Saxophones

Jim Holibaugh has toured throughout the United States as a mainstay with the Danny Mixon Jazz Band. More recently, Holibaugh was the featured musician during a Far East tour for the Department of Defense. Locally, he's played with many of the leading jazz bands, including the “Latin Project” band of Gumby Ortiz and with Kevin Wilder.

Wayne McEvilly plays alto saxophone and sings in local groups in the Tampa Bay area. He recently returned from a SPC Musicial Ambassador tour of Russia where he played saxophone on the national television network there.

Austin Vickey is a graduate of the University of Utah and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Some of his performance credits include: The O-Jays, The Temptations, The Four-Tops, The Nelson Riddle Orchestra, The Cab Calloway Orchestra, Lou Rawls and a recording with funk legend Bootsy Collins. Austin was the Director of Jazz at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana where he directed the Earlham Jazz Ensemble, taught private saxophone lessons, jazz theory, jazz improvisation and assisted with the Earlham Orchestra. In August 2008, he relocated to St. Petersburg where he is applied professor of saxophone at Eckerd College.

Tom Gallen started his career playing with The Nightriders in the Philadelphia area while studying improvisation with Buddy Savitt, an alumni of the Woody Herman band. He quit music in 1967 to get an engineering degree but returned to music in 1975 playing baritone sax with local dance bands in Philadelphia. Tom came to Florida in 1991 and joined The Suncoasters.

Andrew Beer has toured extensively for over 20 years throughout the U.S., Canada and Caribbean. He has performed at major venues, TV, casinos and cruise ships backing major artists including Joey Dee, The Shirelles, Bo Diddly, Ben E. King, Spencer Davis, Billy J. Kramer, Del Shannon, Peter Noone, The Soul Survivors, The Tokens, The Drifters, The Coasters, The Platters and Motown Legends Mary Wells and Martha Reeves, just to name a few. Andrew is also a founding member of Tampa Bay's much acclaimed band THE SWINGIN' MOOKS. He currently enjoys an artist endorsement from BARI Reeds & Mouthpieces.

Trumpets

Tom Parmerter is well known through the South as a fiery solists and lead trumpet player. His work has included the RivBea Orchestra led by jazz legend Sam Rivers, The Jazz Surge Orchestra and recordings with vocalist Toscha Comeaux, Kristin Lomholt and others. He recently returned from Japan where he was performing for the Disney corporation.

Jim Morey is a musician, hat collector and artist active in the Tampa Bay area. Whether he is serenading the audience with song or heralding hot jazz with the trumpet, Jim is sure to fire up your soul. He can be seen performing regularly with the velvety swinging sounds of local band, Lounge Cat and his own adventures in jazz, the Jim Morey Jazz Quartet. Behind the scenes, Jim Morey is hard at work producing music for film, television and exciting new creative projects. Spy on him at www.JimMorey.com . He won't mind.

Pete Harrison grew up 45 minutes outside of NYC in northern Westchester County. He studied improvisation with bassist Dr. Lyn Christie and Randy Brecker at the Westchester Conservatory in the 80s and attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs on a music scholarship. He was fortunate to work steadily though college along with pianist Mark Davis and NY alto player Marc Vinci. Pete performed throughout the NY Tristate area with R & B, Funk, and Jazz bands in the early 90s. He spent two years in Israel performing with the Big Band of Eilat and played on the ‘92 Red Sea Jazz Festival. He has been in Florida Since 1994 working with various bands includingTNB, Late Night Brass, D'Visitors, Big Z Band and the Miami Stars Band.

Andy Reese plays trumpet calls for the Tampa Bay Downs and has performed and recorded with the Cigar City Big Band and the Dan McMillion Jazz Orchestra, among others.

 

 

Trombones

Carl Prueitt has been playing trombone in big bands since the 7th grade. He has studied at the University ofIowa with John Hill, with Vern Kagerice at Youngstown State, and with Tony Lada at the Berklee School. He a former principal trombone with the Canton (Ohio) Symphony and has also performed with symphonies in Des Moines and Youngstown. He has backed up such performers as John Davidson, Frank Gorshin, Ethel Merman, and Ella Fitzgerald, and has performed at the Montreaux and Nice Jazz Festivals.Carl has been active, for a trombone player at least, on the Tampa Bay scene for the past 10 years. He is currently lead trombone with the Helios Jazz Orchestra, Cigar City Big Band, and the 10 O'Clock Band. He also is a co-leader of the Spirit of '76 Trombone Choir.

Phil Sinaikin is a practicing psychiatrist who recently moved to St. Petersburg from New Smyrna Beach. Known by friends and colleagues as "the other Dr. Phil", he has been playing trombone since high school. He played in the University of Pittsburgh Jazz Ensemble (which performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival), while earning his way through college by playing in the eight piece jazz-rock band Sanctuary. Phil later played lead trombone in the Rollins College, Daytona Beach College, and The Moonlighters big bands in Orlando and Daytona Beach. Most recently "Dr. Phil" has regularly performed in and around Daytona Beach as the featured trombonist in a professional big band, swing band and jazz combo led by trumpeter Sal Ronci.

Eldon Payne has performed with the Boulevard Jazz Orchestra, Shades of Blue Orchestra, Cigar City Big Band and the Mostly Pops Orchestra.

Hugh Manning has performed with the Boulevard Jazz Orchestra, Cigar City Big Band and the Mostly Pops Orchestra.

 

Rhythm section

Tommy Zvoncheck has been the musical director for the All Star Jam at the Winter NAMM convention held in January in Anaheim California working with Alan White (of Yes), Spencer Davis, Buck Dharma (Blue Oyster Cult), Joe Vitale (CSN), Liberty DeVitto (Billy Joel) and many others. He has played keyboards with Bruce Springsteen, Steven Tyler (Aerosmith), John Phillips (Moma's and the Popa's), Ronnie Montrose (Montrose and the Edgar Winter Group) and many others.

Rita Wilson fits the old saying, "Good things come in small packages" when describing her talents and persona. Being born and raised in the "Big Apple", where competitive artistry abounds, surely contributed to her musical skills and overall readiness. She owns a unique style that commands attention and admiration as a jazz vocalist. Rita not only devotes her energy and time on stage as needed, she is also a full-time parent and private entrepreneur who brings a keen sense of sound business ethics to the table. In 2001, 2002 and 2003 Rita had the honor of performing for our military troops overseas with the band Project Necessary performing in several locations including Japan, Korea, Singapore, Hawaii, Turkey, Egypt and the islands of Diego Garcia, Kwajalein, Johnston Atol, just to name a few. These experiences hold special meaning to her in light of the September 11 tragedy.

Preston Beebe is currently attending the University of South Florida pursuing a degree in Percussion Performance, Music Composition, and Electronic Music. He has studied privately with Bob McCormick, Steve Davis, and Bruce Lehman. Preston specializes in playing drum set and mallets and is an active musician in the area; playing with various jazz groups, big bands, and rock bands. As a composer he writes chamber music, experimental music, and jazz. Preston has a positive outlook and never accepts the word, "Can't".

Kenny Walker was born in a small town outside of Reno, Nevada, to a traveling Air Force family. After settling in St. Petersburg, Kenny started playing the bass guitar in his father's church. Largely self-taught, playing in church proved to be a great musical education giving him the foundation necessary to play with many different artists in the bay area and throughout the state, as well as leading his own bands including the critically acclaimed Dr. LoHertz and the Groove Injektors. Kenny has held the bass chair in several theater productions around the Tampa Bay area and is a monthly host of a jazz show on community radio WMNF 88.5 FM. Kenny currently plays bass with Gumbi Ortiz and the Latino Projekt.

Bassist Sonny Annis has performed with Bob Hope, Mel Torme, Della Reese, Robert Goulet, Jack Jones, Vic Damone, Rosemary Clooney and many other great entertainers. For 21 years, he was the exclusive bassist for Tupperware conventions. Sonny is composing a musical drama entitled Freedom Found.
Charlie Jones is a versatile musicians who plays guitar, steel guitar, bass, chromatic harmonica, dobro and sings.

 

 

Director

David Manson, director of the Helios Jazz Orchestra, is a music professor at St. Petersburg College. His degrees includes a doctorate in music from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Early musical experiences includes orchestral positions with the Florida West Coast Symphony and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. He also toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and backed entertainers including Burt Bacharach, Henri Mancini, Johnny Mathis, Bernadette Peters, Lou Rawls, Tommy Tune and various Broadway shows and operas. He is a recipient of two Individual Artist Fellowships in jazz composition from the Florida Arts Council, as well as ASCAP & Meet the Composer awards. He was a featured artist on JazzSouth and a Fulbright recipient in Turkey during the summer of 2001. David is Director of the EMIT series of adventurous music, recipient of awards from Chamber Music America, ASCAP and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.  He is trombonist with Zappa repertoire band Bogus Pomp, modern jazz group Fluid Motion with jazz legend Sam Rivers, Brazilian group O Som Do Jazz and has performed and recorded with Sam Rivers, Cecil Taylor, Eugene Chadbourne, Davey Williams and other sound innovators. His second solo CD "Beast" was released in 2004 and Brazilian recording "Infinita Bossa" was released in 2008.