Rabbit Hole Sessions with Abe Ovadia

EPISODE 70 - Rick Peckham (Guitar Chords 101)

In this episode, we welcome back renowned guitarist and Berklee College of Music educator Rick Peckham to discuss his book, Guitar Chords 101. Rick shares his expertise on expanding chord vocabulary, improving creativity, and developing a deeper understanding of harmony. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced player, this conversation is packed with valuable insights. If you missed Rick's first appearance, be sure to check out that episode too!
 

EPISODE 69 - Steve Myerson

Steve Myerson studied jazz performance, arranging, accompanying, conducting, and musical theater music performance at the University of the Arts (BA '99) in Philadelphia, PA and at the renowned jazz school William Paterson University (MM '03) in Wayne, NJ. Some of his teachers include Trudy Pitts, Bill Charlap, Andy Laverne, Harold Mabern, Mike Longo, and the late James Williams. While in college, Steve performed with many jazz artists including trumpeter John Swana, and drummer Adam Nussbaum. After seeing Steve perform with one of the university ensembles, the late Grover Washington Jr., hired him to play 2 weeks of concerts in the Philadelphia area. Steve ended up one of the last pianists ever to work with this great saxophone legend. After college, Steve landed the keyboard spot for the Grammy-Award nominated Stylistics. He went on to tour with the soul jam presentation for over a year. Other acts in the series included Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, the Dramatics, the Chi-Lites, Ray Goodman and Brown, and more. Steve made his television debut performing with the Stylistics for the United Negro College Fund on NBC. In 2005 Steve was selected as music director for the Sonny Grosso/Phil Ramone production "Be My Love", a play with music about legendary tenor Mario Lanza. Steve worked with famed Billy Joel producer Phil Ramone on the music, and coached vocals for the entire cast. Steve also played a small part as "Sal", Lanza's accompanist. Steve also is the keyboardist/pianist/arranger in the Kevin Jordin film “Brooklyn Lobster”, presented by Martin Scorcese and starring Danny Aiello and Jane Curtin. In 2006, Steve sat at the piano with singer Gianni Russo (Carlo Rizzi of "The Godfather") for a six-month weekly engagement at the legendary Rainbow Room. This run of performances was only the beginning of what has now turned into a permanent music director position. Recently, Steve co-produced a live CD recording titled "Gianni Russo: Live At Feinstein's", and released his first solo album "In Your Absence" on Jazz Excursion

EPISODE 68 - Joshua Bruneau

Joshua Bruneau was born June 23,1988 in Waterbury Center, Vermont. While growing up, Josh was frequently found on the baseball field. After seeing a Time Life commercial, he was instantly drawn to classical music. Josh asked for classical tapes and records by composers like Bach, Mozart, and Chopin. His life took a dramatic turn when he was introduced to the trumpet and subsequently, jazz.  Josh began to study the art of music and taking trumpet lessons when he 10 years old. These formative years proved very important as Josh discovered many recordings of musicians such as John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker. He immediately fell in love with these musicians and made a conscious decision to try to emulate these people’s playing. He started forming his own groups and playing locally from a young age. He was soon traveling with a local big band. He honed his skills all through high school at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury, Vermont.  In the fall of 2006, Josh began his studies at the Jackie McLean Institute at the Hartt School. Josh was introduced to his two most important mentors, Nat Reeves and Steve Davis. He immediately started gigging around the Hartford area with local musicians and fellow students. Josh received the opportunity to travel to Ireland with Nat in his freshman year. Ever since, Josh has been playing with his instructors, Nat and Steve, on a regular basis. That same year he played with Nat, Steve, Eric McPherson, Alan Palmer, and Jovan Alexandre opening for Dionne Warwick.  Because of his established relationship with his two mentors, Josh now frequents New York City to perform at world famous Jazz clubs such as Smoke and Smalls.  September 2011 he played at the Detroit Jazz festival with another of his great mentors, Curtis Fuller. He has also shared the stage with artists such as Harold Mabern, Mike LeDonne, Eric Alexander, Joe Farnsworth, Carl Allen, John Webber, Ken Fowser, and Larry Willis to name a few.  Now with the 2014 release of his debut album as a leader, Bright Idea (Cellar Live), Josh continues to look forward musically and push himself and his colleagues further.  

EPISODE 67 - Nat Janoff

Guitarist, composer and teacher Nat Janoff, has been working steadily in the contemporary jazz scene for the past 15 years. Nat’s earliest experience with music started with the piano. Then, he switched to bass. After hearing Eddie Van Halen, Nat had to play guitar. Growing up in the 80’s, Nat’s musical interests were all things rock and metal and Nat earned a reputation for being one of the best shred guitarist in the area. Nat’s transition from metal and rock guitar to jazz occurred when he sought out a platform to improvise for longer than the standard rock riff. That, and hearing Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Birds of Fire for the first time. Pursue jazz he did and after earning his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance from William Paterson University in 1996, Nat set to work forging his own musical path.
The first marker on that path was Nat’s debut album, Looking Through featuring the rhythm section of world renowned electric bassist, Matthew Garrison and drummer Gene Lake, putting Nat on the map as both a player and a composer.
“Any 29 year old that can hang with this duo (Garrison & Lake,) let alone lead the date, has transitively proven himself worthy of attention.” Review of Looking Through by Phil DiPietro for allaboutjazz.com 2000
Two more albums soon followed—a live acoustic recording with fellow William Paterson alumnus Jake Schwartz simply titled, Live and a collaborative project with Rave Tesar (of Annie Haslam’s Renaissance on keys and left-hand bass) and Ray LeVier entitled, Berkana.
2010 has been a busy year for Janoff with regards to recording. He was honored with the opportunity to contribute to ESC Records latest tribute album, Mahavishnu Redefined II, recording the track, Are You the One? with bassist Ray Riendeau and drummer Martin Diamond. Janoff also played guitar on three tracks on Ray Riendau's latest cd, Atmospheres. Most recently, Janoff went into the studio to record his latest cd, Come Together Move Apart with the great talents of pianist John Escreet, bassist François Moutin and drummer Chris Carroll. This album was officially released on September 28th 2010.
In addition to playing with his own groups, Nat Janoff has performed with the R&B singer, Joe, R&B legend David “Pic” Conley from the group Surface, legendary pianist, Norman Simmons and drummer Victor Jones’ group, Culturversy. Nat can also be heard on Atlantic Records’ recording artist Debelah Morgan’s CD, Dance With Me and on R&B artist Roland Clark’s new track, The Simple Things.
 

EPISODE 66 - Jon Herington

Jon Herington is a longtime New York city based guitarist, singer/songwriter, producer, and bandleader. He is the leader of the Jon Herington Band and has been the guitarist of choice with the iconic band Steely Dan for both recording and touring since 1999. With the launch of (quiet) encore, Jon now has eight solo releases in his discography. His previous release, Time On My Hands, was nominated for Vintage Guitar Hall Of Fame Album of the Year. His guitar work with Steely Dan can be heard on their recordings Everything Must Go and Two Against Nature (both the CD and the live DVD) and on the Steely Dan VH1 Storytellers and Making of Aja DVD releases. Jon was also featured as lead guitarist on the Dukes of September Rhythm Revue's Live at Lincoln Center DVD.
Jon also tours regularly with unique song stylist Madeleine Peyroux and has previously toured with Donald Fagen; Boz Scaggs; The Dukes of September (a supergroup featuring Donald Fagen, Boz Scaggs, and Michael McDonald); Bette Midler; Phoebe Snow; and Bobby Caldwell.
 

EPISODE 65 - Roberta Piket

Roberta Piket is a pianist who loves to swing while exploring the more adventurous harmonic possibilities of jazz and improvised music.
Roberta’s father was the composer Frederick Piket, whose works were performed by the New York Philharmonic under famed conductor Dimtri Metropolis. (The elder Piket, who passed away when Roberta was eight, is also renowned for his significant contribution to the musical liturgy of reform Judaism.)
From her mother, Cynthia, Roberta learned by ear the tunes of Porter, Gershwin, Kern, Rodgers, and Berlin (as well as accompanying lyrics).
In her early teens, a chance encounter with a classic LP rescued from a flea market changed the course of Roberta’s life.
“My older brother had bought a few copies of an old Muse LP of Walter Bishop Jr.’s trio for 25 cents each. He played it for me and I flipped. I just fell in love with the sound of the jazz piano trio. The CD was called Speak Low, and I found the original sheet music for that tune in my mother’s collection. I learned all the songs on that record,” which, in addition to the title tune, included Alone Together, Milestones and On Green Dolphin Street. Shortly after that epiphany, Roberta became fascinated with the 20th century classical recordings that had belonged to her late father. Soon she was dividing her time between the stacks of old sheet music in the attic, learning standards, and the Bartok and Schoenberg records and scores in her father’s library. Sprinkled into the mix were a handful of Ellington scores borrowed from the New York Public Library, and saturation listening to WRVR-FM, the New York jazz radio station at the time. As her passion for music intensified, Roberta’s mother tried to discourage her from the difficult path of a professional musician. As a compromise, she attended the joint five-year double-degree program at Tufts University and New England Conservatory. “Coming from a high school with a strong liberal arts curriculum [New York’s prestigious Hunter College High School], I was not opposed to continuing in the liberal arts tradition in college, rather than narrowing my focus only to music. I believed then, and still believe, that an artist needs to be stimulated by the surrounding culture and not live in a vacuum.” Roberta graduated with a degree in computer science from Tufts and a degree in jazz piano from New England Conservatory, but after a year as a software engineer, it was clear her heart was in music, and she returned to her native New York to study and play.
After applying for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, she began to study with pianist Richie Beirach. “I was so young and naïve when I moved back to New York. I didn’t really know much about Richie’s music. It was sort of blind luck that I started studying with someone who was able to help me integrate my love of modern classical music into my jazz playing and composing.” As her artistry developed, Roberta found herself in the unusual situation of playing both “straight ahead” jazz as well as so-called “free” music. After a last minute gig subbing with the Lionel Hampton band brought her to the vibraphonist’s attention, she was invited to play on two tunes for his upcoming CD. “The first CD I ever recorded was with Lionel Hampton. The production was a bit disorganized so I ended up doing a little of everything from helping Lionel rehearse the music, to writing out lead sheets for Ron Carter (who chastised me for writing diminished chords instead of dominant 7th chords), to helping in the editing stage. ” Around the same time, Marian McPartland would hear her as a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Composers Competition and invite her to appear as a featured guest on NPR’s Piano Jazz, the first of three appearances she would make on the show. “Marian was a good friend to me and to countless young musicians,” Roberta recalls. A 1999 Japan tour with her own trio magically brought Roberta full circle. “The first night we arrived, I was sitting in my hotel room playing with the cable radio system. There were several jazz specialty stations. As soon as I turned on the radio, the first music I heard was a track from that long ago Walter Bishop Jr. LP, Speak Low. It was eerie and incredibly moving to be brought back to that moment when I first fell in love with the piano trio while on my first international tour with my own trio.” Over the years, Roberta has appeared professionally as a sidewoman with David Liebman, Rufus Reid, Michael Formanek, Lionel Hampton, Mickey Roker, Eliot Zigmund, Benny Golson, Ted Curson, Virginia Mayhew, and the BMI/NY Jazz Orchestra. She has also toured and performed with some of the most interesting musicians in European and American improvised music, including drummers Klaus Kugel and Billy Mintz, and saxophonists Roby Glod, Petras Vysniauskas and Louie Belogenis. A gifted composer as well, Roberta was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk BMI Composers’ Competition. She was also the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Roberta is from Queens, NY. Her father gave her her first piano lessons when she was seven. Roberta began serious music studies in her early teens, studying jazz piano with Walter Bishop, Jr and classical piano with Vera Wels. While at New England Conservatory she studied privately with Fred Hersch, Stanley Cowell, Jim McNeely and Bob Moses. Upon returning to New York, in addition to six years of study with Richie Beirach, she studied briefly with Sofia Rosoff. In addition to Japan, Roberta’s trios have toured Spain and the U.S. She has performed at the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), at the Earshot Festival (Seattle), at the Rochester (NY) Jazz Festival, and in New York at Small’s, Mezzrow’s, the Blue Note, Birdland, and Dizzy’s at Jazz at Lincoln Center. On her 2011 CD release, Sides, Colors, in addition to featuring her trio, she orchestrated several pieces for winds and strings, sang, and played organ as well. An eclectic series of projects has followed, including an electric band, Alternating Current, the free improvisation trio Belogenis, Piket, Mintz, the international Roby Glod Quartet, and the Nabokov Project, which sets poems by Vladimir Nabokov to music for piano, violin, mezzo-soprano, percussion, and speaker, blending neo-classical harmonic concepts with lush melodies and free improvisational sections. Roberta’s most recent focus has been solo piano performance. Her 2012 CD, Solo, made the “ten best of the year” list of three jazz critics. A spring 2015 follow-up CD is called Emanation (Solo: Volume 2). Recent solo concerts include Kostel sv. Vavřince in Prague, Reigen in Vienna, Palomar College in San Marcos, CA, An Die Musik in Baltimore and Smalls in New York City. As an educator, Roberta has held master classes at the Eastman School of Music (where she performed solo and in duet with Marian McPartland), Rutgers University, Cal Arts, Duke University, the Northwestern University Composers’ Colloquium, and others in the U.S., Europe and Japan. She has served as a panelist for the Queens Council on the Arts grant review process and has taught at the Litchfield Jazz Camp and the Vermont Jazz Center. She is also the author of the Jazz Piano Vocabulary series of workbooks. Roberta occasionally performs on B3 organ at clubs such as the Harlem landmark Showman’s, as well as now and then leading her own groups at Smalls and Mezzrow. She has written several big band compositions, and is also a self-described “closet singer”. In recent years she has toured Europe several times, including France, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Ukraine and Spain. The melding of different musical worlds in her youth resulted in Roberta’s unique musical sensibilities and interests. Her numerous recordings reveal an artist equally at home playing standards (Solo, Emanation), free improvising (Poltva, Op Der Schmelz), and composing and arranging her own music (Sides, Colors; Live at the Blue Note). For Roberta, there are no genre boundaries, only the opportunity to make exceptional music.

EPISODE 64 - Putter Smith

Putter Smith was born in Bell, California, and began playing the bass at the age of eight, inspired by his older brother, jazz musician Carson Smith. He made his performing debut aged 13 at the Compton Community Center.He went on to perform with Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, Billy Eckstine, Diane Schuur, Lee Konitz, Bruce Forman, Jackie and Roy, Carmen McRae, Gary Foster, Art Farmer, Alan Broadbent, Mose Alison, Bob Brookmeyer, Blue Mitchell, Erroll Garner, Art Pepper, Mason Williams, Percy Faith, Burt Bacharach, Ray Charles, The Manhattan Transfer, and Johnny Mathis. He also works as a session musician, and has played on recordings by Sonny and Cher, The Beach Boys, and The Righteous Brothers, among many others.Smith was playing with Monk at the Los Angeles jazz club Shelly's Manne-Hole when he was spotted by director Guy Hamilton, who cast him as the assassin "Mr. Kidd" (alongside Bruce Glover as "Mr. Wint") in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. He went to have several other minor acting roles on film and television.

EPISODE 63 - Billy Test

Pennsylvania native Billy Test is a pianist, composer, arranger, and educator. Currently holding the piano chair in the Grammy award winning WDR Big Band in Köln, Germany, Billy splits his time between Europe and the United States, maintaining a busy schedule as a performer, composer, and educator.Billy’s piano playing blends the joys and sorrows of jazz and blues with the finesse and harmonic depth of classical music. His warm touch and clear tone can roar with excitement or sigh with woe. His improvisations are always in the moment, preferring to take risks and be daring rather than play it safe.Billy grew up in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, later relocating to the New York City area to follow his musical ambitions. During his time on the New York scene, he performed at Carnegie Hall, The Village Vanguard, JALC, Smalls, and Mezzrow with artists including, Dave Liebman, Miho Hazama, Joe Magnarelli, Rich Perry, Joel Frahm, Tony Moreno, Marc Mommaas, Ron Horton, Michael Feinberg, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Beyond Manhattan, Billy has played venues including The Kennedy Center and Blues Alley in Washington, D.C., The Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, PA, and Chris’s Jazz Café in Philadelphia.
 
Billy has held the piano chair with the Grammy Award Winning WDR Big Band in Köln, Germany since September 2018. Playing under the direction of Chief Conductor Bob Mintzer and Composer in Residence Vince Mendoza, Billy has appeared on several WDR Recordings and radio/television broadcasts and performed with the band at a plethora of leading European jazz festivals, including the London Jazz Festival and the Berlin Jazz Festival. The WDR Big Band has played Test’s arrangements and compositions, and his abilities as a soloist have been extensively featured.Billy is an alumnus of William Paterson University, where he studied under the tutelage of Mulgrew Miller. He holds a master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied under Jim McNeely and Phil Markowitz. Billy was a finalist in the 2019 American Pianists Awards, received second place in the 2017 Montreux Solo Piano Competition, and was a semi-finalist in the 2012 Nottingham Solo Piano Competition.  He is currently a faculty member at the Conservatorium Maastricht.

EPISODE 62 - Tony Romano

Guitarist Tony Romano has been a visible part of the New York City music scene for over twenty years. Just Jazz Guitar magazine wrote “His tone is beautiful and soulful, and his remarkable technique is a servant to his rich musical imagination and broad harmonic palette.” With a wide range of playing styles, Tony has toured worldwide and performed and recorded with many notable Jazz, Latin, Pop, and Broadway artists, including Randy Brecker, Joe Locke, Michael Feinstein, Bill Warfield, Steve LaSpina, Joe Bataan, Dave Valentin, Candido Camero, Chembo Corniel, Yomo Toro, Joel Frahm, Thomas Chapin, Brit Woodman, Santi DeBriano, Paul Bollenback, Stanley Jordan, Debbie Gibson, Kat Gang, Aimee Allen, François Moutin, Alex Gemignani, and Chuck Cooper. Tony’s guitar work can be heard on all 52 episodes of the BBC series 3rd & Bird as well as the Discovery Channel miniseries Going, Going, Gone! He has also performed for NPR broadcasts, and has appeared on NBC’s The Today Show, Telemundo, and the ABC Morning Show. Tony is an Adjunct Professor at Five Towns College, and has been a Teaching Artist for the Kupferberg Center at Queens College, as well as an instructor for the National Guitar Workshop.
 
 

EPISODE 61 - Tom Lippincott

Tom Lippincott8- and 6- string guitaristEight- and six-string guitarist Tom Lippincott was born in New Jersey and grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but has made South Florida his home since 1988. He has a bachelor's degree in jazz studies from the University of North Texas as well as a master's in jazz performance from the University of Miami.   Tom teaches jazz guitar at Florida International University and Broward College.  He also teaches lessons in person and online, conducts clinics and workshops, and has jazz guitar classes available through Mike’s Master Classes.As a longtime contributor to the South Florida jazz community, Tom has played and recorded extensively with many of the area’s musicians and bands. He has also performed throughout the world as both sideman and leader and has performed and/or recorded with jazz luminaries John Stowell, Jonathan Kreisberg, Ben Monder, Dave Liebman, Don Friedman, and Ed Schuller.  In addition to previous recordings such as his 2000 release Painting the Slow Train Brown, Tom has been featured as a performer and composer recently on David Fernandez’s Land, as well as the upcoming release from Rodolfo Zuniga’s band Surfaces with Strings featuring Camila Meza.  Tom has a new album of original compositions, Twenty Years Later, available on his website at tomlippincott.com.