Moorestown, NJ 08057
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BAND MEMBERS
Joe Midiri - Clarinet, saxaphones |
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| After
spending
nearly a decade working in Philadelphia, New
York and Atlantic City, the Midiri Brothers began to branch out. They
performed first
at The Great
Connecticut Jazz Festival
where in July 2009 they can still be heard. In 2002 the group made
their west coast debut and since that time are featured at many west
coast jazz festivals including Mammoth Lakes Jazz Festival, Monterey
Jazz Festival, The Pismo Jubilee By The Sea Jazz Fest, Redwood Coast
Music Fest, and Sun Valley Swing-n-Dixie Jazz Jubilee, as well as the
Central Illinois Jazz Fest in Decatur, Ill. The Midiri Brothers have
also played for many jazz clubs from Chicago to Florida. They have had
major articles written about them in both The Mississippi Rag and The
American Rag, both respected jazz news papers. The L.A. Jazz Magazine
stated " Catch them whenever you can!" as well as " their sextet is one
of the most exciting small group swing units around today." They can also be heard in their home state of N.J. playing both concerts and dances. Two of the most popular concert venues, both run by their good friend and supporter Bruce Gast, are the Bickford Theater in Moorstown N.J. and Ocean County College. The Golden Inn in Avalon N.J. has featured the Midiri Brothers Big Band as part of their Big Band Get Away weekend package for nearly a decade. The big band features many of the arrangements of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and the Dorsey Brothers as well as many of their own arrangements. The Diversity of the Midiri Brothers can be heard on their many recording, notably "Trees", "A Shaw Thing", "In The Garden" And "Finger Bustin". Recently they have recorded two CDs with the Brooks Tegler Orchestra and one with Harry Salotti on his "Full Swing Ahead" CD. Bob Fallstrom wrote in the Herald-Review, "I've seen and heard hundreds of clarinet players. Joe Midiri is the best.....I've seen every Joe Midiri set here, enthralled by his tone, his technique, his creativity, his imagination and sound." Dan Tobias - Trumpet In addition to his appearances in concerts and festivals with the Midiri Brothers, Dan can also be heard performing with the Blue Skies jazz quartet, as well as with Derf Nolde’s Keystone Jazz Band, Jerry Rife’s Rhythm Kings. In New York City he is often heard with Stan Rubin’s Band at the Red Blazer and with Vince Giordano's Nighthawks at the Cajun. Pat Mercuri - Guitar The son of the late guitarist and teacher Lou Mercuri, Pat engages in a wide range of performance activities, playing jazz, pop and classical music. In addition, he frequently plays guitar, mandolin and banjo for the Philadelphia Orchestra, for the region’s opera companies, and for theater and show orchestras in Philadelphia, Atlantic City and New York. Steve Kramer - Piano Steve is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music. He is currently on the advisory board of the Trenton Community Music School. Steve has performed on Broadway. For twelve years he has played, conducted and composed original works for the National Dance Institute under the direction of Jacques D'Amboise. He conducted the Ice Capades with Scott Hamilton and Dorothy Hamill, and played for a variety of performers including Mel Torme, Henny Youngman and Steven Wright. Ed Wise - Bass Ed has been playing string bass professionally since he was 17. He has toured with the Concord Records Jazz All-Stars (Harry “Sweets” Edison, Monty Alexander, Scott Hamilton and Bud Shank), Al Hirt and the Smothers Brothers. He currently lives in and works around Philadelphia, both with the Midiri Brothers and with his own group, Ed Wise and his New Orleans Jazz Band. He is also musical director of “PennJazz” (the University of Pennsylvania's jazz band) and serves on the board of directors of the Tri-State Jazz Society. Jim Lawlor - Drums Jim began playing at 20 after moving from Philadelphia to Atlantic city. His first drum teacher was Chris Columbo (drummer with Louis Jordan's Tympany Five) and has been a familiar sight on most casino stages since 1979. He has been mainly with the Midiri Brothers small groups and big band since 1989. |
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