Band Saxophone Symposium and participate in masterclasses with Jean-Marie Londeix, Nobuya Sugawa, Jean-Yves Formeau, William Street and Claude DeLangle.  As a jazz musician, Mr. Kelley has been privileged to perform and record with some incredible musicians including performances at IAJE conferences in New York City.  Dick has shared the stage with Kenny Werner, Stefon Harris, Dick Oatts, Bobby Shew, Glenn Wilson, Bob Berg, Chris Potter and Jon Faddis to name a few. Dick has been fortunate to study with great teachers such as Perry Rask, Paul Bro, Debra Richtmeyer, Chip McNeill, Dick Oatts, Glenn Wilson and Ron Bridgewater.  Mr. Kelley’s bachelor’s degree was earned at Millikin University, his MM at Indiana State University and his DMA is in progress at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

 

Phil Brown, bass

A native of Amarillo, Texas, Phil Brown is currently Associate Professor of Double Bass and Jazz Studies, as well as Coordinator of Music Business at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.  He joined the New Arts Jazztet as bassist in 1991. Notable among the many jazz artists with whom Mr. Brown has performed are Pepper Adams, Lockjaw Davis, Herb Ellis, Steve Gadd, Red Garland, Dizzy Gillespie, Tom Harrell, Delfeayo Marsalis, Mark Murphy, and Clark Terry. He has also served as a clinician and adjudicator at a number of national and area jazz competitions, camps and festivals, most recently the University of Louisville Jazz Week. Mr. Brown received his graduate degree in music education from North Texas State University, where he was a member of NTSU's highly acclaimed jazz ensemble, the One O'Clock Lab Band.  His undergraduate degree in composition was completed at Northwestern University.  Mr. Brown's bass teachers have included Lawrence Hurst, Ringwalt Warner, Evan Tonsing, Warren Benfield and Edward Rainbow.  He studied composition with M. William Karlins and with Luciano Berio. Mr. Brown’s recent writing efforts have produced over two dozen originals for the New Arts Jazztet.  In 2003, the Illinois Arts Council honored him for his work and commitment within the arts with an Artist Fellowship Award in music composition.

Ron Coulter
drums and percussion

Ron Coulter grew up in Hermitage, Pennsylvania and earned his B.M. and M.M. degrees in percussion performance from Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio.  His primary study has been with Dr. Glenn Schaft, Feza Zweifel, John Riley, Tony Leonardi, Fred Morris and Nina DeCiancio. Mr. Coulter has been a free-lance percussionist since 1997, performing and composing within musical settings ranging from electronica to the marching percussion idiom.  As a drum set performer, he has toured internationally with the Glenn Miller Orchestra appearing in 41 U.S. states and most major cities in Canada and Japan.  Additionally he has performed with such artists as The Four Aces, Donadi, Sean Jones, Al Martino, Galen Abdur-Razzaq, Dominick Farinacci, The Gaylords, The Cornerstone Trio, and Christina Fontanelli. Currently Mr. Coulter is the Instructor of Percussion Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he teaches applied percussion lessons, percussion techniques, the Marching Saluki Drum Line, the SIUC Percussion Ensemble, and performs with the New Arts Jazztet, which he joined in 2005.

Mel Goot
piano

Pianist Mel Goot was born in San Diego, and spent his early years in Mexico City. Self-taught, he was still a teen when he played his first professional job and record date with the Teddy Picou Quartet. Mel later attended San Diego State University, where, for four years, he was the top pianist with the award-winning SDSU Jazz Ensemble. Following college, he gave jazz history presentations and jazz improvisation clinics at San Diego and Los Angeles area schools under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Arts. Mel Goot has appeared at various national and international festivals, including Monterey, San Diego, Los Angeles, Riverside, Reno, San Felipe, Borrego Springs, and Tijuana. He has performed with artists such as Charles McPherson, Mark Dresser, Nathan East, Hollis Gentry, Daniel Jackson, Luis Gasca, Cal Tjader, Poncho Sanchez, John Heard, Carol Kaye, Dee Dee McNeil, Kevyn Lettau, Peter Sprague, Jaime Valle, Abraham Laboriel, Leon Pettis, Bobby Shew, and Dave Valentin. Mel has also performed with big bands behind Solomon Burke, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Steve Allen. From 1995 until 2006 and once again in 2008, Mel serves as pianist with the New Arts Jazztet, an SIUC faculty group. He remains active performing both as a solo artist and as a pianist with various groups and artists.

For booking information, contact a caldera entertainment at 618.549.8051 or at http://www.acaldera.com/

 

 

All photos by Russell Bailey