CJO Musicians
Led by Sean Jones, CJO promotes jazz in its historical and contemporary forms, through concerts with gifted jazz musicians, arrangers, composers and educators in Northeast Ohio.
Chris Anderson, Trombone
Chris Anderson
Chris Anderson has played trombone with fine musicians in idioms spanning classical, Latin, jazz and gospel. In addition to writing and performing many different styles of music, Chris has won various local and national competitions and has performed with groups including the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Chamber Symphony, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and the Jazz Heritage Orchestra. Chris currently works with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District through the All-City Arts Program. In addition, he is an instructor at The Music Settlement and Cuyahoga Community College. Among recordings Chris has contributed to Dave Morgan’s The Way of the Sly Man.
Chas Baker, Trombone
Chas Baker
Trombonist Chas Baker is associate professor of Jazz Studies at Kent State University and has led the KSU Jazz Ensemble since 1977. His background includes experience as a soloist for the Austrian Radio & TV Network Big Band in Vienna, Austria. In 1968-69, as a U.S. Army band man, he was trombone soloist with the 1st Air Cavalry Division Band, Viet Nam. Chas has been a very active player with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and in that capacity has performed behind guest artists including Bob Brookmeyer, Joe Lovano, Maria Schneider and John Hollenbeck. He also has worked in concerts starring the likes of Tony Bennett and David Sanborn. Chas is an active clinician and adjudicator in public schools and colleges in northeast Ohio and Massachusetts. In 1997, the KSU Alumni Association and the KSU Foundation honored him with its Distinguished Teaching Award.
Dave Banks, Trumpet
Trumpet player Dave Banks has returned to northeast Ohio after a 20-year career in Las Vegas where he performed in more than 4,000 shows. In Las Vegas, Dave worked with many famous entertainers and was a member of the Lou Elias Relief Orchestra. Dave has also performed with the Nevada Symphony Orchestra, The Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Nevada Chamber Orchestra. He also was a trumpet instructor and assistant director of bands at the University of Nevada. He is a member of the faculty of Walsh Jesuit High School, where he teaches music and drama. Dave regularly performs with the Jack Schantz Jazz Unit and Ernie Krivda’s Fat Tuesday Big Band. He also leads his own group, the Dave Banks Big Band.
Theron Brown, Piano
Theron Brown
Zanesville native Theron Brown is a 2009 University of Akron jazz studies graduate and a pianist in high demand. He has worked with the CJO’s Electric Band, is part of the Akron hip-hop band Poetic Republic, and recently joined the CJO as first pianist.
Johnny Cochran, Saxophone
Johnny Cochran
A native of Cleveland’s southwest side, Johnny Cochran attended Cleveland School of the Arts and Cuyahoga Community College simultaneously during high school, studying saxophone with Ernie Krivda. He has had the opportunity to perform with artists such as Clark Terry, Carl Allen, Jason and Wynton Marsalis, Randy Brecker, Mike Lee, Billy Hart, and Rodney Whitaker. Johnny studied with Gary Bartz at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. While the saxophone is his primary instrument, Johnny also is proficient in piano, drums, and several other woodwind instruments.
John English, Trumpet
John English
John English has played trumpet with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, the Mansfield Symphony and the Akron Symphony. Through the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and other groups, he has worked with artists such as Tony Bennett, Louis Bellson, Sarah Vaughan, Tom Harrell, Jon Faddis and Wayne Bergeron. He also has done commercial work behind such groups as the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Four Lads, and Natalie Cole. Tom earned a bachelor of music degree from Kent State University and a master’s degree from the University of Akron. In addition to leading the band Special Request, Tom and his wife Darla own Special Productions, Inc., a music entertainment company based in Stow.
Steve Enos, Trumpet
Steve Enos
Trumpeter Steve Enos, a Cuyahoga Community College Jazz Studies director, earned his undergraduate degree from the Berklee College of Music in Boston and his master’s degree in music education from the University of Akron. In addition to teaching full-time in its Jazz Studies program, Steve directs the Tri-C JazzFest High School All-Stars and the Summer with the Jazz Masters program. Steve is a member of the Ernie Krivda Fat Tuesday Big Band and Omnibus Orchestra, along with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, and performs in Broadway tour orchestras. He is a former member of Boston’s famed Herb Pomeroy Big Band and has worked with such notables as Natalie Cole, Louie Bellson, Phil Woods, David Sanborn and others. He is a Yamaha Artist.
Scott Garlock
Scott Garlock
Scott Garlock is associate professor of Music at Ashland College. He has a bachelor of science degree in music education from Kent State University, a master’s degree in music history from the University of Akron and a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Iowa. Scott has taught at Mount Union College and in numerous public schools and is the musical director for the Maplerock Jazz Festival. In 2000, he was given the judge’s citation from Benny Green at the Notre Dame Jazz Festival for his “positive, spirited leadership,” and was nominated for president of the Ohio Chapter of the International Association for Jazz Educators in July 2007. In addition to his membership in the CJO, Scott is a member of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and the Mansfield Symphony.
Paul Hungerford, Trombone
Paul Hungerford
Cleveland Jazz Orchestra charter member Paul Hungerford received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in trombone performance from Cleveland State University along with his teaching certificate. He was a trombone student of James Taylor and a bass trombone student of Ed Anderson. A charter member of both the CJO and the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, Paul also is a member of the Heritage Brass Quintet. He has played with many big band performers including Tommy Dorsey and Glenn Miller. Paul is currently the band and orchestra director at Wiley Middle School in the Cleveland Heights/University Heights School District.
Dick Ingersoll, Saxophone
Dick Ingersoll
Lakewood resident Dick Ingersoll is a professional saxophonist active all over greater Cleveland. He has performed with many prominent musical groups including the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. He received formal musical training at The Ohio State University, earning a bachelor of music degree in 1993, with an emphasis on jazz performance. Music has provided him the opportunity to travel the world and to perform in orchestras backing such notable entertainers as Louis Bellson, Steve Lawrence, David Sanborn, and Tony Bennett. Dick is a co-founder of the swing and blues ensemble Dukes of Wail and has performed on numerous recordings of varying musical styles with Cleveland-area artists.
Jerome Jennings, Percussion
Cleveland native Jerome Jennings, the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra’s key drummer, attended The Ohio State University on a full music scholarship and in 2002 transferred to Rutgers University to complete his bachelor’s degree. As a new participant in the National Educators Workshop in summer 2006, Jerome became familiar with the teachings of Maxine Greene, and the following year, he was awarded a master’s degree from the Juilliard School of Music; at the same time, he became the first jazz studies recipient of the Morse Fellowship—and fell in love with teaching. Jerome is an in-demand session drummer/teacher/clinician in addition to performing with the CJO. Most recently, Jerome has been working with Sonny Rollins.
John Klayman, Saxophone
John Klayman
Cleveland Jazz Orchestra charter member John Klayman is the CJO’s featured tenor sax soloist. He has toured with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and has performed with the Jack Schantz Jazz Unit. A guest soloist and clinician at numerous regional universities, Klayman also has appeared with Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Paquito D’Rivera, the Four Lads, Bob Hope, the Temptations, and Manhattan Transfer, among others. John’s tenor is featured on recordings by vocalist Barbara Knight and the CJO, Grupo Brasil, Paul Ferguson, the Cleveland Orchestra, and Janan. John also has worked on jingles for Higbee’s, the Glidden Corp. and the Plain Dealer.
Dave Morgan, Bass
Dave Morgan
Bassist and composer Dave Morgan has performed with a wide variety of artists including Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Lovano, Arturo Sandoval, Cedar Walton, James Moody, Benny Golson, Larry Coryell, Mose Allison, Jim McNeely, Bob Brookmeyer and The Cleveland Orchestra. His latest recording, The Way of the Sly Man, features Jamey Haddad, Dan Wall, Jack Schantz, Howie Smith and many other area musicians.
Morgan also composed the music for The Surprise of Being—Live at Birdland CD by the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra featuring Joe Lovano. The American Wind Symphony Orchestra has commissioned several Morgan compositions, and The Polish Philharmonic Orchestra recently recorded his “Reflections and Meditations.”
Morgan is currently crafting an extended work, “Forms of Things Unknown,” for the Youngstown Percussion Collective. Morgan is associate professor of Jazz Studies and Double Bass at Youngstown State University. Visit www.davemorgan.com.
Dennis Reynolds, Trumpet
Trumpeter Dennis Reynolds is the artistic director of the Jazz Heritage Orchestra at Cleveland State University. A former lead trumpet player with the Count Basie Band under Frank Foster, he also is a former member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and former lead trumpeter with the Clark Terry Big Band. Dennis has performed with such stars as Dizzy Gillespie, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé, Rita Moreno, Patti Austin, Roberta Flack, Rosemary Clooney, and Ella Fitzgerald. A Warren resident, Dennis assembled the Heritage Orchestra to showcase performers and teachers as role models for young people. He is a graduate of the Lamont School of Music.
Jim Rupp, Percussion
Jim Rupp
Jim Rupp has toured extensively with the bands of Woody Herman, Maynard Ferguson and Glenn Miller. He is the drummer on three Woody Herman CDs: The Fiftieth Anniversary Tour, which was nominated for a Grammy Award, Legacy and Live In London. Jim spent eight years with Grammy Award-winning jazz singer Diane Schuur, and also has performed with artists such as Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Joe Lovano, Hank Marr, Buddy DeFranco, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, Rosemary Clooney, and Natalie Cole. Jim presents workshops and educational clinics all over the country, currently teaches jazz drumming at The Ohio State University and has taught at the University of Michigan. He also is past chair of the drum set committee for the Percussive Arts Society and is the resident of Columbus Pro Percussion, Inc.
Jack Schantz,Trumpet
Jack Schantz
Jack Schantz was artistic director of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra from 1994 to 2009. Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Akron, Jack has toured with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Glenn Miller Orchestra, the Artie Shaw Orchestra, and Woody Herman. He also has worked in the pickup bands of Jimmy Dorsey, Larry Elgart and Guy Lombardo. Among shows he worked: Miss Saigon, Annie Get Your Gun, Guys and Dolls, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Color Purple and The Sound of Music. He also has performed with artists such as Mel Torme, Sarah Vaughan, Tony Bennett, Cleo Laine, Jack Jones, Nancy Wilson and Diane Schuur. He has played trumpet and flugelhorn with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra, the Blossom Festival Orchestra, the Blossom Festival Band, and the Akron Symphony Orchestra. He led the Jack Schantz Jazz Unit in the ‘90s, and in 1993 recorded Speechless under the Jack Schantz Jazz Quartet name. He also contributed to the Paul Ferguson Jazz Orchestra’s Big Band Christmas album and to Dave Morgan’s The Way of the Sly Man. Schantz earned a bachelor of arts degree in theory from the University of Akron as well as a master’s degree in trumpet.
George Shernit, Saxophone
George Shernit
Baritone saxophonist George Shernit has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. He also has worked numerous Broadway shows and is featured on records by the CJO, the Cleveland Orchestra and Cleveland Symphonic Winds. Shernit earned a bachelor of arts degree in music theory and composition, as well as a master’s degree in performance, from Cleveland State University. Shernit has taught at Cleveland State, Case Western Reserve University, Ashland University, University of Akron, and Muskegon University. A charter member of the CJO, he also is the band’s personnel manager. He is a district sales manager with Jupiter Band Instruments.
Howie Smith, Saxophone
Howie Smith
Saxophonist and composer Howie Smith has presented concerts and workshops throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, and Australia, and has performed and/or recorded with musicians/organizations as diverse and renowned as John Cage, the Cleveland Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie, Elvis Presley, and the Tone Road Ramblers. In 2009, Howie was designated Professor Emeritus at Cleveland State University, where he was coordinator of jazz studies from 1979 to 2005, and served as Chair of the Art Department from 2003 through 2007. He occasionally plays Cleveland dates, performing with drummer Bill Ransom and organist Dave Thomas under the name Organism. Visit www.howiesmith.com.
Dave Sterner, Saxophone
On the Ohio jazz scene since the early 1990s, saxophonist Dave Sterner is a 1992 graduate of Indiana University’s Jazz Studies program, where he studied under renowned jazz educator David Baker. In 1993, after a stint in New York, Dave returned to Ohio to focus on a career in performance and education. He is currently a part-time faculty member for the Cuyahoga Community College Jazz Studies program, teaching advanced ear training, harmony and a music seminar; in addition, he directs the Lakeland Community College Civic Jazz Orchestra. Other events he is involved with include the Lakeland Summer Jazz Camp and the Tri-C Summer with the Jazz Masters camp. Dave also co-directs the Lakeland Jazz Festival and is a clinician and adjudicator for the Lakeland and Tri-C Jazz Festivals. He has released two recordings: Sidetracked and What’s What. Visit www.davesterner.com.
Brad Wagner, Saxophone
Saxophonist Brad Wagner is an Akron native who in 2003 received his bachelor of music degree from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. Later, he earned a master’s degree in jazz studies at Youngstown State University. Brad plays, writes, and arranges for jazz, funk, blues, rock, rhythm ‘n’ blues, Latin, Brazilian, world music, and jam band configurations and is busy playing in various ensembles throughout northeast Ohio.
Rock Wehrmann, Piano
Rock Wehrmann
Pianist Rock Wehrmann is much in demand in the Midwest as an arranger, composer, producer, soloist and accompanist. He has appeared as a feature soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra and performed at the presentation of the Pulitzer Prize. His background includes a degree in pipe organ from Kent State University, holding the position of artist-in-residence for Moog Music, and performing on recordings by such prominent artists as Pat Metheny, Chick Corea and Herbie Hancock. His company, Sudden Realizations, produces music and sound design for films and broadcast.
Jackie Warren, Piano
One of the best jazz and Latin jazz pianists and arrangers in northeast Ohio, Jackie Warren has been called the “first lady of jazz” and has released three recordings of her own: Near You, Live at the Wi-Fi Cafe and Oblivion. A native of the Colorado plains, Jackie earned a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and a master’s degree—in classical piano—from Cleveland State University. A specialist in merengue and salsa, Jackie also has worked on recordings by the Jazz Heritage Orchestra and by Impacto Nuevo, the area’s leading Latin band. Visit www.jackiewarren.net.
