Jill Connolly

Vocals

Jill returns full circle to her musical roots with the release of Venus in Transit, a beautiful and inspiring live recording with a fabulous band. Jill's studio recording credits cover a wide range of styles, including rock, blues, pop, a capella gospel, R&B, and jazz.

Jill is also well known for her voiceover work in jingles, tv and radio commercials, and narrations for film, animations, web sites, character voices, books on tape, etc. Please visit her web site, jillconnolly.com, for more on that!

Eugene Uman

Piano

Eugene Uman serves as executive director of Vermont Jazz Center and adjunct professor of Music at Universidad de Antioquia and Universidad EAFIT in Colombia, South America. He took an MA from Queens College in Jazz Performance, and was a recipient of a Eubie Blake Scholarship. He was former faculty at 3rd Street Music Settlement House in NYC, Colegio de Musica, Medellin, Colombia, and has recorded with Carlos Averhoff of Irakere as well as various Latin American ensembles; also performed with Donald Byrd, Jerry Bergonzi, Larry Rivers group, Vermont Jazz Ensemble. Eugene has been commissioned by the Big Band de Medellin and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Medellin to compose and perform, and has given workshops at the university level in jazz composition, jazz theory and harmony, jazz improvisation, jazz pedagogy, and jazz history and appreciation.

Claire Arenius

Drums

Drummer/composer/educator Claire Arenius has been performing in jazz and improvisational music for almost thirty years. Her formative years were spent studying music at University of Massachusetts, where Archie Shepp and Max Roach were on faculty. Later, as the recipient of a National Endowment Music Grant, Claire relocated to New York City to study with master drummer Charli Persip. This led to Claire's joining legendary trombonist/arranger Melba Liston's ensemble and to performances at Carnegie Hall, the Seaport Jazz Fest, Jazzmobile, & many other concerts. Claire has also toured Europe with Hungarian-born guitar Master Attila Zoller. She has, in fact, performed and/or recorded with many jazz greats including: Tal Farlow, Slide Hampton, Richard Davis, Archie Shepp, Marion Brown, Charles Neville, George Mraz, Ray Copeland, Mose Allison, Barney Kessel, and Sheila Jordan. Claire has performed her original compositions at the Many Colors of a Woman Jazz Festival, The Iron Horse, The Discover Jazz Festival, University of Wisconsin, Ryles, and the International Millenium Festival in Medillen, Colombia and has recently released a CD of her original compositions, “When Worlds Touch You” featuring pianist, Eugene Uman & bassist, Thomson Kneeland. Some of her recent collaborative projects can be heard on Playscape recordings label. Her recent performance work includes dates with bassist Vishnu Wood's Safari East, pianist Joel Martin's Jazzical trio and the multi-media ensemble Ambassadors of Light. Claire presently is a jazz educator at Amherst College & Smith College and clinician/educator for Holyoke Community College Jazz Festival & the Vermont Jazz Center Summer workshops.

Jamie MacDonald

Bass

Jamie is the house bassist for the Vermont Jazz Center and a first-call musician for the Southern Vermont tri-state area. Since starting bass he has studied with Don Baldini, Mike Formanek, Cameron Brown as well as master classes with Santi Debriano, Harvie S, and Marcus McClaurine. Jamie has performed with Sheila Jordan, Carlos Averhoff, Bobby Bradford, the VJC Big Band, The Re-creation of the Rod Levitt orchestra, Keene Chamber Orchestra as well as many others as part of the Vermont Jazz Center. Jamie can be heard on Mark Anagnostopulos' recent disk "How do you say that?", Jill Connolly's "Venus in Transit" and is part of the the multi-media band "The Ambassadors of Light" which is soon to release their studio CD.