LMR JAZZ ORCHESTRA
LMR JAZZ ORCHESTRA is made up of award-winning musicians who have played and recorded jazz across the world. This truly extraordinary ensemble was founded in 2013 for the Annual TIMOTHY HALL FOUNDATION Benefit Performance at Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch.
Held in October each year, the benefit performance has become one of northern California’s most outstanding jazz events. Every performance by this extraordinary ensemble is a notable event given the very high demand for its members across the globe. LMR Jazz Orchestra’s album, Missa Iubileum Aurem: Golden Jubilee Jazz Mass is available on the Origin label, including Apple Music, Amazon and Spotify. Watch the official trailer on YouTube.
TRUMPETS
NIEL LEVONIUS (trumpet), musical director of the LMR Jazz Orchestra, has performed and recorded around the world with leading jazz, pop, and hip-hop groups including Dave Brubeck, Gladys Knight, Martha & the Vandellas, Frankie Valli, Temptations, Four Tops, Pacific Mambo Orchestra, Seal, and hip-hop supergroup Deltron 30/30.
STEFFEN KUEHN (trumpet) is a German-born Trumpeter, Composer, Arranger, Producer & Educator who resides in the San Francisco Bay Area and performs internationally. His Latin Big Band ‘Pacific Mambo Orchestra’, which he co-founded in 2010, is the recipient of the 2013 GRAMMY© Award for ‘Best Tropical Latin Album’.
BRIAN SWITZER (trumpet) is a long-time Bay Area player and educator. Brian has helped many students achieve music scholarships, taken middle school jazz bands to the NextGen Festival in Monterey, and developed the hit education resource for players and teachers, JazzDeck. He has toured internationally with GRAMMY® award-winning bands, Train and Muse. He is currently touring with the Bob Weir Wolfpack.
JOHN L. WORLEY JR. (trumpet/flugelhorn) is an accomplished trumpet/flugelhorn artist and leader of the Mo-Chi Ensemble. John is a Lecturer (Jazz Trumpet) at Stanford University and has played with many leading artists, including Ella Fitzgerald, Gregory Porter, Stanley Clarke, Wayne Shorter and Pete Escovedo. John is a Yamaha Performing Artist.
SAXOPHONES
MARY FETTIG (alto), a Bay Area native, was the first woman to play in the Stan Kenton Orchestra while attending UCLA. Currently residing in the Bay Area, Mary maintains a busy recording and performing schedule as the “first call” player. She has toured with Flora Purim and Airto, Marian McPartland, Tito Puente, Toninho Horta, and Joe Henderson, and regularly performs at jazz festivals across the world.
MARCUS STEPHENS (alto) has been active in the Bay Area music community for well over two decade as a performer and an educator, currently a teaching artist at SFJAZZ. His has performed with award winning ensembles including, The Evan Francis Group, The Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, and the Jazz Mafia. He has played some of the biggest stages worldwide, notably, Fuji Rock (Japan), North Sea Jazz Festival (Netherlands), Lolapalooza, Outside Lands, Austin City Limits, and Umbria Jazz Festival (Italy).
TOD DICKOW (tenor) is jazz saxophonist who performs with a dynamic, distinctive voice steeped in the traditions of be-bop and modern jazz, He has performed as a leader and sideman at major venues, including Monterey Jazz Festival, Kool Jazz Festival, Yoshi’s, and SFJAZZ with artists such as Dave Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald, Nancy Wilson, Frank Sinatra Jr., and more. His recordings include the Faith and Credit Big Band, James Leary Big Band, Al Molina Latin Jazz Quintet, and Turtle Island String Quartet.
ROB SUDDUTH (tenor) is a Bay Area native who is equally comfortable performing with blues, jazz and rock bands. He crosses genres effortlessly. Rob has played with Lavay Smith and the Red Hot Skillet Lickers, Kim Nalley, Ricki Lee Jones, The Doobie Brothers, Billy Joel, and Nora Jones, among many others. For twenty-four years he toured and recorded with Huey Lewis and the News.
ROB ZUCKERMAN (baritone) is a saxophonist and multi-reed player and long time member of San Francisco Bay Area icon Lydia Pense and Cold Blood. Rob is known for traversing many genres including funk, R&B, jazz, latin, and blues. His versatility has made him a fixture in the Bay Area music scene since his arrival in the 1990’s.
TROMBONES
JOHN GOVE (tenor) is a freelance trombonist, pianist, and composer/arranger. He has performed with various jazz artists including Chris Potter, Erik Harland, the Mingus Dynasty Orchestra, Terrence Blanchard, Barbara Streisand, Peter Gabriel, Tony Bennett, and Lady Gaga. He is the chair of the theory department at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley.
DR. JON BRUMMEL (tenor) is a freelance performer, educator, and technologist. With a DMA in Trombone Performance, Dr. J has performed in many styles and venues including the Skywalker Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra , Ray Charles, Wayne Newton, Natalie Cole, Johnny Mathis, Debbie Boone, and many more.
TED HALL (tenor) is co-founder of Monarch Records, has performed with many jazz greats, and has been a 20-year voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (GRAMMY®). He is a late-night veteran of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra at the Village Vanguard and performed at The Requiem Mass for Robert Kennedy. He is also co-founder of Long Meadow Ranch.
DAN GORDON (bass) is a tenor and bass trombonist, the Gordon Biersch brewmaster, and grew up in Los Altos, CA. Dan has recorded with Michael Davis on Absolute Trombone II, on Curtis Campbell’s blues album, Live at the Sweetwater, and most recently on All Things Swamp with fellow members of the LMRJO and vocalists Tim Hockenberry and Dillon O’Brian.
RHYTHM
ART KHU (piano) is a multifaceted musician with exceptional talent on a variety of instruments, including piano, organ, guitar, violin, and bass. He began playing piano at age 4 which blossomed into a vibrant career spanning over 35 years. Art composes jazz, as well as classical music, including full symphonic works, and he has collaborated with renowned artists like Jacqui Naylor, Laco Deczi, Donald Byrd, and Idina Menzel, both in the studio and on international tours.
BRIAN NOVA (vocalist/guitar) is an internationally renowned artist recently named the top Jazz Guitarist in Jazz Improv Magazine. Brian performs and records as a solo artist and with his trio, quartet, and 18-piece big band. Brian appeared with Arturo Sandova on the acclaimed album, ‘Dear Diz’, which garnered a GRAMMY® plus 3 Latin GRAMMY®s. Brian tours extensively throughout the world with bookings in major North American cities and engagements in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy and Japan.
TERRY MILLER (bass) is a bassist, composer and educator, and his musical credits reflect a long and diverse career. His unique skills on both acoustic and electric basses led to collaborations with wide range of artists, including jazz icons such as Stan Getz and Dave Grusin, and rock legends like Prince, the Grateful Dead, Steve Miller, Zac Brown Band, and The Doobie Brothers.
JEFF MARRS (drums) is a versatile American jazz drummer who resides in San Francisco and plays and records with an array of outstanding artists, including Dr. Lonnie Smith, Joshua Redman, Mads Tolling, Faye Carol, Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra, Mel Martin Quartet, Jackie Ryan, Ledisi, and many more. He has performed on multiple occasions with the San Francisco Symphony. Jeff has also recorded for PBS and numerous commercial spots for television.
VOCALIST
BILLY VALENTINE is a soulful vocalist and songwriter whose career has spanned five decades. He began as a solo artist, opening for legends like Donny Hathaway and Roberta Flack, before joining his brother, John, to form the duo The Valentine Brothers in the late 1970s. The duo wrote and recorded the protest song “Money’s Too Tight (to Mention).” He was also a member of original touring cast of The Wiz. In addition to his career as a performer, Billy has written songs for artists such as Ray Charles and the Neville Brothers. His versatile voice has been featured on numerous TV and film soundtracks, including his notable work on Boston Legal and Sons of Anarchy. More recently, he has garnered acclaim with the release of his 2023 album, Billy Valentine & The Universal Truth.