mahaloArts

Alison is the creator and caretaker of mahaloArts. During the past twenty-six years, Alison has played jazz, R&B, rock and reggae music with all sorts of groups in all sorts of places in and around Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Kona, Hawai'i and Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Musical inspirations are vast and numerous, lately focusing on Bill Evans, Maria Schneider, Eliane Elias, Stevie Wonder, John Adams, klezmer and tango. She has been most fortunate to have Mike Garson, Dave Frank, Linda Pristera, Scott Warner, Chip Crawford, Dave Hammer, Tim Walters, Mike Brignola and Stuart Glazer as her teachers. With degrees in architecture, jazz studies and music composition under her belt, Alison is performing, composing, arranging, recording and teaching.

Her resume is available here.

Because he makes the drum a powerful lyrical and rhythmic voice playing jazz, pop, rock, country, soul, R&B, or celtic music, Matt is one of the most sought after live and studio musicians in South Florida. His influences range from Dave Weckl and Carter Beauford to Peter Erskine. He is presently playing and touring with the fabulous country artist Amber Leigh, and also performing with the Lifechurch.tv group in Wellington. This joyful and extraordinary drummer is destined to be famous.

Paul and Alison met at FAU in October 2008, when one of his students performed a composition of hers at a music department event. She certainly wasn't going to say no when Paul asked if he could perform the piece himself a couple of months later! He is a truly a master of music, performing classical, jazz and klezmer music around the world. He has given Alison the extraordinary gift of commissioning and performing her music, and we all look forward to sharing more music together.

Rochelle offers a wonderfully warm timbre with her horns, which matches her easy-to-be-with demeanor. She is finishing up her master's degree in composition from FAU while doing sound engineering and playing her horns whenever possible, lately working with jazz singer Joan Cartwright.

Another very talented eclectic fellow, "tickling the keys and squeezing the squeezebox, Tom takes you for a ride with his musical explorations in all sorts of shapes and forms. Pay attention to him.

Eric is a versatile musician, drawing inspiration from Slam Stewart and Ray Brown to Paul McCartney and Geddy Lee. Also a composer, engineer and producer, Eric is presently earning his keep playing with his alternative rock band, Panic Disorder, and serving as Music Director of the Life Teen Music Ministry at St. Jude Catholic Church in Boca Raton. He is always happy to play, and we are always happy to play music with him.

Tim endeared himself to Alison during a rehearsal one evening, setting the groove with his drum sticks on the kitchen counter and a little cymbal. He coined the phrase "you had me at jazz...", which now graces the mahaloJazz t-shirt. He paints rooms by day, great music by night.

Dave stays busy teaching and performing across South Florida. His love for jazz music is easily apparent not only playing his bass but singing the great tunes as well. It is always a pleasure to have him join in on a gig.

Pablo is a wonderful versatile drummer and educator. A Berklee graduate, he has also studied Classical Percussion at the Venezuelan National Conservatory and Afro-Cuban percussion at UC/San Jose. He has just completed coursework at FAU for the Florida Teacher Certification, served for three years as Concert Band Director at Wellington Christian School and is now the Music Director for the St. Vincent Ferrer School in Delray Beach. And, fortunately for us, he loves working as a free lance drummer in the South Florida Area.

Based in Durham, NC, Ben is an extraordinary musician. During the past 20 years, he has been earning his keep working with a variety of ensembles as a leader and band member around the United States and Europe (including the Montreux Jazz Festival) performing a broad range of styles, including straight-ahead jazz, blues, R+B, rock, funk, Latin, theater, singer/songwriter, and bluegrass. He has also recorded more than 20 CDs. His passion for music is infectious.