Subject to schedules and the indulgence of various wives, girlfriends, magistrates and parole officers, the Tall Granite Jazz Band frequently features the performers pictured below. Performers also include Dave Pereira, Rob Daisy, Matt Langley, Craig Fahey, BJ Steinberg, Josh Evans, Jim Wildman, and PJ Donohue.
Jim Cameron (tenor and soprano saxophones) has been a professional jazz musician and teacher around the Boston area since studying at the Berklee College of Music in the late ‘60s. When not performing with the Tall Granite Jazz Band, Jim's a regular in the New Hampshire Jazz Orchestra, the Pocket Big Band, and the Special Edition Big Band, the latter bands based on the North Shore. From home in southern NH, Jim tours regularly with The Eloquent Fish, a sextet led by pianist Ron Hadley, and has performed at jazz festivals in London, Tokyo, and Vancouver. He toured Italy in 2007 with the Boston Factory Jazz Project and ranks tenor great Sonny Rollins high among his numerous jazz influences. Jim collects and plays classic Conn saxophones from the mid-1920s and can be heard on CDs released by Sea Breeze, Brownstone, and GM.
David A. Dustin (trombone and leader) used to live and perform in Houston, where the space shuttle program supported his jazz habit. He studied jazz performance for five years with bandleader and alto sax virtuoso Mark Holter (The Bopmeisters) and the late trombonist John Warner (Les Brown), playing in big bands in Houston and Dallas. Upon return home to NH in 2000, he became a founding member/manager of the Fountain Square Ramblers trad-jazz band and a regular with Concord’s J’Walkn Jazz quintet. Dave’s inspirations include composer-bandleader Duke Ellington and trombonists Jack Teagarden and Urbie Green. He’s a consultant in federal contracts management and married to noted polymer clay artist Kathleen Dustin.
Kurt Ekstrom (drums) is a veteran of Concord’s J’Walkn Jazz quintet and a member of the rock group October Sons when not letting his jazz dogs out. Kurt works for the state in Concord and plays and collects classic Ludwig drumsets. He's particularly proud of his early “Ray Bauduc” set, which he used to good effect as a founding member of the Fountain Square Ramblers trad-jazz band.
Sonny Feliciano (bass) is a well-known figure on the Concord music scene. A Brooklyn native, Sonny studied there at the Muse School of Music and took guitar technique at the Third Street Settlement in Manhattan. He has performed in rock or jazz ensembles for most of his life and is a veteran of Concord's J’Walkn Jazz quintet. When not playing with his trio or other groups, Sonny works for the post office in Concord.
Whit Symmes (piano) earned a BFA in Jazz Performance at Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts, studying with Randy Halberstadt, James Knapp, and former Duke Ellington trombonist Julian Priester. He performed regularly on the Seattle jazz scene in the ‘80s and ‘90s before moving to Concord in 1998. Whit has worked as a music teacher and leads small jazz groups in local venues when not anchoring the Tall Granite Jazz Band. He’s particularly inspired by the music of composer Hoagy Carmichael. For his day gig, Whit's a partner in SpellDoctor, an educational software firm.
Tim Wildman (trumpet and flugelhorn) moonlights as a pastoral counselor and psychotherapist in Concord, NH, when not playing jazz. Jazz runs in his blood, as his father played trumpet with the great Red Nichols until yielding his chair to a New Orleans upstart named Louis Prima. Tim counts Wild Bill Davison and Chet Baker among his trumpet influences, and is especially fond of “hot” jazz as performed by the bands of Davison and Eddie Condon. Inspired by his long-time teacher Sai Ghose, Tim is also a jazz pianist and appears around Concord leading duo and trio units, and in New York City where he and Whit gig in a quintet led by his trombonist brother Jim Wildman.A Nonni's medley (excerpts)
My Foolish Heart (excerpt, Tim Wildman vocal)