"Overture"
"Toot Toot Tootie Toot (Dance of the Reed-Pipes)"
"Peanut Brittle Brigade (March)"
"Sugar Rum Cherry (Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy)"
"Entr'acte"
"Volga Vouty (Russian Dance)"
"Chinoiserie (Chinese Dance)"
"Dance of the Floreadores (Waltz of the Flowers)"
"Arabesque Cookie (Arabian Dance)"
Adam Lee-Morgan - Bandleader, Reeds
Adam Lee-Morgan started down his swing path in the 2nd grade when he started playing clarinet, and his grandmother bought him his very first record, which happened to be a Benny Goodman record. He added on the saxophone two years later and never looked back. Growing up as a jazz musician, the addition of Lindy Hop to his life was a natural one. Adam started dancing in 1997 just a few months before the infamous GAP ad and was dancing five nights a week. In 2001 he moved to Beijing, China where he started the Lindy Hop scene and led a 17 piece big band, the Beijing Big Band. In 2010 he returned to the USA to do a Master’s degree in Music Education at NYU, and a few years later moved back to his home state of California, where he taught high school band and was the bandleader and music director for the LA Swing Barons, focusing on the Kansas City big band style.
He presently is working on his Ph.D. in Jazz Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, teaches band at Chatham University and the Afro American Music Institute in addition to leading the Adam Lee-Morgan Jazz Orchestra.
Howard Cespedes - Reeds
After a 30+ year career in the SF Bay Area, Howard Cespedes relocated to the Pittsburgh area in 2022. He has performed with Patti Austin, California Pops Orchestra, Pete Escovedo, Clare Fisher, Four Tops, Josh Groban, Roger Kellaway, Gladys Knight, Patti Lupone, Johnny Mathis, O’Jays, Pacific Mambo Orchestra, Linda Ronstadt, Santa Cruz Symphony, Bobby Short, Temptations, and many others. Big Band affiliations include Louis Bellson, Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, Full Faith & Credit, Jimmy Dorsey, Jamie Davis, and Mike Vax. As a pit musician, Howard has played on national tours of Annie, Secret Garden, and West Side Story. He has written numerous works for jazz orchestra that have been recorded, published, and performed at Jazz festivals of Montreux, Vienne, Umbria, San Jose, Monterey, and Hollywood Bowl. Howard is currently teaching woodwinds at the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh
Abby Gross - Reeds
A Pennsylvania native, Abby Gross is currently a music educator and freelance woodwind player in the Pittsburgh area who also plays an integral part as the saxophonist in the soul-rock band, The Commonheart. She moved from Somerset to attend Duquesne University where in 2010 she received a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Music Education and in 2012 received her Master’s in Music performance with an emphasis on saxophone. For the past fifteen years, Abby has been an educator in the Pittsburgh area schools and for over a decade has served as adjunct faculty at Chatham University. Upon entering the music scene, she has performed with a large variety of ensembles from original projects to event bands. The Abby Gross Funktet performed at several of Pittsburgh’s local jazz establishments and she has appeared in many horn sections around the city. For the past eight years touring the country with The Commonheart, she has performed in over thirty United States as well as Canada and Mexico, appeared on numerous radio stations and news networks around the country, including CBS Saturday Sessions. The group has performed at iconic music venues and festivals such as the Kennedy Center, The Fillmore West, SXSW, Willie Nelson’s Outlaw Music Festival, and Woodstock’s 50th anniversary, and toured with other well known artists such as Los Lobos, JJ Grey and Mofro, and Sister Hazel.
Elyse Louise - Reeds
Elyse Louise is a saxophonist newly based in Los Angeles. With a career spanning across the globe and over a decade, Elyse began her rigorous musical education at a young age. Her formal musical education took place at Duquesne University, where she received a bachelor’s in saxophone performance and audio engineering. Mentored by the late great jazz saxophone legend Richie Cole, Elyse also studied alongside award-winning trumpeter and musical educator Sean Jones and CMU Director of Jazz Eric DeFade.
The list of countries Elyse has performed in is extensive, from South America to East Asia. Elyse Louise began her career playing cruise ships in Central and South America, Hawaii and Alaska, later playing several hotel residencies in Qatar, the Maldives, Morocco and the Mariana Islands, including music directing for the Kensington Hotel in Saipan and co-founding the Elyse and Ryan Duo. In August of 2023 Elyse was selected by Turn Up Her Mic to perform with and be mentored by some of the leading side-women in the pop industry who perform with artists such as Beyonce, Ari Lennox and Chloe x Halle.
Currently, Elyse is putting down roots and connecting to the music scene in Los Angeles and after a year and a half of performing all over the world with the Elyse and Ryan Duo.
Elad Sobol - Reeds
Prior to joining University of Pittsburgh's PhD Jazz Studies program in 2024, Elad Sobol taught in Sichuan Conservatory in Chengdu, China from 2015-2024. He was one of the founding team members of the Jazz Department there, teaching a wide range of courses in Mandarin. He was
also very active in the local music scene, collaborating with locals and performing in a variety of professional settings, leading pop,
funk, swing, salsa, big band and smooth jazz fusion groups. His arrangements have been performed at a number of Chinese jazz festivals, and he released a full-length studio album Vicissitudes in 2022. He has frequently been invited to lecture to the public on music in Mandarin, most prominent of which is a TEDx talk.
His current research trajectory focuses on jazz and Western popular forms as global music and the relationship to the sociopolitical, economic and cultural environment in which music is created, performed, disseminated and consumed, particularly in the context of modern China. He served with Peace Corps in China from 2013-2015. He earned his California Teaching Credential in Music Education in 2010 from San Jose State University, and his Bachelor’s Degree in Music from UC Santa Cruz in 2006. He plays alto and bari saxes, flute, EWI, dabbles on Chinese flutes and loves collecting percussion instruments from around the world.
Danny Fratina - Trumpet
Danny Fratina is a composer and trumpet player based in Pittsburgh. Since 2007, he has served as Music Director for the Beantown Swing Orchestra, where he transcribed over 500 authentic recreations of rare and out-of-print swing era arrangements. Danny has also been Music Director for the award-winning immersive theater production Club Drosselmeyer since 2016.
As one of the world's leading transcriptionists specializing in swing era and mid-century big band music, Danny has collaborated with organizations including Lindy Focus, the Kennedy Center, the Boston Pops, and Harvard University, and countless dance bands around the globe. His meticulous transcription work has helped preserve and revive numerous historical arrangements that might otherwise have been lost.
Danny holds a BM in Jazz Composition from Berklee College of Music and is currently completing his PhD in Composition at the University of Pittsburgh, where his research focuses on historical big band harmonic vocabulary.
Herbie Hunkele - Trumpet
Herbie Hunkele is very excited to perform the works of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn for you! Herbie is a trumpet player and producer whose work spans theme park entertainment, cruise ship performances, jazz ensembles, and studio recording. Studying at the Dana School of Music, Herbie has performed with Cedar Fair/Six Flags theme parks and Princess Cruise Lines, bringing his musical expertise to diverse entertainment venues.
Currently active in the Pittsburgh/Youngstown/Cleveland region, Herbie performs with multiple ensembles including the First Class Big Band, Bassel and the Supernaturals, and Megan Paullet and the HR Department. His recording and arrangement credits include work with Chloe X Halle and Celebrity Cruise Lines, as well as his own project, Breadbox. Thank you for supporting the arts in Pittsburgh!
Ethan Zawacki - Trumpet
Ethan Zawacki is a trumpet player based in Pittsburgh, PA. As a jazz and commercial musician, Ethan performs extensively in jazz combos as both a bandleader and a sideman, with wedding/corporate groups, solo artists, big bands, theme parks, and more. As a classical musician, Ethan frequently plays in orchestras, churches, pit orchestras, chamber groups, and more. He is also an experienced educator and private instructor. Ethan holds a B.M. in Commercial Music from Seton Hill University.
Ethan Barnard - Trumpet
Ethan Barnard is a trumpet player from Pittsburgh’s Mt. Washington neighborhood and former student at Youngstown State’s Dana School of Music. He plays steadily with local rapper Livefromthecity, Clay Coast band, and salsa group Guaracha, as well as many other freelanced gigs. He has performed at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, North Side Music Festival, and other local music festivals. Aside from music he also works with middle school and high school students at Clairton City Schools, and in the summers I develops lesson plans working with student emotional regulation through active music listening.
Adam Janssen - Trombone
Mr. Adam M. Janssen is a musician, composer, and educator native to Pittsburgh, PA. Mr. Janssen is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University where he studied Music Performance (Trombone, Violin), Music Education, and Business Administration. Mr. Janssen completed his graduate studies at Boston University, where he completed a Master of Music in Music Education degree with an in emphasis in Composition/Arranging and Urban Music Education.
He maintains an active freelance performing schedule, and has performed with the Altoona, Washington, Westmoreland, and Butler, Youngstown, and Akron Symphony Orchestras. As an avid Violinist and Violist, he performs chamber music with Radiant Strings and other event ensembles. He also performs with a number of jazz/pop/rock ensembles.
As a composer, Mr. Janssen writes and arranges extensively for orchestra as well as string, brass, and vocal chamber music. His most recent release is Long Way Down, a collection of original songs that blends the genres of classical, jazz, pop, and rock.
Mr. Janssen currently teaches Instrumental Music at Shady Side Academy and is also the Adjunct Professor of Brass Studies at Washington & Jefferson College. He aspires to encourage, educate, and inspire a future generation of music appreciation.
Laura Lynn Crytzer - Trombone
Laura Lynn Crytzer is a local freelance trombonist and brass teacher, teaching students in the North Hills of Pittsburgh in person as well as maintaining an online studio for students across the United States. She currently plays with Butler and Greenville Symphonies, and has performed as a soloist with the Mercer Community Band. Prior to her return to her hometown of Butler, she resided in Malaysia for four years. There she taught brass instruments and directed a variety of music ensembles at the British School of Kuala Lumpur. She also performed with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Borderless Brass Quintet, and Q Sound and the 2nd Line.
Laura holds two Master of Music degrees in Trombone Performance and Chamber Music respectively from the University of Michigan. She obtained her Bachelor of Music in Trombone Performance from the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music.
Jim Weltman - Trombone
Western PA native Jim Weltman is a freelance trombonist based in the Pittsburgh area. He is the lead trombonist and arranger for the First Class Big Band, and has performed with many ensembles including the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra, and the Legacy Scoring Orchestra. He is thrilled to be a part of the Adam Lee-Morgan Jazz Orchestra presenting this iconic music to you tonight!
Vince Gorman- Trombone
Vince Gorman is a freelance Bass Trombonist and Bass player in the Pittsburgh area. He plays regularly with the West HIlls Symphonic Band and the Riverview Jazz Ensemble. As a bass player Vince has played with many bands in the area including the PIttsburgh DooWop Big Band, Johnny Angel’s “Swinging with an Angel”, Clem Rolin’s jazz all stars, Whiskey Rebellion, Rick Finkelstein Trio, Triad Jazz, and his own jazz quartet. Over the years he has been seen in the pit for over 50 musicals including a national tour in 2005. By day Vince is the Guitar and Orchestral Luthier at Brighton Music Center.
Nathan Phillips - Guitar
Nathan is a swing guitarist and Lindy Hop dancer dedicated to the big band music of the 1930s and 40s. His chordal playing style draws from the influence of early guitar luminaries George Van Eps, Allan Reuss, and Freddie Green. Nathan plays a 1940 Epiphone DeLuxe and a 1938 Epiphone Broadway, and studies with New York jazz guitarist Greg Ruby.
Jon Leff - Bass
Jon Leff is a classically trained, multi-instrumentalist based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a versatile performer and session musician, Jon has contributed to dozens of studio albums and has performed with award-winning ensembles across the country.
After completing a music degree with a focus on classical and jazz bass performance, he moved to Nashville, where he worked as a session musician and played regularly in Broadway’s live music scene, including daily sets at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge.
Since returning to Pittsburgh, Jon has remained active as a performer and studio collaborator, working with a variety of acclaimed musical artists. Jon’s performance credits include music residencies at major theme parks, national tours, live television and radio broadcasts, and high-profile festival performances such as SXSW.
Alongside other local projects, Jon currently performs with Adam’s Aces as the house bassist for Pittsburgh Swing Dance Community events. Inspired by Pittsburgh jazz bassist icons Ray Brown and Paul Chambers, he is thrilled to take part in a tribute to honor another local legend, the great Billy Strayhorn.
Johnson Oluwajuwon Adenuga - Piano
Juwon Adenuga is a composer and performer who focuses on the intersections between Yoruba musical styles and other genres, such as jazz and classical music. His scholarship and artistic works on Yorùbá storytelling and sacred works reflect his interest in music hybridity.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in music composition at the University of Ibadan, Oyo, Nigeria. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the Music (Jazz Studies) program at the University of Pittsburgh.
David Adepegba - Drums
David Adepegba is a drummer, scholar, and educator whose work bridges the realms of performance, cultural research, and pedagogy. Currently pursuing a PhD in Jazz Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, his research explores African rhythmic traditions, especially those of the Yoruba people, and their adaptation within contemporary jazz drumming. His performance and scholarship engage with themes of improvisation, embodiment, and musical dialogue across diasporic traditions.
For over 27 years, the drum set has been my voice and guiding compass. My journey as a drummer and composer is deeply rooted in a fascination with rhythm and sound, as well as the limitless possibilities that emerge when diverse musical realms collide. I am fascinated by intricate rhythmic structures, layered polyrhythms, and unconventional time signatures, always aiming to make them feel natural, fluid, and deeply musical. I believe that even the most complex rhythms and patterns should feel organic and accessible. Rhythm should engage people emotionally, not merely challenge them intellectually. I seek to bridge traditions, challenge expectations, and inspire both emerging musicians and seasoned listeners to hear complexity as clarity, and clarity as profound.
Support the Mary Lou Williams Project
Mary Lou Williams was a Pittsburgh raised jazz pianist and composer who would go on to become one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time, writing music for Andy Kirk in Kansas City and later Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, as well as informally instructing jazz greats such as Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk.
While Williams’ later work has received a lot of attention in recent years due to accessibility of sheet music and high quality recordings, her earlier work that she did for the big bands has been considerably harder to get ahold of, with just a handful of charts available.
The project is to recreate musical scores from her handwritten notes (working in conjunction with the rights holders, the Mary Lou Williams Foundation) and then produce both published packets for educators and also a series of concerts to promote the extraordinary work of Williams.
Money raised will pay for the time and expertise spent carefully transcribing modern readable sheet music from the archival notes and recordings, paying additional transcribers and music editors to double-check the accuracy of the work, and rehearsing and performing the work to create high-quality presentations of the music. There are still dozens of great Williams compositions out there waiting to be given close attention.
