Drummer Rich Thompson has been in demand as a top call drummer in Rochester for the past 25 years. Besides serving as the drum set instructor at the Eastman School of Music since the fall of 1996, Rich has toured, performed, and recorded with the "who's who" of jazz greats including pianist James Williams (Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers), The Count Basie Orchestra, Tito Puente, Frank Foster, The Byron Stripling quartet, saxophonist Rich Perry, the Bill Dobbins Trio, Harold Danko, Marion McPartland, Trio East (which includes Clay Jenkins and Jeff Campbell), trumpeter Snooky Young, guitarist Gene Bertoncini, Carl Fontana, Phil Woods, Joe Pass, and a host of others too numerous to mention. The Boston Globe cited Rich as "the drummer who drove the Basie sound" when he appeared with them at the Boston Jazz and Blues Festival. Rich's new trio CD entitled "Generations" was just released on Origin Records this Spring and he has recorded a quartet record with trumpet sensation Terrell Stafford, gifted pianist Gary Versace, and bassist Jeff Campbell this April. Rich first met Miles Brown as a sixteen-year-old bassist when his dad, guitarist Steve Brown, would hire Rich to play trio at the college in Ithaca. (Steve was the jazz professor there for 40 years and recently retired). ...
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Drummer Rich Thompson has been in demand as a top call drummer in Rochester for the past 25 years. Besides serving as the drum set instructor at the Eastman School of Music since the fall of 1996, Rich has toured, performed, and recorded with the "who's who" of jazz greats including pianist James Williams (Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers), The Count Basie Orchestra, Tito Puente, Frank Foster, The Byron Stripling quartet, saxophonist Rich Perry, the Bill Dobbins Trio, Harold Danko, Marion McPartland, Trio East (which includes Clay Jenkins and Jeff Campbell), trumpeter Snooky Young, guitarist Gene Bertoncini, Carl Fontana, Phil Woods, Joe Pass, and a host of others too numerous to mention. The Boston Globe cited Rich as "the drummer who drove the Basie sound" when he appeared with them at the Boston Jazz and Blues Festival. Rich's new trio CD entitled "Generations" was just released on Origin Records this Spring and he has recorded a quartet record with trumpet sensation Terrell Stafford, gifted pianist Gary Versace, and bassist Jeff Campbell this April. Rich first met Miles Brown as a sixteen-year-old bassist when his dad, guitarist Steve Brown, would hire Rich to play trio at the college in Ithaca. (Steve was the jazz professor there for 40 years and recently retired).
Generations Trio was formed in 2006 when Rich, along with Doctoral student bassist Miles Brown, and undergraduate piano student Chris Ziemba started performing together. The "hook-up" was immediate and their audience began telling them what a dynamic trio sound the three were producing. The trio had been documented on You Tube after performing for the Ithaca Jazz Society's "Crossing Borders Live Radio" show in 2009. It took two more years to align schedules and in July and August of 2011, their first CD was recorded. The CD "Rich Thompson: Generations Trio" was produced this spring by Origin Records, the Seattle based record company owned by drummer John Bishop. Don't miss this acoustic trio in action at the Xerox Auditorium at the 2012 Rochester International Jazz Festival!
Bassist, composer, performer, and teacher Miles Brown comes from a musical family, and began playing the bass at the age of ten. He attended the Eastman School of Music for his undergraduate degree, earning a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Jazz and Contemporary Media. A versatile musician, he is the bassist for the new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, and has had his compositions performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Miles has performed with Barbara Morrison, Ralph LaLama, John Mosca, Bill Goodwin, Bill Dobbins, Ben Monder, Joe Magnarelli, Walt Weiskopf, Gary Smulyan, Sam Rivers, Steve Wilson, and Harold Danko. In 2003, he received a Master's Degree in String Bass Performance from Mannes College of Music, and has completed a Doctorate in Jazz Performance at the Eastman School of Music. In 2008, Miles was the Interim Gussman Director of Jazz at Cornell University. Now the Jazz Program Coordinator at Oakland University, Miles teaches jazz band, jazz theory, arranging, and jazz combos. He also teaches privately as Oakland's Applied String Bass teacher.
Making his first appearance on the David Letterman Show at age 11, the winner of the 2011 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition, 25 year-old pianist, composer, and arranger, Christopher Ziemba, is already receiving widespread critical acclaim. After Chris made his debut in March 2009 as a guest artist on Marian McPartland's famed radio broadcast, Piano Jazz, David Lyon of National Public Radio reported: "Knowledgeable beyond his years, Ziemba has developed the keen sensibilities and musical awareness of a great musician." Most recently, in March 2011, Chris was chosen to participate in the Advancing Jazz Improvisation Master Classes with jazz icon Brad Mehldau. Presented in conjunction with the Weill Institute at Carnegie Hall, Chris was the only pianist, from the seven selected nationally, to perform in both the solo piano and trio classes in New York City. In May 2008, Chris was one of three jazz pianists chosen from the Eastman School, who performed a unique "side-by-side" concert at the highly regarded Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. In March of that year, he was one of four pianists selected on an international basis to participate in The Fred Hersch Young Artists Workshop, which culminated in a performance at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall. Chris received his Bachelor's Degrees in Jazz Performance and Music Education as well as his Master's Degree in Jazz Performance, from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. He is currently a member of the Juilliard Jazz Artist Diploma Ensemble, participating in performance and educational outreach tours worldwide.
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