SHOWCASE AT STUDIO BEE: TOM TAYLOR AND JASON BENNETT
When: Thursday, November 12, 2009 - 6:00 PM (Doors open 5:00 PM)
Ticket Info: Tickets on sale soon!

NO TICKET REQUIRED - this show is free and open to the public!

6:00 PM: Tom Taylor

Tom Taylor is an internationally known guitarist, composer and recording artist, and he is the jazz guitar instructor at Colorado College. His music is a hybrid of jazz, classical and rock and even includes a dash of blues and bluegrass. His new CD, Home, features the world-renowned Turtle Island String Quartet.

Tom is one of the winners of Musician Magazine's "Best Unsigned Band" contest. His winning entry, "Aubade," from his CD The Crossing is described as "the hardest tune I ever had to record" by mandolin virtuoso David Grisman. The Crossing also features the Kronos Quartet.

Tom premiered a full orchestral arrangement of "Big Basin Breakdown" from The Crossing in Europe. It received a five-minute standing ovation at the famed Hercules and Prinzregenten theatres in Munich.
 
Tom’s current ensemble is the Needlewood Orchestra, which features the following musicians:
 
Phil Allen (valve trombone) recently moved here from the San Francisco area, where he wrote for and played with the CSM Monday Night Band, the Interplay Trio, and the Collective West Jazz Orchestra. He has written for and played with the Springs Contemporary Jazz Band and contributed an arrangement to the Air Force Falconaires.

Marc Neihof (acoustic and electric basses) has recently joined the faculty of Colorado College. He performs in the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and is sought out by the finest jazz and classical musicians in Colorado for recording projects and performances. His peripatetic wanderings have found him jamming with musicians across Europe, China and India.

Mark Rose (saxophones and woodwinds) has taught at the Colorado College, University of Denver and Adams State College. Mark has recorded with Tom and with pianist/vocalist Ellyn Rucker, Steve Barta, Alan Joseph, Barbara Ernst, and the Boulder vocal group Rare Silk. 

Lisa Smith (horn) has been a public school music teacher. Lisa was principal horn in Tom Wilson’s Chamber Orchestra of the Springs. She has performed with many other ensembles, including the New World Symphony and the Monument Hill Brass Quintet.

6:45 PM: Jason Bennett

Jason Bennett is an American singer-songwriter who is known for his own brand of independent, earthy, folk songwriting style. His warm vocals, traditional instrumentation and prolific lyrics have earned him fans throughout the world. He has written, recorded and produced five albums of original acoustic Americana music.