Jeff Denson/Joshua White Project


Bassist Jeff Denson is a recording artist for Enja Records with his trio Minsarah, and with the Lee Konitz New Quartet.

He has performed at such prestigious international festivals as the JVC Jazz Festival Paris, the Berlin Jazz Festival, the Enjoy Jazz Festival, and the Montreal Jazz Festival, and with such distinguished musicians such as Bob Moses, Charlie Byrd, Joe Lovano, Carl Allen, Kenny Werner, Geoffrey Keezer, Art Lande, Claudio Puntin, and Lee Konitz.

He appeared at Chez Hanny on three occasions with Minsarah, and once with Adam Kolker.

http://www.jeffdenson.com


San Diego based pianist Joshua White began formal piano training at the age of 7 and became the organist/pianist for the Encanto Southern Baptist Church by age 10. After competing in several classical piano music competitions, Joshua chose to focus his musical studies on jazz and improvised music, with the help of world-renowned musicians like composer/pianist Anthony Davis, saxophonist David Borgo, flutist Holly Hofmann, pianist Mike Wofford, trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos, alto saxophone legend Charles McPherson, tenor saxophonist Daniel Jackson, and bassist/composer Mark Dresser.

In 2011, White entered the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Piano Competition in Washington D.C., ultimately placing second out of 160 competitors from around the world.

He has performed regularly at Dizzy’s San Diego, the Blue Whale, the Jazz Bakery, the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library, and numerous other venues.

http://joshuawhitemusic.com/


Saxophonist Dayna Stephens was born in Brooklyn and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He attended the prestigious Berkeley High School and took part in their jazz ensemble. Dayna was then accepted to Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA on a full scholarship.

After graduating from Berklee, Dayna was selected to be in the Thelonious Monk Institute program located at the University of Southern California. He studied and played there for 2 years with Dave Holland, Kenny Barron, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, John Scofield, Lewis Nash, Mark Turner, Christian McBride, Carl Allen and Terence Blanchard.

Since then, Dayna has performed with Salvador & Carlos Santana, Kenny Barron, Roy Hargrove, Patrice Rushen, Tom Harrell, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Freddie Hubbard, Steve Coleman, Oliver Lake, Eric Gravatt, Ndugu Chancler, Idris Muhammad, Bobby Short, and Josh Roseman.

Dayna appeared previously at Chez Hanny with his own quartet.

http://www.daynastephens.com/


Drummer Dan Schnelle attended USC’s Thornton School of Music, where he studied with Terri Lyne Carrington, Peter Erskine, Ndugu Chancler, Aaron Serfaty, John Clayton, and Alan Pasqua. In his final years at USC, Schnelle was named a Louie Bellson Scholar, an honor bestowed on only one drummer each year. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Jazz Studies, Schnelle was selected to attend the Henry Mancini Institute, where he performed and studied with Vince Mendoza, Billy Childs, Dave Liebman, Harold Jones, and Doc Severinsen.

Since then he has played with Josh Nelson, Dayna Stephens, Walter Smith III, Laurence Hobgood, Ernie Watts, Steve Lockwood, Stefan Karlsson, Bob Sheppard, Larry Goldings, Perry Smith, Anthony Wilson, Ben Wendel, Larry Koonse, and many others.

He has been an instructor at the Henry Mancini Institute, the South Pasadena Music Center and Conservatory, and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

http://www.danschnelle.com


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