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 Trumpeter
MARIO GUARNERI brings a fresh creative voice,
amazing technical ease, and an intense desire to touch
people with his music to the group's performances. His
career has encompassed everything from playing with Louis
Armstrong at the age of 13 to fifteen seasons with the Los
Angeles Philharmonic. Guarneri has recorded solo albums on
the Crystal and Nonesuch labels, played principal trumpet
with the L.A. Chamber Orchestra for ten seasons, and
appeared on over 300 T.V. and motion picture soundtracks,
most notably as soloist on Godfather III. Since his return
to the Bay Area, where he was born and raised, he has
concentrated his energies on the Guarneri Jazz Quartet. He
teaches trumpet and improvisation at the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music. He is the inventor of the B.E.R.P., a
learning tool for brass instruments which is sold all over
the world (BERP.com).
He has performed over the years with a diverse list of
creative musicians including Earl "Fatha" Hines, Frank
Zappa, Sarah Vaughn, Cleo Lane, and Roger
Kellaway.
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 AKIRA TANA- Drums
Born and raised in California, Akira Tana earned degress from Harvard University and the New England Convservatory of Music. Tana, who has appeared on over 150 recordings, has worked with Sonny Rollins, Sonny Stitt, Zoot Sims, Hubert Laws, Milt Jackson, Jim Hall, Art Farmer, The Paul Winter Consort, Paquito D’Rivera, James Moody, J.J. Johnson, Lena Horne, Then Manhattan Transfer, Ruth Brown, Charles Aznavour, Maurice Hines, and Van Dyke Parks. Tana co-led a quintet with the bassist, Rufus Reid called TanaReid, has five releases, "Yours and Mine" and "Passing Thoughts," on Concord Records and "Blue Motion" and "Looking Forward,"and “Back to Front,” on Evidence Music. On Sons of Sound, Akira has two releases as a leader, "Moon Over the World and Secret Agent Men. Due for release is a project by the Secret Agent Men Band playing themes from the movies of James Bond, entitled “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” An active teacher and clinician, Tana has taught at Rutgers University, Queens College, Jersey City State College, New York University, and is currently on the faculty at San Francisco State University. Mr. Tana is a product endorser of Yamaha Drums, Bosphorous Cymbals, and Vic Firth sticks.
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 RANDY
VINCENT - Guitar
Randy began his
career in Florida and moved to the Bay Area in 1980 . Since
then he has divided his time between performing and teaching
.Among the many musicians with whom he has performed and
recorded are: Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Henderson, Bobby
Hutcherson, Bill Watrous, Herb Pomeroy, Ernie Watts Bill
Watrous, George Cables, Tony Dumas, Akira Tana, Billy
Childs, Bob Sheppard, Steve Smith, and The Turtle Island
String Quartet. His own CD, "Mirror Image" with Mel Graves,
George Marsh and Bob Afifi has recently been released. Randy
has taught jazz guitar at Sonoma State University for 24
years and has conducted clinics throughout the U.S.
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 John
Wiitala - Bass
John Wiitala has
performed with Joe Henderson, James Moody, Benny Golson,and
Pete Jolly.He has performed and recorded with Mark Levine,
Scott Hamilton, Jessica Williams, Bruce Forman. and Wesla
Whitfield. John is currently teaching at the Jazz School in
Berkeley, Jazz Camp West, and the Stanford Jazz
Camp.
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