Skipper Kripitz. – has developed his own music identity Samuel David Kripitz, lovingly known as Skipper, grew up in pre-casino Atlantic City, New Jersey during the 50’s and 60’s. His sister was a jazz groupie and inundated him with Billy Holiday, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughn, Count Basie, Miles Davis, et al. Located just 50 miles […]
Dave Bootle “Sing, Dance, Laugh” David Wayne Bootle, the youngest of four brothers, was born just outside of Toronto in Orangeville, Ontario in 1962. His parents were from England and immigrated to Canada. His father worked at McDonald Douglas Aircraft and was a solo pianist who played in small venues. Bootle started playing drums in […]
Walter Yarbrough “A much better person because of music” Walter Yarbrough is from Albany, New York. A younger brother received a guitar when he was six but quickly gave it up. Walter confiscated the guitar and never stopped playing. He bought a Beatles album and the sheet music to go with it. He soon heard […]
Midsummer Night’s Swing Over the years, the music industry has evolved from vinyl albums, cassette, 8-Track tapes, CDs, Music Channel Videos (MTV), streaming audio music, and now with advent of broadband internet, live video streaming performances. Music streaming websites are capturing more of the market. Music is posted, shared, and, sometimes, downloaded illegally. None of […]
A Mid Summer Night Swing – every Wednesday in August New music is often based on older styles. One such era that is being revived by many of the younger generation is Swing. New variations of old style Swing Jazz is gaining popularity. Swing music and dancing took the country by storm. It’s proving […]
Martin Sedlak “…heard the violin from the first moment he was born” In 1987, Martin Sedlak was born in Benesov, Czechoslovakia, (now Czech Republic), a small town about 25 miles south of Prague. He has two sisters and is the middle child. He remembers vividly the sound of his grandfather, Antonin Sedlak, playing the violin […]
Gospel Brunch “Come Sunday” Most agree that gospel music is the roots of blues and jazz. Key West’s Bahama Village has deep gospel roots. In fact, historically Bahama Village is the center of Keys music in general. The music of Bahama Village revolved around gospel, blues, and jazz. There is a venerable mural, […]
Mike Emerson – if you throw a rock in Key West you’ll probably hit a guitar player Mike Emerson was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He began playing guitar, which his brother Glenn bought him, at age 12. He attended high school in Northern Kentucky and would perform with bands in local country bars […]
Alex Okinczyc “Island Alex” Alex Okinczyc grew up in Detroit, MI and, of course, was influenced by the Motown sound but at a young age, a friend turned him onto jazz … and he was hooked. In particular, he loved jazz horns like Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard. Oddly enough, while growing up near the […]
Michael McCloud – a plethora of useless information Michael McCloud grew up in Beckley West Virginia and decided he wanted to play music very early in childhood. His father was a man of music, but he was not a musician. His Grandmother was a piano player from Wales, she sang in Welsh. Early on his […]
