David Greenaway
Drum Set
The Greenaway Group is a New York City based Jazz trio led by drummer David Greenaway.
David Greenaway was born in the Bronx, New York and spent his formative years in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. David is an alumnus of the Berklee College of Music and Wally’s Café Boston. He has performed with Carla Cook, Roberta Davis, Charlie Biddle, Danilo Perez, Clifford Jordan, Sam Newsome, Bruce Barth, Mark Gross, Delfeayo Marsalis, Mark Whitfield Sr., and Vanessa Rubin among others. David has toured and performed both domestically and internationally at major festivals including the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Curacao Jazz Festival, and Nice Jazz Festival.
David’s professional experience extends beyond the stage on the drumset – having worked behind the scenes as an A&R coordinator and producer with Barclay/Polygram Records Europe and is currently the co-owner of an independent record label, Some 1 Too. He attended Benjamin Cardozo School of Law to pursue his interest in entertainment law. It was here that David cultivated his passion for social justice and advocacy. Driven by his zeal to balance music and youth advocacy, David is a private drumset teacher, and has also served as a music educator and outreach site coordinator for the Harlem School of the Arts for over 10 years.
Marcus Persiani
Piano
Marcus Persiani
Marcus Persiani is a diverse pianist, composer, and educator. He also possesses an equally diverse musical vocabulary. He has performed domestically and internationally and has shared the stage with such greats as Dizzie Gillepsie, Max Roach, Eddie Palmieri, Cecil McBee, Tito Puente, James Carter and Vanessa Rubin. He has also toured and performed with “the Father of Latin Jazz, Maurio Bauza. Marcus’s compositions and arrangements were featured on the trilogy of albums recorded by Bauza’s legendary Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, one of which – “944 Columbus” – was nominated for a Grammy award. Marcus also toured with Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions and held long tenures at Harlem’s St. Nick’s Pub, Lenox Lounge and Minton’s Playhouse as a member of The Sugar Hill Quartet.
Marcus Persiani currently leads his In Motion trio and performs with various ensembles and vocalists.
Earl Sauls
Acoustic Bass
Earl Sauls has developed an original and highly musical approach to the acoustic bass. During a career that has spanned five decades, he has played with some of the all-time jazz greats such as Stan Getz, Howard McGhee, Woody Herman, Pepper Adams, Chuck Wayne, Warne Marsh, Warren Vache and many more. Noted for his fine sound, he is also featured on recordings by Joshua Breakstone, Rob Reich, Peter Prisco and many others
Special Guest….
Carla Cook
Vocals
Guest vocal artist, Carla Cook, has earned a Grammy nomination for her debut album, It’s All About Love, and widespread critical acclaim for her two subsequent recordings, Dem Bones, and Simply Natural.
Carla has performed or recorded with such luminaries as the Count Basie Orchestra, Lionel Hampton’s Big Band and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, as well as Jimmy Heath, Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, Regina Carter, Steve Wilson, Eric Reed, Don Byron, Craig Harris, Sekou Sundiata, Patrice Rushen, Savion Glover, Ben Vereen, Cyrus Chestnut, Carl Allen, Rodney Jones, Igor Butman, Wycliff Gordon, Bruce Barth and Terell Stafford.
In addition to her performing career, Cook is proud of her work as an educator. Since 2007, she has taught jazz voice and ensemble at Temple University in Philadelphia and is currently on the faculty of the Juilliard School, teaching the vocal jazz seminar/studio for the inaugural Vocal Jazz Masters program.
Gene Ghee
BS, MM, Ed.M
Saxophones, Flutes and Clarinets
Gene Ghee is a tenor saxophonist and is also proficient on all saxophones, flutes and clarinets.
Gene is an elder statesman who has performed with notable jazz artists such as Mercer Ellington, Julius Hemphill Ensemble, Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Monguito Santamaria, Jack McDuff and Jimmy McGriff. Gene has performed with other award-winning artists including Anita Baker, he played tenor saxophone on Stevie Wonder’s “Do I Do” recording, Etta Jones, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Bernard Purdie, Tuliva Cumberbatch and Ed Stoute. He has graced the stage with Arthur Prysock, BT Express, Amiri and Amina Baraka, Panama Francis, and Benny Powell. He has performed as a member of various bands including the Apollo House Band, Harlem Renaissance Orchestra, Essence Award Show Band, Odean Pope Saxophone Choir, Sam Rivers Band and saxophone ensemble. Gene is a horn contractor and Saxophone copyist.
He received awards from the New York Daily News Music Teacher Recognition Award from the UFT, and the Brooklyn Jazz Great Award presented by District Attorney Charles Hynes.
Gene has performed in Broadway and off-Broadway shows such as Annie, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Lena Horne Show, A Portrait of Ray Charles, Bubbling Brown Sugar (in Europe), Little Ham and Rosetta Lenoire’s Amas Repertory Theater. He is also currently performing with the Bertha Hope Quintet and Jazz Brunch with own trio at the Harlem Tavern.
Dwight Adams
Trumpet, Flugelhorn
One of the brightest stars on the Detroit jazz scene, trumpeter Dwight Adam entered the world of jazz in what he would describe as a backward progression. Initiated on fusion jazz, he developed an interest in the origins of jazz and soon discovered his most significant influences such as Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Fats Navarro, Woody Shaw, and Louis Armstrong.
Dwight plays the full range of the instrument with dexterity, freedom of expression, and with maturity that belies his experience.
Musical training began his freshman year in high school during which he became a member of Motown music legend Teddy Harris’ New Breed Bebop Society band at the age of 16. Dwight was awarded a scholarship to attend Kentucky State University where he studied music education and performance.
He has performed with some of the world’s finest musicians including Aretha Franklin, Marcus Belgrave, Donald Walden, Barry Harris, Kirk Lightsey, Benny Maupin, Rodney Whitaker, Roy Brooks, James Carter, and Stevie Wonder. A member of Stevie Wonder’s touring band since 1998, he is featured on Stevie’s first live DVD concert. He received the Spirit Of Detroit Award and the Metro Times Best Horn award. He also performs with the Columbus Jazz Orchestra under the leadership of the great trumpeter Byron Stripling.
Rudy Bird
Percussion
Rudolph “Rudy” Bird is a master percussionist whose career spans more than five decades across jazz, classical, and world music. He has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists including the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Miles Davis, Lauryn Hill, and Kenny Garrett, with whom he has toured internationally since 2012.
He has also performed with major orchestras including the Dance Theatre of Harlem Orchestra, Lincoln Center Orchestra, Kennedy Center Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Geneva Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Pops. His work appears on numerous recordings, including the Grammy-nominated Seeds from the Underground and Lauryn Hill’s multi–award-winning The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Bird has performed on stages worldwide and appeared at major televised events including the Grammy Awards, Soul Train Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and the Source Awards. Known for his distinctive rhythmic voice, he continues to perform internationally while contributing to a wide range of musical projects.
Introducing
Kyme Greenaway
Drum Set
Drummer, Kyme Greenaway, the final name on the album’s roster, is David Greenaway’s daughter, a longtime student of Jazz at Lincoln Center throughout middle and high school, and a former student at Harlem School of the Arts, where Rudy Bird began her formal drum instruction. By that time, Kyme was already playing at an advanced level for her age – the benefit of two years of hands-on study with her father. Kyme’s deft performances on “I Remember April” and “I Mean You” inspired by vocalist Carmen McRae and renowned drummer Al Foster stands as a superb recording debut for one so young. She’s not an official member but a very special guest indeed.
