Rising Stars of Jazz

RISING STARS OF JAZZ

Sun 4/27

5:30pm doors/6pm show

All Ages | $22 adv./$27 day of

Join us for this special performance of three young jazz vocalists who are rising stars with immense talent. The evening is sponsored by the Seacoast Jazz Society as part of its “2025 Jazz All-Stars Series.”

You will be entertained and heart-warmed by the energy of these young talents. Experience these three exceptional singers, all originally from the Seacoast, as they bring a fresh perspective to jazz standards and the “Great American Songbook.”

Each vocalist will perform her own set with short breaks after. At the show’s end they will perform together.

The inimitable trio of Mark Shilansky, Gregory Ryan, and Les Harris Jr. will provide the music for these dynamic rising stars.

THE THREE RISING STARS...

KATIE SEILER, Vocalist

Katie Seiler now resides in Brooklyn, NY, but grew up in New Hampshire, daughter of Dave Seiler who directed the Univ. of New Hampshire Jazz Program for several years and was instrumental in helping to organize the first annual Seacoast Jazz Festival, now in its 42nd year.

When Katie was just eight years old, she began taking classical piano lessons and soon after started singing in choirs, studying voice and music, and performing. After college she obtained a master’s degree in Jazz Music Performance from the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. Katie has received private coaching from Luciana Souza, Kim Nazarian, Fred Hersch, Jason Moran, Dominique Eade, George Garzone, Frank Carlberg, Jerry Bergonzi, Jerry Leake, Clark Terry and Stefon Harris. Today Katie performs regularly as a solo and ensemble vocalist at major jazz venues in the Boston and New York areas. These include Scullers Jazz Club and NewmYork venues such as Birdland, Tomi Jazz, Shapeshifter Lab, Rockwood Music Hall, and more. She has performed at Carnegie Hall with the “Final Fantasy” Distant Worlds Choir, backed up Filipino singer, Charice, on the “Oprah Show,” opened for the Becca Stevens Band, sang at Madison Square Garden with the choir in the Game of Thrones live concert experience, and performed with saxophonist Donny McCaslin and trumpeter Clark Terry, among others. Her ensemble work includes the award-winning West Side 5 jazz group based in NYC, known for its unique and refined sound, sophisticated approach to jazz, highly original arrangements, and complex harmonies—a group inspired by other great ensembles like the Manhattan Transfer, New York Voices, and The Real Group. Today Katie continues to perform solo with her original music as well as with groups ranging in style from vocal jazz, new music, choral, and folk. She also teaches voice privately and at Manhattan’s Third Street Music School and is a practitioner of the Alexander Technique.

ALI GOLODNER, Vocalist

Ali Golodner is an up-and-coming jazz vocalist, composer, and arranger praised for her expressive tone and vocal control. Born in Germany, Ali has a unique rags-to-riches backstory that gives her artistry an insatiable drive and inspiring flair. Completely independent from any family from age 15, Ali worked her way up and saved for school by working any job she could find. Music was the end goal. Starting out with classical voice lessons as a foundation, she transitioned to musical theatre and eventually jazz and contemporary song. She is most inspired by the vocal stylings of Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan, and Jazzmeia Horn. She has since left the nest and performed around the Boston area at venues such as the Mad Monkfish, The Lilypad, and the Allen Center in Newton, MA. Ali has studied voice with Jane Monheit, Peter Eldridge, Francisco Mela, Taylor O'Donnell, and Alain Mallet, at Berklee College of Music, and continues studying Professional Music there. She is a member of Berklee’s “Advanced Vocal Jazz Ensemble” directed by Ned Rosenblatt. This ensemble holds multiple Downbeat Magazine Student Music Awards and most recently performed at the 2025 Jazz Education Network Conference. Ali also leads the Berklee vocal jazz group, “Point of Departure,” which won Downbeat Magazine’s Student Group Awards in 2020 and 2021. She has her own quartet and is in the process of recording her first full-length album of seven original tunes and three arrangements.

MADISON LAFORCE, Vocalist

Madison LaForce is a junior majoring in vocal performance at the University of New Hampshire. She comes from a musical family—her grandfather, a jazz pianist; her father, Marc, a well-known saxophonist; and her mother, Brenda, a jazz and classical singer and choir director.

Madison’s first public performance was at the age of three. Over the years she has sung a variety of genres, but her favorite is jazz. Her musical style is influenced by Ella Fitzgerald, Sara Bareilles, and Esperanza Spaulding, to name a few, as well as her mother Brenda, her current teacher at UNH Amanda Munton, and her previous teacher Gwen Trott. In high school Madison was active in community theater. At UNH she has performed with the Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, innovative Vocal Arts Project, and big band and jazz bands, under the direction of Nate Jorgensen. Madison also performs with the student-run a cappella group “Not Too Sharp,” in which she is co-music director. Madison has been recognized multiple times for her vocal talent. Last year she was a regional finalist in the “Commercial Music category” of the New England National Association of Teachers of Singing national auditions. She was accepted into the All-Eastern Music Festival as well as the New Hampshire Classical All-State and the Jazz All-State Music Festivals, where she earned the top score in both festivals. When she graduates from UNH, she plans to continue to perform as well as pursue Music Therapy.

THE ACCLAIMED TRIO...

MARK SHILANSKY, Piano

"Inventive, modern mainstream jazz pianist.” Jon Garelick, Boston Globe

Mark Shilansky provides melodic improvisation and infectious compositions on his own and to a host of jazz luminaries, as well as to the classroom, as a professor at Berklee College of Music and the University of New Hampshire. Shilansky’s six recordings as a leader include 2007’s “Join the Club,” a mostly Latin Jazz affair featuring David Bowie saxist Donny McCaslin, and 2013’s “Fugue Mill,” the eponymous debut of his Jazz/Bluegrass/Celtic project featuring violin phenom Sara Caswell, and he is featured on over 60 recordings as a keyboardist, vocalist, composer/arranger, or producer, and in performance as band member for such artists as the New York Voices, Luciana Souza, and David Thorne Scott. As an artist he embraces the history of the styles in which he works, while seeking connections between them as a way of expressing a personal musical vision, characterized by lush harmonies, the exploration of the line between composition and improvisation, and an ever-present sense of humor. His works have been recorded by Robin McKelle, Kim Nazarian, and by Jazz All-State and College ensembles around the world. Learn more about Mark at: https://www.markshilansky.com.

GREGORY RYAN, Bass

Gregory Ryan is a New York City native who has established himself as an in-demand sideman on both acoustic and electric bass. His big supportive sound, swinging style, and complete understanding of harmony and his role on the bandstand combine to create his ability to make even the most complex modern compositions swing in the tradition of the great bass players.

At home in a variety of musical worlds— accomplished in Brazilian, Cuban, funk, and mainstream jazz styles— he performs in festivals and concerts worldwide. Gregory has appeared with pianists James Williams, Mulgrew Miller, Harold Mabern, and Benny Green; Jim Hall and Pat Martino; vocalists Karrin Allyson and Dena DeRose; and numerous jazz luminaries including Eric Alexander, Regina Carter, Billy Harper, Tom Harrell, and Albert Tootie” Heath, among many others. His Latin Jazz resumé includes performances with the Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Arturo O’Farrill, Papo Vazquez’ Pirates Troubadours, Yosvany Terry and Brazilian Jazz artists HelioAlves and Maucha Adnet.

LES HARRIS, JR., Drums

Les Harris, Jr., began playing the drums at a young age under the tutelage of his father, Les Harris, Sr. He was sitting in with jazz greats Herb Pomeroy, Bob Wilber, Dave McKennna, John LaPorta, and Teddy Wilson by the time he was 14 and began playing professionally at the age of 15, working weekends with pianist/vocalist Annie Bosteels and her trio. While attending Berklee College of Music in the 1980s, Harris studied with Joe Hunt and Robert Kaufman, and upon graduation, with legendary drummer Alan Dawson. From 1983-1995, he was the drummer with the internationally popular jazz vocal group The Ritz, appearing on seven recordings (five on the Denon label, two on Pausa). As a member of The Ritz, Les performed at several festival throughout the world. He toured with the Artie Shaw Orchestra (under the direction of Dick Johnson) and with tenor saxophone great Scott Hamilton as well as with The New Guitar Summit with Gerry Beaudoin, Duke Robillard and Jay Geils. Les was a longtime member of the Seacoast’s jazz great Tommy Gallant Trio. He also has performed with some of the best-known artists in jazz: Clark Terry, Milt Jackson, Phil Woods, Art Farmer, Annie Ross, Teddy Wilson, Hank Jones, Milt Hinton, Ray Brown, Marian McPartland, Jimmy Heath, Ken Peplowski, Al Grey, Marshall Royal, Buddy DeFranco, Bud Shank, Harry Allen, James Moody, Rufus Reid, Benny Green, Charlie Mariano, Mark Murphy, Sheila Jordan, Diana Krall and Geoff Keezer. He has recorded with a long list of musicians. Most recently he and vocalist Chris Humphrey collaborated on a double album paying tribute to Clark Terry, called “The Voice of Clark Terry”. Les teaches at the Univ. of New Hampshire, Univ. of Southern Maine, and Philips Exeter Academy and continues to perform throughout New England. The Seacoast Jazz Society is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, founded in 1990, with the threefold purpose of fostering a love of jazz and jazz history in the community, supporting local musicians, and providing scholarships and opportunties for young artists. The Society is also the sponsor the annual Seacoast Jazz Festival, first held in 1983 and every year since then (except 2020). For more information or to become a member of the Society, go to: www.seacoastjazz.org.

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