Big Band Alumni

Active since: 2000

The Big Band Alumni is a 17-piece big band that features some musicians that are graduates of the greatest big bands of all time like Benny Goodman, Harry James, Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Count Basie, Jimmy & Tommy Dorsey, and many others from the Big Band Era.

The Big Band Alumni is in its 25th year of existence. The band was created by musicians who were members of the big bands (largely) of the 1940’s who were responsible for the swing era. Over the 21 years there have been replacements. Like many big bands of the 40’s we also have vocalists who have always been younger than the original band members.

Desi Arnaz

Born: March 2, 1917

Lew Stone

Born: May 28, 1898

Lew Stone was a prominent British bandleader, pianist, arranger and composer during the 1930s and 1940s, known for writing sophisticated arrangements for various dance bands (including his own) and popularising American jazz rhythms in Britain's own swing era. Although his name isn't as widely known today as that of, say, Jack Hylton's, some of his songs are still popular today, partly thanks to the television series Pennies from Heaven.

Lawrence Welk

Born: March 11, 1903

Before he became a household name as the host of his own self-titled television show, Lawrence Welk was a hardworking bandleader shaped by the rural Midwest, European folk traditions, and the rhythms of early American dance music. Born in 1903 in North Dakota to German-Russian immigrants, Welk’s first musical instrument was the button accordion, and his early gigs were steeped in polka, waltz, and regional styles that prioritized rhythm and melody for the dance floor.

By the 1920s and '30s, Welk was leading bands across the Midwest, developing a style that would eventually be dubbed "champagne music" - smooth, tightly arranged, and bouyant. Beneath its polished surface, however, his orchestras absorbed the styles of the jazz music that was evolving around them. While his band didn't swing in the way that Goodman or Basie's did, they found great success in foxtrots, rumbas and even jazz standards, bended to match their smoothness.

Grigorii Palamarchuk

Born: November 23, 1988

Grigorii Palamarchuk is a professional pianist currently based in New York, with over 20 years of international performing experience. Originally from Ukraine, Grigorii began studying piano at the age of 3.5 and later trained under the legendary Soviet jazz educator Igor Bril, who played a crucial role in shaping his jazz approach and improvisational style.

Throughout his career, Grigorii has performed across multiple countries, blending classical technique with the language of jazz. His extensive repertoire includes jazz standards, bebop, swing, New Orleans traditions, and contemporary arrangements, creating a sophisticated and versatile sound that adapts to both intimate venues and large stages.

Will Bradley

Born: July 12, 1912

Wilbur Schwichtenberg, born on July 12, 1912, was a popular American trombonist and bandleader who rose to fame in World War II, at the height of the swing era. After playing trombone in New York for various dance orchestras during the 1930s, in 1939 he changed his name to Will Bradley and co-founded his own big band with drummer and singer Ray McKinley. Their orchestra became renowned for popularising African-American boogie woogie rhythms and incorporating them into hits like "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" and  "Scrub Me Mama, with a Boogie Beat." Despite his personal preference for ballads, Bradley's collaborations with McKinley and pianist Freddie Slack helped his band briefly become known as one of the most distinctive hard-swinging outifts in the country

Jazztopia

Active since: 2006

Origins

Jazztopia is a mythical island of passion, swing and joie de vivre, South Atlantic, close to the Guanabara Bay, somewhere over the rainbow... Do you remember Thomas Morus’ 1516 book inspired by the tales of discoveries along the Brazilian coastline by Amerigo Vespucci?

History

Jazztopia is also a combo which originated in 2006 as the house band of "Jazz at the Maze" - Rio's most unusual jazz night, hosted by British-Indian artist, film-maker, polymath and singer Bob Nadkarni at The Maze Inn.

Hot Club SRQ

Hot Club of SRQ - We play Gypsy Jazz that is deeply rooted in the style of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. This music simply swings and is full of beauty and romance! We emulate the style of what the French call "Jazz Manouche" and "Le Jazz Hot" in the style of Sinti virtuosos and the "Quintette du Hot Club de France."

The heart of this ensemble is the violin and vocals of Keven Aland, the guitar of Jon McLaughlin and bass playing of Glenn Stevenson. Their string jazz ensemble has been thoughtfully cultivated and crafted for over a decade

Beverly Taft

John Yao

Born: June 25, 1977

For almost twenty years, John Yao has been honing his talents as a trombonist, composer and arranger, and cementing his place on the New York City jazz scene. Yao’s lyrical soloing and expressive, round tone, combined with his relentless drive to push the boundaries of harmony and rhythm, have established him as a unique and forward-thinking jazz talent. Yao has earned wide acclaim. In April 2025 he was appointed to the 100th class of Guggenheim Fellows in the field of Music Composition. In 2023, Yao earned a place in both the Rising Star Trombone and Rising Star Big Band categories in the DownBeat Critics Poll.  Lucid Culture proclaims, “John Yao is one of New York’s elite trombonists,” and All About Jazz calls him “a strong compositional voice and effective band-leader able to use his 17-piece band to paint across a wide spectrum and infuse his complex writing with a thoughtful balance of audacity, structure, humor, and sonic might.”