The Tamer Tewfik Jazz Ensemble

For booking information, contact: Tamer Tewfik Swamp Queen Music voicemail - 917-697-0585 tamer@tamertewfik.com

Not looking for Jazz? Contact us to inquire about booking different ensembles of all various styles. Swamp Queen Music books all types of music genres including: Jazz, Latin, Rock, Vocalists, Strings, Brass, and Solo Guitar, Piano, Violin and much more.

Band Members:
The TTJE is Tamer Tewfik (piano/vocal), Lou Gagliardi (guitar), Lynn Rileytrio (sax/flute), Matt Garrity (drums), Ray Turull (latin percussion) and Jason Harris (bass). The ensemble is currently available for corporate functions, concerts and other social engagements. Tamer (Piano/Vocals) earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano and a Masters of Arts in Teaching from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He pursued additional classical studies in Budapest, Hungary, studying harmony, solfège and conducting. As a vocalist, he has sung with the Choral Arts Society and Philadelphia Orchestra under the batons of conductors Riccardo Muti, Kurt Mazur, and Charles Dutoit. After teaching music in the Lower Merion School District for five years, Tamer established Swamp Queen Music in 1997. His first CD, released in the fall of 1998, Tamer ~ Unwanted Curtains, features his jazz trio, solo piano performances and original compositions. Beginning to See the Light, released in spring 2002, also features original compositions, as well as Tamer's spins on classic jazz standards. Building on the foundation laid with Unwanted Curtains, arrangements on Beginning to See the Light include piano solo, trio and sextet performances. Released in winter 2002, featuring exciting new arrangements of traditional holiday tunes, is Let It Snow! Never forgetting his love of children, this skilled educator and musician married his talents to create THE JAZZ ASSEMBLY, a one-of-a-kind participatory experience for elementary through high school students. He performs these Assemblies in conjunction with Young Audiences of New Jersey; Young Audiences of Eastern PA; and Peter Nero and the Philadelphia Pops’ Jazz in the Schools Series. Tamer’s efforts with THE JAZZ ASSEMBLY are instrumental in bringing understanding and appreciation of jazz and standards to the next generation of music fans. In June 2001 Tamer was honored with the formation of the Official Tamer Tewfik International Fan Club, with chapters currently in the US and Canada. As a jazz pianist Tamer has played with Les Paul; Grover Washington, Jr.; Stanley Clarke; Eddie Gomez; and Trudy Pitts. As a cabaret artist and pianist he has performed at the ASCAP Songwriters Showcase; Brandy's Saloon; Cleopatra’s Needle; Cool Mood; Don’t Tell Mama; The Duplex; the Iridium Jazz Club; Key West Piano Bar; NBC’s Rainbow Room; Odette’s; Raw Space Theatre; Sam’s Cabaret; Tavern Camac; The Townhouse; the Triad Theater; and Upstairs@Red. His theater credits include roles in The Secret Garden; The Sound of Music; Amahl and the Night Visitors; Sunday in the Park with George; Into the Woods; and A Builder of Dreams, for which he performed both on stage and off, as actor/singer and arranger. He served as musical director for Montauk Theatre Productions’ Always, Patsy Cline and The Show of the Century, in which he also performed. His original compositions have been heard in the theatrical productions Genesis; The Quiet Room, or What Happens When a Schizoid Ballerina Is Locked in a Room with a Duck; As Heard In the Quiet Room, a cabaret based upon his work in The Quiet Room …, in which Tamer was the featured artist; and Seascape with Sharks and Dancer, for which his score received the SpotlightOn/Sage Award for Best Sound Design. An artist of international appeal, 2002 found him performing at the VIP Club and Casino in Moscow, Russia. Currently, Tamer travels throughout New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey, as educator or entertainer, with his trio or as a solo artist, sharing his great love of Jazz at every performance.

Jason Harris (Bass) received a Bachelor of Music degree and a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Jason has played many venues and continues to play in cabarets, clubs and concert halls throughout Philadelphia and New York. He has been Tamer Tewfik’s bassist since the trio’s inception. Jason can currently be found teaching Strings, Band and Orchestra in Bordentown, NJ.

Ray Turull (Congas/Bongo/Misc. Percussion/Sound Effects) was born in New York City's Spanish Harlem where conga jam sessions were a way of life in the surrounding parks. His earliest influence was his dad, Angel Turull, who bought him his first pair of bongos at age 11. By the age of 14 Ray was already out playing the club circuit. He has appeared at Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, the world famous Village Gate and The Cheetah Night Club, COCOMO in San Francisco and many other high profile venues too numerous to mention. At this time he is the featured Conguero with SonSublime, whose new CD was released this past March. He also has an 8 piece Latin jazz band that promises to make some noise with a soon- to-be-released independent recording and has just joined renowned bass player Ray Martinez and his group Legacy, which features such notables as Oscar Hernandez, Ivan Renta, Dave Rimelis & Phoenix Rivera. Ray uses 3 Latin percussion (Fiberglass tribal wrap series) congas.

Matt Garrity (Drums) attended William Paterson College's jazz program, where he studied with John Riley, Rufus Reid, and Harold Mabern, among others. He studied privately with renowned performers Carl Allen, Bill Goodwin, and Ed Shaughnessy. He has held the drum chair for some of the best in the business, including alto saxophonist Vincent Herring, as well as the late, great vocalist/pianist, Teri Thornton. Other artists Matt has performed with include Jerome Richardson, David Williams and Ron McClure. He has performed throughout New York in venues such as The Blue Note, Birdland, Smalls, Smoke, The Up Over Jazz Cafe and Upstairs@Red and Cleopatra's Needle with Tamer. He has played in numerous festivals and concert settings, including a summer jazz series at The Baltimore Museum of Art with The Vincent Herring Quartet. In addition to his work as a sideman, Garrity has led his own trio for the past six years. They perform extensively in the New York area, and most recently toured the Northwestern United States. Matt and the trio have done two recordings, Above The Circle and Unfiltered. An educator, Garrity has conducted jazz masterclasses at The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and has been involved with The National Music Workshop, The New York Board of Education, and Columbia University's Teacher's College. Matt is currently a faculty member at The Turtle Bay Music School on Manhattan's Upper-East Side.

Kevin Thaxton (Bass) has been playing bass for twelve years. Born in Dunoon, Scotland, he spent most of his childhood overseas and returned to the United States in his early teens. In 1997, he moved to Philadelphia, PA to attend The University of the Arts where he graduated with a Bachelor of Music. He then found steady work as a freelance bassist around the Philadelphia area, primarily at jazz venues. Kevin has performed in the orchestra of musicals for various theater companies. Over the past three years he has taken part in programs presented by Young Audiences of New Jersey, Young Audiences of Eastern PA, and with Peter Nero and the Philadelphia Pops, bringing music into the schools. He has also been teaching private lessons for the past three years at the South Jersey Rhythm Section Collective. In the winter of 2002, he moved to New York City where he now resides. He is currently working with the Lars Halle Jazz Orchestra, a big band based out of Philadelphia, and an original rock band, the Todd Deatherage Band, from Brooklyn. Kevin had has the opportunity to perform and work with many internationally known musicians such as John Swana, Ron Thomas, Bob Dorough and Joe Hunt. He has taken part in several jazz festivals including the Mellon Jazz Festival, Annapolis Jazz Festival and the Philadelphia Clef Club Jazz Festival.

Pictures:
           
SonicBids Press Kit: N/A