Denise Randall

Executive Producer for Midsummer Colors of Jazz, Jazz Singer

Denise Randall, affectionatelly referred to as "Red" by her friends and colleagues, was raised in Montclair, New Jersey.  Denise has completed three architecture degrees since graduating from Montclair High school in 1976.  Her first degree was an undergraduate BA in Architecture from Princeton 1980.  It was followed by a Master of Science from Columbia's School of Historic Preservation 1986. Lastly, she received a Master of Architecture degree from Yale in 1988. She puts this education to use, too, and has over the years, designed her own beach properties, with her husband Rod, continuing a tradition of construction first started by Rod's family. 

Red is also a talented painter and studio artist.

In 2006, Red began to engross herself in a new art form, music composition and performance, and has begun an intensive study at the New England Conservatory, focussing her studies on jazz and opera, and two instruments, voice and piano. Since 2013, she has taught music one day weekly for EBridge Montessori School in Westboro, Massachusetts.  With her team of jazz artists she has worked to complete the first part of her own opera, Fanahy Hira, which is currently in workshop mode.

Denise Randall coaches a middle school robotics team. She studies ballet and flamenco styles of dance.  And She is a deep thinking doer, maker and creator, a thought-provoker, and an engineer of creative ideas which she develops to make the world a better place to live. Denise Randall currently resides with her husband, Rod, in Hopkinton, Massachusetts,  and they have raised three children there. 

You can learn more about Denise Randall by visiting her website. Read More→

A Midsummer Jazz Soulstice Ensemble leader, guitarist

Craig Hlady, originally from Chicago, is a talented guitarist, arranger, and composer. Well-versed in a variety of musical styles, he has played on and produced hundreds of studio recording sessions and has toured the US and New Zealand as a sideman and with his own groups. In addition. Craig Hlady owns and operates Tower Production and Recording, a studio specializing in artistic music production and in producing soundtracks for film and television. Craig is a faculty member at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he is associate professor of guitar. Read More→

• Craig Hlady, guitar
• Dave Ramsey, piano
• Bruce Gertz, bass
• Casey Scheuereil, drums
• Bobby Tynes, saxophone
• Tracy Rose, voice
• Denise Randall, voice

A Midsummer Jazz Soulstice Ensemble Leader, Conguero

Boston-based Master Timbero Vicente Lebron, from Dominican Republic, is one of the premiere Latin percussionists of our time. For over 40 years, Vicente Lebron has been performing between the US, Latin America, Europe and Africa with multiple projects, spanning decades of live music performance on stages worldwide. For over 20 years he has performed and toured as a long-time member of the Either Orchestra and for nearly 15 years, has appeared regularly with Club D'elf. Now, Vicente takes on a new chapter as Educator and Solo artist, while still an active member of E/O, Club D'elf and Lookie Lookie.

• Vincente Lebron, el conguero and voice
• Efrain Selgado, tres guitar
• Wilson Vera, uBass
• Manolo Malrena, voice, percussionist, and timables
• Jim 'Mandongo' Messbauer, trombone
• Carlos DeLeon, trumpet
• Eduardo Ortiz, bass

A Midsummer Jazz Soulstice Ensemble Leader, Guitarist

Originally from Denver Colorado, guitarist/composer Jamie Stewardson has performed and recorded with Matt Maneri, Tony Malaby, John Hebert, Oscar Stagnaro, George Schuller, George Russell, George Schuller, Jimmy Guiffre, Bob Gullotti, Fernando Huergo, Jeremy Udden, John Lockwood and many others.

Stewardson sets the pace as a soloist with his bold sound and sure sense of spontaneous melody. You can hear his youthful infatuation with rock and his admiration of John McLaughlin in his big, bright, assertive tone. It’s tempered by his understanding of jazz interaction, and a keen sense of color and dynamics, so he’s an uplifting presence, a goad to more joyful playing.

Stewardson is an exceptional jazz guitarist and a courageous leader. As a soloist he is full of boundless invention, turning the melody (and he knows what melody is) around on a dime and coaxing the music into places it didn’t know it wanted to go. As an accompanist he’s supportive and strong. Read More→

• Jamie Stewardson, guitar
• Burcu Gulec, voice
• Jussi Reijonen, oud

A Midsummer Jazz Soulstice Ensemble Leader

Alexei Tsiganov was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, He started playing homemade percussion at the age of four, accompanying his brother who was his first mentor in jazz, giving Alexei lessons in jazz harmony and improvisation, and taking him to all the shows and jam sessions in town. Alexei entered the children's music school as a percussionist, playing drums, xylophone and vibraphone, then went on to study at the famous St. Petersburg Mussorgsky Music College.

He has played and recorded with Bevan Manson, George Garzone, Bob Moses, John Lockwood, Bob Geloti, Bruce Gertz, Dave Clark, Yoron Israel, George and Ed Schullers, Boris Kozlov, and others. He has appeared with his group on WERS-Boston radio and on the Eric In the Evening radio program on WGBH-Boston, performing his own original music and standards.

• Alexei Tsiganov, piano
• Rick DiMusio, saxophone
• Jamie Stewardson, guitar
• Greg Ryan, Bass
• Renato Malavasi, drums
• Anita Coehlo, voice
• Vanessa Morris, voice, piano

A Midsummer Jazz Soulstice soloist, violin

Boston, Massachusetts composer and performer, Grey Gafarov, is interested in most genres of music and especially Jazz, Blues, Funk, Latin, and Brazilian. His instruments are bass and violin.

A Midsummer Jazz Soulstice Choreographer

Maureen began her dance training in Massachusetts and New York city. She continued her studies and performances until she opened up her own dance studio in 1998 where she taught dance to students ages 3 though adult. After 13 amazing years as a Studio owner she sold her business in 2011. She continues to teach dance at various studios and now has more time to create group and solo performance pieces for her students to perform at festivals and dance expos.  

A Midsummer Jazz Soulstice choreographer, Dancer

Originally from Stoneham, MA, Janelle Gilchrist developed her skills and expertise through studies at Harriet Hoctor Ballet School, Boston Ballet School, José Mateo Ballet Theatre, Broadway Theater Project, Concord Academy, and Dance Theater of Harlem. She earned her BFA in Dance at the University of Hartford, CT.

Janelle has danced professionally with the Hartford Ballet, New Jersey Ballet and BalletRox, Boston. In addition, Janelle has performed with Legends in Concert, Celebrity Cruises, Anna Myer, David Parker and Island Moving Company. Janelle has also held small roles in several major movie productions, including 27 Dresses (20th Century Fox, 2008) and What’s your Number(Contrafilms, 2011).

Janelle has recently served as choreographer and casting director of two flash mob performances for Media Direct Productions, in Boston and Las Vegas. Janelle has worked as company manager for BalletRox and coordinated the BalletRox dance programs in Boston Public Schools. She also teaches dance at Tony Williams Dance Center and Step by Step in Waltham, MA.  Janelle also is a freelance choreographer and director and founder of Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe Currently, Janelle is a company dancer with Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre. Read More→

Midsummer Colors of Jazz Dancer

Eve Costarelli offers classes in flamenco, tap and yoga for every body. Through her exploration of flamenco technique and its connection to the yoga body, her dancing personifies the power and stillness held within the music of Spanish gypsies. Eve enlivens the art of flamenco through dance and story telling with both Young Audiences of Massachusetts and Celebrity Series: Arts for All! Eve is an artist who uses movement as her medium, always looking for new and creative ways to express her art. 

Midsummer Colors of Jazz Dancer

Joanne Lim, originally from Singapore, has a deep passion and interest for dance starting from a young age. Her training is mainly focused on classical ballet, but she has studied modern, hip hop, contemporary, broadway, jazz and several different ethnic dance styles in Southeast Asia. Joanne also loves to express herself through choreography. She is thankful to be given opportunities to choreograph for various occasions, and the most memorable ones include Peter and the Wolf (ballet) and a Singapore local musical (broadway, jazz).  

Midsummer Colors of Jazz Dancer

Sandra “Sasi”  Marcelino, is an electric exciting multifaceted performer and historian who maintains a lifelong passion for the cultural investigation and preservation of Afro-Caribbean traditions and folklore through Dance & Music. With over 20 years of performance and choreography experience in Ballet, Jazz, Modern, African, Afro-Cuban, Salsa, Hip-Hop, Bomba, and Plena, Sasi collaborates with organizations around the world to train and educate in Latin and  Afro-­Caribbean lore and history through a combination  of dance, music, and theater games that  promote cultural healing and individual expression. Driven by the clave, the drums, and her diverse knowledge of African dance, her belief is that dance & music are an integral tool for social change and cultural awareness. Sasi is an official member of the MetaMovements Artist Collective, Lead Afro-Latin Instructor with the Boston Ballet, and continues to surround herself with other passionate artists and social justice advocates promoting healthy living and community building.

Sasi started her career as performer and dance historian, debuting as the youngest dancer, only 12 at the time, with Back Porch Dance Company in Cambridge MA in the 1990’s. She later began her exploration of Afro-Boricua Lore with Celia Ayala Bomba Dance Company. Sasi started touring in the 1990's with the Humano Multicultural Project and and currently performs with Raiz de Plena as a singer and percussionist. Sasi is currently working on her own band/album and happily continues to collaborate with different band and dance collectives locally , internationally, and nationwide.

Midsummer Colors of Jazz, Art Director.

Kobina (Koby) Sackey has over 14 years of experience in design and project management. He is a graduate of Tulane University School of Architecture where he earned his Masters of Architecture. Sackey served as an associate at Snohetta, a top architecture firm in New York City, where he worked toward rebuilding the World Trade Center Site and also developed strong graphic and web design skills. Upon returning to New Orleans, Sackey worked for the City of New Orleans as an Energy Policy coordinator where he coordinated state and federal funding for energy related projects. Koby is currently the CEO of Redflare, LLC, a full service web and mobile development firm.