Co-presented by Tri-C JazzFest, join us for a special edition of our big band residency led by trombonist/composer, Sam Blakeslee, including a performance by the Tri-C JazzFest Prep Ensemble! Featuring special guests from New York City: Nadav Remez, Dan Pugach, Nicole Zuriatis.
Sam Blakeslee is a trombonist/composer residing in Cleveland, OH. In his few years on the scene, he has played with artists Sean Jones, Jiggs Whigham, Aretha Franklin, Dominick Farinacci, Dennis Mackrel, Wessell “Warmdaddy” Anderson, and Derrick Gardner. Sam holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Studies from Youngstown State University and a Master’s Degree in Classical Performance from Universtiy of Akron. Sam has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Banff Centre, as well as famous jazz clubs in New York City such as 55 Bar, Shapeshifter Lab, and Whynot Jazz Room. He has also participated in some of the world’s most illustrious workshops and residencies including The Steans Institute for the Young Artist at Ravinia, Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead at the Kennedy Center, and the Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music at the Banff Centre. As an active educator, Sam is currently the Director of the Jazz Prep Program and After School Band Program at Cuyahoga Community College, as well as the Instructor of Improvisation at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
While Sam leads many of his own projects,The Sam Blakeslee Large Group is his unique signature. The ensemble is a high-energy 17-piece contemporary jazz orchestra that features original music of his or other members of the group. Its repertoire is an exciting mix of hip-hop, contemporary classical music, as well as hard-swinging traditional jazz styles. The members of the group are some of the most creative and innovative players and composers in the Northeast Ohio area. One of the goals of the group is to also create a larger regional network of musicians by bringing in artists from Detroit, Pittsburgh, and NYC.
Join us every "first Thursday" of the month to experience the thriving sounds of our Northeast Ohio jazz scene! The Sam Blakeslee Large Group features Bobby Selvaggio, Nathan-Paul Davis, Chris Coles, Johnny Cochran, Brad Wagner - woodwinds), Scott McKee, Aaron Janik, Joe Badaczewski, Jack Schantz (trumpets), Sam Blakeslee, Lawrence Galloway, Max Brady, Scott Garlock (trombones), Theron Brown (piano), Nadav Remez (guitar), Dan Pappalardo (bass), Nicole Zuraitis (voice), Dan Pugach (drums). We will be kicking off the evening with the exceptional talents of the Tri-C JazzFest Prep Ensemble at 7PM - get your tickets today!
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Dan Pugach
Dan Pugach is a Brooklyn-based drummer and composer. Originally from Israel, Dan served his mandatory three- year military duty as drummer for the Air-Force Orchestra. During that duty he studied Rimon School of Music and got his diploma in jazz performance.
After the army Dan traveled to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for three months to study percussion and drums with the world’s leading samba musicians.
Shortly after, he moved to the United States to expand his musical career. He got his B.M from Berklee College of Music and his M.A from the City College of New York, both degrees specializing in jazz performance and composition.
Since then, Dan has been working as a full-time drummer, composer, arranger and orchestrator in New York City. His involvement in projects that vary from modern jazz to pop and folk music got him a reputation of one of the most versatile and sought-after drummer in town.
Pugach is also known for his Nonet (nine-piece ensemble) that has won him two ASCAP Jazz Composer Award and many arranging/composing commissions for medium-size ensembles to full big band.
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Nadav Remez
Described as “an unassuming artist with a penchant for indie rock… forging a style built on understatement, logic and clarity” (Phillip Lutz, Jewish Daily Forward), guitarist Nadav Remez is one of today’s emerging voices on the jazz scene, and his music is gaining the attention of both fans and music critics worldwide. His guitar melodies have been described as “haunting” and his music as an intriguing combination of modern jazz, alternative rock and Jewish folk. Through his “consistently seductive lines, Remez show[s] why he has emerged as a standout among a new crop of Israelis making waves in the jazz world” today, says Lutz.
Hailing from the outskirts of Tel Aviv, Israel, Remez’s musical education took a critical turn at the Thelma Yellin High School for the Arts, renowned for producing well-known international jazz musicians. There, he was exposed to a variety of musical traditions, both western and eastern, which he molded into his own unique musical vision. Remez received a full scholarship in 2005 to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston and went on to complete his Masters in Music at the New England Conservatory in 2008. During these formative years he had the opportunity to study with the likes of Joe Lovano, Billy Hart, and Miguel Zénon.
Remez’s debut album, So Far, was released in 2011 on Brooklyn Jazz Underground Records and praised for its “poignant melodies, rich harmonies and stirring improvisations that ring out with clarity and emotion,” and as “moving, meaningful music by an emerging talent” (JazzTimes). Featured on the recording are James Wylie, Steve Brickman, Shai Maestro, Avri Borochov, Ziv Ravitz and Itamar Borochov. So Far was celebrated by a US release tour at venues such as Smalls (NY), Chris’ Jazz Café (Philadelphia) and Twins Jazz (DC).
In 2011, Remez also joined forces with celebrated jazz bassist Omer Avital and began to perform regularly with two of Avital’s ensembles, the New Jerusalem Orchestra as well as Omer Avital and his Band of the East. Remez appeared as a special guest with Third World Love at the Teatro Manzoni in Milan in 2012, and as a co-bandleader at the Atlanta Jazz Festival that same year with the Nadav Remez/Omer Avital Quintet. “According to Avital, Remez is one of the ‘very few serious ones who have the whole package, yet keep on growing and learning’” (Jewish Daily Forward). Remez’s thirst for new material led him to record most recently with bassist Haggai Cohen Milo on Cohen Milo’s upcoming album Penguin on Tzadik Records.
Remez has performed as a sideman and as a bandleader in notable venues and festivals around the globe, including the Palatia Jazz Festival (Germany), Nancy Jazz Pulsations (France), the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Bologna Jazz Festival (Italy), Zappa (Israel), NYC Winter Jazz Fest (USA), Chicago Old Town School of Folk Music (USA), Boston Jewish Music Festival (USA), First Night Festival (USA), International Music Showcase Festival (Israel), and the Israel Festival (Israel). Currently working on material for his second release, Remez continues to gain force as a young guitar innovator and jazz composer and arranger.
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Nicole Zuraitis
Brooklyn based vocalist and pianist Nicole Zuraitis is as diverse as the city that spawned her music. Using world travel experience as inspiration for her sound, genre-bending is her forte; cultivating her diverse musical background and unparalleled vocals into a sound that can only be described as vocal and rhythmic innovation. A 2014 winner of the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers award, Nicole bridges the gap between genres while utilizing her unparalleled vocals. She was a semi finalist in the National American Traditions Vocal Competition in winter 2015, taking home both the People’s Choice Award and the Johnny Mercer Award. Having recently returned from a tour sponsored by the American Embassy in Israel as well as Australia with her world music band EVA, she joined The Omar Hakim Experience as a vocalist at the Iridium Jazz Club in June 2015. She also has the great pleasure of singing with Bernard Purdie and Kung Fu, most recently at the New Orleans Jazz Festival 2015. Nicole leads her group once a month at the iconic jazz club 55 bar in New York City.
Nicole joined forces with fellow Litchfield Jazz Camp faculty member Carmen Staaf on the mainstage of the 2014 Litchfield Jazz Festival, and continues consistently performing with the great Livingston Taylor, Tom Chapin and Melanie Safka. She has been a main stage act as both a leader and sideman at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, Stan Rogers Folk Fest in Canada, Port Ferry Festival in Australia, the Jacobs Ladder Festival in Israel, the Litchfield Jazz Festival, the New England Jazz and Blues Fest, the Chautauqua Music Festival and Bonnaroo in Nashville.
She has two self released albums under her belt, including the 2013 release Pariah Anthem (Victor Gould, Ilan Bar Lavi, Nandini Srikar) and the 2009 release Spread The Word featuring Winard Harper and the Curtis Brothers. Nicole’s world music band EVA just released their EP Take Some Air to rave reviews and she continues working with producer Tim Walsh of The Stepkids on an electronic pop album.
Nicole has shared the stage with the extraordinary Jane Monheit for the performance of “Jane Monheit and the Ladies of Jazz”, as well as collaborated with Rachel Z, Antonio Sanchez, Dave Stryker, Charli Persip and Hagar Ben Ari, among others. Nicole holds residencies at numerous hot spots in NYC such as the 55 bar, Mastro’s, Red Eye Grille, Rockwood Music Hall, Toshi’s Living Room and the famous Friars Club. She plays lead keyboards for The Kevin Osborne band. In 2013 she was recognized as a finalist in the Songdoor International Songwriting Contest, as well as a selected competitor for the 2013 New York City WNYC Battle of the Boroughs. Nicole has opened for jazz legend Dave Brubeck, the doo-woop group “the Platters” and collaborated with world renowned Indian carnatic guitarist and composer Prasanna while teaching and touring in India. She was featured in a video interview by Columbia News Tonight as “New Yorker of the week” for her work with music and shelter animals. Nicole is also a finalist in the International Sarah Vaughn Jazz Vocal Competition on November 15th, which will be held at New Jersey Performing Arts Center.