Oregon native Rob Scheps began studying the tenor saxophone at age nine. He grew up on Long Island, New York. After graduating high school, he enrolled in the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. There he received a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies with Honors in Performance.
While living in the Boston area, Rob formed and led his own groups, including the True Colors Big Band. In 1988 he moved to New York, where he formed the Rob Scheps Core-tet and the Bartokking Heads, firmly establishing himself on the jazz scene.
Not content to limit himself, Rob continued to take on new challenges. He formed new bands on both coasts. He served as a faculty member at the Mannes College of Music. He worked with contemporary music ensembles. All while performing with some of the most noted and influential big bands of our age, such as the Gil Evans Orchestra and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra.
In addition to his jazz credentials, Rob been an active part of the classical, theater, and popular music communities. For 13 years, he served as the Principal Saxophone with the Oregon Symphony. He was part of the national tour of Porgy and Bess with the Charleston Symphony, and the New York City Opera orchestra for Wonderful Town. He has worked on Broadway on productions such as CATS and Miss Saigon. He has appeared with such legends as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Liza Minnelli, and Linda Ronstadt. His range is best shown by viewing his ‘Performances’ page, showing the diversity of those with whom he has worked.
Rob has recorded on over 35 albums. His most recent releases, by the Rob Scheps Core-tet, are the critically acclaimed Comencio on Steeplechase Records and Live at Smalls on Smalls Records.
Rob continues to perform and record internationally, working with his contemporaries and leading his own groups; Magnets! With Kim Clarke, The Rob Scheps Big Band, and the Rob Scheps Core-tet.
Bassist, composer and educator Cameron Brown began his career in the mid-1960s, recording in Europe with George Russell and Don Cherry. These important innovators remain life-long inspirations and influences, along with early mentors and band leaders Sheila Jordan, Roswell Rudd, Archie Shepp and Beaver Harris. Mr. Brown has anchored some of the most important ensembles of the past fifty years, including Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, and various ensembles led by Dewey Redman, Don Cherry, Dannie Richmond, Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, Terumasa Hino, Mal Waldron, Marco Tamburini, Betty Carter, Houston Person/Etta Jones, Lou Donaldson, Lisa Sokolov, Jim McNeely, Joe Locke, Dave Ballou, Salvatore Bonafede, George Cables, Tony Malaby, and Carl Størmer (Jazz Code). The Don Pullen/George Adams Quartet, featuring Dannie Richmond, developed into an intense and rewarding partnership which lasted nearly ten years, and Mr. Brown has enjoyed special relationships with master drummers Philly Joe Jones, Edward Blackwell, Ben Riley, Eddie Moore, Idris Muhammad, Billy Hart, Joe Chambers, Lewis Nash, and Matt Wilson. He has helped young people around the world nurture their passion for jazz and is on the faculty of the New School University. At present, Mr. Brown performs and records with Sheila Jordan in a long-standing Bass and Voice duo (20+ years), and with Joe Lovano, Rob Scheps, Jason Rigby, Neils Vincentz, Jane Ira Bloom, Jay Clayton, Don Byron, Harvey Diamond, Lena Bloch, Russ Lossing, Billy Mintz, Krzysztof Popek, John Bailey, Kazuki Yamanaka, Kristen Lee Sergeant and the Royal Bopsters. Website: www.jazzhalo.be/musicians-files/cameron-brown/
Anthony Pinciotti is a dynamic, innovative drummer well versed in jazz, rock, and world music. Based in New York City, Anthony performs and tours extensively with many of the most vital and forward looking musicians on the scene today. Some of the notable musicians Anthony has worked with are: James Moody, Dr. Lonnie Smith, John Abercrombie, Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, Ira Sullivan, Kenny Werner, Mose Allison, Lew Tabackin, John Patitucci, Jim Hall, Bob Mintzer, Anat Cohen, George Garzone, Charlie Haden, Frank Foster, Benny Golson, George Mraz, Houston Person, Toninho Horta, Stacey Kent, Gary Bartz, Rufus Reid, Vic Juris, Dave Liebman, Kenny Barron, and Sheila Jordan to name a few.
Wes Georgiev is a pianist, composer, and educator based in Portland, Oregon. Growing up in a multicultural and musical household, Wes began playing music at a very young age, learning the rhythms and tones of Bulgarian folk music by ear with the guidance of his parents. He then began 9 years of classical piano study, and transitioned to learning the Black American Music idiom known as jazz at age 12. In his music, Wes aims to transcend notions of “genre” to tell stories steeped in natural, archetypal themes, allowing listeners to superimpose their own stories and experiences as a means to find healing.
Wes performs several times a week throughout the region as a sideman and band leader at venues such as the 1905, The Jazz Station, Jo Bar, Vino Veritas, Teutonic Wine Company, Jack London Revue, Clyde’s Prime Rib, Wilf’s, and others. He has worked with Rob Scheps, John Stowell, George Colligan, Ron Steen, Mark Zaleski, Jon Lakey, Bobby Torres, Nicole McCabe, Noah Simpson, Andres Moreno, and more. Wes studies privately with George Colligan and Alan Jones. He is currently a junior in the Jazz Department of the School of Music and Theater at Portland State University where he is completing his Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance.
