A graduate student from Bayonne by way of West Palm Beach FL, Jeremy
started music study at age 9 on alto sax and now plays all the
woodwinds. His favorite musicians are Rollins, Coltrane and Shorter and
Duke and Mingus are two favorite composers. Meeting and getting a nod
from Mulgrew Miller at a wedding gig is among his most memorable musical
experiences. Jeremy writes and arranges for his nine-piece band, the
“Jazz Conceptions Orchestra,” which has played the Iridium a few times.
Their first CD was released last spring.
A freshman from Vineland NJ, Chris began studying guitar at 14. His
favorite musicians are Bill Evans and Coltrane, and favorite composers
are Debussy, Bach and Shorter. He draws his inspiration from the
treasury of great jazz music and legendary musicians, past and present.
He’s been writing music and improvising from the age of 15, and his most
memorable musical experience was his first paying gig. Two of his
outside hobbies are snowboarding and the beach.
Adrian is a sophomore from Brooklyn following in the footsteps of his
father, noted bassist and educator Bill Mooring. He has been studying and
writing music from an early age and also plays, piano, drums and guitar.
He counts Keith Jarrett and Elvin Jones among his favorite musicians.
His current favorite tune is “In the Red” by Abbey Lincoln. When he
started to improvise a few years ago, it was then that he decided on a
career as a jazz musician. Possessing an intellectual bent, he is
spending a lot of time lately writing music for his band.
Ark is a grad student from Kiev, Ukraine with a BA in Music and a BS in
Mathematics. He began to study music at 10 years of age on the violin.
Musicians Oscar Pettiford and Ray Brown and composers Golson, Mingus and
Stravinski are favorites. Ark has been improvising and writing music
from age 20 and his favorite tune is the next one he writes. He has
a busy career freelancing with many of the top professionals in the
business, and he’s been involved in several CD projects including two as
leader.
2010 NJJS Jazz Scholarship Students
Posing after their performance at the 41st Annual 2010 Pee Wee Russell Memorial Stomp at the Birchwood Manor in Whippany on March 7 are (from left): Jon DeFiore, New Jersey City University along with 2010 scholarship winners Ark Ovrutski, Rutgers University; Adrian Mooring, William Paterson University; Chris Simonini, Rowan University; and Jeremy Fratti, New Jersey City University.
Photos by Tony Mottola.