Jamie Baum Septet member biographies
[Click here for Jamie's bio.]

Ralph Alessi · George Colligan · Drew Gress · Jeff Hirshfield · Tom Varner · Doug Yates

Ralph Alessi (trumpet) began studying the trumpet at the age of six with his father, Joseph Alessi.  He attended California Institute of the Arts and received a BFA and MFA degree in jazz performance.  In 1990, Ralph moved to New York and soon became an active New York sideman performing and recording with the likes of Sam Rivers, Don Byron, Michael Cain, Fred Hersch, Mark Helias, David Gilmore, Bobby Previte, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Lonnie Plaxico.  Since 1994, he has toured and recorded with Steve Coleman, with whom he has made six records.  He is also a member of Uri Caine's "Mahler Revisited" and "Goldberg Variations" bands as well as the Ravi Coltrane Quintet.  As a leader, Ralph released his first recording as a leader on Love Slave Records entitled Hissy Fit and two more solo recordings on RKM Records.
[Visit Ralph's website: www.RalphAlessi.com]

George Colligan (piano, electric piano) has been on the New York scene since moving to Brooklyn in 1995.  He has toured, recorded, and performed as a sideman with Cassandra Wilson, Gary Bartz, Gary Thomas, Eddie Henderson, Buster Williams, Ralph Peterson, Vanessa Rubin, Steve Wilson, Jane Monheit, Michael Brecker, Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, Billy Hart, Mingus Big Band, Rodney Holmes, Mark Turner, David Binney, Don Braden, Lee Konitz and Stefon Harris, among others.  In addition to his work as a bandleader, George currently is first call pianist for the bands off Don Byron, Lonnie Plaxico, Jamie Baum, Robin Eubanks, David Gilmore, Ravi Coltrane and Greg Tardy.  George Colligan is the winner of the 2001 jazzconnect.com competition and appears on at least 60 recordings, 11 of which he has released as a leader for the Steeplechase and Fresh Sound labels.   
[Visit George's website: www.GeorgeColligan.com]

Bassist/composer Drew Gress has performed extensively with artists on the cutting edge of contemporary improvised music.   His latest project as a leader, Spin & Drift (Premonition Records), features Drew's original compositions, as well as his pedal steel guitar playing.  He also leads the quartet Jagged Sky; their debut recording, Heyday (Soul Note) was released in 1998 to widespread critical acclaim.  When Drew is not leading his own ensembles, he can be heard with the Dave Douglas String Group and Witness, Uri Caine's Bach Project and Trio, the Don Byron Quintet, Tim Berne's Paraphrase, the Fred Hersch Trio, Andy Laster's Hydra, the Marc Copland Trio, the Bill Carrothers Trio, and the Mark Shim Quartet.  Drew has toured North, South, and Central America, Europe, and Asia and has served as Artist-in-Residence at St. Petersburg Conservatory in Russia and at the University of Colorado/Boulder.  
[Visit Drew's website: www.DrewGress.com]

Jeff Hirshfield (drums), known as a consummate and versatile jazz drummer, has recorded over 100 CDs as a sideman.  He has also toured the United State, Europe and Japan several times.  A native New Yorker, his credits include Jim Hall, Toots Thielmans, Charlie Mariano, Joe Lovano, Red Rodney/Ira Sullivan, Kenny Wheeler, John Abercrombie, Dr John, Toshiko Akiyoshi/ Lew Tabackin, John Taylor, Randy Brecker, John Zorn, Mose Allison, Bennie Wallace, Bob Brookmeyer, Paul Bley, Eliane Elias, Mike Mainieri, Mike Stern, Woody Herman, Fred Hersch and many others.  His work with flutist Jamie Baum began in 1986 and includes recordings Moving Forward, Standing Still, Undercurrents, Props for Pops and Sight Unheard.  He plays Zildjian Cymbals/Sticks/ Brushes, Drum Workshop Drums/ Hardware, and Aquarian Drums Heads exclusively.

Tom Varner (French horn) is internationally known as the top living pioneer of jazz French horn and as an inventive, witty, and passionate composer for his different ensembles.  Tom's ninth and tenth CDs as a leader, Second Communion and Swimming, on the OmniTone label, have been listed as "Top 10" recordings worldwide as was his seventh Martian Heartache (Soul Note) in 1997.  As a sideman, Tom has worked in North and South America, Europe, Japan, and Russia with such leaders as George Gruntz, Steve Lacy, Reggie Workman, Bobby Previte, John Zorn, the Mingus Orchestra, the Vienna Art Orchestra, Bobby Watson, Jane Ira Bloom, Mathew Rosenblum, Annea Lockwood, LaMonte Young, Jim McNeeley, George Schuller, Peter Schaärli, Franz Koglmann, and Quincy Jones with Miles Davis at Montreux in 1991. 
[Visit Tom's website: www.TomVarnerMusic.com]

Doug Yates (alto sax, bass clarinet) has recorded and performed with George Garzone, Medeski/Martin/Wood, Sam Rivers, Julius Hemphill, Either Orchestra, Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet, Perfumed Scorpion, Jon Ballantyne, and Thor Madsen.  He has also recorded with Kenny Werner, Dewey Redman, and David Binney and has performed with Carla Bley, Stan Getz, David Liebman, Kenny Wheeler, Jerome Harris, Gary Burton, Bob Moses, Mingus Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, Makoto Ozone, Cab Calloway, the Phil Woods Little Big Band, and The Fringe.  He is currently an active member of the Mingus Orchestra, George Garzone Quintet, Jon Ballantyne Quartet, Thor Madsen Quartet, Freedom Art Quartet, Jamie Baum Septet, and Perfumed Scorpion.  This recent tours have included jazz festivals in Copenhagen, Germany, Italy, and Israel, as well as festivals in New York and San Francisco.

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