Joe Belmont (Guitar)
After dabbling with other less worthy instruments as a youth, Joe eventually
settled in on playing the guitar. He taught himself how to play and began
writing songs almost immediately. Joe attended music school at the City
University of New York, then settled in Northampton.
Memorable were stints in the rhythm and blues band “The Hamptones”, with
singer-songwriters John Coster and Joel Zoss, and in jazz-fusion bands Urban
Renewal and Fresh Squeeze. Joe played guitar, arranged and wrote music for the
band Quetzal (Viva Quetzal.com) from 1991 thru 2003, recording three CD’s and
traveling to numerous gigs. He has also released two solo CDs, “Sketches from
the Journey Home” and “Live at Leeds (Northampton).”
Gary Culver (Bass)
Gary is one of those lucky few musicians who have the great fortune to have been
picked by the bass for life-long study. Beginning his formal training on the
trumpet at the age of eight and playing in various orchestras, Gary realized in
his teen years that the deep resonance of the bass was the sound he needed to
seek. Over the following twenty-five years Gary played in numerous pop bands
before beginning his jazz journey. Since then, he has studied with Marcus
McLaurine, bassist for Clark Terry; Eugene Uman, Jazz Theory and Piano
instructor for the Vermont Jazz Center and John Lockwood from Berklee College of
Music. Beside his family, jazz bass has become Gary’s life passion.
Ken Forfia (Piano)
Ken is a highly accomplished pianist. During the day he can be found teaching
jazz theory and music appreciation at Springfield Technical Community College,
while at night he can be found performing at any number of local venues. His
performance career began more than thirty years ago as a keyboardist for popular
Boston-based rock bands. Since then he has developed an incredible talent as a
jazz and classical pianist.
Nancy Janoson (Flute and Sax)
Nancy Janoson plays flute and saxophone. She graduated from the Manhattan School of Music and went on to study in France with Jean-Pierre Rampal. She has performed with her jazz trios and quartets in jazz festivals in Puerto Rico, Barbados, Curacao, Saint Thomas, and Columbia, South America. She has worked with classical orchestras, chamber music groups, latin bands, and jazz bands. Nancy has recorded three CDs; Inner Voices, Gentle Spirit and Dreamweave.
Since a young age, Pete has either been humming, tapping, or just gazing off into his own world. A multi-talented musician, Pete is an accomplished performer on many instruments including Piano, Alto sax, French horn, Trumpet, Mellophone, and Guitar. Pete is a Berklee College of Music 2006 graduate. As an undergrad he studied Drumset and Jazz Composition for three long years, and then graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2006. Pete is pursuing his career out of Sunderland Mass. He has recently performed with Ndigo Moon and Jazzmen Records, rock with D.Z.P., funk/dance with Larson and Company, and Free music with Inside Out.