.. J-Mood is the perfect blend of all that makes jazz a wonderful flavor of music. J-Mood is a classic jazz trio; piano, upright bass, and drums, complimented by solo vocal. The featured musicians; John Carrozza, Joe Reda, Jon Chalden and Jennifer Carrozza are united in their deep love and respect for the genre, and are willing to embrace it and pass it on to this and the next generation of jazz lovers. Specializing in more classic jazz from the 40's, 50's and 60's while encompassing some of the newer expressions in more organic music, J-Mood is the music solution for both concert style entertainment ideal for club and restaurants, or creating a wonderful backdrop to your next event.
John Carrozza: Native to Florida, John grew up playing guitar and piano from a young age. John relocated to Atlanta in 1992 to work with Twelve Oaks Studios as musician, producer, and arranger. John has worked with many artists and musicians in Atlanta and abroad including saxophonist Sam Skelton, drummer Scott Meeder, bassist Jackie Street and collaborating with such producer/songwriters as Cheryl Rogers and Mike Gleason. John produced, performed, and/or arranged for many gospel artists including Babbie Mason, Todd Fields, and Vernessa Mitchell. He was a featured pianist on "Dear God" by Boyz II Men on their platinum album, "Evolution". John has recorded his own instrumental project entitled "Worship Without Words" and plays regularly with the North Point Community Church Band as pianist and organist on the Hammond B-3. Most recently, John has worked with legendary jazz guitarist; Earl Klugh and played on his latest album - due out in Spring of 2008! A savvy musician with natural feel for the medium, listening to John is soothing for the soul.
Joe Reda: Chicago native Joe Reda is a seasoned bassist, with years of experience playing a variety of styles. He is equally at home playing funky electric bass or swinging an upright. His ability to fit in any musical setting and his gift of playing with musicians and making them feel totally comfortable is unparalleled. He is a graduate of Millikin University and also studied at Chicago's Bloom School of Jazz. After relocating to St. Louis, Joe continued to acquire first-call studio work. He has continued that tradition here in Atlanta, andmost recently recorded on legendary blues artist Howard Tate's new album, and with producer Jerry Ragavoy (Janis Joplin), from New York's famed Hit Factory. Joe maintains a busy schedule performing and recording with some of Atlanta's most popular jazz and pop artists including The Ruperts Orchestra, Quad Latte, J-Mood, Jennifer Hanson Quartet, The Sam Skelton Quartet, Steve Cunningham & the Dubious Tones and Randy Hoexter.
Jon Chalden: Illinois native Jon Chalden has been playing drums professionally for 20 years. After performing with high school and college jazz ensembles, Jon dove into drums full time, cutting his teeth with various Midwest Rock and R & B bands. He quickly established himself as a first call drummer in the St. Louis area while performing with, among others, Chuck Berry and organist Richard Groove Holmes. In 1993-94, Jon toured the U.S. and Canada with A&M recording artist, Sheryl Crow, promoting her debut album Tuesday Night Music Club. Recent album projects include Aaron Shust and Babbie Mason. Currently, besides various album and jingle sessions, Jon is involved in a number of performance groups including The Beggars' Guild, The Ruperts Orchestra, the North Point & Buckhead Community Church Bands, and jazz groups including J-Mood and Quad Latte.
Jennifer Carrozza: Native Atlantan, Jennifer Carrozza has been singing and performing since she was a small child. She began classical voice training at the age of 14, and spent 16 years of training before becoming a full-time professional vocalist in 1997. Jennifer's work as a performance artist has been primarily in churches throughout the southeast including Church of the Apostles, First Baptist North Augusta, Johnson Ferry Baptist, Sarasota Community and Northstar Community Church. Jennifer has recorded three solo projects and the most recent of those three, "Rust & Velvet", has garnered listener and critical acclaim and is available on iTunes. Jennifer is a sought after background vocalist working on many artist projects, jingles and corporate/industrial work. She's also been singing live jazz for a number of years prior to founding J-Mood with her husband, John. Jennifer's voice has been described as velvet sandpaper and is in perfect romance with the sultry sounds of torch music.
ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS:
JOSEPH PATRICK MOORE Joseph Patrick is a versatile and accomplished bassist and composer who works in a wide variety of musical settings. Joseph has released four independent jazz/bass recordings and has also appeared on more than 40 recordings by various artists.
He performs and records with his own group as well as various artists. He has toured with Col. Bruce Hampton and the Fiji Mariners, BlueGround UnderGrass, Leo Nocentelli (The Meters) and has performed/jammed with: Oteil Burbridge, Rob Wasserman, Jimmy Herring (the Dead), Derek Trucks, Shawn Lane, Jeff Sipe, Jon Fishman (Phish), Mike Gordon (Phish), John Popper (Blues Travelers), Tinsley Ellis, JoJo Herman (Widespread Panic), Gil Scott Heron, James Williams, Donald Brown, and many others.
He is currently endorsed by Pedulla Electric Bass, Zeta Fusion Uprite Bass and DR Strings.
For a more info, please visit Joseph Patrick Moores official site: www.JosephPatrickMoore.com
WAYNE VIAR Wayne is very a active performer in the Southeast. Educated at East Carolina University under the direction of Mark Ford, Wayne has a wide range of performance experience. Well versed as a drummer and percussionist in many styles such as jazz, funk, R&B, pop, Latin, Caribbean, and Brazilian. He has performed along side such jazz artists as Bob Mintzer, Marcus Miller, Dewey Redman, Melton Mustafa, Steve Riley, and others. Wayne has also performed with the Clyde-Beatty Cole Bros. Circus, The Atlanta Pops Orchestra, Panama Steel, Santa Clara Vanguard and numerous other local and regional acts. SAM SKELTON A native of Conyers, Georgia, Sam Skelton has been active on the Atlanta music scene since 1987. Sam graduated summa cum laude from Georgia State University and the private studio of Tony Carere with a degree in Jazz Studies. During his course of study at GSU, Sam was a Montgomery Music Scholar and a two-time fellowship recipient to the Aspen Music Festival. He continued his saxophone studies with Kenneth Radnofsky at Boston University in 1991. As a woodwind doubler, Skelton is well versed in any genre of music. His grasp of saxophone, clarinet and flute has enabled him to remain very busy in live performance as well as in the studio. Sam has performed and/or soloed with The London Symphony Orchestra, The Atlanta Symphony, The Atlanta Pops, The Peachtree Pops, The Atlanta Ballet Orchestra and The Cobb Symphony Orchestra as well as numerous local high school and civic ensembles. World Premiers include James Oliverio's "Children of A Common Mother", Lee Johnson's "Ora Pro Mi: Concerto for Winds Soloist" (clarinet, flute and soprano saxophone) and "Seaside Symphony" (clarinet and soprano saxophone soloist). Sam also played the premier recording of "Ora Pro Mi" and "Seaside Symphony" with the London Symphony Orchestra. With a discography of over 120 compact discs, Sam remains very active in the studio and can be heard on recordings by such artists as: Train, Matchbox 20, The Gap Band and The Ohio Players. Television and radio jingles include The Weather Channel, The Travel Channel, Ford, The Cartoon Network, CNN, Natures Own, Popeyes, Papa Johns and Turner South. Television appearances include In the Heat of the Night, Savannah, and Sinbads Summer Jam II on HBO. Sam is Director of Jazz Studies at Kennesaw State University, a member of the R & B band The Neons and a member of the Praise and Worship team at The Church Of The Apostles in Atlanta.
