Michael Kanan Trio

Michael Kanan hails from Boston, Massachusetts where he first began to play the piano by age 7. Improvising figured heavily in his early experiences at the keyboard, and by age 10 he was already beginning to learn about Jazz. His first instructor was pianist Harvey Diamond, who was a student of the the renowned innovator Lennie Tristano. During the years that Michael attended Boston college, he had the opportunity to perform with several Jazz greats including, Tal Farlow, Lee Konitz, Al Cohn, and Alan Dawson. After graduating college and doing some freelance work around Boston, he moved to New York in 1991. He had a year of study with another Tristano student, the pianist Sal Mosca. He freelanced around New York, playing and recording with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Mark Turner, and Jorge Rossy, among others. He also developed a reputation as a vocal accompanist. In 1996, he joined the band of legendary singer Jimmy Scott with whom he worked for five years, touring the US, Europe, and Japan, and recording 4 CDs. In 2001, Michael moved on to his current position as accompanist and arranger for one of todays most celebrated vocalists, Jane Monheit. With Ms. Monheit's group, he has toured all over the world, recorded several CDs and DVDs, and made many TV appearances, including The David Letterman Show, and The Conan O'Brien Show. When not on the road with the Monheit band, Michael has also pursued a solo career, performing and recording with his own groups. He has made two trio recordings for Barcelona's Fresh Sound New Talent label: "Convergence" and "The Gentleman Is A Dope", both featuring bassist Ben Street, and drummer Tim Pleasant. He has also recorded a duet with longtime collaborator, alto saxophonist Nat Su, entitled "Dreams And Reflections". Today, Michael lives in Brooklyn, and is a student of classical piano teacher Sophia Rosoff. weblinks: www.michaelkanan.com Greg Ruggiero's love for the jazz tradition has led him to perform and learn from some of the great jazz masters from the 1950’s, 60’s ,and 70’s still playing in New York. Ruggiero has stylistically run the gambit in the idiom of jazz music, from complex original compositions to the American songbook and Swing. Currently Ruggiero performs regularly in The Michael Kanan Trio and with his own trio featuring the legendary rhythm section of Steve Little on drums and Murray Wall on bass. Greg can be seen nearly every night performing as a sideman or leader around the city. Neal Miner was introduced to the world of jazz by his first teacher – his father Bill Miner, a respected jazz record collector and discographer. Bill's love of jazz kindled a passion in his son from an early age. Bill shared the music of his vast record collection, took Neal to clubs and concerts, and ensured he received the best musical instruction. Born and raised in Manhattan, Neal received his high school diploma from the Interlochen Arts Academy, and attended the Manhattan School of Music. Most notable of his private teachers were classical bassist, Orin O’Brien of the New York Philharmonic, and jazz bassist, John Webber. Since the age of 19, Neal has been a solid fixture on the New York City jazz scene and is a favored bassist to a host of musicians, both rising jazz stars (Larry Goldings, Harry Allen, Russell Malone, Peter Bernstein, David Hazeltine, Dena Derose, Ann Hampton Callaway, Loston Harris), and jazz legends (James Moody, Frank Wess, David Allyn, Eddie Locke, Etta Jones, Bob Dorough, Warren Vaché). Neal has toured and recorded with Jon Hendricks since 1998, and has been backing Annie Ross steadily since 2005 at her weekly engagement at the Metropolitan Room in New York City. In 2007, Neal joined Jane Monheit’s band with which he has been performing at major festivals, jazz clubs and concert halls around the world. Neal has written arrangements for and plays on Jane's last two albums, The Lovers, The Dreamers, and Me, and Home. Neal has four CD releases as a leader that showcase his compositions and arrangements. In 2000, his debut CD, The Real Neal, was released on the Juniper Records label. In 2006, The Evening Sound, was released on the Smalls Records label. In 2010, Neal released his CD, Happy Hour, on the Gut String Records label. In 2011 Neal's lastest release, Sweet Tooth, is on the Gut String Records label. “Miner’s uncontrived projection of this lexicon’s spirit raises the music appreciably above the generic.” —Bill Shoemaker, Downbeat In addition to performing, Neal teaches private jazz bass lessons through the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, the City College of New York and the New School. nealminer.com