New Arts Jazztet
Bob Allison, trumpet/flugelhorn
Tyler Kuebler, saxophones/reeds
Phil Brown, basses
Ron Coulter, drums
The Group
The New Arts Jazztet has been a mainstay on the southern Illinois jazz scene for almost 25 years. This popular jazz group, forged in the eclecticism of neo bop and the energy of contemporary jazz, performs an engaging selection of original works.
Equally comfortable in clubs or concert halls, the NAJ’s club performances have included Cincinnati’s Blue Wisp and Chicago’s Pops for Champagne, as well as other nightspots around the Midwest; its concert, clinic and festival engagements have comprised a number of universities and other performance venues throughout the Heartland. The group has opened twice for guitarist, Stanley Jordan, has appeared with several other jazz artists, and has performed as part of a live statewide television broadcast, Arts Across Illinois: Center Stage (2004), at WTTW/Channel 11, Chicago. Each spring, the New Arts Jazztet presents a formal concert as part of the Southern Illinois Jazz Festival, and is a featured ensemble at the Southern Illinois Music Festival each summer.
The group, along with the duo, FourOnSix, is recorded on the album, Darkness Into Light, a release by NAJ bassist, Phil Brown, a 2003 Illinois Arts Council Artist Fellow. The recording is available at http://www.acaldera.com.
Since 1983, the group has been in residence at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where its members are School of Music faculty.
 Bob Allison, trumpet/flugelhorn
Bob Allison, the only founding member of the New Arts Jazztet, hails from Memphis, Tennessee, and is presently Associate Professor of Trumpet and Jazz Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. He has also taught at Millikin University and the Latvian National Conservatory in Riga, Latvia. Besides fulfilling his teaching duties, Dr. Allison is active as a recitalist and clinician. He has been a soloist with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra on numerous occasions.
Dr. Allison has performed with several jazz artists, including Stanley Clarke, Cal Collins, Willie Thomas and James Williams.
He received most of his training at the University of Illinois, where he was a student of Ray Sasaki, David Hickman and Mike Tunnel. Dr. Allison has studied extensively with jazz trumpeter, Willie Thomas, and is also a former winner of the International Trumpet Guild's Jazz Improvisation Competition.
Tyler Kuebler, saxophones/reeds
Tyler Kuebler is originally from Agoura Hills, California, and joined the New Arts Jazztet in 2005. He is currently Assistant Professor of Saxophone and Music Theory at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Kuebler has performed and recorded with some of the biggest names in jazz and popular music, including David Liebman, Maynard Ferguson, Jerry Bergonzi, Julio Iglesias, Clark Terry, Paul Anka, the Brecker Brothers, Gerry Mulligan, Bobby Caldwell, Slide Hampton, Sammy Figueroa, and Rosemary Clooney, to name a few. As Lead Tenor Saxophone with the world renowned USAF Airmen of Note, he traveled the world promoting jazz and American music through concerts and educational outreach clinics.
Dr. Kuebler earned his B.M. and M.M. degrees from the University of North Texas, where he was a member of the One O’Clock Lab Band. The University of Miami conferred his D.M.A. Dr. Kuebler has studied with such influential teachers as Jim Riggs, Neil Slater, Gary Keller, Whit Sidener, Dan Haerle, Ronnie Miller, John Mosley and Shuichi Komiyama.
He maintains an active performance schedule in a variety of musical styles, including jazz, classical, and commercial music. Dr. Kuebler's commitment to education extends beyond his duties at SIUC, most recently finishing a six-week music camp at Valdosta State University in Georgia as part of the Governor’s Honor Program.
Phil Brown, basses
A native of Amarillo, Texas, Phil Brown is currently Associate Professor of Double Bass and Jazz Studies, as well as Coordinator of Music Business at Southern Illinois University. He joined the New Arts Jazztet as bassist in 1991.
Notable among the many jazz artists with whom Mr. Brown has performed are Pepper Adams, Lockjaw Davis, Herb Ellis, Steve Gadd, Red Garland, Dizzy Gillespie, Tom Harrell, Delfeayo Marsalis, Mark Murphy, and Clark Terry.
He has also served as a clinician and adjudicator at a number of national and area jazz competitions, camps and festivals, most recently the University of Louisville Jazz Week.
Mr. Brown received his graduate degree in music education from North Texas State University, where he was a member of NTSU's highly acclaimed jazz ensemble, the One O'Clock Lab Band. His undergraduate degree in composition was completed at Northwestern University. Mr. Brown's bass teachers have included Lawrence Hurst, Ringwalt Warner, Evan Tonsing, Warren Benfield and Edward Rainbow. He studied composition with M. William Karlins and with Luciano Berio.
Mr. Brown’s recent writing efforts have produced over two dozen originals for the New Arts Jazztet. In 2003, the Illinois Arts Council honored him for his work and commitment within the arts with an Artist Fellowship Award in music composition.
Ron Coulter, drums
Ron Coulter grew up in Hermitage, Pennsylvania and earned his B.M. and M.M. degrees in percussion performance from Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. His primary study has been with Dr. Glenn Schaft, Feza Zweifel, John Riley, Tony Leonardi, Fred Morris and Nina DeCiancio.
Mr. Coulter has been a free-lance percussionist since 1997, performing and composing within musical settings ranging from electronica to the marching percussion idiom. As a drum set performer, he has toured internationally with the Glenn Miller Orchestra appearing in 41 U.S. states and most major cities in Canada and Japan. Additionally he has performed with such artists as The Four Aces, Donadi, Sean Jones, Al Martino, Galen Abdur-Razzaq, Dominick Farinacci, The Gaylords, The Cornerstone Trio, and Christina Fontanelli.
Currently Mr. Coulter is the Instructor of Percussion Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he teaches applied percussion lessons, percussion techniques, the Marching Saluki Drum Line, the SIUC Percussion Ensemble, and performs with the New Arts Jazztet, which he joined in 2005.
For booking information, contact a caldera entertainment at 618.549.8051 or at http://www.acaldera.com
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