QUINTESSENTIAL - Five of NM's Finest Jazz Masters with Special Guest Vocalist Eliana Joy

QUINTESSENTIAL - Featuring five of New Mexico's top jazz musicians.
Five Jazz Masters includes: Alex Murzyn - Saxophone, Bob Fox - Piano, Russ Scanlon - Guitar, Gordy Johnson - Bass, Mark Clark - Drums with Special Guest, Eliana Joy - Vocals 

Born and raised in the American Southwest, Eliana Job is a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist partial to emotional, comedic performance. After a euphonium degree and a spell with the Santa Fe Opera, she moved to Brooklyn and combined her eclectic influences to explore The Great American Songbook as a medium of storytelling and connection. Now based in Santa Fe, NM, Eliana performs actively as a solo singer-songwriter, an enthusiastic bandleader, and a frequent guest with the indie/folk project Lamby–all in the outrageously southwestern setting of sculpture galleries, wine gardens, and desert trains.

Alex Murzyn has a versatility and musicianship that has made him one of the most in demand saxophonists in New Mexico. Relocating from the San Francisco area, where he played with numerous bands, including Huey Lewis and the News, Ray Obiedo, Pete Escovedo and the Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra, with a career spanning three decades. He has three CDs under his name, and is working to complete the fourth soon to be released. His music stems from traditional and contemporary jazz, soul, rock, funk and latin.  He is equally accomplished on flute and clarinet.

Gordy Johnson is a bass player extraordinaire - fluid, inventive, smart, tasteful.  His world tours include Maynard Ferguson, Gene Bertoncini, Roy Buchanan, the Paul Winter Consort, CBS All Stars and Chuck Mangione. He has contributed to over 150 recordings, from jazz (Jimmy Hamilton, Maynard Ferguson, etc.) to blues/R&B (Buchanan, Doug Maynard) to bluegrass (Becky Schlegel) to folk (Greg Brown, Arlo Guthrie). Network television appearances run the gamut from the Merv Griffin Show to Soul Train. He has played with scores of national artists, including Joanne Brackeen, Herb Ellis, Rosemary Clooney, Scott Hamilton, Michael Johnson, Jay McShann, Dewey Redman.
 
Bob Fox is an amazing pianist and composer, and was the beloved pianist at Club Legato for countless years.  He is a highly respected jazz musician with a vast knowledge of many sub genres. Offering a diverse musical menu to his listeners, his writing always ignites the musical pallet of even the most dedicated jazz afficionados.

Russ Scanlon’s performance credits are far ranging and include work in the theatre, recording studio, and club dates.  He was the co-founder of three award winning world music groups, Quizumba, Susanna Sharpe and Samba Police, and Tamasha Africana.  He has done orchestra work with the Austin Symphony as well as stage shows with Dave Brubeck, Bernadette Peters, and Martha and the Vandellas and many others.  Russell has recorded on dozens of CDs and jingles, most recently with John Mill’s Times Ten, Scarlett Olson, and the Blackbird Three.

Mark Clark has been a professional musician since the age of 12. Raised in Santa Fe, NM, he
attended the BERKLEE SCHOOL OF MUSIC, then job opportunities brought Mark to Los Angeles
where he worked as a free-lance session/club musician while attending the L.A. JAZZ WORKSHOP.
Mark played as a percussionist with OTTMAR LIEBERT for nine years. During that same time
recording artist JONO MANSON and members of BLUES TRAVELER formed a touring band called
HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER, with Mark as the Drummer.
Mark can be heard on the CAT STEVENS CD “The Road Singer”, which features a duet with PAUL
McCARTNEY called “Boots and Sand”. Mark is currently living in Albuquerque, and is the drummer
with R&B sensation HILLARY SMITH, the Latin rock group MANZANARES, JIMMY STADLER, and
continues to record and tour with JONO MANSON, and is featured on JONO’s new CD. Mark is the
Jazz drum set instructor at the University of New Mexico, a private instructor at the New Mexico
School of Music, Percussion Ensemble Director at United World College and he is a private music
instructor.