Festival Band Bios

2010 Festival Band Bios | 1 No Inhibitions Jazz Band | www.noinhibitionsjazz.com
The No Inhibitions Jazz Band is a premiere Northwest seven piece Jazz Band that has been entertaining audiences for over a decade.  The Band specializes in the performance of Dixieland “Hot Swing” of the 1930’s and the Big Band Hits of the 1940’s and beyond. Their special blend of jazz played in the “Chicago” small ensemble style, is designed for dancing and of course listening enjoyment, combined with superb showmanship makes each show an event.

Heading up the front line is Willy Petersen on Trumpet and though the youngest member of the band at 37, has played jazz professionally for the past 20 years and is excited to be leading this fine group.

On Trombone is Rex Price.  Rounding out the front line is the extremely talented yet mild manner Jeff Winslow on Clarinet, Tenor Sax, and Soprano Sax.  Jeff is a semi-retired “E.R. Doc” {every band should have one on staff}.

Next are Mike and Julie Ernesti on Piano and Drums.  They are a superbly talented duo that have led their own bands and also toured the world with the USO for years. Julie's powerhouse vocals and Mike’s spontaneous bursts of levity are much requested on the jazz festival circuit.

On Bass and Vocals is the highly esteemed Hal Champ, who performed for 45 years with Stan Boreson, and has the finest tenor voice you’ve ever heard.  At the age of 83, Hal is also one of the busiest musicians.

Filing the demanding Banjo position is Dale Brown.  Dale brings his talents as a writer and “Barber Shop” singer to the group.

No Inhibitions plays it hot, sweet, soft, intense and everywhere in between.  We love what we do and play everything with high energy and a danceable beat.

Ivory & Gold Jazz Band | www.ivoryandgold.net
Originally designed as a duo comprised of flautist Anne Barnhart and pianist | vocalist Jeff Barnhart, Ivory and Gold expands to a trio whenever possible to include Grammy-award winning Nashville jazz percussionist Danny Coots.  As a duo, Anne and Jeff Barnhart bring much variety to their performances, due in large part to their rapport and their diverse backgrounds.  Each holds a Master's in music, but Jeff has concentrated on the American forms of music such as ragtime, jazz and Tin Pan Alley, while Anne's expertise lies in classical flute literature.  They will be concentrating on ragtime, jazz and Broadway this time around.

 West End Jazz Band | www.westendjazzband.com
The band originally performed the music of Armstrong, Oliver, Morton and other jazz pioneers in the Watters-Murphy West Coast style.  Mike was determined to perform the music of the 1920’s, so as the band evolved over the years the repertoire changed to focus more on the hot dance music of the last 20’s and 30’s.  The hot dance style can be described as taking the popular and jazz tunes of this time period and playing them in an arranged format, yet still leaving room for solos.  The band strived to play samplings of all the music of this time period and pay strict attention to keeping it stylistically accurate.  Mike was just presented with a major award from the prestigious Star-Gennett Foundation.  Great going Mike!!

Mike Bezin - Leader, Cornet | Leah Bezin - Banjo, Vocals | John Otto - Reeds, Vocals | Mike Waldridge - Tuba | Mike Albiniak - Drums | Frank Gualtieri - Trombone, Vocals.

 Titan Hot Seven | www.titanhotseven.com
The Titan Hot Seven remains one of the hottest jazz bands on land and sea!  A most versatile ensemble, this band of merry men features traditional jazz, swing, ballads, ragtime, novelty tunes and spontaneous, outrageous humor in every one of their sets.  Rather than relying on set arrangements, the Titans tailor their music and mirth to each audience, guaranteeing that each show is full of surprises for everyone, including the performers!

Hailed by fan, musician and critic alike, the Titan Hot Seven possesses a powerhouse ensemble capable of going from a whisper to a roar in the space of one tune.  The musicians’ rapport with their audience and each other combines with their volcanically hot playing and between-tune shenanigans, flooding the band with requests to return to virtually every festival, club and concert venue they have played.  They continue to be featured artists with Jazzdagen tours, bringing their musical mayhem to all corners of the globe!

Every one of the band’s 7 CDs has garnered an A+ rating from AMERICAN RAG columnist Cam Miller.  Don Jones, publisher and editor of THE AMERICAN RAG, calls them “the hands-down best Tent-Packers,” so get there early if you want a seat!!