The Jeff Rupert Quartet with special guest vocalist Lucy Yeghiazaryan play from the Great American Songbook, along with award winning music from Rupert’s last album The Ripple which was #5 top jazz album of the year (JazzWeek), and has over six million plays on Spotify. Lucy is a leading voice in vocal jazz, with performances throughout NYC and the international stage.

Richard Drexler and Marty Morell (longtime Bill Evans trio drummer) along with Ben Kramer on bass augment the Rupert quartet. These gentlemen have recorded and toured together for fifteen years, appearing on major jazz festivals, television and radio broadcasts. The group’s latest album is due out this summer, recorded at Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (home of Blue Note, Prestige and Impulse Records).

PERFORMER BIO:

Jeff Rupert’s performing and recording credits include over 50 albums, and associations with Diane Schuur, Mel Tormé, Kevin Mahogany, Ernestine Anderson, and Benny Carter’s Grammy winning Harlem Renaissance. Jeff Rupert toured for fifteen years with Sam Rivers; four albums ensued, and from 1997- 2002 he toured and recorded with Maynard Ferguson. Jeff Rupert’s eleven recordings as a leader all charted on JazzWeek.

Performance venues include the Blue Note, Birdland, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, the Tokyo Forum, the National Concert Hall of Taipei, Taiwan, and jazz festivals in Europe, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Rupert’s release Let’s Sail Away with Veronica Swift, Richard Drexler and Marty Morell was #1 on the jazz charts, and his most current album The Ripple with George Garzone has been on the JazzWeek chart for 35 weeks.

As a composer and arranger, Rupert has arranged for Bob Berg, James Moody, Maynard Ferguson, Judy Carmichael, Kenny Drew jr, and Kevin Mahogany. Rupert has produced 6 big band albums for the Flying Horse Big Band, all featuring original compositions and Arrangements.

Jeff Rupert is Pegasus Distinguished Professor, Trustee Endowed Chair, and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Central Florida (UCF), and founder of Flying Horse Records. The Bat Swings!, music from the 60’s T.V Show, Batman, charted on RMR, JazzWeek, and NACC, and was the #1 album of the week in the U.S. on two of these charts, simultaneously. The Flying Horse Big band’s latest release is Good News! and was #1 on the RMR charts. Rupert’s most recent album as producer is The Flying Horse Big Band album Florida Rays celebrating the music of Ray Charles.

BAND MEMBERS:
Jeff Rupert – Tenor Sax
Lucy Yeghiazaryan – Vocalist
Richard Drexler – Piano
Marty Morell – Drums
Ben Kramer – Bass