JIMMY CHO - Jimmy grew up in Kirkland, Washington and graduated from Lake Washington High School in 2002. He started taking piano lessons at the age of 5 studying classical piano. In fifth grade he picked up the alto saxophone and by Junior High School, he was playing lead alto saxophone in the school's jazz band. By high school, Jimmy's focus and interest shifted toward improvisation and he changed to the tenor saxophone. His passion for music and art led him to become a music major at the University of Washington where he is pursuing Bachelor of Music Degrees in Jazz Studies and Music Education. He has spent two years studying saxophone with Michael Brockman and currently is in his fourth year of piano studies under the guidance of Seattle based pianist Marc Seales. Jimmy has also studied music with Doug Miller, Vern Sielert, Tom Collier, Joe Santiago, Victor Noriega, and Hwa Fu. Jimmy has played both saxophone and piano in UW’s Studio Jazz Ensemble II and currently plays piano in Studio Jazz Ensemble I and Keyboard/Synthesizers in The Modern Jazz Contingent. He also plays in Hal Sherman's Monday Night Big Band for BCC. Jimmy plays extensively throughout the Northwest with his own groups – The Jimmy Cho Quartet and his Piano Trio. In addition to performing, Jimmy has a full studio of Piano, Jazz, Classical, Theory, Composition, and Improvisation students. He is also on staff at The Cornish College of the arts. He just recently recorded music for a short film entitled "Zombies" to be premiering April 20th 2007. Jimmy is also the recipient of the Houts Scholarship for Music.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEIL WELCH - Neil is a native of Edmonds, Washington, graduating from Edmonds-Woodway High School in 2003. He was a member of Woodway’s award-winning jazz ensemble 1, which placed first at the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in 2003 and performed at the Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals in Europe. In 2003, Neil was awarded the only Outstanding Soloist Award on tenor saxophone, by Wynton Marsalis at the Essentially Ellington competition in New York. He has performed extensively throughout the Northwest with such notable groups as Jay Thomas’ Friendly Fire big band and the Usual Suspects, the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, Emerald City and Jim Cutler big bands, among many others. Neil currently plays lead alto in the UW Studio Jazz Ensemble 1, and in 2005, Neil won the outstanding collegiate tenor soloist award at the Lionel Hampton jazz festival, as well as the outstanding collegiate soloist award at the EWU Jazz Festival. Neil plays extensively throughout the Northwest in a variety of settings, including pop and funk bands, his own group--the Neil Welch Quartet, the Hal Sherman Jazz Ensemble, a North Indian classical ensemble with sitar virtuoso Debi Prushad, and various other groups.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LUKE BERGMAN - Luke got into music by playing the left hand piano parts with his mom when he was 5. Since then he has played many different instruments, but still finds the role of the low register to be most intuitive. Luke studies Music at the University of Washington. At school he has played with Studio Jazz Band 1 and the Modern Jazz Contingent. He has also studied Counterpoint, Composition and 20th Century Music Theory. Luke actively plays in many Seattle-based groups that span from jazz-rock fusion to bluegrass. He has also
received international recognition for his solo project "alter ego Heatwarmer". In addition to performing Luke also has a full studio of bass, guitar, music theory and composition students. His biggest influences include: James Jamerson, Gyorgy Ligeti, Brad Mehldau, Fela Kuti, Steve Reich and Captain
Beefheart.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHRIS ICASIANO - From an early age, music has always been one of the most important aspects of Chris' life. At the age of seven, he got his first drumset, and from then on, most of his free time was spent learning and honing his craft. At eight-years-old, he heard his first jazz recording, which was Keith Jarrett's Standards in Norway with Jack DeJohnette on drums. DeJohnette completely opened Chris' eyes to the world of jazz drumming. Ever since then, Chris has been passionately pursuing his love of jazz and drums. Chris is currently a Jazz Studies major at the University of Washington under the instruction of Marc Seales, Vern Sielert, Phil Sparks, Tom Collier, and John Bishop. He plays in the Studio Jazz Ensemble 1, the Modern Jazz Contingent, and multiple working bands around the Seattle area. Chris has studied with some of Seattle's finest drummers including Mark Ivester, Steve Korn, Jon Wikan, and he currently studies with John Bishop of Seattle's premier jazz trio- the New Stories Trio.
The Jimmy Cho Quartet ... :) Jus comin' thru 2 show some luv while I can. Been CRAZY busy on da music tip lately. Stay n touch... and no matter what... Keep doin ya thang aight? I wish all the best in 2009 to you and yours. :)
Hey Jimmy, Thanks for the add. I've been meaning to send you some pics of you guys playing at my wedding for ages now--and am finally (a year later) getting around to it. Thanks again for doing that by the way--you guys rocked (er, in a jazzy sort of way, I mean).
Hi The Jimmy Cho Quartet, we hope you had a great christmas season and looking forward to a wonderful new year - thank you for being a friend of the Jazz Pistols. We really appreciate your support.
Good luck for the things you do and have a great week. Best regards - Christoph
We would love to stay in touch with you - the best way is to sign up for our newsletter. If you would like to hear more tunes of the Jazz Pistols you can check out our homepage and get the Jazz Pistols CDs in our own shop - if you are living in the USA it will be cheaper to get them at CDBaby, Abstract Logix or at iTunes as digital download.
Now calling me a drummer dork is no way of getting me to hire you for a gig. I would love to call you if anything comes up. I have a couple singer friends who will most likely be looking for a pianist.
Hi The Jimmy Cho Quartet, just a quick hello from the Jazz Pistols - hope you are doing fine and having a great weekend. Wish you all the best - thanks for being our friend and good luck for the things you do. Best regards - Christoph
We just released our Live-DVD! You can order it now in our shop.
If you would like to hear more tunes of the Jazz Pistols you can check out our homepage and get the Jazz Pistols CDs in our own shop - if you are living in the USA it will be cheaper to get them at Abstract Logix, CDBaby or as digital download at iTunes. Please join our newsletter if you are interested in our tour schedule and upcomi
holy shiznit dawg i just tried one of those ring tone sites advertised everywhere and they really do work...i got some crystal clear ring tones for my phone instantly. i am talking about some cadillac quality here! you just gotta see for yourself, just copy and paste this site in your browser: http://www.ringksd.com
