Ingo worked as a professional sideman in Europe for more than ten years before he moved to the United States, where he became active in the New Orleans and later the Los Angeles music scene. He studied drumset with Johnny Vidacovich and composition with James Walsh, Vinny Golia and Wadada Leo Smith. His music shows influences from various world musics, jazz, avant-garde music, as well as more abstract interdisciplinary influences. Ingo currently performs with his trio throughout L.A.
Tom Garcia – tenor sax, saxello, soprano sax, flute, didgeridoo
Tom Garcia is a saxophonist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He began to study jazz with noted saxophonist Tim Price while in high school. He spent four years in New Orleans from 2002-2006 studying and playing music. In 2007-08 he lived in Sendai, Japan, where he performed with various jazz groups. Currently he lives in Portland, OR, where he continues to brainstorm fascinating new instruments and bicycle parts. He plays all the saxophones and flute, and is also a saxophone handyman and avid cyclist.
Eric Klerks – acoustic bass, electric bass
Bassist, composer, teacher and multi-instrumentalist Eric Klerks has forged a style ranging from jazz to experimental music, touching upon the myriad points between. His professional and academic encounters have included Charlie Haden, Wadada Leo Smith, Famadou Don Moye, Dave Douglas,Larry Koonse, Alan Broadbent and Darek Oles; contemporary composers/improvisors Vinny Golia, Ulrich Kreiger, Michael Pisaro, Jeff Kaiser and John Lindberg; Indonesian master musicians I. Nyoman Wenten and Pak Djoko Wallujo and electronic music innovator Mark Trayle. In addition to SFOS, he also currently performs with Captain Beefheart drummer John ‘Drumbo’ French along with working as a freelance improvisor, concert and studio musician. Recent activities include US premieres of works by Tom Johnson and Taku Sugimoto.
Chris was born and raised in Austin, TX and began playing music when he was 11. He spent two years at the Berklee College of Music, studying with Mick Goodrick, Joe Lovano and Dave Santoro. While there, he began studying with Dave Fiucsynski, which led him to become a devoted student of microtonal music. In the fall of 2005, he moved to Portland, Oregon, where he now lives.
Andrew Oliver – piano, cello, harmonium, fender rhodes
Andrew Oliver is a pianist cellist, trumpeter, and composer from Portland, Oregon. He has studied primarily with Randy Porter, Matt Lemmler, and Darrell Grant. He lived in New Orleans from 2002-2005. Since returing to Portland, he has released an album of original music, founded the Portland Jazz Composers’ Ensemble and toured Africa with the State Department’s Rhythm Road program with saxophonist Devin Phillips.
A composer/improviser and pianist, Sarah Phillips is from Dallas, TX. She lived in New Orleans from 1999-2005 and currently lives in Los Angeles. She studied and performed with Jimbo Walsh, Michael Fink, Vinny Golia and Wadada Leo Smith. She has composed for various ensembles, notably the New Orleans New Music Ensemble, which she co-founded, as well as the California Ear Unit.
Mary-Sue Tobin received an M.M. in Saxophone Performance and a B.M. in Jazz Studies from Portland State University. She has played and studied with many Portland jazz luminaries, including Glen Moore, Darrell Grant, Thara Memory, Alan Jones, and Rob Scheps in addition to leading her own groups. Current performing ensembles include: Andrew Oliver Sextet, Paxselin Quartet, Quadraphonnes, and The Portland Jazz Orchestra. She has shared the stage with international jazz and R&B stars such as Dave Douglas, The Temptations, James Moody and Esperanza Spalding.
Kevin Van Geem – drums
Kevin Van Geem is a drummer from the San Francisco Bay Area. He moved to Portland in 2002 and has studied drums primarily with Alan Jones and Ken Ollis. He is active both on Portland’s jazz and indie rock scenes, performing in and composig for the Portland Jazz Composers’ Ensemble and Andrew Oliver Sextet as well as the Rainy States and A Cautionary Tale.
Other Band Members (previous recordings and performances):
Kevin Dewan – drums, percussion
Kevin Dewan is a native of northeast Ohio. He moved to New Orleans in 2002 to study jazz with Johnny Vidacovich. He performed with several groups in New Orleans, including a year-long weekly stint at the historic “Funky Butt” club, while earning a degree in music from Loyola University. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Kevin performed on our first album “India and Africa” as well as on our Summer 2008 tour.
Mark grew up in Philadelphia, and started drumming at age 16. He graduated with a M.M. in Jazz Performance from the University of New Orleans in 1999. He performed on the scene in New Orleans with great bands such as Astral Project, Quintology, The New Orleans Klezmer Allstars, James Singleton and Ed Petersen. In 2002 he left New Orleans, spending time in New York and France, and returned in 2005 just in time for Hurricane Katrina, after which he relocated to Portland, Oregon. In addition to drumset, Mark has also studied and plays the Indian Tabla as well as the Egyptian Riq, Darbouka and Tar. Mark moved to Seattle in August 2007, where he now lives, teaches, and performs. Mark joined the group for our second recording, “Poem of the Underground.”
Phelan Gallagher grew up in East Blue Hill, Maine, and learned to play jazz from his father, a well known bassist in the region. He attended Loyola University New Orleans and graduated with a B.M. in composition in 2007. He has studied saxophone primarily with Bill McHenry and Tony Dagradi, and has performed with various ensembles in New Orleans and elsewhere. Phelan lives in New York City. He appears on both SFOS albums.
Josh Titford – electric guitar
Josh Titford joined the band by accident after showing up with his instrument to our second gig. A unique stylist from Alabama, Josh also spent several years in New Orleans and currently is back in Alabama. He appears on “India and Africa.”
Alto saxophonist and composer Reed Wallsmith was born in Portland, Oregon. He leads the group Blue Cranes and plays in the free jazz group Better Homes and Gardens, the trio Future X, and various other mish mashes. In 2007 he was the recipient of the Caldera residency for music composition and participated in the Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music. Reed participated in the band’s Summer 2008 tour.
Colin Williams – voice
A native Portlander, Colin Williams is an accomplished acoustic bassist and teaches jazz and humanities at the Bay School of San Francisco as well as performing on the San Francisco jazz scene with several bands. He lived in New Orleans from 2000-2005, and performed with the band occasionally on bass. We were happy to be able to use his authoritative voice for the Lao Tsu readings on our new album “Poem of the Underground.”
Mary-Sue Tobin received an M.M. in Saxophone Performance and a B.M. in Jazz Studies from Portland State University. She has played and studied with many Portland jazz luminaries, including Glen Moore, Darrell Grant, Thara Memory, Alan Jones, and Rob Scheps in addition to leading her own groups. Current performing ensembles include: Andrew Oliver Sextet, Paxselin Quartet, Quadraphonnes, and The Portland Jazz Orchestra. She has shared the stage with international jazz and R&B stars such as Dave Douglas, The Temptations, James Moody and Esperanza Spalding.
Kevin Van Geem is a drummer from the San Francisco Bay Area. He moved to Portland in 2002 and has studied drums primarily with Alan Jones and Ken Ollis. He is active both on Portland’s jazz and indie rock scenes, performing in and composig for the Portland Jazz Composers’ Ensemble and Andrew Oliver Sextet as well as the Rainy States and A Cautionary Tale.