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Alan Gaumer, trumpet, began playing the trumpet in 1958. He was a member of Kal’s Kid’s appearing on the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour and numerous other television shows. Participating in band, orchestra, and stage bands through elementary, junior and high school he graduated from Freedom High School in 1969. He studied with John Nero and Willard Schissler and performed with the Allentown Band under the direction of Albertis L. Meyers. Alan then attended the U.S. Navy School of Music. Upon graduation he spent the next three years living in Gaeta, Italy touring Europe, Africa and Asia with the Navy Show Band. Prior to his discharge in 1973 he was offered the jazz trumpet position at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. From 1973-75 he toured first as trumpeter and later as drummer with the well known group KATO. Settling back in the Lehigh Valley, Alan was an integral part of the popular group P.F. & the Flyers and his own A.G.Q. After attending Rutgers University, Alan spent two years touring South America and West Africa with the U.S. Navy Show Band. After discharge in 1982, he worked for the next several years at well known hotels and resorts. Alan has been the jazz trumpet Artist/Lecturer at Moravian College since 1994 and served as Fusion ensemble director in 1998-99, 2003-04 and 2005-06. He has performed with a long list of well known jazz personalities including: Randy Brecker, Phil Woods, Al Cohn, George Young, Bob Dorough, Tom Harrell, Bill Watrous, Urbie Green, Kim Parker, Vic Jurris, Charles Fambrough, Bill Washer, John Swanna, David Leonhardt, Steve Gilmore, Bill Goodwin, Bobby Routch, Tom Schuman of Spyro Gyra and others. In performance he and his wife (ROBIN BRYAN) form the duo Body & Soul. Additionally he together with: NELSON HILL, TOM KOZIC, CRAIG KASTELNIK, and GARY RISSMILLER form the quintet CO-OP BOP. He has been the recipient of several grants. He lists several recording credits. The most recent include a collaboration with the Moravian Jazz Faculty and a collection of original compositions by the Quintet CO-OP BOP. Additionally Alan & Co-op Bop are rostered artists with Young Audiences of Eastern Pennsylvania. The Quintet uses familiar cartoon themes such as The Flintstones and Pink Panther to teach young students about our rich national treasure called JAZZ. www.co-opbop.net
a native of Bethlehem, PA, Gary has been playing
drums for more than twenty-five years. He has studied with Joe
Morello
and performed with jazz greats Phil Woods, Dave Liebman, Eric
Kloss, Tom Harrell, Randy Brecker, Don Patterson, Urbie Green,
George Young, Bobby Troupe, Janet Lawson, Gary King, and others.
He has opened for Lionel Hampton, Cab Calloway, Joe Henderson,
and Spyro Gyra. He performs regularly with his own combos, the
Skip Wilkins/Jill Allen Quartet, the Nick Driscoll Quartet, and
the Alan Gaumer Quintet, among others. His appearances include
The Village Gate and Tavern on the Green in New York City; The
Deerhead Inn in Delaware Water Gap, PA; and Ortlieb's Jazz Haus,
Chris's, and The Blue Moon Jazz Club in Philadelphia. He has
performed with various combos, including his own, at the Delaware
Water Gap Celebration of the Arts since its inception. He has
also played at the Central Pennsylvania Mellon Jazz Festival,
the Scranton (PA) Jazz Festival, the Wichita (Kansas) Jazz Festival,
and Mayfair (Allentown, PA), and as artist-in-residence at Musikfest
(Bethlehem, PA). Gary has taught drum privately for around twenty
years. He has served as adjudicator at the Wichita Jazz Festival
and as instructor at Moravian College's July Jazz Getaway, during
which he also performed with the legendary Clark Terry.
Paul has performed with a wide variety of artists
in the music world. Jazz credits include work with Bob Dorough,
Clark Terry, Maynard Ferguson, Urbie Green, Bobby Watson, Al
Cohn, Phil Woods, Ellis Marsalis and David Leonhardt. Outside
of the jazz world he has worked with Frank Sinatra Sr. & Jr.,
Joel Grey, Maureen McGovern, Steve Allen, Perry Como, and Larry
Elgart. He is on the faculty of Moravian College. Paul and his
family reside in Stroudsburg, PA.
Neil is an instructor and the Director of Jazz
Studies at Moravian College where he received the first T. Edgar
Shields
prize for outstanding studio instruction (2001). His other duties
include teaching jazz courses, directing the College's big band
and overseeing the jazz combo program. In addition, he is director
of instrumental music at Moravian Academy, a private college
preparatory school in Bethlehem. He received a B.M. (Jazz) and
Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of the Arts in
Philadelphia where he studied saxophone with Marshall Taylor.
He is currently enrolled in a doctoral program at Teacher's College,
Columbia University in Manhattan. Mr. Wetzel plays in groups around
Eastern Pennsylvania including the Eric Mintel Quartet, a straight
ahead jazz ensemble dedicated to performing jazz originals and
the repertoire of Dave Brubeck. Mr. Wetzel was the featured saxophonist
on Mintel's latest CD The Eric Mintel Quartet Live. As founder
and music director of Moravian College's summer music camp, July
Jazz Getaway, Mr. Wetzel has worked and played with many jazz
greats including Clark Terry, Ellis Marsalis, Terrel Stafford,
Jimmy Heath, Milt Grayson, and Bobby Watson. He is also director
of Archbishop Ryan's (Phila., PA) summer jazz camp. As a performer,
he has backed many of the great performers in show business including:
Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, Bob Hope, Johnny Mathis, Bernadette
Peters, Tommy Tune, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme, the Temptations
and the Four Tops. Philadelphia, playing in the pit orchestras
for shows such as Evita, Chicago, Cats, Titanic, A
Chorus Line,
Crazy For You, Grand Hotel, City of Angels,
State Fair, Kiss
of the Spider Woman, and Cinderella.
Skip Wilkins, piano, has during more than twenty-five years of performing enjoyed performances with many great musicians, including saxophonists David Liebman, Stanley Turrentine, Bobby Watson and Plas Johnson, vocalist Mark Murphy, trumpeters Clark Terry and Conte Candoli, trombonist Al Grey, bassist Milt Hinton, drummers Bob Moses, Joe Hunt, and Peter Erskine, and flutist Jill Allen. Skip and Jill have just released a new recording on Cathexis Records which is currently playing on radio stations throughout the United States. The CD, Petty Theft, features the Wilkins & Allen Quartet and Grammy-nominated saxophonist, David Liebman. Previously, Skip and Jill released the CD, Two Much Fun!. Some of their highlight performances together include New York's Tavern on the Green and The Wichita Jazz Festival, and tours all over the United States. David Liebman has performed with their quartet as featured guest numerous times. Skip has an active presence in education in the Lehigh Valley. Currently he is Assistant Professor of Music at Lafayette College in Easton. He has also taught jazz piano students at home and at Muhlenberg and Moravian Colleges, for the past seven years. Previously, Skip taught at the University of Northern Colorado, spending many of his eight years there in the nationally acclaimed Jazz Studies program. He holds his undergraduate degree from Holy Cross College, and a masters degree from the University of Northern Colorado. He also studied jazz composition and arranging with Herb Pomeroy at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and is a former faculty member at Berklee. Skip is a 2001 fellowship recipient from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He was given the award for excellence in jazz composition. Many of the compositions for which he was recognized appear on Petty Theft.
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"The best—and
strangest sign—that a jazz renaissance is indeed underway."
-The New York Times
JJG registrants practice while musical director,
Neil Wetsel, prepares charts.
Photo by Stoner Photography |
