Michael Gedzelman - Sax
Michael grew up in the New York City area where he fondly remembers going to Greenwich Village clubs as a teen and hearing Stanley Turrentine, Joe Henderson, Roy Ayers, Zoot Simms, Al Cohn, and many more. Since moving to the DC/Virginia area in 1984, Michael has played in many bands covering various genres. Classic rock, pop, standard jazz, blues, wedding bands, fusion, smooth jazz, yacht rock; whatever it is, he's done it! He is an accomplished alto saxophonist channeling the spirit of Coltrane, Rollins, Adderly, and Sanborn, creating soul-stirring jazz magic.
Alec Kenessey - Keyboards
Alec started taking classical piano lessons at age eight, which lasted for four years until he decided at age 12 that sports were far more important than music. Fortunately (for him at least) he rediscovered music in high school, playing rock organ in a couple of different bands. He retained music as a hobby while working in Central Europe and New York, and returned to the DC area in 2001. A few years later he began playing with a band, and has performed since then in a variety of groups playing blues, classic rock/alternative rock, soul, funk, and jazz/funk . He’s played in a variety of venues small and not so small, from bars and restaurants to the 9:30 Club. Some of his favorite keyboard players are Professor Longhair, James Booker, Ray Charles, Allen Toussaint, Chuck Leavell and Jimmy McGriff. He is just as happy playing piano, electric piano, organ or synthesizer — or maybe happiest playing them all!
Mark Allen - Drums/Percussion
Mark has been playing drums since he was 12. He comes from a musical family. Both of his grandparents played the organ at church and his brother is also a drummer. In the early 80’s he was on tour with the classic rock band Tyler out of Louisville, KY. They were managed by Triangle Talent and shared the same stage with bands such as Humble Pie, Head East and Black Oak Arkansas. Since living in Northern Virginia he has played in a jazz fusion band (where he met Dave Skipp), southern rock band, blues rock band, traditional jazz band, western swing band and now a groove oriented jazz band known as the Red Clay Jazz Quartet.
Dave Skipp - Bass Guitar
Dave grew up in Swarthmore, PA where he studied classical violin for six years in elementary and high school with a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He bought his first bass as a freshman and subsequently developed an enduring love for bassists Berry Oakley (ABB) and Rick Danko (The Band). While in college, Dave sang in a 40-voice acapella chorus with which he did tours in Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, DC, and Europe. But Dave’s first love is jazz, from classic to fusion. Beginning in the late 90s, Dave has played in a wide variety of jazz bands including The Arcadians (Dixieland), Brown Street (electric jazz), and, for the previous 15 years, his own jazz quartet/quintet, Take Four, which played regularly at area wineries and festivals. He has also been the principal bassist in the Franklin Park Big Band since the band’s inception in 2009 and has played in a number of musical theatre productions, including The Fantasticks and The Music Man. Dave’s preferred instruments are fretless four-string bass guitar and Azola Bug electric upright.