| Meet the Spirit of the USO Band |
JO ANN DAUGHERTY began playing piano as soon as she could reach the keys. She
began her studies with her rural area’s only piano teacher at age 5 and was immediately hooked on making music. By age 15, she began playing at restaurants in the surrounding small towns. It was at Truman State University, while pursuing a degree in classical piano performance, that she discovered the joys and frustration of studying jazz, which she continued through some graduate coursework in jazz at DePaul University in Chicago. In 1998, Jo Ann moved to Chicago and has since maintained a busy schedule of performing jazz as a leader and sideman, as well as traveling throughout the U.S. with various musical and theater acts. She was chosen to perform in the Chicago Jazz Exchange Quartet for two weeks of concerts in Giverny, France and has performed with many notable musicians including Randy Brecker, John Abercrombie, Howard Levy and others. In 2000, the Jo Ann Daugherty Trio released their first record, Debut, now available on the Blujazz label. Her latest CD, Range of Motion (Blujazz), showcases her skills as composer as well as performer, featuring all original compositions for the trio plus guitar and up to three horns. Jo Ann currently performs at clubs, concerts, and festivals and also conducts clinics and lecture/performances at many area schools. She is a founding member of the Chicago Jazz Composers Collective, regularly presenting her original music at Chicago’s Green Mill jazz club.
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DAYNA MALOW is a Chicago / Nashville based Country artist with two original CD’s
under her belt. Both have received regional acclaim & accolades. Her songs and/or voice can be heard on a Grammy award winning CD, television, and radio stations across the country. She has shared the stage with a virtual who’s who of Country music royalty including, Dierks Bentley, Billy Currington, Brad Paisley, Terry Clark, Reba McEntire, & many others. She has appeared at many of the Midwest’s largest music venues, fairs, & festivals, and on college campuses in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, & Wisconsin. Currently Dayna can be seen performing as a solo artist or with long-time writing partner & band-mate, Mark Lonsway, touring regionally as “Lonsway & Malow”.
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TYPHANIE MONIQUE has established herself as a respected self-producing vocalist,
songwriter and manager, immersing her talent in various genres including R&B, funk, acid-jazz, hip-hop, gospel, house and her true love, jazz. Over the past 7 years, she has fronted many successful projects; Peking Turtle, SUMO, T. Monique Quartet and lead vox for Mr. Egg Germ. A founding member of the band Peking Turtle, Monique sang lead, managed, and was the primary songwriter for the group. The release of their two albums, "Crossing" and "Airtite" brought them local as well as national success. Typhanie continued to grow as a jazz artist over the years performing with her jazz group, The T. Monique Quartet. Typhanie hired Neal Alger for a gig with the quartet, and the rest is history. Typhanie and Neal have formed a musical partnership that is organic and based on groove. In the five years that the duo has performed together, they've developed a repertoire that reflects their love for jazz standards, the rock and pop music they grew up with, and most importantly, R&B/Soul music, the flavor of which underlies every song the duo performs--experience it on their debut release INTRINSIC.Typhanie remains active recording jingles, hip-hop tracks and original soul music. She teaches Jazz Vocal classes at the highly acclaimed Old Town School of Folk Music.
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LACY JULIUS BROWN performs as a soloist and as an ensemble singer in the United
States, and has traveled throughout Europe from 1989 through 2001 as a member of the Sue Conway Victory Singers. He participated with Patti Labelle’s Going Home to Gospel concert for Public Television in 1994. He has made appearances on RAIUNO in Rome, the 1990 World Cup Soccer Tournament in Italy, Illinois Arts sponsored concerts, and numerous local venues. He recently completed a special musical interlude on WBEZ, highlighting his involvement with transliteration through music ministry. Lacy directs the choir at Metropolitan Community Church [est. 1920], and coordinates the various Arts in worship. This is inclusive of Sign Language, Praise and Liturgical Dancing, Drama, and the children’s choir. Always an active teacher, he strives to bring a fresh new perspective to choral and vocal technique. As a Docent with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, he facilitates music education in schools that no longer have music programs.
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Since 2003, Alison has been proud to serve as the Entertainment and Community
Coordinator for the USO of Illinois. In this capacity, she has produced, directed and performed in a wide variety of shows and ensembles for numerous military and civilian events, leading the Spirit of the USO Bands and reaching out to the community. (Find out more about The Spirit of the USO here!) When she's not leading USO Bands, she's fronting her own jazz ensemble, The Alison Ruble Quintet, in an active schedule that takes her from Chicago jazz clubs to the recording studio and on the road. Performance highlights include a 2006 Jazz at Lincoln Center debut as a featured artist in the Mabel Mercer Foundation 21st Anniversary Celebration, The Green Mill Jazz Club, Pops For Champagne, Andy's Jazz Club, Katerina's and Pete Miller's, as well as showcases weekly at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for their music series in The Greenhouse. She is in demand as a featured soloist, opening major league baseball games with the national anthem, performing on NBC and ABC morning shows and starring with the world-reknowned Jazz Ambassadors Big Band. Look for the release of her new album, This is a Bird, in 2007.
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ANDREW DISTEL was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. While studying at the
prestigious College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, he was taken under the wing of Mary Ellen Tanner, a close friend and colleague of Rosemary Clooney. Under her tutelage, he was able to sit in and learn from some of the great musicians in the Cincinnati jazz scene—John Von Ohlen (drummer for Stan Kenton) and Cal Collins (West Coast guitarist for Benny Goodman). Upon his arrival in Chicago, he began headlining at such notable venues as the Pump Room, the Green Mill, Pops for Champagne, Green Dolphin Street and performing at a variety of festivals including the International Association of Jazz Educators. He has performed with Maria Schneider, Ira Sullivan, Bobby Caldwell, Ron Hawking, Rob Parton, Fred Hersch, Darmon Meader, the Lakeside Singers, and the Phil Degreg Trio. Andrew is an adjunct professor of jazz voice at Roosevelt University and has also assisted the band programs of schools throughout the Midwest as a guest conductor and clinician for jazz vocal groups, show choirs, and jazz bands. As a studio musician, he has lent his vocal stylings to companies such as the Illinois Lottery, Caterpillar, Mattel, and Euro Disney. Andrew's first full length CD entitled “Stepping Out of a Dream” is due out in early 2007 and will be available through www.andrewdistel.com, www.cdbaby.com, www.amazon.com, and iTunes.
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