Gene Cothran: (607) 785-1753 egcx@juno.com
Mike Carbone: (607) 725-2990 mcarbone@stny.rr.com
Since arriving to the Greater Binghamton area almost 20 years ago, Tom Westcott has had the opportunity to perform and learn from the area’s top musicians in the areas of jazz, blues and rock. A bass player since age 14, Tom first started performing with the Oneonta, NY based rock power trio “The Heard”. Upon his transition to the Binghamton area, he held the bass chair in the Broome Community College and Oneonta State Jazz Bands. Tom auditioned and began a long tenure as the bass player for the Binghamton-based contemporary jazz/ fusion band “Cosa Nova”. During this time period, he also began working with the then “Blues Bandits”, which later became the blues, funk and soul band “Badweather Blues Band. He was a part of this group for almost 14 years. In addition to Miles Ahead, Tom currently holds the bass chair for the rock and blues band “Voodoo Highway”, the central New York steel drum band “Panigma”, the Irish and recycled rock band "The Revelers" and his own improvisational jazz/funk outfit featuring former members from the Badweather Blues Band called "Ultra Vibe. Tom also teaches and performs live and in the studio on electric and double bass in the Southern Tier area. You can hear samples of Tom's studio work on recordings from the Badweather Blues Band (http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/badweather) , singer-songwriter Jared Campell (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/beyond-the-gray/id302170607) and a soon to be released CD by the Miles Ahead Jazz Quartet.
Tom is employed by the Owego-Apalachin Central School District as a School Counselor. Tom, his wife and three children currently reside in Endwell, NY.Gene Cothran came into jazz as a player somewhat later than most musicians. Although he grew up in Philadelphia listening to jazz and going to jazz clubs, his musical training was strictly classical. After returning from the service and resuming his job with IBM in Endicott, NY, Gene got the opportunity to attend a ten week training course in Manhattan. During that time he met and talked with several musicians. Inspired by the experience, Gene started taking lessons with Doug Beardsley when he returned to Endicott. He has been playing blues and jazz in the area ever since.Gene has played with local musicians in the Binghamton, Cornell, and Elmira areas. He has played in jazz workshops with bassist Rufus Reid, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, and trombonist Steve Davis at Binghamton University. And whenever he visits his family in Philadelphia, he plays at the open jam sessions at Ortlieb's Jazz Haus. There he has had a chance to sit in with local Philadelphia musicians, including Mickey Roker ( former drummer for Dizzy Gillespie) and pianist/organist Shirley Scott.Gene’s love for jazz has also led him to play the blues. He has performed on the famous Beale Street in Memphis, and at various blues festivals in the NY/PA areas. He once shared the stage with the legendary Pinetop Perkins and Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin from the Muddy Waters band.
Gene continues to play in the Binghamton area with Miles Ahead, TWP (Terry Walker Project), duos with Donna Wood, and also records with local blues and rock artists whenever they call for his piano/B3 organ parts.Joe is a graduate of Binghamton University where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors. He studied drumming in New York City with Joe Morello (of the famed Dave Brubeck Quartet) and Ed Shaughnessy (of the Tonight Show). Classical percussion study was with David Buttolph, a graduate of the Juilliard School. Joe was a member of the Binghamton University Music Department for 8 years. He started Joe’s Drum Shop in Johnson City and had a successful business there for 21 years. He is currently on the Music Department faculty at Broome Community College, performs as Principal Timpanist with the Tri-Cities Opera orchestra and set drummer with the jazz group Miles Ahead. He is in-demand as a NYSSMA-certified adjudicator and as a free-lance drummer and percussionist. Joe has performed with the Binghamton Philharmonic, Tri-Cities Opera, BC Pops, Binghamton Community Orchestra, Disney World on Ice, Ice Capades, Cider Mill Playhouse and the Endicott Performing Arts Center (EPAC). Artists he has performed with include Dionne Warwick, Clark Terry, Urbie Green, Frank Wess, Houston Person, Marvin Stamm, Ingrid Jensen, Lew Soloff, Slam Stewart, Rufus Reid, Eddie Daniels, Ken McIntyre, Eileen Farrell, Richard Stolzman, Igor Kipnis and members of the Lenox Quartet.He has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, the dedication of the New York State Governmental Plaza in Albany, Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman school of Music in Rochester, the dedication (and 25th anniversary!) of the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena, Pops on the River and the Glenora Winery’s Jazz Series. Joe also continues to play in the Binghamton area with Miles Ahead and the, TWP (Terry Walker Project),Saxophonist and educator, Mike is a native of Utica, New York. He moved to the Binghamton area in 1981 and is an instrumental music teacher in the Johnson City School district where he is Coordinator of Music, Director of Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble 1 at the High School. He joined the Binghamton University music faculty in 1997 and serves as the Director of the Jazz Studies Program. His duties at Binghamton University include teaching Jazz Improvisation, Jazz History, and directing the Harpur Jazz Ensemble. He holds a B.M.E. from the Crane School of Music and a M.M. from Binghamton University, having studied saxophone with Dr. James Stoltie, J.R. Montrose, Al Gallodoro, and April Lucas. Mike is also a member of Al Hamme’s Music Unlimited & Swing Street jazz groups, the Danny D'Imperio Big Band Bloviation, the contemporary jazz group Cosa Nova, and Miles Ahead. He has also served as guest conductor for Broome, Seneca, and Tompkins County Music Educators Festivals, and as Saxophone/Jazz Improvisation Instructor for New York State School of Music for the Arts at Binghamton University. Mike was also the last Secretary Officer for the New York State Chapter of the International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE.) During his career playing the saxophone, Carbone has had the opportunity to perform with many well-known artists including Al Marino, Natalie Cole, Tommy Tune, Mel Torme, The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Engelbert Humperdinck, Slam Stewart, Nick Brignola, Steve Gilmore, Tom Whaley, Duffy Jackson, Jeff Jarvis, Jacque Washington, Bill Carter’s Presbybop Quartet, The Temptations, and the local music group Splash.