Establishment

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Band Members                                                                   

Reeds   Trumpets    Trombones    Rhythm    Alumni

The band is led by Billy Adair.

Eric Stein is the groups male vocalist.  During gigs fans of The Establishment frequently request a Frank Sinatra chart and Eric's voice immediately brings back all of the great memories.  Listen to Eric's both powerful and extremely smooth voice on a sound clip of Accentuate the Positive, or click here on the chart Come Fly With Me.

 

Liz Johnson is the groups female vocalist.  Liz performs regularly in the Nashville area with her own quartet and supports a growing road schedule that took her to the Watertown Jazz Festival, Chicago and New York City in 2002. Nashville’s city paper said her first full-album release, “One More for The Road,” (Lily Records, 2001) “indicates she’s quickly becoming another Nashville jazz musician deserving of some national attention.” (July 2001). Audiences second that opinion. "I have an idealistic vision of what I'm doing," says Johnson who sees herself and her talent as a work in progress. "The music is a vehicle for me to evolve and give something back. We're all supported by a huge network of friends and family, a community. I want to be able to give back to that community --- all those friends and family and teachers who made a difference to me."   Check out Liz's great voice on this Establishment cut of  Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby   You can also learn more about Liz from her website, http://www.lilyrecords.com.

 

   

Cole Burgess is one of the lead soloists for the band.  With his powerful, yet smooth tenor sound, thoughtful improvisations, and his always present sense of humor, Cole is certainly a guiding force in the band.   Click here to listen to Cole soloing on Joy Spring, or here to hear him on Sammy Nestico's arrangement of Strike Up The Band

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Genovese

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ed Grooms, started playing with The Establishment in 1993.  Ed studied saxophone under Dr. John Duke while attending MTSU and is a regular performer with other area bands such as The Stardusters and The Big Band Sound.  Ed has also had the privilege to perform with the Nashville Symphony as well as with Helen Ready and the Tennessee Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

Bill Riggs joined The Establishment in 1993 and is currently the Secretary/Treasurer for the Establishment. While he enjoys a successful career in computer programming, his first love is music. He plays with several area bands and has been fortunate to play with such artists as The Four Tops, Lorna Luft, Helen Ready, Slide Hampton, Vassar Clements, Tito Puente Jr., Levi John, Marvin Stamm, Steve Wiest, Deborah Brown, Bob Mintzer, Dick Oats, Dave Liebman, and Ernestine Anderson.

 

 

 

Andy Robinson

 

Charlie Anderson, the newest member of The Establishment, hails from St. Paul, MN, and is a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University, where he was a recipient of the Del Sawyer (founding director of The Establishment) Trumpet Scholarship. He now teaches Middle School Chorus and Band at Sycamore Middle School, in Pleasant View, TN. as well as directs the Belmont University Basketball Band.  Former Establishment member, Chris Cooper, stirred Charlie's interest in jazz while attending college, and he is very excited about the opportunity to play with such accomplished musicians in the group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Herrman, a graduate of North Texas State University, is a professional musician by trade with many credits to his name.  His television appearances include, but aren't limited to Jay Leno, Espy Awards (3 times) and Austin City Limits (2 times).  Steve has recorded for such greats as Delbert McClinton, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt, Kenny Rogers, Lou Rawls, little Milton, Vince Gill, Hank Williams Jr., Lorrie Morgan and Sammy Kershaw, Montgomery Gentry and many others.  Currently (July 2006) Steve is on tour with Lyle Lovett and has also toured with Delbert McClinton (7 years) and Waylon Jennings (3 years).  Click here to listen to Steve soloing on Joy Spring.

 

 

 

Stuart Naylor.  Click here to listen to Stu solo on Sammy Nestico's Broadway.

Courtenay Shipley, a member of The Establishment since 2004, is a native of Pittsburgh, PA.  In 2001 Courtenay graduated from Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music with a bachelors of music in Trumpet Performance and stayed in Nashville to pursue musical interests.  Outside of playing, she works for Principal Financial Group as a retirement plan education specialist.  In addition to The Establishment, she enjoys playing in Secret Gossip, an original funk band, the Ceremonial Brass Quintet, and has played in the past with the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra as well as performing as a soloist.  You can find articles written by her about Nashville and jazz on the Tennessee Jazz and Blues Society webpage at www.tjbs.org.

 

Dr. Greg Weaver started playing trumpet in The Establishment in 1996 and serves as the organizations President. He is a radiologist and grows chestnuts on his farm near Nashville.

 

 

 

 

Greg Cox is another one of the bands lead soloists.  His solid trombone lead, creative improvisation and smiling spirit sets an example for others to follow.

 

 

 

 

Al Scarlett, a member of the Establishment since 1997 is a native of Detroit, Michigan, and received his basic music education from his mother, a professional musician and teacher and studied trombone with trombonists from the Detroit Symphony.  After spending time in the Army Combat Engineers and in the 76th Army Groundforces Band in Japan in 1945-46, Al spent 39 years as a Switching Equipment Technician for Michigan Bell.  During this span of time Al was also called upon to play trombone in groups backing up performing artists such as Sammy Davis, Jr., Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, Roger Williams, Steve Allen, Nancy Wilson and Jerry Vale.  Al and his wife, Gloria, live in Winchester, TN in Franklin County.  Click here to listen to Al solo on Broadway.

 

Jon Lawson, bass trombonist, reunited with the band in 2003. Jon had previously been the lead trombonist with "The Establishment" from 1988-1995. He received both his BA and MM degrees in trombone performance. Jon came to Nashville in 1985 to play in the house band aboard the General Jackson Showboat. For the last 18 years, he has been a financial representative with the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network (http://www.nmfn.com/jonlawson). Jon earned his CFP designation in 2001 and primarily works in the areas of personal planning. He is married and has one child. Jon has had the privilege to perform with Wynton Marsalis, Bobby Shew, Clark Terry, McCoy Tyner, Danny Davis, Lou Rawls and Sammy Nestico, just to name a few.

 

 

   

 

Daniel Thompson, bass trombonist with the Establishment since 2007, started studying classical piano at the age of  4 and later in life learned to play the bass trombone.  Daniel spent three years as a choir director for a Methodist church in Hartsville, TN, and then another year as the music minister for Immanuel Church of the Nazarene in Nashville. He returned to San Diego and completed his bachelor's degree in Church Music at Point Loma Nazarene University and now, with his wife, Tara, lives in Nashville, TN.  Check out Daniel's other passion, Southwest of Chicago. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Seth Weaver started playing trombone with The Establishment in the summer of 2007.    Seth is a high school student (2009) at Independence High School in Thompsons Station, where he plays in the Wind Ensemble and Marching Band.  He played with Vanderbilt's Blair Big Band in spring of 2007, and was a member of the TN All State Band as a sophomore that spring as well.  Seth was selected for the first Mid State Honor Bands in both jazz and classical.  While he truly loves to play jazz, he also plays in a trombone choir, Bone Therapy, and when he's not playing his trombone he likes to sing. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Arnn, piano, a professor of music at Belmont University's School of Music, teaches commercial/jazz piano and related courses in theory and improvisation. For twelve years he was the Director of Commercial Music Studies at Belmont. Over thirty years of teaching demonstrates his dedication to the profession. However, he maintains an active career as a composer, arranger, and performer in all types of venues in the Nashville area.  Teaching experience includes McCracken County Public Schools, Paducah, Kentucky, Jefferson College, Hillsboro, Missouri, and Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee. He is Past-President of the Tennessee Unit of the International Association of Jazz Educators. His professional experience as a free-lance keyboardist includes appearances with the Warren Covington Orchestra, the Glenn Miller band under Ray McKinley, Ralph Marterie, and in orchestras backing up Connie Stevens, Mike Douglas, Jimmy Dean, Bob Hope, and others.

 

Loy Hardcastle has played with greats like Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Buddy Rich, Count Basie. Unfortunately it was playing along with their records!  Loy started playing in a rock and roll band at age 11 in a club in Nashville every Saturday night from 8:00 until 11:00. So it goes from there with various rock bands and big bands and so on.

 

 

 

  Mike Rinne, bass

Click here to see a list of Establishment Alumni

Send mail to edgrooms@theestablishment.net with questions or comments about this web site.

Last modified: 02/26/08