 |
LORREE - Stand-up Bass [Contact Lorree] Of her varied list of interests and activities (including alternative design and construction of home and garden and an appreciation of the natural world) music and playing string bass are at the top. Her mentor, Steve Luceno, says, "Lorree Gardener's bass playing is a metaphor for her sense of community. She plays her "parts" with the purpose of making the band, as a whole, sound like "one". She's been engaged in musical craft since childhood and has developed a lovely sound, both arco and pizzicato. Her impeccable sense of pitch and reliable time make her an ideal accompanist. She brings these finely honed skills to a wide variety of musical settings, from orchestra to hotel lobby, from standard jazz to Caribbean styles. Her presence
and participation enhances the performance of all those around her." |
 |
SUSAN - Conga & Percussion [Contact Susan] She started in her mid-20's by learning conga patterns to accompany a friend's African dance class in the American Legion Post #3. She is a meticulous player with a decades-long interest in Afro-Cuban folkloric patterns. The band relies heavily on her careful transcriptions of specific rhythms. She played for the beloved Mud Bay Jugglers and has added congas and bongos to many local jazz groups. She has an ear for great tunes, which she brings to the band and her vocals always bring the energy up a notch. |
 |
DANIELLE - Trumpet & Lead Vocals [Contact Danielle] Danielle has been part of the Olympia music scene for 24 years. Her early days were spent playing trumpet in symphonies, orchestra pits, or alongside her dad at his piano-bar. She's a thoroughly grounded musician, solid in sight reading but especially proud of her tone and well she should be. Folks talk about it long after they've heard it. And she can belt out a tune with aplomb, which comes from years of effort and exposure. |
 |
BETSY - Percussion & Lead Vocals [Contact Betsy] Ten years of tap and jazz dance provided Betsy with a love for rhythm and how it makes the body move. She also studied clarinet and piano in her youth but secretly wanted to play drums and percussion. Over the past ten years she has immersed herself in the study of African, Latin American and the Caribbean percussion and drumming. Band mates marvel over the sounds and textures she pulls from maracas and guiro, and often lean on her solid sense of time. Betsy is often tapped by other groups to add vocals and percussion to their performances. She was an early leader in the local samba batucada, Samba Olywa in the 1990’s and performs with Planetary People. She is also currently an elementary music specialist in the North Thurston School District. |
 |
LYDIA BETH - Keyboards [Contact Lydia Beth]
Lydia Beth has soaked up musical influences throughout her life, starting with listening to country music on the one radio station in rural Montana to classical, pop, and jazz performances. Her study of piano, percussion and voice led her to a wide range of genres and opportunities. These have included The Street Karaoke Project and The Jim Boyd Band, playing at festivals in CA and WA. She adds musical context to performances of The Heartsparkle Players, an improvisational playback theatre company and conducts the fifteen member choir of Temple Beth Hatfiloh in Olympia. Since 1994, she has served as accompanist for Johansen School of Ballet. Lydia Beth started adding her considerable chops to BEVY in 2005, bringing a strength and confidence to the keyboard that lifts the rest of the band. Her teachers and influences: Rich Paddock, Rush and Scott Farrell, Linda Hirschhorn, Joe Baque, and Gay Brewer
|
 |
NANCY - Sax, Flute & Lead Vocals [Contact Nancy] Nancy is the real deal. Years of school bands led her to the University of Washington, School of Music, but that was only the beginning. Jazz is her genre, playing with some of the finest players of free jazz on the West coast with her life's partner Bert Wilson. She fires up a bari sax, soprano sax, piccolo, and flute for Bevy AND writes many arrangements for the band as well. But you can also find her in flute ensembles, such as the Olympia Flute Choir and the finest band pits in South Puget Sound. “Damn, that girl can play” is what folks say about Nancy. |
 |
LISA - Clarinet & Soprano Sax [Contact Lisa] Lisa was introduced to clarinet at age 10, playing in classical and concert, orchestral and marching bands through adulthood. After a brief break to start her legal career, Lisa now incorporates music playing and performance whenever she can. On clarinet or soprano saxophone, her technical prowess creates a strong sense of melody and impeccable harmony with the other horns in BEVY. Lisa also plays with other small jazz ensembles, performing a variety of jazz and Latin standards. She has been at the vanguard of popularizing Brazilian choro tunes in the Puget Sound area. Her choro parties are legendary, reeling into her living room some of the area's finest musicians for high energy jam sessions. |
Sunday mornings in Becky’s childhood were often filled with the music from the likes of Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, and Oscar Peterson coming from her dad’s record player. She learned early on about the power and possibility of improvisation. Equipped with some classical training, she sought out excellent Pacific Northwest teachers in piano, trombone and music theory. Over the past 13 years, she has studied with Joe Baque, Richard Lopez, Cary Black, Drew Gibbs, David Joyner, Gary Fukushima, and Annieville Blues. She played keyboards with jazz quartet Local Time and has played all manner of Brazilian percussion for Olympia’s Samba Olywa. She plays trombone in the New Horizons Band and the marching Artesian Rumble Arkestra.
