Armen Nalbandian

Bio submitted by Armen Nalbandian
Armen Nalbandian was born on April 6th, 1978 in Manchester, England to Armenian parents, Rafael and Aida. Armen Nalbandian’s love for music developed in a home with an array of diverse being played, ranging from Opera to Motown to Armenian music. By the age of 13, Armen had chosen the piano, and dedicated his life to Jazz music.

Mr. Nalbandian spent his high school years winning accolades and awards as both a featured soloist in the Clovis West Jazz Big Band and the first leader and founder of the small Jazz Ensemble (a first in the school’s history.) At the age of 16, Armen composed his ambitious first composition, an extended piece for a sextet entitled, The Dr. King Suite. In the spring of 1996, Armen premiered his first big band piece, Beloved, inspired by the Toni Morrison book of the same name. Armen was awarded the Louis Armstrong award for outstanding achievement by a high school jazz musician.

http://www.armennalbandian.com 

Dr. Michael Caldwell

Bio submitted by Michael Caldwell
Dr. Caldwell has been serving as Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Director of Jazz Bands "A" and "B" at California State University, Fresno, since Fall 2002. He is also the director of the Clendenin Brass Quintet. He previously served on the music faculty at the University of South Alabama (1991-1999) and is Past President of the California Institute for the Preservation of Jazz. He earned degrees from the University of Illinois (D.M.A. 1997; M.M. 1987), CSU Fresno (B.A., 1984) and Los Medanos College (A.A. 1982). He has performed as lead trumpet or soloist with many of the world's leading entertainers. He has also performed with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and has performed on Public Radio International and the Family Channel. He recently performed at the 2005 International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE) conference in Long Beach, California, and served as an adjudicator for the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Solo Competition, held at the 2004 ITG Conference in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Caldwell was the Founder of the National Collegiate Jazz Festival (Mobile, AL) in 1994 and the Executive Director of the Mobile Jazz Festival from 1992-1995.

Eva Scow

Bio submitted by Eva Scow
Eva Scow, was born in Fresno, California to a Oaxacan mother and an American father. She began playing music at a young age, starting on the piano at age 4. Soon after, she began studying mandolin with Evo Bluestein and classical violin. She began playing in orchestras and various groups, exploring different kinds of music from bluegrass to Brazilian.

In addition to Lyquid Amber, Eva plays in the Brazilian group Tocanto and in college orchestras. A junior in high school, she is at home in the classical, folk and jazz idioms.

Here's a quote from master musician Mike Marshall: Eva is incredible. In just 16 short years she has completely absorbed the Brazilian choro musical feel. She tears up all the classic tunes and can improvise with the best from the genre. It is very rare indeed and will be a joy to watch.

Le String Band 5000

Bio submitted by Le Strong Band 5000
Le String Band 5000 performs an eclectic blend of classic and original music, ranging from gypsy jazz and Brazilian bossa nova and choro to pop and traditional bluegrass. The collective musicianship of Dusty Brough (guitar), Eva Scow (mandolin & fiddle) and Jason Jurzak (string bass) has consistently wowed audiences from large outdoor festivals to corner bars up and down California. A veritable supergroup of young acoustic players, the trios members have toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada and South America, performing with musicians such as Mike Marshall, Joe Craven, David Grisman, Anthony Wilson (Diana Krall), Jesse Cook, Anders Osborne, and Mark Mullins (Harry Connick Jr. Band).