Rabbit Hole Sessions with Abe Ovadia

EPISODE 41 - Rick Peckham

Rick Peckham is internationally active as a jazz guitarist and educator. He has presented performances and clinics on six continents and specializes in a unique blend of styles, including jazz, rock, blues, fusion and country finger style performance.
Currently a full-time professor in Berklee’s Guitar Department, Peckham has been a faculty member since 1986, and served as Assistant Chair of the Guitar Department, with 1100 guitar students and 60 guitar faculty, from 1992-2013.
The internationally released album Left End, with drummer Jim Black and bassist Tony Scherr was named one of the best releases of 2005 by DownBeat Magazine. He organized the college’s honorary doctoral tributes to Roy Haynes, Joe Zawinul, Jack DeJohnette and John Scofield, featuring then-Berklee students Kurt Rosenwinkel, Matthew Garrison, Antonio Hart, Abe Laboriel Jr., Melvin Butler and Seamus Blake. Several then-Berklee students he has coached include Lionel Loueke, Lage Lund, Frank Möbus, Jeff Parker, David Rawlings, Brooks Robertson, Matt Stevens and Nir Felder. His Berklee Jerry Reed/Chet Atkins Guitar Ensemble performed to high acclaim at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention in Nashville in 2014.
Some of his published works are two 12-week online berkleemusic.com courses: Berklee Guitar Chords 101 (2007 UCEA award for best online class) and Berklee Guitar Chords 201, the DVD Modal Voicing Techniques, and Hal Leonard books Berklee Jazz Guitar Dictionary and Berklee Rock Chord Dictionary. His updated edition of Modal Voicings for Guitar is soon to be released by Hal Leonard.

EPISODE 40 - Michael Topping

Michael Topping is an up-and-coming bassist based in New Jersey, making waves in the jazz scene with his incredible versatility and artistry on both electric and upright bass. A graduate of William Paterson University’s renowned jazz program, Michael studied under master bassist Steve La Spina, honing his craft and developing a unique voice. Known for his long, lyrical solos that captivate audiences, Michael has already performed at prestigious venues like The Django in New York City. With a deep respect for jazz tradition and a modern, innovative approach, Michael continues to establish himself as a sought-after performer in the vibrant jazz community.

EPISODE 39 - Champian Fulton

“Champian is the most gifted pure Jazz singer of her generation” Mark Stryker, Detroit Free Press
“a charming young steward of the mainstream Jazz tradition.” Nate Chinen, The New York Times
"... a balm for the soul. Champian sounds, always, like she's having the time of her life" ALL ABOUT JAZZ
 
Born in Norman Oklahoma in 1985, Champian is recognized as the “most gifted pure Jazz singer of her generation” (Mark Stryker, the Detroit Free Press). A Jazz pianist and vocalist for more than 20 years, she has released 18 albums as a leader and has performed in more than 25 countries, both in concert and on TV. She has been recognized with numerous awards, including Album of the Year in the NYC Jazz Record (2018, 2020, 2023) and Pianist and Vocalist of the Year (2019) by Hot House Magazine. She regularly appears in both the Jazz Journalist Awards and Downbeats Rising Star Critics Poll.
Champian began her career at the age of 10, performing for Jazz legend and family friend Clark Terry’s 75th Birthday Party. Since then she has appeared on stage with Jazz royalty such as Lou Donaldson, Frank Wess, Scott Hamilton, Nicholas Payton, the WDR Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Hamilton, John Clayton, Buster Williams, Jimmy Cobb and Louis Hayes, who performed with Champian in a tribute to Horace Silver for her senior recital upon graduation from SUNY Purchase in 2006. After moving to New York in 2003, she began performing at Birdland, the Jazz Corner of the World, where she has regularly appeared for over 20 years. In 2023 Champian & Birdland celebrated this longtime friendship with the release of “Meet Me at Birdland'', an album which was hailed as the Best Vocal Album of the year by the NYC Jazz Record. 

EPISODE 38 - Cory Weeds

A saxophonist with a warm and impactful sound rooted in jazz tradition. A label owner tirelessly documenting the vital sounds of both prominent and unsung jazz heroes. One of Canada’s and North America’s most important jazz impresarios.
Cory Weeds is all of these things, and much more. He’s the hardest working man in jazz business.
an expressive saxophonist, passionate club owner and impresario, astute record label owner, and producer with musically satisfying instincts.
Chris Wong, from Thirty Jazz Lives in Vancouver
Weeds was the founder and owner of Cory Weeds’ Cellar Jazz Club in Vancouver, which he successfully ran for more than 13 years. Weeds built the Cellar to become a beloved venue DownBeat Magazine acknowledged as one of North America’s best Jazz clubs, where masters such as George Coleman, Louis Hayes, Sheila Jordan, David “Fathead” Newman, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and leading jazz musicians from Vancouver, across Canada, and the U.S. performed before the last choruses were played there in February 2014.
But he wasn’t just the club owner. As a saxophonist who studied at the University of North Texas and Capilano University, Weeds spent many nights on the hallowed Cellar bandstand as a leader and sideman. He swung hard and held his own when performing with icons like Joey DeFrancesco, Christian McBride, and Harold Mabern. Weeds has recorded more than 20 albums as a leader, including his latest release Home Cookin’. His recordings have received numerous accolades worldwide, including reaching #1 on the JazzWeek charts and receiving excellent reviews from jazz journalists.
 
While the Cellar is now a sweet memory, the Cellar Live record label Weeds established in 2001 is alive and very well. Rebranded in 2018 as the Cellar Music Group — which includes the Cellar Live (recorded live), Cellar Music (recorded in studio), and Reel to Real Recordings (archival) imprints — has released more than 350 recordings. Many of the releases have spent extensive time on the JazzWeek charts, been reviewed in acclaimed print publications, and been featured on NPR’s Fresh Air. Weeds has also served as producer on more than 200 recordings. In 2017 Weeds celebrated a win at the Juno Awards when Metalwood won for Jazz Album Of The Year: Group for Twenty, released on Cellar Live.  
 
2023 was a watershed year for Weeds and the Cellar Music Group. In March of that year, Weeds and the label were awarded a Grammy Award for the eponymous Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra release in the Best Large Ensemble Jazz category. DownBeat Magazine also recognized Weeds as the #2 Rising Star Producer and Cellar Music was #8 in Record Label Of The Year. 
 
On the presentation front, Weeds has booked Frankie’s Jazz Club in downtown Vancouver since 2016. Weeds has continued to build Frankie’s reputation for being one of Canada’s finest jazz clubs, presenting great American players like Roy McCurdy, Bill Charlap and David Hazeltine and Vancouver stalwarts such as Brad Turner and Jodi Proznick. Then there’s Jazz at the Bolt. In 2024, Weeds presented a strong lineup for the fourth annual two-day festival at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. In addition to Frankie’s and Jazz at the Bolt, Weeds presents music all over British Columbia, Canada, and the U.S. 
 
Weeds has an enduring affinity with New York City. He’s brought so many of the jazz mecca’s top players to Vancouver, and has performed, toured, and recorded with many of them. Tapping into his insider knowledge of the NYC scene, Weeds has led the annual New York With Weeds tour 11 times and counting. Every year, he leads 20–30 jazz lovers to clubs off the beaten track, private recording sessions at sacred places like the Van Gelder Studio, and to many more exclusive happenings. During the 2024 tour, one of the featured events was a duo performance with Bill Charlap and Weeds.

EPISODE 37 - Bob Pilkington

Bob Pilkington is a trombonist, composer, arranger, and educator.
Much of Bob’s career has been devoted to original music projects, both his own and those of others. His own projects include the Landscape Orchestra, Excursions, the Continuum Jazz Brass Band, Orquesta Tropical 2000, Fractal, Federator No.1, and Fusion Nouveau. He has been a resident composer and orchestra member of the Jazz Composers Alliance since 1989. He has also performed with original music ensembles including Antigravity, Fly By Night, Mark Harvey’s Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, Fred Ho’s Green Monster Big Band, the Darrell Katz Jazz Orchestra, the Ken Schaphorst Big Band, the Chandler Travis Philharmonic, and others. He wrote in varying degrees for most of them as well.
At Berklee College of Music, Bob regularly participates in concerts as a performer/writer, including two annual department concerts featuring compositions by himself and other faculty. He’s also performed with and/or written for a number of groups covering styles such as avant garde jazz, traditional jazz, big band jazz, fusion, rock, pop, klezmer, salsa, afro-pop, commercial music, and classical. He appears on over forty released CDs, records, and tapes from many of the mentioned groups as well as others. He most recently released album is titled “Lords of Time,” featuring fusion based composition by himself with his group Fusion Nouveau.
Bob is a professor in the Jazz Composition Department at Berklee College of Music where he has been teaching since 1982. At Berklee, he has been recognized with the Ted Pease Excellence in Teaching Award and the President’s Award in Information Technology for his work advancing Computer Aided Instruction in Music. His students can be heard in all areas of the music industry and have won many awards.
Bob currently lives in the Boston area with his wife, Kaoruko, and two cats, Nefi and Cleo.

EPISODE 36 - Dave Stryker

Whether you’ve heard guitarist Dave Stryker leading his own group (with 35 CD’s as a leader to date), or as a featured sideman with Stanley Turrentine, Jack McDuff, and many others, you know why the Village Voice calls him “one of the most distinctive guitarists to come along in recent years.”
Hot House magazine awarded him Best Guitarist – Fans Decision for 2017. He was recently voted once again as one of the top Jazz Guitarists in the 2022 Downbeat Critics and Readers Polls for the 15th time.
“I have followed Dave Stryker‘s playing since his early days in Omaha through his long stay with Stanley Turrentine… and he just gets better and better with one of the most joyous feels around.”
Pat Metheny
Recent releases
Dave’s last 5 CD’s have all gone to #1 on the JazzWeek Radio chart. Prime, his most recent, features his longtime working trio of Jared Gold and McClenty Hunter fresh off a tour opening for Steely Dan.
As We Are features John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Julian Shore and a string quartet led by violinist Sara Caswell. It received one of the Top Album of the Year honors in the Downbeat Readers Poll and Jazz Times magazine.
Eight Track III stayed at #1 on JazzWeek Radio chart for 6 straight weeks. Messin’ with Mister T, is a celebration of the man he worked with for over a decade — Stanley Turrentine, “Mister T” — with ten of the greatest tenor sax players on the scene today. It went to #1 on JazzWeek Radio and stayed in the Top 50 for 20 weeks and has received great reviews including 4 1/2 stars in Downbeat magazine.
“Guitarist / composer Dave Stryker possesses golden tone, urgent style, and the kind of heated technique that can blow the roof off any gig. Stryker cut his teeth with organist Jack McDuff and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, and that grits-n-gravy goodness seemed to mark his music: an urban tale spinner, a sharp stylist able to improve any bandstand, a storyteller in sound of the highest degree.”
Ken Micallef / Jazz Times, Jan. 2022
Journeyman
Dave Stryker grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and moved to New York City in 1980. After establishing himself in the local music scene, he joined organist Jack McDuff’s group for two years 1984-85. When McDuff wasn’t on the road (literally traveling by van all over the country) they worked a steady four-night a week gig at Dude’s Lounge in Harlem. His first break, this turned out to be an invaluable experience, paying his dues night after night with the soulful jazz organist.
It was at Dude’s Lounge that Stryker met tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, who would occasionally sit in. After leaving McDuff, Turrentine asked Stryker to join his quintet. From 1986-1995 he played with the legendary saxophonist at all the major festivals, concert halls, and clubs throughout the world. He is featured on two Turrentine CD’s (Stanley recorded Stryker’s tune “Sidesteppin”).
With Turrentine, Stryker was able to play with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Freddie Hubbard. The ten years playing alongside the tenor legend helped Stryker realize the importance of having his own sound. Dave continued to work with Stanley and was with him during his final week at the Blue Note in NYC, when he passed in Sept. 2000. Stryker has also performed with James Moody, Jimmy Smith, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jimmy Heath, Kevin Mahogany, Eliane Elias, Joe Lovano, Steve Slagle and many others.
Composer and publisher
Early on Stryker realized that as much as he loved playing standards and the jazz repertoire he had to have something of his own to give to the music. He feels that his writing combined with his playing is what shapes his musical expression. He has recorded and published over 150 of his own compositions and has released The Dave Stryker Songbook with most of his original music. Also 18 of the compositions (from the first five SteepleChase CD’s) are compiled in the book: The Music of Dave Stryker (SteepleChase Music).
Some of the other artists who have recorded Dave’s music are: Stanley Turrentine, Kevin Mahogany, Victor Lewis, and Steve Slagle. Dave continues to perform with The Dave Stryker Organ Trio, Dave Stryker Eight Track Band, and his Blue to the Bone Band. Dave Stryker’s Trio opened for Steely Dan’s 2022 Summer tour “Earth After Hours”.
Recent gigs
Recent gigs have included Birdland, the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Monterey Jazz Festival, The Newport Jazz Festival, The Keystone Korner in Baltimore MD, The Jazz Bakery in LA, and tours of Europe, Canada and Japan.
Dave co-led The Stryker/Slagle Band for 30 years with saxophonist Steve Slagle. He has appeared on over 75 CD’s as a sideman. Past sideman work has included vocalist Kevin Mahogany’s group, with Dave writing and arranging music for Kevin’s Telarc release Pride and Joy and Another Time, Another Place on Warner Bros and tours of Europe, Japan, Brazil, Poland and Carnegie Hall.
Producer
As a producer, Stryker compiled the CD The Guitar Artistry of Billy Rogers which is the only existing record of the brilliant jazz playing of the late underground legend who was his friend, former teacher and member of the Crusaders. Dave has also produced A Tribute to Grant Green on Evidence Music and has produced many other artists.
Educator
Dave is Adjunct Professor of Jazz Guitar at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University. Dave recently launched his online teaching school at www.artistworks.com. His book Dave Stryker’s Jazz Guitar Improvisation Method Vol III is available on his Bandcamp site.

EPISODE 35 - Sheryl Bailey

There's no description more apt for Sheryl Bailey than "A sizzling guitar goddess", coined by Elliot Simon of All About Jazz. He's not alone with his superlatives-Adam Levy of Guitar Player Magazine calls Sheryl "One of the most compelling tones of her generation", and Frank Forte of Just Jazz Guitar ranks her "among the best bop guitar players with a fresh approach and something new."Sheryl's playing is unquestionably "sizzling". She has groomed incredible chops and impeccable taste with which she applies them. It's said (by Lee Metcalf, The Villager) that she can "go from zero to blazing in two beats", but she is continually praised for never sacrificing melody and lyricism for technique. "She balances superior technical skills with a strong lyrical sense and swinging touch..." continues Metcalf, and Joe Taylor of Soundstage says "Bailey combines an astonishing command of the fingerboard with a seemingly endless flow of melodic invention.As for the guitar, she's hardly had it out of her hands since the age of 13. That was when her mother finally relented to Sheryl's begging for a Harmony Strat from the J.C. Penney catalogue. Though Sheryl was a rock-star wannabe, the influence of her pianist mother got her obsessed with learning harmony, and her first teacher in Pittsburgh, John Maione, introduced her to the guitar tradition-Wes, Jimmy Raney, George Van Eps, Joe Pass and others. She eventually attended Berklee College of Music. Her years of dedication and focus won her 3rd place in the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Guitar competition in 1995, and she was chosen as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department in 2000 for a South American tour. She is now said to be "One of the top players in an emerging generation of jazz guitarists" (John Heidt,Vintage Guitar).Her own trio, The Sheryl Bailey 3, is a modernized version of the organ trio-"the ultimate organ trio" according to JazzInside Magazine. In addition to their 15-year plus residency at NYC's 55 Bar, they have toured China, Canada, Europe and the US. She also tours the world as a member of David Krakauer's "Ancestral Groove". A partial list of others with whom she has performed and recorded with includes Richard Bona, George Garzone, Lincoln Goines, Kim Plainfield, Bill O'Connell, Mike LeDonne, Irene Cara, Lea Delaria, Jack Wilkins, Howard Alden, Shingo Okudaira, Ingrid Jensen, Dwayne Burno, Tommy Campbell, Simon Woolf, Alex Garnett and Ken Peplowski.To date, Sheryl has 9 CDs out under her name, and a live DVD, The Sheryl Bailey 3 Live in NYC (Mel Bay). Each successive release has drawn more accolades. Of Live at the Fat Cat, Joe Taylor says, "...this disc proves again that Sheryl Bailey is one of the most gifted and exciting jazz guitarists on the scene", and that she is a "jazz composer of the first order". In 2010 MCG Jazz released A New Promise, her tribute to Emily Remler, produced by Grammy-award winner, Marty Ashby, featuring Sheryl as the solo artist with Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra. In Downbeat Magazine Phillip Booth commented, "She is one of the new greats of her chosen instrument". Her 2014 release on the Cellar Live label, A Meeting Of Minds features The Sheryl Bailey 3. A feature on the disc in Guitar Player Magazine states: "They are so in sync they seem to finish each other's ideas". In 2015, she and bassist Harvie S debuted their acoustic duo, Plucky Strum on Whaling City Sound. JazzTimes Magazine remarked of Bailey’s approach: "her fluidity of style is impressive, her agility uncommon".Sheryl is a Professor at Berklee College of Music, and at the Collective in New York. In keeping with Sheryl's philosophy of "giving back", her 2011 quartet release, "For All Those Living" donates 20% of sales to the Ronald McDonald House of NYC. She has been an Artist in Residence at countless other programs, including NYU, Bates College, the Stanford Jazz Workshop, Towson University, the LA Music Academy and GIT. In 2009, Mel Bay published her book Moveable Shapes: Concepts for Re-Harmonizing II-V-I's. She has also developed a complete curriculum in jazz improvisation for interactive cyber study via Truefire's Guitar Sherpa program, The Bebop Dojo. In addition she has top selling courses available from Mike's Masterclasses, Jazz Guitar Society, JamPlay, and Truefire.

EPISODE 34 - Benito Gonzalez

Pianist Benito Gonzalez “Two times Grammy nominee”is an internationally beloved artist who combines a long lineage of American jazz traditions with rhythms from around the world. He’s worked with dozens of the greats, and he always brings some of the best rhythm section players in the world.
Today a rising tide of young jazz pianists are attempting to find their distinct voices by taking cues from their elders. But only a few take their artistry beyond their predecessors to make bold 88-key statements on their journeys to new vistas, fresh sounds, inspired expressions. That personal-touch devotion to the wonders of the instrument brings with it a certitude of intuitive creativity.
That fortitude fuels Benito Gonzalez, an exhilarating pianist who won the 2005 Great America Jazz Piano Competition and was honored in 2020 to be a Steinway & Sons artist for “his sound [that] is recognizable for the powerful rhythm section and Afro-Latin patterns he prioritizes across his projects.” The Venezuela-born, New York-based artist grew up playing traditional Venezuelan folk music with his family before absorbing the inventiveness of such pianists as Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner,Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett who inspired him to join in the explorations on the instrument.
Gonzalez made his way to U.S. by a serendipitous route when an American cultural ambassador caught one of his trio gigs and later invited him to come to Washington, D.C. He was enlisted to play shows with Ghanaian master drummer Okyerema Asante that led to a recording. “After my first six months here, I decided to stay in this country to learn the music right,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez went on to play with Jackie McLean in 2003, then joined Kenny Garrett’s quartet for seven years until 2013—during which time he garnered two Grammy band nominations. After his stint with Garrett, he played with saxophonist Azar Lawrence’s band and then in 2019 joined saxophone legend Pharoah Sanders as his pianist/musical director.
Through the course of his career, Gonzalez has been instrumental as a sideman in performing and recording with such jazz greats as Bobby Hutcherson, Dave Liebman, Gary Bartz, Curtis Fuller, Al Foster, Lenny White, Billy Hart, Ignacio Berroa, Jeff”Tain”Watts, Buster Williams, Rene McLean, Steve Turre, Delfeayo Marsalis, Hamiet Bluiett, Ron Blake, Antonio Sanchez, Mark Gross, and Azar Lawrence.
Gonzalez also recorded his own albums, including Starting Point (2004) and Circles (2010), then continued his solo career with Dream Rhapsody (2015) with Slavic flutist/vocalist Sisa Michalidesová, and a loving tribute to McCoy Tyner Passion Reverence Transcendence (2018).
With propulsive pulse and Afro-Latin percussive drive, Gonzalez placed rhythm at the core of 2021’s Sing to the World, his fifth album and first released on the St. Petersburg, Russia label Rainy Days Records. He assembled an impressive team of collaborators, including Christian McBride, Essiet Okon Essiet, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and Nicholas Payton as well as rising stars Russian drummer Sasha Mashin, trumpeter Josh Evans.
In addition to his slow-to-upbeat originals, Gonzalez added to the set list two compositions that had never been recorded by their composers: Roy Hargrove’s soulful “Father” and the “Tain” beauty “416.” After almost seven years of touring with Kenny Garrett, Benito has added numerous festivals and international jazz club dates to his credit.

EPISODE 33 - Kevin Brown

Kevin Brown is a bass player in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut Metropolitan Area.  He also is a university teacher and professional audiobook narrator.
Recent performances and recordings include sessions at Abbey Road Studios in London with the Rock Opera Orchestra.  He has played hundreds of theatrical, pops, jazz, and classical concerts at venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to the Metropolitan Museum; from the Cutting Room in Manhattan to the Bedford in London; from 42nd Street’s Signature Theater to the prestigious Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey.  He has backed entertainment acts including Joan Rivers, Bob Newhart, Marvin Hamlisch, Regis Philbin, Rich Little, and the Drifters.
He has played with the Staten Island Symphony, Metro Lyric Opera, Orchestra of St. Peter-by-the-Sea, New Jersey Pops, New Jersey Ballet, and , Monkeyworks Music Ensemble.
He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies and Master of Music degree in Double Bass from the University of North Texas.  He is an adjunct professor on the music faculty at Montclair State University; teaches music theory at Wharton institute for the Performing Arts in Berkeley Heights, NJ; lectures on popular music at Fairleigh Dickinson University; and is available for private bass lessons.

EPISODE 32 - Ron McClure

Ron McClure was born in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. He started on piano at age five, and later played accordion and bass. McClure studied privately with Joseph Iadone and, later, with Hall Overton and Don Sebesky. McClure attended the Hartt School of Music, graduating in 1963.
 
Later life and career
McClure worked in the Buddy Rich Sextet in 1963. He then joined Maynard Ferguson's big band and, afterwards, Herbie Mann in 1964; and then assumed the bass chair in the Wynton Kelly Trio vacated by Paul Chambers in 1965 (playing behind guitarist Wes Montgomery)
 
From 1966 to 1969, he was a member of Charles Lloyd's "classic quartet" with pianist Keith Jarrett and drummer Jack DeJohnette, which was voted "Group of the Year" in 1967 by Downbeat magazine.
 
In 1970, with pianist-composer Mike Nock, drummer Eddie Marshall and violinist Michael White, he co-founded the jazz-rock group, the Fourth Way. He also participated in Carla Bley's album, Escalator over the Hill, and worked with saxophonist Joe Henderson.
 
In 1974, McClure joined Blood, Sweat & Tears, staying until 1975 and performing on three albums: Mirror Image, New City and In Concert
 
In the 1980s, he joined Quest, led by saxophonist Dave Liebman, which also included drummer Billy Hart and pianist Richie Beirach.[4] He also recorded a duo album with pianist Michel Petrucciani. McClure's major engagements in the 1990s through the early 2000s were with Lee Konitz, and then with the reassembled Quest.
 
His solo output include the contributions of John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Vic Juris, Paul Bley, Michael Eckroth, Richie Beirach, and Randy Brecker.