The Jazz Ecstatic

Dan Cavanagh is a composer and pianist who has garnered numerous awards in both areas. In 2023 he was awarded the Social Justice Prize in Wind Ensemble Composition as well as 2nd Prize in the American Prize for Composition in the Wind Symphony/Band Category. He received a 2009 gold medal prize from the International Music Prize for Excellence in Composition, and in 2017 he was awarded a Special Judges’ Citation in the American Prize for Chamber Music Composition. As a composer Cavanagh has been commissioned to write for Latin Grammy-winning AfroBop Alliance, the legendary Patti LaBelle, and a wide range of classical and jazz performers across North America and Europe. He has released five jazz recordings as a leader, including Pulse and Heart of the Geyser on Seattle’s OA2 Records, and two recordings with Minnesota-based vibraphonist Dave Hagedorn, Horizon and 20 Years. His most recent recording with James Miley and John Hollenbeck was released on Japan’s S/N Alliance Records in November 2022 to critical acclaim. His music can be heard on many other recordings both classical and jazz. His film scoring work can be heard in the documentary The Beat Hotel, a film exploring the hotel in Paris in the late 1950s and early 1960s where the beat poets, led by Allen Ginsberg, lived and created much of their famous work.

Jon Irabagon has been influenced by the self-empowering and individualistic philosophies and aesthetic of the great AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) ensembles as well as the historic world-class tenor saxophone lineage from his hometown. Equally adept at composing for rising stars in new music and the most intricate modern jazz ensemble, Irabagon builds on this foundation by adding modern classical and late-period John Coltrane to his compositional base, focusing primarily on mixed chamber ensembles to take advantage of hand-chosen musicians' voices and attitudes. Named one of New York City's 25 Jazz Icons by Time Out New York, Irabagon composes for his ensemble Outright!, which received a 5-star Masterpiece review in Downbeat Magazine for Unhinged (2014), as well as the Jon Irabagon Trio, featuring Barry Altschul and Mark Helias, and his new quartet with Matt Mitchell, Chris Lightcap and Dan Weiss. Irabagon has been an integral part of ensembles such as the Dave Douglas Quintet, the Mary Halvorson Quintet, Septet and Octet, Barry Altschul's 3Dom Factor, Ralph Alessi's This Against That, Mostly Other People do the Killing and Uri Caine's Catbird. 

Peter Dominguez began performing with the Music for Youth Orchestras and his father; pianist and vocalist Frank DeMiles. Peter went on to study with Roger Ruggeri and Richard Davis at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and with Dr Lucas Drew at the University of Miami.  He served as Professor of Double Bass and Jazz Studies at Michigan State University from 1984-96, and continued studies with Robert Gladstone while substituting with the Detroit Symphony.  The former Principal Bass with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and the American Sinfonietta, Peter was Professor of Jazz Studies and Double Bass 1990-2020 at Oberlin Conservatory of Music.   He is currently Professor of Double Bass and Jazz Studies at the University of Wisconsin- Madison.  He continues to perform with an impressive array of Classical, Jazz, and Latin artists throughout the Americas and Europe.  His teaching  includes national and international classes, adjudication of international competitions, artistic direction of the Richard Davis Foundation for Young Bassist Inc annual conference in Madison Wisconsin, and the director of the Milt Hinton Institute for Studio Bass.  Peter’s recordings include How About This (2010) and Groove Dreams (2017) performed on Milt Hinton’s famous 1790 bass. Another solo recording entitiled Bass Salute ( 2023) featuring Richard Davis’s 1855 Lion Head doubl

Hannah Johnson provides an adventurous and joyful approach to her musical endeavors. Hannah’s desire to express herself in various genres keeps her busy composing and playing drums within the jazz idiom as well as folk + indie music. n her Milwaukee based quartet, Heirloom, she brings a mesmerizing optimism and compositional voice. Her awe of rhythm, emotive harmonic structures and a touch of chaos drives Hannah's musical approach. You can hear her enriched sound within her song "ISF" - a harmonically elusive yet personable homage to Duke Ellington’s “Isfahan.”  Hannah has become a highly sought-after side musician, playing with numerous regional and international artists and bands. She recently toured with soul and R&B artist, Durand Jones, who opened for country musician, Orville Peck, on his North American “Stampede Tour”.

Host or Publisher Al Rasho