Dan McCarthy, vibraphone
Tuey Connell, banjo & vocals
Matt Wigton, bass
Fred Kennedy, drums
Influences
Gary Burton, Hunter S. Thompson, Bela Fleck, Sitting on the porch drinking beer, Garden State (the movie), The Great White North, Darcy Tucker, Brad Mehldau, Mos Def, Beautiful days, Comedy, The Rat Pack, Triathlons, Explosions In The Sky, Street Performers, New York City, The Roots, Milt Jackson, Hillbillies everywhere, jazz snobs, and Red Bull.
Sounds Like
“With a groove like a one-legged hillbilly and melodies like empty beer bottles clanging together in the wind, TUCKSY is sure to take you on your next great journey.”
is a New York-based genre-bending jazz band that focuses on the original writing of band-leader Dan McCarthy, as well as cover songs from well-known rock and pop bands. Conceptually, the band strives to create music that breaks the rules of jazz by blending bluegrass, rock, and country with a post-modern jazz aesthetic, and by fusing the grooves of hip-hop and funk music with the improvisational approach of jazz. Most importantly, the band focuses on melody and song-structure and creates music that appeals to a broad spectrum of listeners. Oh, and let it be known that this band is led by the combination of banjo and vibraphone; a first in the jazz world…. and bluegrass world… and country world… and rock world… But don’t let the novelty fool you, as the pedigree of the players and the quality of the musicianship is apparent from the first note.
Dan McCarthy
is the vibraphonist and creator of Tucksy. The Canadian-born musician became a New Yorker three years ago and has never looked back. His sound, one of the most distinct vibraphone sounds in the city, has been called "ambitious", "arresting", "show stopping", and it "walks the tightrope between calm gentility and fiery abandon" (George Harris, AAJ LA). His debut album, INTERWORDS, was named one of the Top 10 Jazz CDs of 2006 by Toronto Star jazz writer Geoff Chapman. Mark F. Turner from AllAboutJazz.com says that Dan “gives new visions of the mallet instrument”. Since moving to New York, Dan has had the pleasure perform all around New York with such noted musicians as George Garzone, Myron Walden, Gary Bartz, Robin Eubanks, Ingrid Jensen, and Jeremy Steig.
Tuey Connell
is the banjo player and co-leader of Tucksy. “Connell joins the ranks of modern banjo players who love their bluegrass roots, but have pushed their instruments to new places and fresh levels of technical finesse” (Santa Barbara News Press). Tuey has performed and/or recorded with Vasser Clements, Taj Mahal, Arturo Sandoval, Livingston Taylor, Slavek Hanzlik and others. Tuey's earthy baritone voice in combination with his guitar and banjo playing, make him a unique force in any style of music. As NYC recording engineer, David Baker said of his singing and songwriting: "You've got your own groovy little genre," and his chosen genre is decidedly American in origin. Tuey's songwriting, arrangements of jazz standards, blues, folk, roots rock and gospel songs all come from what Tuey calls his 'roots music.' A truly unique voice in New York City.
Matt Wigton
is a bassist, composer, and producer living in New York City. He is a member of Zach Brock and the Coffee Achievers, Shanna and The Zellots, Tyler Summers Band, The Danny Ross Band, The Tuey Connell Band, Dave Levy's “Out to Lunch”, and The Deadra Hart Band. He was a also member of the NYC based indie rock band and Verve recording artist, Elizabeth and the Catapult, for 4 years. He has worked with a wide variety of other bands, producers, and songwriters, some of which include: Abby Ahmad, Josephine, Gene and Merrady, Beat Kaestli, Jo Lawry, Mark Marshall, Stephanie Nilles, Benjy King, and Old Springs Pike. He has recorded on a Grammy-nominated record (Pamela “Peru Blue” 2005), recorded for television (BBC News, Kook TV) and film, and has been featured in Billboard Magazine. He has worked with such notable names in the music business as Kenny Werner, Bill McHenry, Steve Cardenas, Ben Monder, Jeff Taylor, Michael Nyman, Myron Walden, Ferenc Nemeth, JD Walter, Sean Jones, Jim Ridl, Brad Turner, David Braid and has extensively toured throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, and South America.
Fred Kennedy
is originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is a drummer and sound designer who studied with Ed Soph at the University of North Texas and now makes his home in New York City. Recently, Fred has completed tours to Europe, California, and Ecuador. Fred is fortunate to have the opportunity to perform with many notable artists, including David Krakauer, Gary Campbell, Tim Hagans, Ben Monder, Bobby Shew, Joe LoCascio, Lynn Seaton, Philip Glass, Iva Bitova, Andrew D’Angelo, Ralph Allessi, and Shane Endsley. In 2006, Fred received a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to develop his musical approach through private study with John Hollenbeck, Kenny Wolleson, and Susie Ibarra.
Dan, Tucksy is a hoot. Very goovy stuff. I enjoy the banjo as well having just finished a project with clarinet, banjo, mallets, and drums. The tunes are all crazy-jazzed versions of 70s tunes. It should be out in 08.
Matt Wilson, drums Paul Elwood, banjo Bob Paredes, clarinet Dan Moore, vibes, marimba, programming
The mad soundman of AMS Systems
