Ross Brown “The warmth and closeness of the music brotherhood is uplifting.” Ross Brown grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. His father and grandfather were musicians. His father always seemed to have a Blues band. Ross has been playing music all his life. He graduated from Drexel University, in Philadelphia with a degree in Computer Science. […]
Tommy Tangie – I Need music to be healthy and happy Tommy Levecchia and his two sisters are from Marlton, New Jersey, 12 miles from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He came from a musical family. His father Tom played saxophone and drums and his mother Patricia played the piano. He starting playing drums early in life. At […]
Joe Dallas Jr. “…. learn how to make life worth living” Joe Dallas grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His father, Joe Dallas Sr., was a Hall of Fame jazz trombone musician, and his mother was an Arts educator. Early in life, he knew what career path he would take. He starting learning to play trombone […]
Daniel Clark – Has made his Uncle Kirk proud Daniel Miguel Leggett Clark was born in Jacksonville, FL to Daniel Clark and Adriene Lynn Leggett Casamayor. The family relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina where he attended elementary and middle school. He started playing drums very early in life. The multi-generation Bahamian Leggett family had a […]
Channing Lynn Griggs – the clarinet came to the rescue Channing Lynn Griggs and identical twin sister, Jillian were born in Pensacola, Florida to U.S. Marine Corp pilot Larry Griggs and Sheryl Lynn, a nurse. The young couple already had a set of five year-old identical twin boys and doubled the size of their brood […]
The Larry Smith Sunday Showcase – at the Little Room Jazz Club About twenty-five years ago, Max Bozetti, manager of the Pier House Wine Galley, recruited Larry to bring his Jazz Jam to the Wine Galley which was a small intimate room. Larry’s grand piano was surrounded by music lovers, and an occasional amateur vocalist […]
Coffee Butler – a true Key West legend The following words cannot do justice to the talent of this amazing human being. The City of Key West honored him by naming the new amphitheater, the Coffee Butler Amphitheater. The honor was well earned. Lofton Ambrose Butler was born in Bahama Village in 1928 into a […]
Dave Burns – Jazz piano and private eye By Ralph De Palma Dave was from Providence, Rhode Island. He was raised by a single mother who was constantly working so his grandmother, Alice McKenna, watched over him. She taught piano all over town so naturally, Dave started piano lessons at three years old. Due to […]
Michael Gillis – “Never worked a day in my life.” By Ralph De Palma John Michael Gillis was born in Hudson, New York. He spent his childhood in Atlanta, Georgia and Grove Hill, Alabama. Michael said, “I became obsessed with music by the time I was 10 years old. Even when I really […]
Carmen Rodriguez By Ralph De Palma Born and raised in Key West, Carmen Rodriguez graduated from Key West High School, attended Florida Keys Community College, and graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Her mother, Milly Biegliese, was a singer whose stage name was Milly Kelly. She entertained in New York, singing mostly […]
