JOHN
ROOT
Vocalist / Instrumentalist / Composer / Arranger
/ Educator
John took piano lessons as a child , learned the saxophone in his teenage years, studied flute at the Oberlin Conservatory as a college student, and added clarinet as a young adult. He became enchanted with the world of
jazz at the age of 25, and first experienced the delights of big
band sonorities as an alto saxophonist in the Gene Walker Band in Baltimore, MD in the mid-seventies.
John established himself as a woodwind instructor and
performer after moving to North Carolina in 1979. Pianist Yusef Salim invited him to perform with the Yusef Sextet, an ensemble that
featured Yusef’s eloquent compositions and arrangements. He recorded with the Yusef Sextet on “The Storyteller”, featuring vocalist Bus Brown, and his musical
development was deeply influenced by Durham’s vibrant jazz community.
Following a relocation to Amherst, MA in 1983, John founded
the Pioneer Valley Jazz Society, organizing weekly jam sessions and concerts featuring
local talent for more than a decade. He also founded and directed the Pioneer Valley Jazz Society Big Band,
and was awarded a Massachusetts Arts Council grant to arrange and
record his original compositions, “Songs for Keeping the Faith”, for live and televised performances.
After forming the Swingtime Sextet in 1990, John arranged over one hundred big band era
compositions and organized community swing dances for several years,
many as benefits for local charities.
He also produced “Dancing with the Duke” featuring the Swingtime Sextet and dancers from the Hooked On Swing
Society, for televised broadcast. Both the Swingtime Sextet and the Swingtime Quartet have also performed
at summer concert series and schools throughout New England since
2001, often funded by cultural council grants, and have played for
numerous weddings and special occasions.
John has been presenting solo
performances featuring American popular music from the first half
of the twentieth century at historical societies, libraries, schools,
senior centers, assisted living centers, long term care facilities,
and other venues throughout New England for more than a decade. He has also served on the faculties of Northampton Community Music School, Community Music School of Springfield, and Deerfield Academy as an instructor of woodwinds, and presents school clinics for instrumental
ensembles and choral groups.
JIM ARGIRO
Pianist / Educator / Composer / Arranger
Jim
was the leader and pianist of a rhythm and blues band during the
latter half of the 1950's as a teenager, and accompanied many well-known
rock and roll groups at this time. He then pursued formal studies
in jazz at the Hartford Conservatory, studying with noted pianist
Ray Cassorino.
As
a pianist in the Army Band, Jim took the opportunity to hone his
arranging and conducting talents, which led to a position with the
Ice Capades in a national tour as Assistant Conductor and Arranger.
After
moving to Los Angeles in 1969, Jim became affiliated with many distinguished
stars in a variety of media. As music director and arranger, he
worked with such celebrities as Bernadette Peters, Leslie Uggams, Henry
Mancini, Dianne Carroll, Joan Rivers, Anthony Newley and Juliet
Prowse.
Jim
has accompanied and arranged for such renowned jazz musicians as
Mel Torme, Marlena Shaw, Ernie Andrews, Lionel Hampton,
"Cat" Anderson, Red Rodney, Ernie Watts, Jeff Hamilton, Shelly Manne, and Louis
Bellson. His big band credits include Harry James, Bill Holman,
Count Basie, Richard Maltby and Alvino Rey.
The Phil Woods Quintet is currently performing some of
his jazz compositions.
Jim
serves on the faculties of Westfield State College, the Greater
Hartford Academy of the Arts, and the Springfield Community Music
School; he is also a member of The American Society of Composers,
Authors & Publishers (A.S.C.A.P.).
PAUL BROWN
Jazz Bassist / Educator
/ Artistic Director
Paul
studied music at the Peabody Conservatory and John Hopkins University
from 1953-1954, and at the University of Connecticut in Storrs,
CT from 1974-1976
Paul
has performed with the following internationally acclaimed jazz
luminaries in his career: Pepper Adams, Gene Ammons, Walter Bishop,
Jr., Art Blakey, Anthony Braxton, Don Byas, Chris Calloway, Betty
Carter, Warren Chaisson, Kenny Clarke, Gwen Cleveland, George Coleman,
Junior Cook, Harold Danko, Billy Eckstine, Mark Elf, Tommy Flanagan,
Vernel Fournier, Dexter Gordon, Al Haig, Sir Roland Hanna, Bill
Hardman, Barry Haris, Jimmy Heath, Lena Horne, Philly Joe Jones,
Clifford Jordan, Sheila Jordan, Lee Konitz, Melba Liston, Jackie
McLean, Jimmy Owens, Houston Person, Roland Prince, Larry Rivers,
Max Roach, George Siegal, Frank Sinatra, Dakota Staton, Sonny Stitt,
John Stubblefield, Clark Terry, Toots Thielmans, Cal Tjader, Sarah
Vaughan, Shirley Verrett, Monty Waters, Ernie Watts, and Teddy
Wilson.
He
has also recorded with the Neo-Bass Ensemble, Sir James Randolph,
Walter Bishop, Jr, Bernadette Brown, the Bill Hardman/Junior Cook
Quintet, and George Benson, as well as his own ensemble,
the Paul Brown Quartet. Paul has toured internationally with
the Charlie Parker Memorial Quartet, Clifford Jordan Sextet,
Bill Hardman/Junior Cook Quintet, Harlem Jazz Legends, Walter Bishop,
Jr. Trio, Ian Wallace Quartet, Melba Liston Orchestra, and the
Clifford Jordan Sextet.
His
theater appearances have included “Sweet & Hot in Harlem”
(Stage West, Springfield, MA), “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar
& Grill” (Theater Works, Hartford, CT; Great Barrington,
MA; Foxboro, MA; Lawrence, MA; and Osaka, Japan), and “Ella
Off Record” (Theater Works, Hartford, CT); he has also appeared
on television in Hartford, New York, and Japan.
Paul
founded the Bushnell Park Monday Night Jazz Series in 1967, and
has consistently brought stellar performers and ensembles to this
summer concert series during the past four decades. He is also founder
and Artistic Director of the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz and
Co-founder of the Artists Collective of Hartford.
He
has been the recipient of the Hartbeat Ensemble Street Performance
Award, the New England Jazz Alliance Unsung Heroes Award, J.C. Penny’s
Golden Rule Award, the Connecticut NAACP Arts & Humanities Award,
the Hartford Downtown Council Renaissance Award, the Connecticut
Commission on the Arts Award, and the Hartford Jazz Society’s “Keeping
Jazz Alive” Award.
Paul’s
appointments have included Commissioner of the Hartford Cultural
Affairs Committee, Music Chairman of the Greater Hartford Civic
& Arts Festival, Board of Directors of the Charter Oak Temple
Cultural Center, and Board of Trustees of the Hartford Camarata
Conservatory.
As a jazz educator, Paul has served as Director of Music
with the Community Renewal Team of Greater Hartford, Workshop Leader
with the International Art of Jazz at State University of New York,
Professor of Jazz and Black Studies at the University of Hartford,
and Instructor at the Master’s School in Simsbury, CT.
He has also been teaching at the Greater Hartford Academy
of the Arts since 1993.
ARTI DIXSON
Drummer / Educator