The Frank Russo Quartet

Drummer Frank Russo, born and raised in the N.Y.C. area, follows a family tradition of professional musicians. He began his career playing in New York with fusion bands in the late 70's and further developed his skills within his father's jazz band. Russo completed a distinguished career with the Navy Band where he performed in and led several dynamic ensembles. Currently a busy freelance musician in the Baltimore/DC area, Russo has a full schedule as a drum instructor and clinician. He is adjunct faculty at both Towson University and Shepherd College. Performance highlights include the Detroit Jazz Festival, Ottawa Jazz Festival, Stan Getz Jazz Festival, East Coast Jazz Festival, and many other national venues. Russo has devoted extensive time to recording in the studio in a variety of musical settings as evidenced by his previous recordings released as leader, "All the Way" and "Quiet Now". His releases on Summit Records with saxophonist Pete BarenBregge, “PF Flyer 2001, Point of Grace 2003” gained national recognition and praise from Downbeat, Jazztimes and Modern Drummer along with others. He is also a member of the Fred Hughes Trio which tours overseas and has been privileged to record a live DVD concert in Korea. Russo proudly performs on maple drums designed by Keith Larsen (Maryland Drum Company) and on Bosphorus cymbals. Visit: www.dcjazz.com/frankrusso

Fred Hughes’ early training begins in Pennsylvania where he played keyboards and low brass in community bands and jazz ensembles. Hughes had already been established as a world-class jazz pianist before joining the First Army Band, Fort Meade, Maryland and the Eighth Army Band in Seoul, Korea. In 1981, he formed his own jazz group Just Friends and recorded six albums for Oasis/EMI Records. Just Friends performed for sold out houses and live broadcasts throughout the Korean Peninsula. Fred served as the rehearsal conductor and jazz coach for the MBC Pops Orchestra in Seoul, Korea. Returning to Pennsylvania in 1985, Hughes toured the eastern U.S. with his jazz trio Alternative before joining the Army’s Jazz Ambassadors. Hughes has performed with the Lancaster and Baltimore Symphony Orchestras as well as with jazz greats Claudio Roditi, Al Cohn, Arturo Sandaval, Roy Hargrove, Bill Watrous, and Toots Thielemann. As a conductor, he has directed the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Fred can be heard on over thirty recordings including his most recent Fred Hughes Trio recording, No Turning Back (Summit Records). His trio is the first jazz group to record a DVD, The Fred Hughes Trio – In Concert (GMC Seoul), in the Republic of Korea. His book, The Jazz Pianist: Left Hand Voicings and Chord Theory is published by Warner Bros. Publications.

Guitarist and Composer Dave Cosby is a musician and educator whose work defies the boundaries of genre and style. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Cosby was exposed to the sounds of Jazz, Motown, and the British Invasion, from an early age. Trained in traditional and mainstream jazz at Rutgers University, his musical sensibilities as a performer and composer express influences that traverse multiple musical categories and cultures. Upon Graduation in 1992, he began pursuing a career as a bandleader, sideman, and educator. Cosby moved to the Northern Virginia area to complete class work towards a Master’s Degree in Historical Musicology at the University of Virginia. There he has been an active performer on the jazz, Hip-Hop, and alternative folk scene. Some of the major concert venues he has played include: The Kennedy Center, The Meyerhoff Concert Hall, Artscape, Blues Alley, The Maryland Wine Festival, The Corcoran Art Gallery, The Phillips Collection, and Thomas Jefferson’s famous Rotunda at the University of Virginia. In 1996, Cosby won a Jazz Study Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He currently teaches out of his private studio in Alexandria Virginia and has taught for the Jazzmobile in Harlem, the National Guitar Workshop, National Music Workshop’s Day Jams, as well as for Mars Music, and Music and Art Centers.

Thomas Williams' musical experience is vast and varied. He has appeared with jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Bellson, Slide Hampton, Claudio Roditi and other jazz notables. He has performed at many of the world's most prestigious jazz festivals including the Newport Jazz Festival and the Toronto Jazz Festival. His show experience includes performances with Bob Hope, Steve Allen, The Drifters, and Little Anthony and the Imperials. A former member of the prestigious Airmen of Note, Williams was a featured soloist. The Ensemble performed many of his compositions and arrangements at major music and jazz festivals, including the Detroit Montreux Cooljazz festival. Thomas' recording career spans over 20 years; 10 albums with the Airmen of Note, 2 CD’s with the Fred Hughes Trio, and most recently, with famed Brazillian trumpeter Claudio Roditi in Rio de Janiero. Williams achieved much recognition for his writing including a first place award from the Mid-Atlantic Song Writing Contest and the use of his compositions for the nationally broadcasted television program, "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Thomas has conducted clinics and seminars for many of the nation's leading high schools, colleges and universities as well as for the 1994 and 1996 International Association of Jazz Educators conferences. He has participated in the Stanford Jazz Workshop for the past two years. Williams is currently professor of Jazz studies at Shepherd University and Professor of Jazz Bass at George Washington University. He is currently performing nationally with the Fred Hughes Group.

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Watch Past Performances

7/6/06: The Frank Russo Quartet

The Frank Russo Quartet—led by drummer Russo, who has appeared at the Detroit, Ottawa, Stan Getz, and East Coast Jazz festivals—performs a program of Latin jazz.

The Frank Russo Quartet

The Frank Russo Quartet—led by drummer Russo, who has appeared at the Detroit, Ottawa, Stan Getz, and East Coast Jazz festivals—performs a program of Latin jazz.

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7/7/04: The Frank Russo Quartet

The Frank Russo Quartet, led by drummer Frank Russo, have performed at the Detroit, Ottawa, the Stan Getz, and East Coast Jazz Festivals.

The Frank Russo Quartet

The Frank Russo Quartet, led by drummer Frank Russo, have performed at the Detroit, Ottawa, the Stan Getz, and East Coast Jazz Festivals.

Comment, rate, and more...

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The Frank Russo Quartet

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