Brian Reese

Dedicated to James Reese Europe and Randy Weston. They walked a very long way, saw you, and tagged you forever… then strode away, but kept you in their mind as they tagged someone else. See, That’s how a lot of this works.
They didn’t tell you where they were going, or what it would feel like, or sound like, or the stories you’d tell about all that you’d survive. And YES, you will survive…or be survived by.

Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine’s April 2018 book pick

Although originally formed as a chamber pop quintet, matt pond PA went through several different lineups throughout its existence, with each incarnation revolving around the talents of singer/songwriter Matt Pond (previously of Mel's Rockpile). Pond formed the group upon relocating from New England to Philadelphia, and he filled out his first lineup with guitarist/bassist Josh Kramer, cellist Jim Hostetter, violinist Rosie McNamara-Jones, and drummer Sean Byrne. The band debuted in 1998 with Deer Apartments and won top honors in an unsigned bands competition sponsored by online retailer CDNOW. A sophomore effort, Measure, followed in 2000 and garnered comparisons to a stripped-down version of the Cure, while the I Thought You Were Sleeping EP appeared in spring 2001. By the next year, the band shifted its roster to include drummer Mike Kennedy, bassist Matt Raisch, guitarist Jim Kehoe, and cellist Eve Miller, alongside Pond and Hostetter. A third album (and the band's first release for the Polyvinyl label), The Green Fury, was released in spring 2002 while Pond also took on duties writing music for the Oxygen Network. The Nature of Maps followed several months later, marking the band's third release in two years.

Trumpeter-bandleader Charlie Sepulveda brings a lifetime of Latin and jazz musicianship from his home in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, a place with hundreds of years of musical tradition preceding him. At the very dawn of jazz when James Reese Europe couldn’t find musicians in the U.S. who could read music for his orchestra, Europe went to Puerto Rico to hire from the many municipal bands. The best of the trumpeters of his generation, Sepulveda also taught music on the island for many years and believes fervently in encouraging young jazz musicians.

Trumpeter-bandleader Charlie Sepulveda brings a lifetime of Latin and jazz musicianship from his home in Luquillo, Puerto Rico, a place with hundreds of years of musical tradition preceding him. At the very dawn of jazz when James Reese Europe couldn’t find musicians in the U.S. who could read music for his orchestra, Europe went to Puerto Rico to hire from the many municipal bands. The best of the trumpeters of his generation, Sepulveda also taught music on the island for many years and believes fervently in encouraging young jazz musicians.