Jordan Pettay

Jordan Pettay:  On Saxophone

Jordan Pettay is a New York – based jazz saxophonist, composer and educator.

She has had the privilege of performing with artists like Herbie Hancock, Christian McBride, Terence Blanchard, Joe Lovano, and Benny Golson among others, and has traveled worldwide throughout North America, Central America, Asia, Europe, and Australia performing and teaching.

Jordan most recently returned from a weeklong residency at the Guiseppe Verdi Conservatory in Torino, Italy in conjunction with the Torino Jazz Festival, where she conducted master classes at the conservatory and performed on the main stage of the festival. In late June, Jordan will be joining forces with the New York Jazz Symposium, a company started by educator and drummer extraordinaire Carl Allen, to conduct workshops in Melbourne, Australia.

At this juncture Jordan is also receiving her master’s degree in jazz studies, which will be the culmination of her 6 years spent at Juilliard. With this chapter of her life closing, and new doors opening, Jordan is looking forward to starting work on new projects, including her debut recording as a leader to be released in spring of 2015.

Born in Wichita, Kansas but raised in the suburbs of Ft. Worth, Texas, Jordan began playing the alto saxophone at the age of 11 and quickly caught the jazz bug after being exposed to recordings of Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker and having a series of gifted and passionate teachers who inspired her to pursue music.

Jordan attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Dallas, where she toured nationally with groups under the direction of Bart Marantz and won a number of Downbeat Student Music Awards. As a senior in high school she was selected as lead alto in the Texas All-State Jazz Band. In 2008, Jordan moved to New York City to continue her musical training at the Juilliard School and studied under the tutelage of Ron Blake, Steve Wilson, Carl Allen, Rodney Jones, and others. While at Juilliard, Jordan had the distinct honor of being awarded the inaugural Gerry and Franca Mulligan Scholarship.

Since her arrival to New York, Jordan has had the opportunity to perform with her own band at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, and has appeared as a sideman at such venues as The Appel Room (formerly the Allen Room), Rose Theater, the Iridium, Smoke, the Jazz Standard, and the Blue Note.  In 2011, Jordan made her Radio City Music Hall debut, performing with country music star Trisha Yearwood.  Jordan has also had the unique opportunity of playing the national anthem for an NFL football game at NY Giants Stadium. These days, Jordan can be heard performing regularly at Moscow 57 on Delancey.

The Jordan Pettay Band

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David Linard

Pianist David Linard came to New York last year to begin his masters degree in jazz studies at the Juilliard School. Originally from Indianapolis, David graduated from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music where he was awarded Owl Studios’ Emerging Jazz Artist award. He is now excited to be in New York City, and is thrilled to already be playing at some of his favorite music venues in the city, including Smalls jazz club and Dizzy’s jazz club.

Jimmy Macbride

Jimmy Macbride, 23, is a drummer/composer based in New York City. He has performed with a wide variety of artists including Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard, Wynton Marsalis, Bob Dorough, Taylor Eigsti, and Harish Raghavan. Coming from an artistic family (his father is a composer and mother is a visual artist), Jimmy began playing drums at the age 3 and gravitated toward jazz music at an equally young age. Jimmy is a recent graduate of The Juilliard School, where he was a full-scholarship student and studied privately with Carl Allen, Billy Drummond and Kenny Washington. He is a regular performer throughout New York City, performing at such venues as Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Smalls, The Jazz Gallery, and The Blue Note. He performs regularly with different groups including Dave Lantz Trio, Nick Finzer Group, and the Kyle Athayde Dance Party. He is featured on various recordings, including bassist Clovis Nicolas’ 9 Stories, released on Sunnyside Records in March 2014. In addition, Jimmy is currently a faculty member of the jazz department at the Calhoun School in NYC. Other performance highlights include a recent European tour with Grammy-award winning trumpeter Terence Blanchard, the Saulkrasti Jazz Festival in Latvia with Beka Gochiashvili in the summer of 2013, a two week performance and clinic to Salvador, Brazil, and the Vail Jazz Festival with John Clayton, Wycliffe Gordon, Tia Fuller, and others. Upcoming performances include the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC as well as performances at the Discover Jazz Festival in Burlington Vermont and the Ottawa Jazz Festival in Ottawa, Canada.al val in Burlington Vermont and the Ottawa Jazz Festival in Ottawa, Canada.

Luke Sellick

Luke Sellick was born and raised in the rich and eclectic musical climate of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Although originally a classical pianist, Luke discovered jazz at a young age and at eleven found himself grappling with the double bass. Home schooled throughout elementary and high school, his passions included art history, wilderness canoeing, and math. His introduction to formal education didn’t come until 2008, when he enrolled in the Faculty of Music at the University of Manitoba.
By this time, although dreams of National Hockey League stardom were fading fast, Luke’s musical career was gaining momentum. In 2009 he was awarded the Oscar Peterson Grant for best jazz student in Canada, and was also becoming a force in Winnipeg’s folk, indie and world music scenes. At the encouragement of his teacher and mentor Steve Kirby, Luke decided to audition for The Juilliard School where he was accepted and began studies in 2012.
Luke is currently living and performing in New York, where he is completing his Master’s degree and studying with preeminent jazz bassist Ron Carter. He seeks to deepen his knowledge of the jazz tradition, while offering his own disparate influences to today’s varied musical landscape. Luke’s musical philosophy is epitomized in the words of J.S. Bach, that “the end of all music is none other than glory of God and the refreshment of the spirit.”