Janelle Reichman + 4 will be performing all Reichman’s own compositions, written over the span of the last eight years. Reichman’s music strikes a balance of old and new. In it, you can hear her love for both the “old-timey” sounds of the traditional, as well as the freedom and asymmetrical nature of the modern. The group features Janelle Reichman (saxophone and clarinet), Ingrid Racine (trumpet), Scott Gwinnell (piano/keyboard), Nick Collins (drums) and Rocco Popielarski (bass).
Janelle Reichman
“Demonstrating a complete command of the sound and keys of her tenor … seems to defy logic and possibility in her speed, dexterity, and musicianship.” - Jazz Improv Magazine.
Clarinetist and saxophonist Janelle Reichman has performed as a featured soloist all over the world with renowned ensembles such as Doc Severinsen and his Tonight Show Band, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, and many more. Originally from Ann Arbor, MI, Janelle attended the Manhattan School of Music on full scholarship, quickly after which she embarked upon an exciting and diverse musical career in New York City, where she remained for a decade. Her musical work in NYC ran the gamut from the New Orleans sounds of The Redhook Ramblers to the soulful grooves of the R&B band ON THE SUN to the Broadway jazz musical After Midnight – and everything in between. Janelle’s debut solo album, Middleground, has received rave reviews. In 2016, Janelle was a featured clarinetist at Jazz at Lincoln Center for Moonglow: The Magic of Benny Goodman, and in early 2018 she was welcomed back to Lincoln Center to perform as a guest clarinet soloist with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis for the show Benny Goodman: The King of Swing, alongside respected clarinetists Anat Cohen and Ken Peplowski. Now happily back in her hometown in Michigan since 2016, Janelle can be heard around Southeast Michigan performing with groups such as accomplished pianist James Dapogny’s Easy Street Jazz Band, the high-energy klezmer band Klezmephonic, and her own jazz quintet Janelle Reichman +4 for which she regularly composes new music and with which she frequently performs around Ann Arbor to sold-out audiences. When she’s not playing her clarinet or saxophone, Janelle is most likely designing and building websites for other musicians in the Midwest and NYC. Learn more at janellereichman.com.
Ingrid Racine
Born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI, trumpeter and composer Ingrid Racine embraces everything from early jazz to bop, fusion to folk and hip hop. Her strong bebop sensibility shines, even as she explores music across decades and geographical boundaries. After graduating from the esteemed jazz program at Community High School in 2000, Ingrid pursued a BFA in Jazz Studies at the University of Michigan, where she studied with the great saxophonist Donald Walden and Detroit Symphony Orchestra trumpeter Bill Lucas. By graduation, Ingrid was playing professionally all over Michigan with an eclectic array of ensembles including the 1920’s jazz ensemble Phil Ogilvie’s Rhythm Kings, Mady Kouyate’s Heat of Africa, and the Detroit-based all-female jazz group Straight Ahead, in addition to steady sideman work in local small jazz groups. Additionally, she toured nationally and internationally with the group NOMO from 2003-2009. In 2007, Ingrid returned to University of Michigan to study with Professor Geri Allen, while completing a Masters Degree in Improvisation. Recently, Ingrid has performed with the Marion Hayden Ensemble, Wendell Harrison, the Heather Black Project, Jesse Kramer’s Juice Box and Ethan Davidson. She currently lives in Ann Arbor, MI and leads her own groups, the Ingrid Racine Quartet and the Gin Dandies.
Scott Gwinell
Scott Gwinnell is a pianist/composer/arranger/educator who has grown up in Detroit and has played professionally since the early 1990s. His playing credits consist of performing, recording, and/or touring with a plethora of artists including Aretha Franklin, Vanessa Williams, Roberta Flack, Joe Lovano, Richie Cole, Sheena Easton, Dave Liebman, Jimmy Heath, John Clayton, Marcus Belgrave, Delfayo Marsalis, Steve Turre, and Jon Hendricks, for whom Scott was music director for three years. He has been a sideman on over 20 professionally released recordings and has four records to his own name. These are: “Basement Vibes” (2002 WSG Records), “The Scott Gwinnell Trio” (2006 WSG Records), “Brush Fire” (2010 WSG Records), and “Cass Corridor Story” (2012 Detroit Music Factory). He is the recipient of many awards and acclaim for his composing, including recognition from: Detroit Music Awards, Downbeat Magazine, International Association of Jazz Educators and SEMJA, among others.
As an educator, Gwinnell has taught in full and part time capacities at University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, Wayne County Community College, and Oakland University where he presently teaches. He teaches privately and has conducted clinics of jazz improvisation, composition, arranging, history, and vocal jazz at many Universities. He is also the 5‐year director of the Metro‐Detroit Jazz Workshop.
Nick Collins
Nick Collins began playing drums professionally while attending Ann Arbor’s Community High School in the mid-late 1990s. Following high school, Nick lived in New York City from 1998-2004 where he completed a BFA in performance at the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music program. Since returning to Ann Arbor, Nick has performed with Dan Bennett, Andrew Bishop, Paul Finkbeiner, Tim Haldeman, Kurt Krahnke, Randy Napoleon, Jeff Pedraz, Janelle Reichman, Justin Walter, and several others.
Rocco Popielarski
Rocco Popielarski is bassist/educator from Metro Detroit. He holds a Bachelor of Music with concentration in Jazz Studies degree from Wayne State University, where he studied double bass with Dan Pliskow, Paul Keller, and Detroit Symphony Orchestra bassist Larry Hutchinson. As an educator, he has taught at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp and Fundación Danilo Pérez in Panama City, Panama.
Artists’ Websites