Rabbit Hole Sessions with Abe Ovadia

EPISODE 24 - Jim Ridl

• “A veteran pianist who also spent considerable time in the trenches and is now a respected musician’s musician.” The New Yorker, Steve Futterman• “Jim Ridl is absolutely stellar on piano, hallmarking his own abilities to both accompany, to solo with brilliance and to improvise on a theme.” Jazz wordPress, Dee Dee McNeil on Paul Jost’s recording “While We were Gone”Jim Ridl, a New York City-based jazz pianist, composer and teacher, performs and records worldwide with a variety of jazz artists, including The Joe Locke Quartet, The Paul Jost Quartet, The Dave Liebman Big Band, and the Mingus Big Band. He is well-known as a “musician’s musician.” His 7-year residency at the renowned NYC jazz club, The 55Bar, featured the Jim Ridl Quartet and Trio performing his original music. In 2021, Jim began a residency at The Soapbox Gallery in Brooklyn, online and in person, which has become a creative platform for original jazz. Jim is on the faculty at New York Jazz Workshop and The City College of New York, and has maintained a private studio for over 30 years, now both online and in person.Jim has 9 recordings of his own, including two released in 2022: Ask for the Ancient Path (May 2022, featuring Scott Robinson, Martin Wind and Tim Horner), and Standards Live (August 2022, the Jim Ridl Trio with Tim Lekan and Bob Shomo). Jim’s previously recordings: Door in a Field Volume 2 “Songs of the Green River,” Blue Corn Enchilada Dreams , Your Cheatin’ Heart and Other Works; Door In a Field v.1; Jim Ridl Trio/Live; Blues Liberations (solo piano); and Five Minutes to Madness and Joy.Jim’s tenure with jazz guitar legend Pat Martino included performances around the world in quartet and duet, and produced 4 outstanding recordings: Nexus, Interchange, Night Wings and The Maker.Additionally, Jim has performed and/or recorded with Steve Wilson, Randy Brecker, Marc Johnson, Bill Stewart, Denis DiBlasio, Jay Anderson, Tim Armacost, Kenny Davis, Cliff Almond, Wayne Krantz, Joel Rosenblatt, JD Walter, Donald Edwards, Chris Tarry, Scott Reeves, Gabriela Anders, Rudy Royston,  Ximo Tebar, Darryl Hall, Zach Brock, Tim Horner, Ralph Bowen, Dean Johnson, John Benitez, Diane Monroe, Donny McCaslin, Mark Walker, Terrell Stafford, Vic Juris, Francois Moutin, …Jim has toured with the US State Department American Music Abroad program, performing and offering workshops in Asia-Pacific, Russia, South Korea, China, the Philippines, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Slovania and Malta. Jim has conducted master classes and subbed for colleagues at New York University, City College of New York, Temple University and William Paterson University, was the Art Tatum Memorial Scholarship Artist at the University of Toledo, and Visiting Jazz Artist at Princeton University, where he also directed several ensembles.Jim was raised on a farm and ranch in North Dakota, and discovered his love for piano and jazz at an early age. He attended the University of Colorado at Denver, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Scoring and Arranging, and was awarded its Student Achievement Award for composing “Ocean Sojourn,” an orchestral tone poem which he performed with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, James Setapen, conducting. He is listed in the Who’s Who of American Colleges and Universities. In Denver, Jim began his professional career performing and touring with local and nationally-recognized musicians, including the Grammy-nominated vocal jazz group, Rare Silk.

EPISODE 23 - Evan Levine

Evan Levine is an Upright/Electric Bassist, Composer, Guitarist and Educator that currently lives in Chicago, IL. Originally from New Jersey, Evan’s musical career started in high school as a part of the award winning Scotch Plains/Fanwood Moonglowers and a member of the Somerset Jazz Consortium. Evan received his Bachelors degree in Jazz Bass Performance from Oberlin Conservatory in 2014 and his Masters Degree in Music Improvisation from the University of Michigan in 2015. After graduating, he was a prominent figure in the Miami Jazz scene before moving to Chicago in 2017.
 
Evan has performed with Michelle Coltrane, Nicole Yarling, Tal Cohen, Jamey Haddad, Benny Green, Carl Allen, Kendrick Scott, Patrick Donley, Tommy Carroll, David Leon, Alex Brown, Sean Jelenik, Bonzo Squad, Benny Golson, Ellen Rowe, Nicole New, Lex Korten, Matt Gold, Andrew Green and many others. As part of the Oberlin Jazz Outreach program in 2014, Evan was part of a trio that toured across Italy in Florence, Sienna and Alba. Evan’s first album, Unsolvable Problems, was released in 2016 and featured Lex Korten on Piano and Kayvon Gordon on Drums. It featured almost all compositions by Evan and toured throughout the East Coast and Midwest. More recently, Evan has played at the South Bend Jazz Festival in 2017 with Michelle Coltrane and Hendri Lamiri’s groups.
 
Evan is currently a part of Emily Kuhn’s project, Helios. Helios will be featured as a part of Chicago’s, Night out in the Parks program and will perform at public parks across Chicago in June. Evan is also a member of Echoes, which will be touring in Carson City, San Francisco and Los Angeles in August. Echoes will also be releasing their sophomore album this summer.
 
Evan has a new trio project featuring Matt Gold (Sun Speak) and Andrew Green (Twin Talk). This album, entitled Mestizo, features Evan’s compositions and will be available in Fall 2018 on the Label Shifting Paradigms . 

EPISODE 22 - Bruce Arnold

Born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Arnold took accordion lessons and discovered guitar when he saw the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. He attended the University of South Dakota but switched to the Berklee College of Music in 1976. He took private lessons from Jerry Bergonzi and Charlie Banacos.Arnold moved to New York City in 1988 where he became an active member of the jazz community, producing many recordings as a sideman and leader. He is one of the few electric guitarists in the world to use the computer program SuperCollider in both his compositions and improvisations. Arnold is a founding member of Spooky Actions, a jazz group which explores improvisation using classical music repertoire.He has played with Stuart Hamm, Peter Erskine, Joe Pass, Joe Lovano, Lenny Pickett, Randy Brecker, Stanley Clarke, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Absolute Ensemble under the baton of Kristjan Järvi.Arnold's recording credits include over twenty albums and DVDs (on Muse-eek Records, Mel Bay Recordings, Truefire and other labels), ranging from standard jazz repertoire to free improvisation to reinterpretations of classical music.Teaching and writingHe is the director of Guitar Studies at New York University and Princeton University as well as the creator of the New York University Summer Guitar Intensive. He has taught at the New England Conservatory, Dartmouth College, Berklee,[1] New School University, and City College of New York.Arnold's theoretical works have explored the use of pitch class set theory within an improvisational setting. He has also written more than 300 music instruction books covering guitar pedagogy, ear training, and time studies.

EPISODE 21 - Ben Zweig

Drummer and percussionist, Ben Zweig, plays around the world in places such as Japan, China, the Netherlands, Germany, Israel, Chile, Cameroon, across North America, and locally at venues in his native NYC. He keeps an active performance schedule and tours frequently throughout the United States and Canada.
Born in 1992 in NYC, Zweig frequented the local scene of seasoned jazz musicians who eventually became close mentors. He has had the opportunity to share the stage with some of these masters – Randy Weston, Johnny O’Neal, Jerry Dodgion, Harold Mabern, Larry Ridley, David Williams, Roy Hargrove, Deborah Davis, Grant Stewart, Joe Cohn, and Steve Nelson. Downbeat magazine has described his playing as “especially crisp and articulate” and all about jazz, “Zweig steals it with his brush work.” Ben strives for his playing to reflect a passion for performing simple, heartfelt music.
Beginning his musical journey on drum set at age 5, he later picked up trumpet and steel drums. These early voices ultimately shaped his expression on the drums, drawing from the musical traditions of American jazz, West and Central African, Brazilian, Caribbean, and European classical music. In 2018, Zweig traveled to southeast Cameroon to work with Global Music Exchange and learn from master musicians of the Baka Gbiné pygmies. Then in 2021, a pilgrimage to learn from Brazilian percussionists across the country’s coast furthered his diasporic exploration. His fascination with rhythmic dance music from around the world led to the formation of the drum featured band, big beet. Grammy winning producer Don Sickler commented, “[Zweig] is able to combine history with the current musical environment, making it sound fresh.”
Ben’s teaching is the culmination of public schooling and private conservatory, NYC late night sessions, jazz youth programs, steel orchestras, marching bands, classical orchestras, and mentorship from musical stalwarts Joe Farnsworth, Billy Hart, Kenny Washington, Rodney Green, Justin DiCioccio, Christopher Brown, John Riley, Rogerio Boccato, and Ken Piascik. His pivotal fortune to study music in a variety of environments has fueled his love and dedication towards his own teaching practice, always with the goal of increasing students’ interest in deeper rooted music and reaching higher levels of group connection in their playing. Ben received his B.M. and a M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music. He has taught private lessons for over 15 years, currently at the Q Studiolab in Queens, NY as well as many university jazz and drum clinics across the US and Canada.

EPISODE 20 - Charlie Apicella

Charlie Apicella was voted onto the 84th and 86th DownBeat Readers Poll for Guitar.
He studied composition and improvisation with musical titans Yusef Lateef and Pat Martino and was trained as a historian by Archie Shepp and Dr. Billy Taylor. As a young guitarist he met his idol BB King, who offered him advice and shared some stories.
He has performed concerts and recorded with jazz legends Dave Holland, Sonny Fortune, John Blake, Jr., and Avery Sharpe as well as contemporary masters Joe Magnarelli, Vic Juris, Dave Stryker, Don Braden, and Jon Herington of Steely Dan.
In 2022 he formed The Griots Speak with bassist William Parker, saxophonist Daniel Carter, and percussionist Juma Sultan who is known for his work with Jimi Hendrix.
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Charlie Apicella is the founder and program director of Blues Alive: ancestral voices of the blues
He is Vice President of Education for the North Jersey Blues Society
He is an Eastman Guitars Featured Artist a
Guild Guitars Sponsored Artist and a
ZT Amplifiers Official Artist
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He has been a TrueFire educator since 2018 
and has published two masterclass lessons for DownBeat magazine

EPISODE 19 - Frank Russo

Frank Russo joyfully paints colorful soundscapes with his highly skilled, passionate, musical drumming. He's an in demand performer, recording artist and educator who currently resides in Maryland and teaches at Towson University. He is also an artist/educator for Bosphorus Cymbals, MD Drums and The Vic Firth Education Team. Raised in the NYC area, Frank was steeped in the rich musical heritage of the jazz legends at an early age and carriers on the legacy of a musical family.An incredibly adaptable musician, a partial list of his performances testifies to his diverse talent. He has performed with Mundell Lowe, Dr Lonnie Smith, Hal Crook, Craig Handy, Keter Betts, Ethel Ennis, Greg Gisbert, Chuck Redd, Bill McHenry, John O'Gallagher, Dave Ballou, John D'earth, Denis DiBlasio, Ron McCurdy, The Coasters, Frankie Lane and many more. Highlights of his performances include the Detroit Jazz Festival, Ottawa Jazz Festival, Stan Getz Jazz Festival, East Coast Jazz Festival, The Kennedy Center and many others. Tours have included several trips to Asia, Europe, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda. Frank completed a distinguished career with the prestigious Naval Academy Band where he performed in and led several dynamic ensembles. He was stationed in Annapolis, San Diego, Great Lakes, Monterey and Norfolk during his career.Frank is a Summit Records Recording Artist whose recordings have gained national recognition and praise from Downbeat, Jazztimes and Modern Drummer along with others. He is featured on "Point of Grace" with PF Flyer, "No Turning Back" with Fred Hughes, "Gabrielle's Hand" with Bob Boguslaw and The acclaimed Shook Russo Quartets "Featuring Greg Gisbert" all on Summit Records. As a sought after studio ace he has played on countless sessions, crossing all genres, including PBS Documentaries, "Quiet Now" with John Toomey, "In My Mind's Eye" with Max Murray & Doug Bickel, Kenny Carr's "Turn the Page" featuring brilliant saxophonist Donny McCaslin, "Uncertain Paths" with Rob Levit and many more.Frank is also a member of the Bob Butta Trio, The Fred Hughes Band, Rob Levit Trio, Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet, Bob Boguslaw's The Way, Mozart to Motown with Stefan Scaggiari, PF Flyer and The Shook Russo Quartet. His most recent release on Summit Records "A Thousand Eyes" is with the superb saxophonist Pete BarenBregge.Frank is proud to exclusively perform on maple drums designed by Keith Larsen (Maryland Drum Company), Bosphorus Cymbals and Vic Firth Products.
 
 

EPISODE 18 - Nate Hook

Born and raised in Texas, Nate Hook is a musician, educator, and composer currently living in Philadelphia.  He has degrees from William Paterson University, the Peabody institute, and Eastern University.  Notable teachers he studied under from that time include Harold Mabern and Gary Thomas.Before moving to Philadelphia, Nate lived in NYC and Baltimore where he actively participated in the jazz scene playing at venues like Smalls, Smoke, the Zinc Bar, etc.  As a working musician, he never limited himself to jazz, but also played in everything from symphony orchestras, to theatrical productions, to afrobeat bands.Currently, Nate plays jazz under his own name mostly around Philly.  He also manages the jazz/avant garde/electronic project ‘Progressive Overload’ with collaborators Paolo Cantarella and Dan Finn.Nate also plays bagpipes, as did John Coltrane — a little-known fact about each.

EPISODE 17 - Noel Sagerman

Noel Sagerman is a jazz jam drummer from New Jersey and is proficient in all sorts of live music genres and settings from late-night jazz to early morning religious services. Noel Sagerman has been playing drums since elementary school in West Orange, NJ and started playing professionally at the University of Vermont. He then spent a year playing in Japan. Later, he returned to NJ and furthered his studies with teachers Bobby Thomas, Billy Higgins, and Tim Horner. 
Some of the artists he has worked with include Irene Reid, Pharoah Sanders, "Big" John Patton, David "Fathead" Newman, Oliver Lake, Bruce Williams, Dave Stryker, Pat Tandy, Freddie Hendrix, Brandon McCune, and Pete Rodriguez, along with gospel singer/pianist Joshua Nelson on tour, and at Hopewell Baptist Church. 

EPISODE 16 - Will Strickler

A proponent of a “no holds barred” approach to modern creative improvised music, Will Strickler is an in-demand bassist performing throughout the United States.  
Will has toured the country as both a bandleader and sideman at notable venues such as Midtown Music Festival, Cliff Bells, Rockwood Music Hall, Bop Stop, BluJazz+, and many more. 
He has performed with highly acclaimed artists such as the grammy winning pop singer Daya, finalist on NBC’s “The Voice” Chris Jamison, Doc Robinson, Jess Baldwin, Lily Bloom, Zakk Jones, Sam Blakeslee, Dan Wilson and many more.

EPISODE 15 - Anthony Taddeo

Cleveland-based drummer Anthony Taddeo has a passion for creating music that is accessible, engaging, and connects people from all walks of life. Whether as a sideman supporting musicians such as Frank Wess, Ron McClure, Bobby Selvaggio and Camila Meza or as a composer for film, he is interested in what ignites the audience’s relationship to a performance. An integral member of Cleveland’s jazz/improvised scene, he leads projects including Alla Boara, ALbaTrio, TMT Trio, and his solo project featured on “Self-Portraits” (2018). As a recording artist, he is featured on over 30 albums. Taddeo received an MFA in Composition from Youngstown State University and a BFA in Music Performance from New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music, where he studied with Jimmy Cobb, Reggie Workman and Amir Ziv. An enthusiastic educator, Taddeo is co-director of JazzFest Academy Saturday Morning Program and percussion instructor at Tri-C Jazz Fest Camp and Jazz Prep Program. He is currently endorsed by Byrne Cymbals and Out of the Drawer Percussion as a performing artist.