Performance
I love the opportunity to connect with audiences from the stage! I’m fortunate to play with a number of award-winning bands in the DMV. Working with these amazing musicians feeds my need for diversity of musical repertoire and musical inspiration. It also offers lots of opportunities to connect and share music in person which is what it’s all about! We love our audiences and live music can't survive without them. Come out and see a show, get to know us, and become part of the family!
Chopteeth afrofunk big band
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Chopteeth is a 11-piece Afrofunk orchestra exploring the common groove between the funkiest, most hip-shakin’ West African and American popular music on the planet. The core of the Chopteeth sound is Afrobeat: a big-band funk invented by Fela Kuti in 1970’s Nigeria. Afrobeat is a spicy stew of modern jazz, Yoruba tribal music and burning, James Brown-inspired rhythms.
Upcoming ShowsBook Chopteeth
Ready to book your Afrobeat party?
Send me a message for pricing and availability.
Vibe collective
The Vibe Collective is an ensemble dedicated to laying down the tight grooves and inventive improvisations that typified the Afro-Cuban music scenes of New York and San Francisco from the 1950s-1970s. This diverse group of musicians blend their backgrounds in mambo, rumba, samba, calypso, timba, jazz, and afrobeat to the compositions of Cal Tjader, Tito Puente, Miles Davis, Mongo Santamaria and more,
churning out rhythms and arrangements that move body, mind, and spirit.
Book your Latin Jazz party!
Let the Vibe Collective bring the groove to your next party or event! Send me a message on my contact page for booking and info.
The John Howard Trio
The John Howard Trio, comprised of music educators John Howard (piano), Jason Walker (drums), and a rotating cast of DC's finest bassists, is a vehicle for performing classic jazz, blues, samba/bossa nova, and ballads. The trio's weekly Thursday residency at Little Beast Bistro is an opportunity to work on arrangements and refine tunes in front of a live audience. Additionally, these Thursday gigs offer an opportunity for students to sit in with the band and perform as their own combo when the band takes a break. We've developed a really fun scene with friends and family packing the house every Thursday. Come out and join the fun!
Book the John Howard Trio
Available for parties, house concerts, and events Send a message for info and availability.
Hard Swimmin' Fish
Hard Swimmin’ Fish is an ensemble deeply rooted in the traditions of American music. Our down home roots sound pilfers from the best that early American music has to offer including blues, jazz, funk and swing, and churn it all up into a spicy brew that is familiar yet uniquely our own.
The musical influences and instrumentation of the band seamlessly combine tradition and modernity. Demian Lewis (guitar/vocals) and Waverly Milor (harmonica/vocals) are steeped in blues traditions of the American south. Conjuring the wails of Howlin’ Wolf, RL Burnside and Bukka White, they pen original compositions that harken to an old time blues show. Rooting the ensemble on upright and electric bass is Randy Ball, whose unyielding pursuance of the groove has led him to study with luminaries Chuck Rainey and Victor Wooten. The rhythmic engine of the band is Jason Walker. Combining his knowledge of musical traditions from Africa and its extension into the Caribbean, culminating in New Orleans in the American drum set, his rhythms rumble and growl as they ramble their way through each composition.