Since he burst onto the New York City club scene in the early 2000s, singer and pianist Tony DeSare has earned rave reviews as a standard-bearer for a new generation of young jazz musicians
Category: Musician Profiles
Marty Shaughnessy
Growing up on R&B and “old school” country and western, Marty Shaughnessy, 43, lived in a household where the music never stopped. “My father constantly had the vinyl spinning,” says Shaughnessy, “and it was the backdrop for many of my childhood memories. It’s hard to think of a day without music.”
Van Caldwell: Adventures of A Senior Citizen In Music School
When Van Caldwell retired in July 2013 he had big plans. “One of the first things I did was enroll in a music program as a senior/audit student, which meant I only had to pay the $25 registration fee,” Caldwell explains. “Many colleges and universities across the nation have similar programs for those who want to study music or any subject.”
Michael Feinstein: Why America Needs Music
You might say that Michael Feinstein has always had a unique approach to music. As a child, he was unable to learn from traditional piano lessons, perhaps because he’d already begun learning by his own means. Growing up in the 1960s and early 1970s, he wasn’t attracted to the popular music of that era, but was instead drawn to the Great American Songbook almost from the beginning.
Poochamungas: Music for All Ears
John Joyce didn’t start playing guitar until he was 30 years old. When he picked the instrument up, his daughter was two. As he began learning songs, he also started writing his own. Having his daughter nearby during that time, the words he started writing lent themselves to children, and with that in mind, Poochamungas came to life.
Virtual Band
Dean Brantley Taylor is a songwriter and producer. He also has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), which makes it hard for him to leave his apartment, much less sing or play an instrument. It’s even hard to simply listen to music, he says. “But, I’m in a band. Hallelujah!” he exclaims with a resounding euphoria you wouldn’t expect from someone afflicted with such a condition.
Filomena Jack
Filomena Jack, 41, began playing cello in middle school as a way to get out of gym class, but it’s continued to be a big part of her life. “I’ve played in traditional chamber groups and orchestras,” she says.
Joe Altier: Self-Made Man
Just Joe moves past Brand New Sin to solo piano singer songwriter
Penny Brill: The Healing Power of Music
Penny Brill felt that music had aided her recovery so much that, after she was well again, she made it her mission to help other people through music.