Graham Dechter and Friends – Night Two

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*This is a complimentary show with your reservation.

Don’t miss out on Graham Dechter and Friends at Vic’s Las Vegas this November.

Graham Dechter:

Graham, an accomplished guitarist, composer and arranger, began studying music at the age of 5 when he began taking violin lessons and composing orchestral pieces. He discovered his passion for guitar and jazz at the Idyllwild Academy of the Arts. Upon graduation, Graham entered the Jazz Studies program at the Eastman School of Music.

After completing a year at Eastman, Graham returned to Los Angeles after being invited by Jeff Hamilton to join the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (CHJO); him becoming the youngest member of the acclaimed orchestra being only 19 years old at the time.
He has traveled extensively in North America, Europe and Asia and has performed and recorded with some of the most respected names in music, including Michael Buble, Eliane Elias, Benny Golson, James Moody, John Pizzarelli, Larry Goldings, Jon Hendricks, Nancy Wilson, Kurt Elling, Billy Taylor, Benny Green, Bill Charlap, Paquito D’Rivera, Curtis Fuller, Wycliffe Gordon, Terell Stafford, Clark Terry, Snooky Young, and Wynton Marsalis.

All About Jazz
Vintage Guitar Magazine

Konrad Paszkudzki:

Although raised in Western Australia by Polish parents, Konrad’s musical affinity and passion for swingin’ American jazz revealed itself early on. He was accepted into university at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts in Perth at the tender age of 15, studying jazz piano and finishing his undergraduate degree a few weeks after turning 19. The precocious instrumentalist swiftly established a reputation as a leading jazzman in Australia, touring for the next two years and playing with his mentor, jazz trumpeter James Morrison. After being offered a scholarship to the University of Miami, he relocated to the United States in 2009, receiving his master’s degree in 2011 at the age of 22. Upon graduation, he spent a year in Los Angeles playing piano with the likes of the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and the Jeff Hamilton Trio. Konrad returned to the East Coast in 2012 after being offered a position to lead the house trio at the coveted New York venue, 54 Below.

​Following a yearlong residency and two self released trio recordings, he joined the John Pizzarelli Quartet in November of 2013, leading to over 1000 performances worldwide in the following four years.  In 2015 Konrad became a Yamaha artist, and in 2016 began working for Venus Records in Japan. Between 2016-2017 the Konrad Paszkudzki trio recorded seven albums for the label. Aside from touring and recording, Konrad also commenced his role as Artistic Director of Jazz at the Ballroom in 2017, a not for profit organization committed to delivering the highest caliber of swinging American jazz across the West Coast. 

Alex Frank:

Alex Frank is a guitarist, composer, and educator based in Kansas City. As a working guitarist, Alex currently leads a trio and quartet under his name, playing at clubs around Kansas City and holding down a near two-year residency playing his music at the Green Lady Lounge.

All About Jazz
Inside Jazz

Ryan Shaw:

Ryan Shaw is a drummer who performs and/or records with Michael Bublé, Seth MacFarlane, Bill Holman, Gilbert Castellanos, Richard Shelton, Graham Dechter, Melissa Morgan and many more. Performing throughout Southern California, Ryan has performed at most of the best Jazz clubs in the area including the Blue Whale, Catalina, Vitello’s, Vibrato, Spaghettini, and more. He can also be seen traveling regularly throughout the United States and internationally.

Ryan Shaw began his musical pursuits at the age of five on piano. By age 8, he began studying percussion and got his first drum set at the age of 10. He began playing at his church regularly while participating in his school’s Band, Marching Band, and Jazz Band and eventually graduated from the prestigious USC Thornton School of Music with a degree in Jazz Studies.

In addition to his vast experience as a performer in many Jazz contexts, Ryan can also been seen frequently performing with various Pop and Indie groups as well as at a variety of churches in the Los Angeles area. Ryan has had the opportunity to perform with John Clayton, Russell Malone, Larry Koonse, Bob Sheppard, Dan Higgins, Gerald Clayton, Chuck Berghofer, Christian Jacob, Bob McChesney, Graham Dechter, Alex Frank, Bruce Forman, Rob Lockhart, Holly Hofmann, Mike Wofford and more, and has had the opportunity to study with Jeff Hamilton, Peter Erskine, Roy McCurdy, Aaron Serfaty, and Joe LaBarbera.

Ryan currently lives in Los Angeles, and spends his time outside of music entertaining a number of hobbies including video editing, baseball, and watching classic movies.

Melissa Morgan:

Born in New York City, she grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey. Her first musical instrument was the piano, which she began practicing at age four. Her singing began while in high school with local choirs and performing with a few select classical vocal groups across the U.S. and other venues abroad. Most memorable was a seven-country tour of Europe in 1996 with the U.S. Youth Chorale. As a student Melissa received numerous awards including 3 gold cups in the New Jersey Federation of Music solo piano competition, top ranking in the New Jersey all-state choir, and runner up for the New Jersey Governor’s award for vocal music.

Inspired by the classic recordings by Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughn, Melissa pursued her love of Jazz through studies of music.  She attended the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Music, studying with many prominent artists. During her tenure, she appeared with the conservatory’s Jazz and Latin Jazz Orchestras and was featured vocalist with the Purchase Jazz Band during a 1999 tour of Spain. She graduated from the Purchase in 2002 with a B.A. in music.

She has since performed as a regular at several of New York’s top jazz venues; Cleopatra’s Needle, Flute, G Bar, Smalls, Smoke and St. Nick’s Pub to name a few. At that time, Melissa performed with her own trio; as well as with other artists in the New York area. She was featured in performances with Jon Faddis and the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars at the Blue Note in New York in 2001. In 2002 Melissa performed at the New York Women of Jazz Festival at Smoke jazz club. Around this time she was also a guest on the Metro TV-NY program “Where to hear jazz in New York City”.

Melissa competed and became a semi-finalist in the 2004 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in Washington D.C., “the most prestigious jazz competition in the world, hosted by Billy Dee Williams and Herbie Hancock. Judges for the competition were luminaries Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, Kurt Elling, Jimmy Scott, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Flora Purim.” Melissa moved to Los Angeles, California where she pursued a recording career for a number of years. She has now moved to the Bay Area, where she continues to perfect her art, and can be heard performing in numerous venues.