Contemporary Jazz Orchestra

​### Contemporary Jazz Orchestra East

​”I’ve been waiting for a long time to get my big band back together. There is nothing like a modern, no-holds-barred, blowing big band swinging great music!”

Christopher Pitts, saxophone and CJO director: “A saxophonist deeply immersed in the total jazz tradition.” JazzTimes critic Willard Jenkins 

“It was the kind of music that makes one feel confident about the future of jazz.” The Detroit News 

Steeped in Post Bop and Blues, Detroit saxophonist Chris Pitts made Manhattan, San Francisco and Paris his homes before moving to Boston. His bands have always featured energetic rhythm sections and adventurous music. He has performed at major jazz festivals and clubs in North America and Europe and played with jazz notables; Thad Jones, Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Foster, Clark Terry, Phil Woods, Jon Fadis, Regina Carter, James Carter, Betty Carter, Kenny Garrett, Roy Brooks, Ralph Armstrong, Marcus Belgrave, J.C. Heard, Grover Washington Jr., and Ralph Peterson. He’s opened for Ornette Coleman and Art Blakey. While in SF, Pitts founded the 18-piece Contemporary Jazz Orchestra. The CJO played every Monday night at Jazz at Pearl’s in North Beach from 1995 until the closing of the club in 2003. The CJO released 3 recordings currently available on iTunes. 

Entertainers Pitts has performed and/or recorded with include Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Martha Reeves, Lou Rawls, Bob Hope, Liberace, Henny Youngman, Lyman Woodard, Enchantment, The Floaters, The Dramatics, and even President Bill Clinton. Since moving to the Boston region, Pitts continues to perform and also produces various concert series, including the Newton Piano Summit and the Linda Plaut Newton Festival of the Arts, 2000-2024. A staunch advocate for the Arts and Culture, he served as the co-chair of the Newton Cultural Council.

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Trumpets

**Bijon Watson**  
​A solid reputation as one of the best lead trumpets today. This is super important because the lead trumpet literally leads the band with phrasing and dynamicsijon’s recording and/or live performance and touring credits are vast and the short list includes iconic artists such as Natalie Cole, Michael Bublé, Justin Timberlake, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, Michael Jackson, Arturo Sandoval, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Joe Williams, Queen Latifah, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder, Nicholas Payton, Rosemary Clooney, Steve Tyrell, Eric Benét, Jamiroquai, Prince, Barbara Morrison, Dianne Reeves, Nancy Wilson, Alicia Keys, Chaka Khan, Luis Miguel, Enrique Iglesias, The Temptations, and Gladys Knight. On television, Bijon has performed on episodes of “American Idol”, “The Voice”, and “The Tonight Show”, as well as Grammy Awards shows, The BET Music Awards, and“Dancing With The Stars”.. 

**Greg Hopkins**  
​Trumpet Performer, composer, and arranger Greg Hopkins first picked up the trumpet as a boy in Detroit, and to this day, it would be hard to spot him without his horn. Performed with countless big bands, including Louis Bellson, Billy Maxted, Buddy Rich, and Herb Pomeroy, as well as his own small ensembles and big bands. He is known so much as a successful big band leader that you don’t often see him in someone else’s band. Hopkins began his professional career in 1965, freelancing in the Detroit area for such acts as the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, and Gladys Knight until 1969, when he graduated Michigan State. From 1969 to 1974 he toured nationally and internationally, appearing at the Newport, Monterey, and other major jazz festivals. Hopkins has also performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett, the Supremes, Burt Bacharach, Nancy Wilson, Lou Rawls, Mitzi Gaynor, Michel Legrand, Johnny Mathis, Shirley MacLaine, Marvin Hamlisch, and Lena Home, as well as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the Boston Brass Ensemble. Mr. Hopkins busy teaching and performing schedule takes him all over the world doing concerts, festivals, jazz club dates, and clinics.  Hopkins has developed and teaches several courses in composition and also directs the Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra, one of the most prestigious performing ensembles at the school. Hopkins continues to write and orchestrate, and is Professor of Jazz Composition at Berklee. Hopkins works often with his 16-piece Jazz Orchestra, and also performs regularly with his quintet, and Tim Ray’s trio, Tre Corda.

**Douglas Olsen**  
​Trumpet Douglas Olsen has been a free-lance trumpeter for over 25 years performing jazz and world music.  He plays solo and/or lead trumpet with many of New England’s top bands and has also been a featured soloist with Scary Pockets, Iguie Castrillo Latin Jazz Orchestra, Latin Logic, Vibra Tropical, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, USAF Band of Liberty, Smithsonian Masterworks Jazz Orchestra, Berklee College of Music Faculty Bigband, Big Apple Circus, Aretha Franklin, and Little Anthony and the Imperials. Doug has recorded extensively on pop/rock, swing, jazz, and latin CD’s, including: The Brian Thomas/Alex Lee-Clark Bigband, The Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra, The Fernando Huergo Bigband, Felipe Salles’s Interconnections Ensemble, The New World Jazz Composers Octet, A Collective Directive, “Prozac Nation” by Bellevue Cadillac (featured on the “The Sopranos” and “Shallow Hal”), and jazz vocalist Michelle Mailhot’s “A Happy Madness.”   Doug holds the full-time position of Instructor/Lecturer and Director of Jazz Studies at WPI in Worcester, MA and was the Director of Music in Medfield Public Schools for the last 25 years before then. Doug is a very active clinician and guest artist, with appearances at MIT, Berklee, Harvard, Umass Amherst and Dartmouth, WPI, URI, Brandeis, CCRI, and Bridgewater State College. Doug performs regularly with the BTALC Bigband, the John Almark Jazz Orchestra, and with his projects “Latin Bash” and the Doug Olsen Quintet.  

​**Akili Jamal Haynes** is a composer and multi-instrumentalist who began his career at age 15 as a trombonist under the mentorship of Wynton Marsalis. Haynes currently performs with several ensembles and has participated on several recordings as a trombonist, composer, trumpeter, keyboardist, vocalist, tenor saxophonist, alto saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and acoustic bassist. He has served as research assistant, and arranger to Kimati Dinizulu, for music performed for Alvin Ailey Dance Theater under the direction of Judith Jamison.

Haynes served as Director of Woodwinds & Brass in the New England Conservatory of Music’s Preparatory and Continuing Education School, and taught there for more than 14 years. He is also an Accompanist at Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory, Boston University, and Curry College Dance Departments, as well as with Prometheus Dance Company before they closed in 2019. Haynes serves as the Chair of the Percussion & Popular Music Department at the Community Music Center of Boston. He also creates and performs in his own multi-media work, Becoming Chibuzo and Chibuzo Dunun.

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Trombones

**Pete Fanelli**  
​Lead Trombone: Pete Fanelli, a Syracuse, New York native, is one of New England’s most active and in-demand trombonists. Pete can be seen performing a wide array of stylistically diverse music in and around Boston.  His versatility privileges him with the opportunity to share the stage with world-class groups such as the John Allmark Jazz Orchestra, Somerville Symphony Orkestar and the award-winning Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band.  Also at home in the theater pit, Pete has been an orchestra member for dozens of shows with theater companies across New England.  Pete is also a sought after collaborator on original music projects.  Notable performance and recording credits include: Jim Guttmann’s Bessarabian Breakdown, the Gap Mangione Big Band, Dave Rivello Ensemble, BT/ALC Big Band, and Eastman Broadband.  With the Eastman Broadband, he has participated in contemporary music festivals in Italy, Mexico and the U.S., as well as performed on recordings for the Bridge Records and Urtext labels. Pete’s passion for the study of brass playing and improvisation in its various forms translates to his love of teaching.  He maintains a busy private teaching studio and has also lead middle, high school and collegiate workshops on the topics of trombone playing, klezmer music and jazz improvisation. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York where he received his degree in jazz performance, Pete has studied trombone and jazz improvisation under Mark Kellogg and Dr. Howard Potter at the Eastman school, as well as Steve Frank, Joe Colombo, Curtis Fuller and Hal Crook. 

**Artie Montenero**  
He performs regularly with the Kenny Hadley Big Band, the John Allmark Jazz Orchestra, and the Greg Hopkins Jazz Orchestra. He has performed in numerous U.S. tours with the Buddy Rich Band, the Artie Shaw Orchestra, the 70s pop band Tavares, and a Japan tour with jazz pianist Makoto Ozone. In the Boston area he has performed with Tony Bennett, Harry Connick, Jr., Josh Groban, Diana Ross, Natalie Cole, Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Paul Anka, and for Broadway shows including The Producers, Young Frankenstein, and West Side Story in Providence and Boston theaters. Artie has recorded with the Allmark, Hopkins, and Kenny Hadley Big Bands, and also on recordings with Greg Abate, Ronnie Rose, and with Boston’s White Heats Swing Orchestra on the movie soundtrack to Dick Tracy. 

**Jeff Galindo**  
​Born in San Francisco, California, Jeff Galindo attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts on scholarship after high school. He also studied with Hal Crook, Jerry Bergonzi, and George Garzone with grants by the National Endowment of the Arts and began freelancing in the Boston area. His experience includes tours of Europe with Phil Woods and Japan with Makoto Ozone as well as tours with the Artie Shaw Orchestra,  Irving Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, and Robin McKelle. Jeff toured the world as the Trombonist and Musical Director with Esperanza Spalding. Jeff has performed with such notables as Chick Corea, Clark Terry, Joe Lovano, George Russell, Slide Hampton, and Johnny Griffin. He has also performed with Gunther Schuller, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Jerry Bergonzi, Bobby Shew, The Boston Pops Orchestra, and the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra among many others. In Boston, Jeff performs regularly with the Greg Hopkins Big Band and Nonet,, The Galindo/Phaneuf Sextet (with which he has released a new cd “Locking Horns” in 1998 and won Boston Magazines “Best of Boston” for a jazz group in 1999, plus just released a new cd called “Talkin’ Horns in 2013),  his double quartet with George Garzone, and in Quartet and Trio settings. He is currently one of the top freelancing trombonists in the Boston area. Jeff has an extensive private teaching schedule. Jeff is in high demand as a guest artist and clinician, having done so in many high schools and universities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. 

**Peter Cirelli**  
​The bass Trombone is critical in any orchestra and Peter has established himself as the go-to guy in the region.​ Respected for his lyrical style, Peter Cirelli anchors the brass section. After living and working in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he has been a free-lancer in the Boston area since 1983. While playing in jazz, Broadway shows, symphony orchestra and chamber groups, he has worked with the big bands of Greg Hopkins and George Russell, including recordings with Russell on Blue Note Records. Performances with Dave Brubeck, Sammy Davis Jr., Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Natalie Cole and many others. He has taught music at Phillips Academy in Andover since 1986.

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Saxophones

**Shannon LeClaire**  
​Lead alto sax Shannon LeClaire is an accomplished saxophonist, educator, and composer based in the Boston area. She serves as an Associate Professor in the Woodwinds Department at Berklee College of Music, where she imparts her extensive knowledge and passion for jazz and contemporary music to aspiring musicians. LeClaire’s performance career is marked by collaborations with esteemed ensembles and artists. Notably, she has performed with the Bill Banfield Band, showcasing her versatility and depth as a musician. Her contributions to the jazz community extend beyond performance; she has been a mentor to emerging talents, including saxophonist Juan Ruiz, who studied under her guidance at Berklee. 

**Lihi Haruvi**  
Lihi Haruvi A Mediterranean soul immersed in the Jazz tradition, Lihi is an active member of the international jazz scene as a saxophonist, composer and educator. Known as a passionate improvisor with a strong belief in the healing power of music, Lihi is an engaging performer and teacher. She has shared the stage with Jazz masters and Grammy winners Danilo Pérez, Luciana Souza, saxophone masters Dave Liebman, George Garzone, the great arrangers Bill Dobbins, Greg Hopkins, “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” drummer Max Weinberg, Lamine Touré & Group Saloum, and multi-platinum Israeli artist David Broza among others. Lihi has graced stages worldwide as a band leader at festivals including the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival, Cork Guinness Jazz Festival, Red Sea Jazz Festival, and Monterey Jazz Festival. She serves as an Assistant Professor at Berklee’s Global Jazz Institute, and the Harmony department, as well as serving as a faculty for New England Conservatory Jazz Programs.

**Rick DiMuzio**  
​Rick DiMuzio, jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator, has performed concerts and clinics throughout the United States, Europe, Central and South America, and Asia. In addition to leading ensembles under his own name, he performs regularly as a sideman with the Greg Hopkins Jazz Orchestra and Quintet, Bert Seager, Fernando Huergo, Phil Grenadier, Leo Blanco, and Kevin Harris. He has played or recorded with such artists as David Liebman, Steve Grossman, Bill Perkins, Jaleel Shaw, Jerry Bergonzi, Kenny Wheeler, Conrad Herwig, Lage Lund, Danilo Perez, James Williams, Leo Genovese, Esperanza Spalding, Terri Lyne Carrington, Roger Humphries, Francisco Mela, John Hollenbeck, and Jamey Haddad, among others. 

In addition to his performing career, Rick has served as a Professor at Berklee College of Music for the past 25 years, where he has taught courses in ear training, improvisation (Thematic Development), saxophone, jazz composition, and ensemble. From 2005-2020, he co-directed the Five Week Summer Jazz Workshop ensembles with Terri Lyne Carrington. He is a former faculty member of New England Conservatory, Truman State University (MO), and Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Rick earned his doctorate in jazz composition from New England Conservatory, a master’s degree in jazz performance from the Eastman School of Music, and a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of PA.  Past teachers include Bob Brookmeyer, Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, Bill Dobbins, and Rayburn Wright. Time Travelers is Rick’s second album as a leader. 

**​Philippe Crettien**  
Philippe Crettien, born in the South of France, son of French diplomats, grew up primarily in North Africa, the United States and England. Raised in a musical family, he was exposed at a young age to an eclectic array of music. ​He studied piano and the alto saxophone in High school while attending the French Lycee in London. After listening to John Coltrane, Wayne Shorter and Sonny Rollins switched to the tenor saxophone.​ He attended Berklee College of Music and earned a BA in Professional music. Studied with Andy MGee, Joe Allard, Joe Viola, Charles Banacos, Jerry Bergonzi, Kenny Werner and Hal Crook.
After graduating from Berklee​, he performed and recorded with Blues Singer Jelly Belly, Trudy Silver, Bill Lowe, John Medeski, Andy Jaffe, Mario Pavone, Bob Gullotti, Andre Jaume, Rick Pekham, and Dave Zinno among others. Recorded three CD’s as a leader. Artistic director of the Toulon International Jazz Festival and director of the Toulon Jazz festival workshops 1991-2000.​ Currently,​ he is the jazz band director at The Rivers School in Weston MA, and Jazz chair at The Rivers School Conservatory.

**Ben Whiting**  
​Baritone Saxophone Ben Whiting is quickly making a name for himself on the Boston music scene, where he can be heard at premiere venues including Ryles, Scullers, Berklee Performance Center, The Beat Hotel, The Beehive, Top of the Hub and Hard Rock Cafe. Ben regularly performs with the renowned Greg Hopkins’ Big Band and Nonet, Omar Thomas Large Ensemble, Alex Lee-Clark 8tet, Kenny Hadley Big Band, Beantown Swing Orchestra, Eguie Castrillo and his Orchestra, and many more. The Berklee trained Whiting has also traveled internationally with The Artie Shaw Big Band. 

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Rhythm Section

**Mark Walker (Drums)**  
​ Grammy Award-winning drummer, percussionist, author, and educator Mark Walker began playing drum set at age 10 and played his first professional club, concert, and recording gigs barely out of high school. He has performed on many Grammy Award-winning albums and earned several Grammy nominations for his work with various artists, including Oregon, Donato Poveda, Paquito D’Rivera, and the Caribbean Jazz Project.  He has performed and recorded extensively with Michel Camilo, Dave Samuels, Andy Narell, WDR Big Band, NDR Big Band, Eliane Elias, Lyle Mays, Dave Liebman, Cesar Camargo Mariano, Rosa Passos, and many more. Walker is a professor in the Percussion Department at Berklee College of Music. He also has served on the faculty at Drummers Collective in New York City and has conducted master classes, clinics, and workshops in South America, North America, and Europe, both as a solo artist and with various groups. His book World Jazz Drumming, which features recorded performances by Paquito D’Rivera, was released in 2009 to critical acclaim. He also wrote for the all-star instructional drum set book Killer Grooves.

**Wes Wirth (Bass)**  
Wes anchors our rhythm section with depth, groove, and creativity. His mastery of multiple styles provides the essential heartbeat of the ensemble.​Wes Wirth is a prolific composer, writing for his bass, guitar, and voice, and for many other collaborators. Wes’ unique style has been described as, “visually expansive, a hyperbolic sound-scape, sonically erotic, sensually inviting, and mysteriously tender.” Wes’ inspiration comes from observing, and participating with the elemental forces of nature, and the stunning diversity and cultural beauty in the world. This “music” provides a template for understanding our collective creativity, out-of-the-box thinking, and the connective elements of synergistic phenomena. Wes has recorded or toured with legends such as Chuck Mangione and King Sunny Ade and George Russell, innovators like, Hal Crook, and Yazhi Guo, drum masters Rakalam Bob Moses and Kenwood Dennard, and guitar giants Stanley Jordan, Vernon Reid, and David Fiuczynski. 

**George Russell Jr. (Piano)**  

George W. Russell Jr. is an acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, and educator known for his dynamic fusion of gospel, jazz, and soul. No stranger to Newton, he just performed his 3rd time as a headliner at the Newton Piano Summit. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he began playing piano at age seven and honed his ear through church performances, where music was learned by listening rather than reading. This early experience laid the foundation for his expressive, improvisational style. Russell holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from Duquesne University and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory. He currently serves as Chair of the Harmony and Jazz Composition Department at Berklee College of Music, where he has been honored with the Ted Pease Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Curriculum Development Award, and Berklee’s Most Distinguished Faculty Award. As a performer, Russell leads the George W. Russell Jr. Trio and has collaborated with notable artists such as Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Ernie Isley, and Lenny White.  Peter Cirelli Bass trombone: Active Boston area player and teacher on low brass instruments, Peter is currently music department chair at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. He also maintains a busy performance schedule playing musical theater, symphonic music, and with jazz bands. Performances include the pit orchestras of Boston’s Wang, Colonial, and Shubert Theatres and the Boston Opera House, as well as with Boston’s Lyric Opera and the Boston Ballet. Peter has recorded on the Blue Note, RCA, A&M and Phillips record labels. .

The CJO embraces the Post Bop Big Band tradition exemplified by Thad Jones, Charles Mingus, Oliver Nelson, Frank Foster, Gerald Wilson, and Gil Evans. These artists, following in the rich tradition of Duke Ellington, Count Basie and other greats, added many of the jazz innovations that evolved after Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and company established Bebop.

The CJO’s Mission is to:

• Showcase individual performers and give them the modern big band experience that is increasingly rare in today’s music community.  
• Provide a forum for new composers and arrangers to experiment and hone their talents.  
• Introduce new audiences to the depth and richness of this tradition.
• Showcase internationally recognized artists in the big band context.