Middle C Music

Jean Cioffi

Voice, Clarinet, Recorder, Flute, Piano

B. Mus. Ed. , Masters, Vocal Performance. Former Director of Music Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Denver , founder/director of the Cioffi Singers and Cioffi Players. Private/Public School teaching, private teacher of: voice, piano, clarinet, recorder, and beginning flute. Performed Europe and U.S. 45+ years experience performing and teaching all ages.

Peter Fraize

Saxophone

Saxophonist/composer Peter Fraize is a distinct voice in the Washington, DC jazz community. Born in 1965 in Somerville, New Jersey, Peter was raised in northern Virginia where he took up the saxophone at age nine. At sixteen he formed the group Moment's Notice, with whom he played his first professional jobs in and around the northern Virginia area. The group was featured at the 1982 International Children's Festival at Wolf Trap. After graduating high school in 1983, Peter went on to attend the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, studying classical saxophone performance with Ken Radnofsky and playing in the Conservatory Big Band under the direction of bassist Miroslav Vitous. In 1985 he traveled to The Netherlands to study with noted Dutch saxophonist Leo van Oostrom at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where he earned his Artist's Diploma in 1989. While in Holland he also studied with Ruud Brink, John Ruocco, and the late tenor legend Sal Nistico. He performed with a wide variety of bands including the avant-garde Waterland Ensemble, the Brazilian group Tanga, and his own quartet, appearing at such places as Amsterdam's Bimhuis, the North Sea Jazz festival, the Heineken and Gouda Jazz Festivals, and numerous other jazz venues throughout Holland, Belgium, and Germany. He was also an original member of the Dutch freebop quintet Scapes, first prize winners at the 1989 Middelzee Jazz Festival. Returning to the DC area in 1989, Peter founded the jazz/rock group Stickman, which released its eponymous CD in in 1995. Stickman enjoyed a large local following and was featured on the main stage at Pittsburgh's Mellon Jazz Festival in 1997. In 1996 he formed the Peter Fraize Quintet, releasing the live recording You St. that same year on Union Records, an independent label he co-founded. You St. received critical acclaim in publications such as Jazz Times, Cadence, and the Washington Post. He followed up with Third Attention (1998), which showcased his working trio with whom he hosted weekly jam sessions at area nightclubs from 1994 to 2002. In 1999 he was awarded a Washington Area Music Award (Wammie) for best contemporary jazz group. Peter has twice collaborated with Italian avant-garde trombonist Giancarlo Schiaffini, documented on the CD releases Deconstruction (2000, Pentaflowers) and Post-Deconstruction (2002, Cadence Jazz Records). In the summer of 2008 he was invited to Lima, Peru to preform a series of concerts at the Jazz Zone and Satchmo clubs with some of that country's finest musicians. The results can be heard on the forthcoming Live In Lima (2009, Union Records). His current CD release is Organic Matter (2009, Union), a collection of eight of his original compositions featuring jazz organ master Greg Hatza. Over the years he has appeared in virtually all of the DC area's notable music venues including the One Step Down, Blues Alley, Twins, the Kennedy Center, Constitution Hall, the Birchmere, and the 9:30 Club. Over the past two decades, Peter has been involved with a wide variety of groups, projects, and collaborations. In 1995 he joined an original rock band, the Emptys, which toured extensively throughout the east coast and midwest, and with whom he has recorded three CDs. Since 1997, he has been a member of the Greg Hatza Organization, which in 1999 performed for three weeks at the Blue Note in Fukuoka, Japan. He has recorded with the Organization on To A New Place (2001, I Ching). He is also a member of the Larry Brown Quintet and is featured on the recordings The Long Goodbye (2002, Lush Life Records) and Hard Bop Cafe (2006, Lush Life), winner of the 2007 Wammie for best jazz recording. Peter has performed and recorded with many other area artists including jazz vocalist Sharon Clark, the Brazilian group Origem, the New Orleans inspired A La Carte Brass and Percussion, and D.C. punk rock legends the Holy Rollers. He has been a frequent collaborator with local choreographers Nancy Havlik and Jane Franklin, performing multimedia works featuring spoken word, film, and electronics, with improvised music and dance. For his work with Ms. Franklin, he was nominated for a DC Metro Area Dance Award in original sound design in 2001 and 2002. He has served as music curator for the DC International Improv Festival, out of which grew the free improvising trio Pierce, Putter, and Rumble. In addition to his varied performing and recording projects, Peter has been on faculty at the George Washington University since 1994, where he teaches saxophone, Jazz Performance Techniques and Jazz Theory. He also directs the Advanced Jazz Combo and co-leads the GWU Latin Band. Since 1998 he has served as Director of Jazz Studies.

Gwyn Jones

Flute

Flutist Gwyn Jones performs throughout the DC area with a variety of ensembles, from classical chamber groups to full orchestras and wind ensembles. She served as principal flute with the Sandy Spring Chamber Orchestra (Atlanta), the American University Symphony, and the Capital Wind Symphony. She has also performed numerous solo recitals and can be heard in such ensembles as the Friday Morning Music Club and the Southwest Chamber Players. A versatile musician, Ms. Jones explores all musical genres from classical to musical theater and jazz. Ms. Jones holds a Master of Music degree in performance from Florida State University and was a teaching fellow at the University of North Texas, where she also conducted the UNT flute choir. Her teachers have included Claire Durand Racamato, Charles Delaney, Mary Karen Clardy, and Keith Bryan. She is currently working with acclaimed jazz flutist Ali Ryerson.

Gary Joynes

Saxophone, Piano

Gary Joynes is a songwriter, composer, producer, keyboardist, saxophonist and educator based in Washington, D.C. Originally from Warrenton, Virginia, Gary grew up studying saxophone and piano. Upon high school graduation, Gary decided to focus on saxophone. He earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees from New England Conservatory in Jazz Studies, both with distinction. While still an undergraduate student, Gary was featured as a saxophonist in composer and bandleader George Russell's seminal recording "The African Game," which received two Grammy nominations. As time went by, Gary felt the need for a new direction. He fell in love with the art and craft of songwriting. He began to put his focus back on the piano and keyboards, started studying the great writers, began developing his own production style, and has not looked back since. Most recently, Gary received the Gold Award for his song, "Naked," in the R&B/Urban Category at the 25th Annual Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (MASC). He also was selected as a Finalist in the same category for his songs "Sensitive Man" and "Head Up Shoulders Back." He performed the winning song, "Naked" at the MASC awards ceremony January 11, 2009 at Jammin' Java in Vienna, Virginia.

Rob Patterson

Clarinet, Beginning Piano

Rob began his career at the age of 16 when he soloed with the Blue Ash Symphony Orchestra. Rob has continued on to solo with the Middletown Symphony Orchestra, Binghamton Philharmonic, Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Colorado College Festival Orchestra. Bob Saar of the Burlington Hawk Eye described Rob’s performance of Carl Maria von Weber’s First Concerto with the Southeast Iowa Symphony as “the highlight of the evening” and noted Rob’s “brilliant soloing”. October 2009 marked Rob's Taipei, Taiwan debut where he was featured in a full-length clarinet trio recital at the Taipei Municipal University. Also at TMU, Rob gave a masterclass which was well received. In 2006, Rob and his Trio were invited to perform a recital at the Kennedy Center's Millenium Stage which was broadcasted live on the Kennedy Center's website. That summer, Rob was invited by Artist Director Ida Kavafian to perform at the Music from Angel Fire festival in New Mexico, and invited back in 2007. Rob’s performances at the festival met with great success, resulting in National Public Radio’s Performance Today programming some the concert recordings. Others of Rob’s performances have also been broadcasted on Philadelphia’s WHYY Television Station’s Y ARTS series, as well as on the radio on Philadelphia’s WRTI station. Rob currently lives in Washington, D.C. where he regularly plays with the National Symphony Orchestra, and has served as Acting Principal of the Annapolis (MD) Symphony. In the past, Rob has performed with the Haddonfield Symphony (NJ), the Peninsula Symphony (CA), the Downey Symphony (CA), the Great Hall Chamber Orchestra (PA), and has been guest Principal with the Culver City Symphony (CA). A Cincinnati native, Rob Patterson holds his B.M. from The Curtis Institute of Music where he was awarded the Jill & Sheldon Bonovitz Fellowship, and his M.M. from the University of Southern California where he was awarded the Dean's Scholarship. Rob has participated in the Vail "Bravo!", Music from Angel Fire, Yellow Barn, Greenport, Music Academy of the West, Colorado College, and Eastern Music Festivals and is the recipient of the Grand Prize in the Cincinnati-based Overture Awards. In his final year at Curtis, a selection of Rob’s graduation recital was recorded and issued on the "2007/2008 Curtis Selections" CD. Rob has also been a featured author in the International Clarinet Society's "The Clarinet" magazine. Rob's students have been accepted into the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, New York University, Carnegie-Mellon, Philadelphia Young Artists Orchestra, New York Youth Orchestra, Boston University Tanglewood Institute, Idyllwild Arts School, Idyllwild Summer Festival, and the Delaware County Youth Orchestra among others. www.robwpatterson.com

Doug Pierce

Trumpet, Trombone, Beginning Piano

Doug Pierce, an extremely gifted and talented composer/orchestrator, arranger and trumpeter hails from the motor city; Detroit, Michigan. Detroit is known for having produced some of the finest jazz musicians in the world. During his time in Detroit Doug has had the great opportunity to study with quite a few internationally recognized jazz musicians including Marcus Belgrave, Donald Walden, Rayse Biggs, Jimmy Wilkinson, Larry Smith, Kenneth Cox, Teddy Harris Jr., Russell Green and Herbie Williams. In the Fall of 1993 Doug continued his professional music studies with a two-year stint at Michigan State University's music program. Here he studied music theory and composition.

While at MSU Doug had the opportunity to study classical trumpet with Richard Illman who is a trumpet disciple of the great Vince di Martino. In the fall of 1996 Doug transferred his musical studies to the University of DC where he was under the tutelage of the late great Calvin Jones.

While at UDC Doug became the second recipient of the Felix E. Grant fellowship award. This award is a very prestigious award not given out regularly and is given solely based on individual talent. It was under Calvin Jones that Doug was made aware of his incredible and unique composition and arranging abilities. Professor Jones often shared with Doug how his uses of harmonic and melodic tools are reminiscent of the same tools used by Duke Ellington, Quincy Jones and Thad Jones. Upon completion of his undergraduate studies in 1999, fall 2002 Doug enrolled into the Jazz Studies program at Western Michigan University. It is here that Doug studied with jazz greats such as Trent Kynastyn, Dr. Scott Cowan and Tom Knific. During his time at WMU Doug was awarded the distinct opportunity to participate in a few residency programs including the prestigious Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency in April of 2004. Upon completion of his Masters degree in music spring of 2005 Doug has held educational posts at two very well respected schools of music as well as one of Washington DC’s highly respected Sheet music and instrumental retailers Middle C Music. From 2005- 2008 Doug was Professor of Jazz Trumpet at The Ohio State University. Currently Doug is Professor of Jazz Trumpet at his undergraduate alma mater UDC and instructor of Trumpet at Middle C Music. Along with Doug's permanent educational responsibilities he has also traveled extensively in great demand as guest composer and clinician within several universities.

Doug has lead and been a member of several musically diverse groups. Those groups include recently the DC Jazz Orchestra, The Columbus Jazz Orchestra, a very dynamic Gospel music ensemble, an exciting jazz quintet and sextet and a new and very exciting culturally diverse jazz orchestra called the "Band of Brothas" where Doug is the Chief Conductor, composer and arranger. The compositions performed by this group show Doug’s fundamental understanding of the jazz tradition, but also display his uniqueness and originality as a composer, orchestrator and arranger.

Other artists that Doug has shared the stage with or performed alongside include: Slide Hampton, George Duke, George Benson, Vanessa Rubin, Norman Brown, Ahmad Aladeen, Bobby Watson, Jim McNeely, René McLean, Nassar Abbeday, Angela Wimbush, Clare Fischer, Bob McChesney, Sunny Wilkinson, Jim McNeely, "Slide" Hampton, Randy Brecker, Roy Hargrove, Arkady Shilkloper, Vincent Herring, Cyrus Chestnut, Bruce Barth, Billy Hart, Eric Lewis, Curtis Fuller, Dr. Nathan Davis, Winard Harper, Carmen Lundy, and Richie Cole, The Velvelettes and many others.