Tenor Saxophone Legend Houston Person will lead a talented quintet that includes Pianist Lou Foresteri, Bassist Richard Simon, and Drummer Clayton Cameron. A bandleader, writer, sideman, and producer, Person is a master of the soulful ballad and blues playing with raw expression and power on everything from classics, originals, and standards from the Great American Songbook, including straight-ahead, hard-bop, swing and soulful jazz. Houston studied music at South Carolina State College and Hartt College of Music, and was inducted into South Carolina State’s School Hall of Fame. Houston has recorded over 75 albums on 7 different record labels over a 50+ year period. Person has recorded with Gene Ammons, Clifford Brown, Ron Carter, Bill Charlap, Joey De Francesco, Tiny Grimes, Charles Earland, Lena Horne, Elvin Jones, Janis Siegel, Randy Johnson, Charles Kynard, Johnny Lytle, Jimmy Ponder, Bernard Purdie, Shirley Scott, Melvin Sparks, Paul Brown, Horace Silver, Dakota Staton, Cedar Walton, B. Butler, Don Patterson, Grant Green, Sonny Phillips, Lou Rawls, Leon Thomas, Etta Jones, Johnny Hammond Smith, Richard Groove Holmes, and played with Don Ellis, Eddie Harris, Leo Wright, and numerous others. Houston’s influences include Gene Ammons, Illinois Jacquet, Harold Land, Hank Mobley, and Sonny Stitt. In 1982 Houston received The Eubie Blake Award.
Bassist Richard Simon is an educator, producer, world wide performer, writer, clinician, ensemble conductor, and events host. Simon performs and teaches a broad spectrum of Upright Bass styles that includes bowing and playing the walking bass line for blues, jazz, country, and swing music. Richard studied with L.A. Philharmonic’s Abe Luboff, Jazz Legend Buddy Collette, and Jazz Virtuoso John Clayton. Originally a Classical Violinist, Simon has performed on the Bass with Jazz greats Buddy Collette, Teddy Edwards, Plas Johnson, Art Hillary, Singers Ernie Andrews, Maxine Weldon, Lorez Alexandria, Sue Raney, Keely Smith, Maria Muldaur, and Rosemary Clooney, playing everything from Be-Bop and Mainstream Jazz to Traditional and Swing. Simon has played festivals with Dan Barrett, Ed Polcor, Allan Vache, Rebecca Paris, Joe Ascione, Ken Peplowski, Dave Pike, Thurman Green, Allen Jackson, and Bobby Bryant. Richard has 3 CD recordings as a leader and played with over 70 Jazz artists. For 25 years Simon has been the program director for Jazz America, a non-profit Youth Jazz Education program that provides free jazz education to 100’s of deserving youngsters all over Southern California, reflecting the vision and dedication of co-founder Buddy Collette. Middle and high school students between the ages of 11 and 20, explore the the music of Louis Armstrong and his contemporaries, and study the music of Duke Ellington, Benny Carter, and Mary Lou Williams in the program.
Pianist and composer Lou Foresteri began performing on the keyboards at the age of 9. Influenced by his Italian roots, Big Band Jazz, and popular R&B, Lou formed his first group, The Hurricanes, touring with Dick Clark. Lou began improvising at the age of 7 and started his career with Bobby Hackett. Lou has played with Errol Garner, Count Basie, Freddie Hubbard, Dick Hyman, Zoot Sims, Toots Thielemans, Lena Horne, Johnny Hartman, Peggy Lee on Broadway, Rod Stewart and many others. Lou recorded on Les Paul’s Grammy Award Winning CD, and has written music for numerous T.V. shows and Films. Lou has written jingles for Cover Girl, G.I.Joe, Pepsi, and toured with singer Jack Jones. Lou has written everything from orchestral music to soul ballads. Lou has worked with composers Pete Carpenter and Mike Post on T.V.’s Hardcastle and McCormick, Riptide, and the A Team, and has worked on Beverly Hills 90210, Family Matters, Matlock, and Dick Van Dykes’s Diagnosis Murder. Lou tries to evoke the emotions on the screen through his music. Lou has also worked with Tori Amos, Stanley Clarke, Mel Torme, Maureen McGovern, Roberto Carlos, and coached Jeff Bridges for the The Fabulous Baker Boys, and Angelina Jolie for Beyond Borders. Lou has also acted in, For the Boys, My Blue Heaven, Star Trek, The Final Contact , Frankie and Johnny and many other projects. Lou has composed for Old Glory, Suicide Club, News Junkie, The Wrong Mr. Johnson, on the internet program, Music of the Light, and with Time Lapse Photographer Aaron Keigher’s stunning videos. Lou has appeared on 16 recordings and his talents and efforts allows him to never stop growing.
Drummer Clayton Cameron is a Brush Master who started playing at the age of 6. Clayton received his degree in music at Cal State University, Northridge and currently is Percussion Director for Jazz Combo at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. Clayton toured with Sammy Davis Jr. and with Tony Bennett, playing on 13 CD recordings that won 13 Grammy Awards, and Best Album of the Year Award. Clayton has also worked with George Shearing, Joe Pass, Joe Williams, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Billy Joel, Sting, Mariah Carey, Brandy, The Back Street Boys, James Taylor, K.D. Lang, Elvis Costello, Ricky Martin, O.C. Smith, Ernie Andrews, Jimmy Witherspoon, Teddy Edwards, Larry Gales, Gerald Wilson, Barry Harris, Kenny Burrell, Rufus Reid, The Mingus Big Band, Rebecca Ferguson, Molly Ringwald, Dave Koz, Rickey Minor, Neil Young and many more. Clayton has perfected the Art of the Brushes, drummer Max Roach says, The Best on the Brushes. Clayton has written The Definitive Brush Playing Book and Produced a Video on his Amazing Brush Playing Techniques. Clayton’s CD Here to the Messengers: is a Tribute to Art Blakey. Clayton has appeared on 44 recordings in his career.
