Founded by bassist extraordinaire, Aidan Plank, this storytelling jazz ensemble brings a wide array of music in special return to BLU! Featuring Aidan Plank, Brad Wagner, Anthony Fuoco.
Pulse explores original compositions by its members as well as a diverse range of music composed by well-known and obscure jazz composers. Through group interaction, Pulse focuses on musical story telling. Founded by bassist Aidan Plank, and host to a verity of musicians, this concert will feature group regulars, saxophonist Brad Wagner, and pianist Anthony Fuoco.
A native of Oberlin, Ohio, bassist Aidan Plank enjoys performing a diverse range of music throughout Northern Ohio. He studied with bassist and composer David Morgan as well as with Kevin Switalski of the Cleveland Orchestra. Aidan is a graduate of Cleveland State University. Aidan has performed with Dan Wall, Joe Lovano, Judi Silvano, Joe Maneri, Janis Siegel, Frankie Avalon, Tierney Sutton, and many others. Along with enjoying playing in the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Aidan can currently be seen performing explorations of improvisation in duo with guitarist Daniel Lippel. Aidan teaches in the Jazz Studies program at Kent State University, as well as at Cuyahoga Community College’s “Jazz Prep Program”.
Brad Wagner is from Akron, Ohio, and has a B.M. in Jazz Studies from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. Brad has studied with Rick VanMatre, Brad Goode, Phil DeGreg, John Von Ohlen, Marc Fields, and others. Brad Wagner has been a member of many jazz groups including: Ernie Krivda and the Fat Tuesday Big Band, Moustache Yourself, The Hendectet Jazz Collective, The ABC Trio, Pulse, The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, The Black Dog Octet, The Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, Sam Blakeslee’s Large Group, and can be seen playing in other jazz groups, pit orchestras, latin, and pop music groups around North East Ohio. Brad plays Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Baritone saxophones, Flute, Piccolo, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, and also works as a composer and arranger.
Anthony Fuoco was appointed faculty at Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music in 2005 and has since taught harmony,solfège, keyboard musicianship, piano literature, pedagogy and applied piano. In addition to serving on the BW faculty he has also taught at Lorain County Community College and Cuyahoga Community College. He frequently performs as a jazz pianist in large and small ensembles throughout the Cleveland area and also collaborates with his wife performing the four-hand and two-piano classical repertoire. He earned a Master of Music at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana where he was the recipient of the 21st Century Piano Commission competition. Prior to this, he received a Bachelor of Music at SUNY Potsdam in piano.