Sam Butler is a professional jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger and educator based in Indianapolis, IN. He has performed all around the Midwest with various ensembles including the Buselli-Wallarab Jazz Orchestra, Sean Dobbins and the Modern Jazz Messengers, Sammy Miller and The Congregation, and his own Folklore Sextet. As the winner of the 2023 International Trumpet Guild Jazz Solo Competition and with his debut album “Folklore” out with positive reviews in May of 2023, Sam has “an abundance of jazz success coming his way.” (Debbie Burke) He is immersed in the blending of musical styles including rock, classical music, folk, and jazz, and is creating a unique voice as he enters the modern jazz scene.
Sam began work as a jazz education curriculum developer, transcriber, arranger, and composer with Playbook Music in July of 2023. He was also an Associate Instructor in the Jazz Department of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University while completing his master’s degree in Jazz Studies. Following the release of Folklore in May of 2023, Sam toured with his Folklore Sextet in the summer of 2023 at venues all around the Midwest, including Cliff Bell’s in Detroit, the Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis, and Fulton Street Collective in Chicago.
Sam quickly flourished as a performer, composer and arranger after beginning his academic career at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University in 2018. He was named a semi- finalist in the Jazz Division of the 2019 and 2020 National Trumpet Competition, and performed with the Plummer Jazz Sextet, a select group of musicians that writes original music, plays shows around the Midwest, and records. Sam has also recorded and performed a dozen of his own large ensemble compositions and arrangements with ensembles at IU, and during his undergraduate tenure, recorded an EP of all original compositions with his sextet “Spoken Thoughts,” which was released in early 2022. Sam completed his undergraduate studies in 2022, and accepted an Associate Instructor position in the jazz department to earn his master’s degree.
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Garrett Fasig is an emerging composer and saxophonist originally from Defiance, Ohio. In his short career thus far, Garrett has written several original jazz ensemble compositions that have been recorded by the Brent Wallarab Jazz Ensemble, a full program of music for jazz sextet and string quartet and has been commissioned for both jazz ensemble and orchestral works by the New York Youth Symphony and Brianna Thomas, respectively. He has also learned and performed alongside world-class musicians Walter Smith III, Steve Houghton Dayna Stephens, and Greg Ward.
The first eleven years of Garrett’s musical journey were devoted to his development on the saxophone. This led him to the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University where he would go on to complete both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in jazz studies. While spending most of his time studying saxophone. This changed in early 2020 when a neurological disorder, dystonia, would prevent him from spending long amounts of time playing. Garrett turned his focus towards composition, and by the next year was awarded the David N. Baker Jazz Composition Scholarship from BMI.
Nick Recktenwald is trumpeter/singer from Louisville, Kentucky. He regularly leads groups performing in and around the tristate area. As a leader, he assumes the role of trumpeter, singer, bandleader, and arranger. Nick also composes frequently, and is currently in the process of releasing an album of his own music. He has performed with groups such as the Louisville Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic, and the Timeless Music Project, of which he is a founding member. In 2019, Nick was the recipient of the Gheens Foundation Young Artist Award, in which he performed the Addison Trumpet Concerto and A Night in Tunisia with the Louisville Orchestra. This residency also included an educational tour of Louisville primary schools and a radio appearance on 89.3 WFPL.
Nick earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies and Bachelor of Music in Trumpet Performance in May 2023. At IU, he simultaneously played in the orchestras, bands, and jazz ensembles, fulfilling both degree requirements. He studied with Professors including John Raymond, Sachal Vasandani, and John Rommel. While playing in the Wallarab Jazz Ensemble, he played alongside the Emmet Cohen Trio, Dave Stryker, and Bobby Floyd.
His earlier musical life began when his father gifted him a trumpet for his fourth birthday. He then wrote his first song at age 5, the same year of his first public performance. Later, in his high school years, he was accepted into Carnegie Hall’s inaugural NYO2 program two years consecutively, in which he performed in side-by-side concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. The program also included a concert with jazz bassist Esperanza Spalding. Outside of music, Nick loves to garden, exercise, and cook.
Jeff Parker is a professional trumpet and trombone player from Bloomington, Indiana. After studying at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Jeff now maintains an active freelance career playing stages across the United States, as well as being an in-demand studio musician on both instruments. He has performed with musicians such as Bootsy Collins, Randy Brecker, Jeff Hamilton, Jim Snidero and more in his short career thus far.
Jacob Smith is an emerging bassist in Indianapolis that is well-versed in many styles. Jacob can be seen performing with notable jazz artists Rob Dixon, Steven Jones, and Joel Tucker, soul artists such as Bashiri Asad and Brenda Williams, and Latin-American music groups Son de Esquina and Palonegro. Jacob is currently on faculty at the University of Indianapolis as the Professor of Jazz Upright and Electric Bass. No matter the setting, his passion and love of music drives him to bring excellence to every musical context he finds himself in.
Jacob received a bachelor’s degree in jazz studies from Ball State University, where he was awarded the Morgy Craig Jazz Scholarship and had the opportunity to perform with artists Wycliffe Gordon, Ingrid Jensen, and Bobby Watson. Since beginning his master’s degree studies at Indiana University, Jacob has worked with more artists such as Jeff Parker, Wayne Wallace, and Dave Stryker.