The Establishment - Alumni
Listed below are former members of The Establishment. This list is not meant to be an all-inclusive list - it's just our best recollection of former band members. Members are listed in alphabetical order.
Vocals Reeds Trumpets Trombones Rhythm Alumni
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Director
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Del Sawyer (founding Director)
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Karen Coble
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Dottie Dillard
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Jeannie Dennis
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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 Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby You can also learn more about Liz from her website, http://www.lilyrecords.com. |
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Ron Kaiser
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Carolyn McClain
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Susan Ladd Smith
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- Jerry Vinette
- Frank Walker
| Billy Amonette |
![]() Charlie Anderson, hails from St. Paul, MN, and graduated from Vanderbilt University, where he was a recipient of the Del Sawyer (founding director of The Establishment) Trumpet Scholarship. 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. |
| Dave Converse |
| Lane Denson |
|
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| Ed Farley |
| Steve Farr |
| Bill Fitz |
|
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| Joe Gross |
![]() Steve Herrman, left The Establishment in May 2008 to tour with Kenny Chesney. Steve, 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. In 2006 Steve toured 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. |
| Mike Hime |
![]() Dr. Jerry Humphreys an M.D specializing in pathology (diagnosis), is also a farmer who raises cattle and race horses. |
| Scotty Huff |
| Russ May |
| Gene Padden |
| Matt Nygren |
![]() 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 |
| Carl Stasiunas |
| Bob Stepbach |
![]() Jack Strotman, one of our longest service members, joined the band in the Spring of 1970 and served as the organizations Personnel Manager in addition to playing the trumpet. Jack began his musical career in Philadelphia Pa where he studied under Victor Hugo and Michael Buglio. Following a brief career with the 505th Air Force Band of the Mid West on trombone, Jack returned to the Philly area and resumed his trumpet playing. A transfer with the General Electric Company brought him to Hendersonville TN in 1969. |
![]() Tom Smith, was with The Establishment in 2010. Tom graduated from MTSU with a Degree in Music and is past owner of Creative Recording Studio now know as Black Bird Studios.
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| Ron Anderson |
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| Cully Beasley |
| Louis Brown |
| Herbie Bruce |
| Dr. Bill Card |
| Chris Cooper |
| Bucky Doster |
| Lee Herring |
![]() Chuck Lyons, bass trombone, joined The Establishment originally in 1990. Chuck has been on “leave of absence” a couple of times to pursue teaching high school music at McGavock and White House High Schools in Middle Tennessee. He enjoys a successful career in computer sales, but his first love is music. He has had the privilege to perform with such notables as Slide Hampton, Marvin Stamm, Don Menza, Ernestine Anderson, David Baker, Dominic Spera, Bob Mintzer, Dave Liebman, Deborah Brown, Buddy Baker, Deborah Brown, Lorna Luft…just to name a few. |
| Dr. Max Jackson |
| Scott Kefauver |
| Bev LeCroy |
| Phil Orr |
![]() Jack Reese is a product of the Nashville music scene. As a young trombonist, he studied at Blair Academy with Hank Romersa. Jack started with The Establishment in 1988. Jack is a Nashville businessman and lives with his wife and two sons in Kingston Springs. |
| Hank Romersa |
| Greg Swanson |
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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. Seth left the group in the fall of 2009 to pursue music studies at North Texas State university. |
| Harry Williams |
![]() Oscar Utterstrom - Oscar grew up in Sweden and started playing the trombone at the age of ten. After graduating from high school, Oscar took his trombone to Boston and Berklee College of Music where he majored in Music Business/Management. At the same time he continued to study trombone with mentors like Phil Wilson, Hal Crook, Jeff Galindo, Tiger Okoshi, Lin Biviano and Charles Lewis.
After graduating from Berklee, Oscar moved down to Nashville where he worked as a Production Assistant at The Sessions Agency on Music Row and pursued his masters in Jazz Studies at Middle Tennessee State University.
Oscar is very active on the Nashville jazz scene performing with such groups as the Greg Bryant Quartet, the Christina Watson Quintet, halfbrass, and the Middle Tennessee Jazz Orchestra. Through Middle Tennessee State University Oscar has had the privilege to play with masters such as Jim McNeely, Benny Golson, Carl Allen, and Eddie Daniels. He can also be seen playing with the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tennessee Philharmonic Orchestra from time to time |
| Alf Bartles |
| Otto Bash |
| Warren Bone |
| Ralph Black |
| Larry Bullion |
| G.R. Davis |
| Charlie Dungey |
| Ike Harris, bass |
| Steve Headley |
| Spire Justice |
| D.O. Looney |
| Wayne Oldham |
| John Ownby |
| Rich Pipani |
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| Charlie Rutherford |
| Dave Sampsell |
| Mario Sangramano |
| Greg Smith |
| Tom Steele |
| Eric Stephens |
| Larry Taylor |







Paul Epp, originally from
Lawrence, Kansas is a former Del Sawyer Trumpet
Scholarship recipient, has played in various orchestras, big bands, jazz
combos, brass ensembles and other groups since he moved to Nashville
in 2000, and has played a number weddings, parties and other types
of receptions on trumpet, piano and guitar. Paul has twice
been chosen as a soloist for the Blair School of Music Student
Showcase and has attended the Aspen Music Festival. His interests
outside of music are as diverse as those within it.
John
Fontaine has been playing with the Establishment since
August 2009. John, a native Tennessean, is
currently a Civil Engineering student at Vanderbilt University,
where he also studies trombone with Lawrence Borden. Having had
the fortune of playing with Michael Mulcahy, Michael Davis, Harry
Watters, Matt Neiss, Don Hough, John LaBarbera, Vince DiMartino,
Mark Taylor, Futureman, and Rick Simerly, he recently was a
finalist at the Eastern Trombone Workshop's Solo Jazz Competition




Jae
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