Joey B. Banks (Drums) is a music entrepreneur, music educator and, 2010 and 2011 Grammy nominated drummer, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018 Madison Area Music Association Drummer of the Year. He is a graduate of the Musicians Institute of Technology in Hollywood California and a proud Madison Scout Drum and Bugle Corps Alumnus. Joey B specializes in performance and education of Drum kit, Percussive Arts, Hand percussion, Music production, Artist Development, Event promotions, and Artist/Band Bookings (Talent Seller). Joey B. has performed and recorded drums with more than 100 artists and performance groups locally, regionally, and nationally over 25 years and has been recorded on over 50 albums over the last two decades.
www.joeybbanks.com & www.reverbnation.com/joeybbanks
(Photo credit: M.O.D. Media)
John Widdicombe (Bass) is a 2003 graduate of the UW-Madison School of Music and began performing in the Chicago area in the 1970s as an actor and musician, having studied double bass with Rufus Reid and Charles (Truck) Parham. Since 1977, he has written songs, sung and played with the Piper Road Spring Band, recording eight albums and CDs. For a number of years, John played with the popular Madison traditional jazz ensembles, The Dixie Sizzlers, and The Rhythm Aces. John has provided bass parts on numerous CDs by Carolyn Black, Harris Lemberg, Nelson Graham and many others. He has played double bass and/or acted and sung in musical theater productions at the Drury Lane Dinner Theater near Chicago, IL and The Armory Dinner Theater in Janesville, WI. For the past 13 years, John has presented duet performances every Saturday evening at Liliana's Restaurant in Fitchburg, partnering with Stan Godfriaux, Dan Barker, Larry Stout, Paul Filipowicz, Harris Lemberg, and others.
(Photo credit: Parry Heidi)
Jamie Kember (Trombone) balances his passion for music as performer, educator, and advocate. In the Madison area, Jamie can be heard performing with Immigré, Orquesta MAS, Brass Arts, Grupo Candela, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Don’t Mess with Cupid, Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble, and The Big Payback. He is the Co-Music Director at Madison College where he teaches music courses and directs jazz ensembles. Jamie is active as a teaching artist for the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium and Overture Center for the Arts, bringing music residencies into schools throughout Dane County. As Development Associate, Jamie advocates for music education on a statewide level organizing fundraising efforts and providing support for Wisconsin School Music Association programs. Jamie holds a B.M. in Trombone Performance from New England Conservatory of Music and a M.M. in Trombone Performance along with a certification in k-12 instrumental music education from the University of Wisconsin- Madison.
www.bigpaybackmusic.com
(Photo credit: Paddy Cassidy, Seventh Sense Media)
Paul Dietrich (Trumpet) is a performer, composer and educator in the Madison area. He is the leader of the Paul Dietrich Jazz Ensemble, a big band dedicated to the performance of modern jazz large ensemble music (including his own) and the Paul Dietrich Quintet, and has released three albums of original music. Paul is also a member of the Madison Afrobeat band Immigré, the Neophonic Jazz Orchestra, Grupo Candela, and various other Madison groups. Paul played in the pit for the Capital City Theatre's production of On the Town in 2019.
Website: www.pauldietrichjazz.com
(Photo credit: Allison Lenz, M.O.D. Media)
Tony Barba (Tenor Sax and Clarinet) is a saxophonist/clarinetist/flautist whose career has spanned the last twenty-five years. Originally hailing from Massachusetts and spending many years working professionally in NYC and Chicago, Tony and his family now reside in Madison where he is a much in demand sideman and bandleader. His band-leading credits include his own quartet (whose new album Blood Moon is now available on Shifting Paradigm records) and the instrumental R&B organ quartet Barbacoa. He is also a member of such Madison outfits as the Youngblood Brass Band, Golpe Tierra, Acoplados, Outside the Sphere, and Immigré. Tony also directs the jazz orchestra at James Madison Memorial High School and maintains an extensive private teaching studio.
www.tonybarba.com
(Photo credit: Paddy Cassidy, Seventh Sense Media)
Greg Smith (Alto Sax and Clarinet) is a Madison native and performs on clarinet, saxophone, and flute in a wide variety of musical organizations and styles including the Madison Symphony Orchestra, Yid Vicious Klezmer Ensemble, Caravan Gypsy Swing Ensemble, The Dixie Sizzlers, “Madison’s Own” Capitol City Band, Intemperance Collective (old-school Balkan folk dance), and Forward! Marching Band, (Madison’s activist street band). In 2018, he participated in the world premiere of composer Michael Brenneis’s experimental jazz project Plutonium, performed and recorded under a grant from the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium. Greg joined the CCT pit orchestras for Gypsy, Hunchback Of Notre Dame, and On The Town, and is delighted to be part of the Ain’t Misbehavin’ band. Thank you Gail Becker and Andy Abrams for this fun and wonderful opportunity!
https://madisonsymphony.org
(Photo credit: Paula A. White)