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It Began
As An Idea...
Lexington Jazz Project
is not just jazz group, it is a concept, cultivated from an idea founding
members Bruce Martin and Tom Covello shared. Based in Lexington Kentucky,
it brings together musicians in the area whose common goal is to explore
the limits of jazz.
What began as a typical
piano / bass / drum configuration with Norman Higgins on drums evolved
to include Ochion Jewell on saxophone, then Rick Cook on flugelhorn.
All along the band strived to approach jazz at different angles through
creative arranging and improvisation. As the personnel changed, the
concept of two keyboards was introduced. It was at this time that the
group had the great fortune of joining forces with Bob Degen, of whose
compositions and vast playing experiences are of legendary proportions.The
group set off in an entirely new direction, carefully working out arrangements
with keyboard synthesizer and piano. It was at this time the band
also collaborated with guitarist Jim Gleason, adding yet another dimension.
Soon to follow was the release of Lexington Jazz
Project's first CD Lithia Valley in April 2003. The majority
of compositions performed on Lithia Valley were written
by Bob Degen, whose unique approach to harmonic exploration, along with
the band's creative use of electronics, culminated in an astonishingly
beautiful recording. The engineering was masterfully executed by Dwight
Dunlap in two sessions, one in July of 2002 and the next in March of
2003. All tracks were recorded simultaneously, and with the exception
of a very small portion in the beginning of track 5, there was no over-dubbing.
The members of the
band are constantly changing. It is a forum that encourages unique combinations
of instruments and electronics, ideas and passions. The current line
up has the LJP back to it's original trio format: John Knight on drums,
with founding Members Tom Covello on electric bass and Bruce Martin
on piano.
~
LEXINGTON JAZZ PROJECT IS
~
( Click on yellow links for each
persons bio & picture, or just continue scrolling)
Tom
Covello 7 String Electric Bass
John
Knight Drums
Bruce
Martin
- Piano, Keyboard Synthesizer
Bob
Degen - Piano
~
PAST MEMBERS & COLLABORATORS ~
(
click on links below for each persons bio)
Tripp Bratton - MalletKAT
and Percussion
Jay Flippin - Keyboard
Ochion Jewell - Tenor & Soprano Saxophone
Rick Cook - Trumpet & Flugelhorn
Jim Gleason - Electric Guitar
CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO ENLARGE
Tom
Covello
Growing
up in the suburbs of New York City, Tom 
attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts where he
studied with instructors Bruce Gertz, Rich Appleman and the late John
Neves. He has recorded with, opened for and shared the stage with artists
such as James Williams, Don Braden, Hal Galper, Don Lamphere, Albert
King, John Hammond, Laura Branigan, The Les Elgart Orchestra, Delfeayo
Marsallis, Tony Joe White, Kenwood Dennard, J.P. Pennington (Exile),
Nnena Freelon, Homer Ledford, The Platters, Odetta, Bradley Dean Birkedahl
(The Dempseys), The Drifters, Larry Cordl, J.D.Crowe, Galen Abdur-Razzaq
and Bela Fleck. Tom also performs regularly with Joey
and the Cruisers, a 10-piece soul and variety showband whose venues
have included fundraisers attended by celebreties, as well as Kentucky
Governor Steve Beshear's Victory Celebration.
John
Knight
Native to Rochester, New York,
drummer John Knight has  experienced major exposure
to the music scene as the owner/operator of Full Circle Recording Studios
located in Traverse City, Michigan. During his 15 year tenure there he
has recorded in multi-faceted capacities, venues that included jazz greats
such as Buster Williams. A professional drummer for over 30 years, he
has performed with leaders of the industry such as Dr. Billy Taylor, Ramsey
Lewis, Marcus Belgrave, and Sir Roland Hanna.
Currently John is an in-demand
drummer in the Lexington, Ky. area where his diversity has landed him
a plethora of work in all styles.
Bruce
Martin
( click on
pic to enlarge )
 In
his forty-plus years as a professional jazz piano player and keyboardist,Bruce
has shared the stage with many notable performers.Hailing
from Hartford, Connecticut, Bruce spent most of the 60’s in
New York City after studying with piano great Oscar Peterson at the
School for Contemporary Music in
Toronto, Canada, where he garnered top honors for academic
and musical achievement. While in New York, he was found playing
with artists such as Charlie Shavers, Ella Fitzgerald, Zoot Sims,Freddie
Hubbard, Mike Mainieri, Ben Webster, Ron McClure, and Gene Krupa. Bruce
has also performed in Atlanta, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and on the west
coast. As a contestant in
the ‘Great American Jazz Piano Competition’, a part of the
Jacksonville Jazz Festival, he placed 3rd and 2nd two years consecutively
.Bruce also appears as pianist
on the Mike Mainieri recording ‘ Blues on the Other Side’.
A
Special Thanks...
...to Bob
Degen for
sharing his love for music and gift for writing with us. His modest
demeanor truly belies his brilliance as a pianist and composer. Through
his involvement with Lexington Jazz Project, we have all been elevated
to places musically that none of us had thought possible. Although he
resides in Frankfurt, Germany most of the time, his Bio has been included
below, to acknowledge his presence whenever we perform his compositions,
and whenever we are fortunate enough to have him play with us when he's
in town.
Bob
Degen (click
on pic to enlarge)
 Bob
has spent over thirty years playing and touring all over the world.
Based in Germany, Bob was an established player with Albert
Mangelsdorff and also a member of the Heinz Sauer quartet ‘Voices’,
where he toured in Romania, Yugoslavia and North Africa under the sponsorship
of the Goethe Institute. He has also shared the stage with jazz notables
such as Dexter Gordon, Buddy DeFranco, Paul Motian, Thomas Cremer, Art
Farmer, Carmell Jones, Dave Liebman and Charlie Mariano. As a member
of the recording group ‘Hessissches Rundfunk Jazz Ensemble’ for 26 years,
he laid down tracks in the studio with artists such as Kenny Wheeler
and Lee Konitz. In 1981, Bob was awarded the German Record Prize for
the recording ‘Ellingtonia Revisited’ with Heinz Sauer. As well, Bob
was the recipient of the Award of the Jazz Academy of Hessian by the
Ministry for Science and Arts as ‘Musician of the Year’ in 1994. To
quote, “ This prize is a well deserved honor for Mr. Degen who, through
his music, has greatly increased the interest in jazz”.
The
Music
The word “jazz” is so
broad-based that it connotes many things to many individuals. The “jazz”
of Lexington Jazz Project strives to steer from the norm, what some
people might convey as “standard jazz”. Carefully selected compositions
from artists such as Wayne Shorter, Richie Beirach, Gary Peacock, Heinz
Sauer, and Terumasa Hino have been chosen not only for the challange
presented in performing them, but for some, their relative obscurity.
The biggest achievement, naturally, is the current incorporation of
originals composed by all members of the band. Anything that is played,
however, is intended to be of concert quality, intended for the serious
jazz listener. Constantly evolving, Lexington Jazz Project is on a never-ending
journey to take it to the next level.
<<Home
Contact:
Tom Covello @ tom@lexjazzproject.com
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