Blake Eberhard – Fretted & Fretless Bass

Working with Blake is amazing. With his energy and finesse he is a favorite of session musicians and audiences everywhere. He is right at home playing an upright, fretted or fretless bass and consistently demonstrates the ability to play all music genres.

Bassist Blake Eberhard is a Denver, Colorado native who has been performing for over 25 years. He has played everything from elegant jazz for U.S. Presidents to blistering heavy metal for frenzied fans in Europe. Blake has played with Dr. John, Axe, Bobby Vinton, John Denver and other notables. A former member of the popular Colorado group Wind Machine, Blake currently plays with regional groups Pan Jumbies, Frontline, Perpetual Motion, and leads his own group, the Blake Eberhard Trio. Having recorded bass tracks on over 80 albums/CDs, plus numerous radio and television spots that have aired locally and internationally, Blake is certainly one of the most recorded bassists in Colorado history. In addition to his busy recording and performance schedule Blake also teaches privately, tutoring over 25 students each week at his Lakewood bass dojo.

Scott Handler - Trumpet

I certainly lucked out when Scott walked into the recording session. Not only can he play but he is a talented musical arranger. He is a true professional in every aspect of his life.

 The co-founder, Executive Director and lead trumpet of the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra Inc. (MJO) www.metropolitanjazzorchestra.org, Scott is by day a professional pilot and instructor for United Airlines (B-757 & B-767) as well as a Naval Reserve Officer. Scott began playing trumpet in junior high school circa 1974 in Woodland Hills CA, continued playing through high school in Modesto CA and eventually played with many classical and jazz ensembles at UCLA.

Scott spent 10 years as a Navy pilot stationed at various bases throughout the country finding somewhat steady playing gigs with the Eddie Galvan Orchestra in Corpus Christi TX and the Bruce Pettersen Orchestra in Boston MA. After leaving active duty and moving to Denver, Scott became a regular member of the Colorado Jazz Workshop, helped start a jazz combo “The Brass Jacks” and has performed with the Joe Peterson Orchestra, VSO Big Band as well as local Denver favorites “The Nacho Men”. In addition to co-leading the MJO, Scott plays regularly with the Ultraphonic Jazz Orchestra (Denver) and Starlight Orchestra (Colorado Springs).

Scott’s influences include early on Herb Alpert and the TJB from the 70’s, The Tonight Show’s Doc Severinsen as well as Maynard Ferguson, Arturo Sandoval, Don Ellis, Tower of Power Horns, BS&T, and most recently Wayne Bergeron and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band.

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Kevin Buchanan – Trombone

When you have the honor to work with not only a good person, but a great Trombone player, you know everything is going to be alright. Kevin helps creates a great working environment with his “soulful ease”.

Kevin started playing trombone in the seventh grade. Richard Shoulders, his high school band director took an interest in him and helped him improve his playing by introducing him to big band jazz.
During his sophomore year of college, Kevin took private lessons from Pete Vivona at Eastern Illinois University. There he worked at building his technique and trying to conquer some of the complexities of the horn. He played with his newly formed rock band, Time Machine, touring Illinois and Indiana.
Kevin took a sabbatical from playing for almost 18 years pursuing a career in the transportation industry. Kevin has played the last five years in and around Denver including recording/gigging with the blues band Phantom Freeway and the Colorado Jazz Workshop. He is also a member of the VSO Jazz Orchestra.

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“Jerome” - Piano, Organ, Synthesizer

For his spontaneity, Technique, creativeness and sheer musicianship Jerome is a true original. It’s always a pleasure to work with a musician of his caliber. His expressive playing combined with tremendous skills make him a top notch session player.

Keyboardist/Vocalist & Guitarist Jerome has been involved in music his whole life. He started playing guitar in South Jersey when he was just nine and then moved to California to study keyboards at age 13 with Yamaha Music School Professor Fran Linhart. Jerome’s professional career in musical instrument sales started with Hohner, maker of the Clavinet & Pianet. He has worked as a Product Specialist and District Sales Manager for companies such as Yamaha, Roland and Kaman. Now, as a composer/recording engineer/producer, Jerome operates Accent Music Production, a private recording facility, based in Littleton, Colorado. He has worked as a keyboardist with artists such as Brenton Wood (Just Give Me a Little Sign) , Jackie Kane(Para Ti) and many others.

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Darrin Johnson - Drums

 Darrin Johnson has justifiably earned no small amount of attention and praise for his percussion capabilities. He is a pleasure to work with and is a “rock” when it comes apply grooves to tunes. His contributions to “Crooked Lane”  are to say the least… impressive. Darrin has technique and touch to burn which, when combined with his expansive conception and soulful rhythmic precision make for an interesting journey.

Although getting a bio from Darrin has been somewhat akin to performing a root canal on a bull elk we have been able to glean the following. He was raised in Colorado and has played in many of the Denver area bands including Dotsero, Chilli Willi, Jakarta. He has also toured with national acts such as Rob Mullins and Hot lunch.

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Kerry Paige - Saxophone

A master of soulful and classic saxophone sound, Kerry’s passion for perfection is clearly demonstrated with his Alto, Tenor and Bari horn work on “Crooked Lane” where his craft is clearly represented.

Kerry Paige has been a part of the Rocky Mountain music scene since 1988. Combining his stage performance and recording session talents. He has honed his skills with many local favorite acts, such as Windfield, Mondo Bizzarro, Nacho Men, Ron Ivory, Anthony Baker and Metro Jazz Orchestra to name a few. Besides performing, Kerry teaches saxophone and clarinet privately. He also does sax repair work, so it always seems there is a horn in his hands.