 RICK JENSEN - Producer, Arranger, Musical Director Rick Jensen is an accomplished performer, songwriter, pianist, singer, musical director, recording artist, record producer and educator. He is a three-time recipient of the Manhattan Association of Cabaret & Clubs (MAC) Award, including a 1999 MAC for Best Singer/Instrumentalist. In 1999, Rick was honored with two Gay and Lesbian American Music (GLAMA) Awards, including an award for Best Out Song of the Year for "My Baby and Me." He has also received several Backstage Bistro Awards for his work in cabaret. He has performed at the Mabel Mercer Foundation's Cabaret Convention many times. Rick has also been a guest instructor at the annual Eugene O'Neill Cabaret Symposium for two years. Rick's album, Spring Harvest, is a collection of his own original songs, many of which are cabaret standards, performed by artists in clubs throughout the country and recorded by stand outs like Lee Lessack, Lina Koutrakos and the incomparable Nancy LaMott, with whom Rick was a musical partner for many years. In addition to writing, performing and recording his own music, Rick works as musical director for some of the finest performers in cabaret today, including Barbara Fasano, Jeanne MacDonald, Carlos Martin, Willis Moore and Frank Dain. In 1996, Rick founded The Doctor Is In Music, a recording studio, and has produced his own Spring Harvest and Barbara Fasano's award-winning Girls of Summer. Passionate about recording, Rick has also produced projects for Jeanne MacDonald, Carlos Martin, Willis Moore and Marc Vincent. www.rickjensen.com JEFF WAXMAN - Producer Jeff Waxman has worked in New York as a musical director, arranger, composer, musician and producer for over 25 years. He owns Waxtrax Recording where he produces and composes music for television and film (commercials, television themes, documentaries, etc.) and for pop, rock, folk and country artists. Most recently, Jeff was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for his orchestrations for the hit Off-Broadway Musical, Woody Guthrie's American Song. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for producing the cast album for the Broadway Musical, Doonesbury, which he also arranged and musical directed. Other Broadway work includes Gorey Stories, The Cherry Orchard at Lincoln Center and Into The Light. He has also created original music for several Emmy Award-winning video projects. For his work in the cabaret field, Jeff was honored with a Back Stage Bistro Award for outstanding musical direction. He is also a two-time nominee for a MAC (Manhattan Association of Clubs and Cabarets) Award for outstanding musical direction. Artists Jeff has produced appear on BMG, Sony, Casablanca/Polygram, MCA, Epic and various independent labels. DancingBullMusic@aol.com and www.dancingbullmusic.com LISA ASHER - Co-Producer and Director Lisa Asher has appeared as a featured vocalist and actress in numerous concert and theatrical venues around the country. She toured nationally with the concert version of the Broadway show, Tommy, and was in the Off-Broadway hit Woody Guthrie's American Song, which received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Musical. Lisa has also toured nationally with Woody Guthrie's American Song and was part of a tribute concert to Woody Guthrie produced by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame which included performances by such rock and folk notables as Bruce Springstein, Indigo Girls, Ani DeFranco and Arlo Guthrie. She made her national television debut in a solo singing appearance on the Emmy Award winning program The Rosie O'Donnell Show. Lisa is the recipient of a MAC (Manhattan Association of Clubs and Cabarets) Award, a Back Stage Bistro Award and a Cabaret Hotline Critics Choice Award for her solo work in cabaret. Her debut CD, Let The Mystery Be, was nominated for a MAC Award for Recording of The Year and has received much critical acclaim. In addition to performing, Lisa also works as a director in the field of cabaret and has been nominated twice for a MAC Award for Outstanding Direction. LisaAsher1111@aol.com JACK BASHKOW - Alto Saxophone, English Horn, Flute Mr. Bashkow's recording credits include albums with Keith Richards, Marc Cohn, Buster Poindexter, Lionel Hampton, Frank Foster, Clarence Clemmons, New Kids On The Block, Naughty By Nature, Snap, Joan Jett, Grandmaster Flash, Rebecca Pidgeon, Baby Jane Dexter, Jane Olivor, Claude Nougaro, The 45 King and Queen Latifah. He has performed with Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Cyndi Lauper, Natalie Cole, Manhattan Transfer, Michael Bolton, Martha Reeves, Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector, Gloria Gaynor, Peter Allen, Rita Moreno, Chita Rivera, Karen Akers and Blood, Sweat & Tears. Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include Annie Get Your Gun, Footloose, Fosse, Grease, Bring On Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Showboat, Standup Shakespeare (directed by Mike Nichols), Big River, Leader of the Pack, Richard III (with Kevin Kline), Privates on Parade and The Ringling Brothers Circus. He received a Helen Hayes Award nomination as Best Musical Director for the production of Standup Shakespeare at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. Jack has also played on numerous jingles including McDonald's, Coca-Cola, KFC, M&M's, Cheerios, Snapple, Blue Cross, Budweiser, Coor's, Dr. Pepper, Burger King, Wendy's, Black & Decker, Chevrolet, Ford, DuPont, Buick, Motrin, Mastercard, Visa, Kodak and The American Dairy Association. REX BENINCASA - Drums & Percussion Mr. Benincasa has been a freelancing drummer and world music percussion specialist in New York for 21 years. Along with hundreds of television and radio soundtracks and commercial recordings, he has performed with The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the New Music Consort, Flamenco Latino, Carlota Santana Spanish Dance, Andrea DelConte Danza Espana, Pilar Rioja, the Grammy Orchestra, Amanecer Flamenco Progressivo, The Pittsburgh Ballet, The Sacramento Ballet and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Rex has recorded albums and movie soundtracks for Karen Mason, Foday Musa Suso, Ed Russell, Philip Glass, Conversion, Sesame Street, NFL Films, The Sons of Sepharad and The Gerard Edery Ensemble. He has played many show scores for all kinds of productions. His most recent Broadway appearances have been with Fosse. PETER CALO - Guitar DAVE PHILLIPS - Bass TOM VARNER - French Horn Mr. Varner is internationally known as one of the pioneers of jazz French horn and as an inventive composer for his different ensembles. His ninth CD, Swimming, is now available on the OmniTone label. Other CDs include The Window Up Above: American Songs 1770-1998 (New World) which was featured on NPR's "All Things Considered" and Martian Heartache (Soul Note) which was voted one of the top ten releases of 1997 in many jazz publications. A Down Beat and Jazz Times poll winner, Tom has performed as a leader at the Vienna Koncerthaus and the Moers, Groningen, and Rotterdam Jazz Festivals, as well as countless appearances in the New York area. As a sideman, he 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 Scharli, Franz Koglmann, Lee Konitz and Quincy Jones with Miles Davis at Montreux in 1991. Tom wrote the music for the feature film Saints and Sinners and plays on over 60 other CDs. www.tomvarner.com |