Jazz Singer Kathy Bonaccorsi & Metro Jazz Jazz Band from Hartford, CT

Let Metro Jazz Band bring smooth jazz to your wedding, corporate, private parties, and public events. We specialize in jazz standards from the American Songbook. We will make your event as memorable as the songs that were inspired by the greats such as Sarah Vaughn, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald to the artists of today like Sting, Diana Krall, Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett with Lady Gaga and countless others. Kathy Bonaccorsi, the vocalist, was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut. In 1974, she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. She lived there for 36 years, Studying with vocal coach Jan Emerson, Singing, writing, and recording originals with musician and promoter Dan Daniels and Ron White. Performing with the Light House Singers, and was the featured singer for many jazz, blues, and pop band in California. Kathy has returned to Connecticut in 2010 and began singing with The Vintage Vox Quartet. Kathy currently brings her warm and smooth vocal style to Metro Jazz. Drew Amendola, guitarist, composer, and arranger Drew has performed studio and live work, in Connecticut, Boston, Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles. He has an undergraduate degree in music composition with studies at Juilliard School, the Hartt School of Music, and the Berklee College of Music. He has a graduate degree in Law from the University of Connecticut and has also studied privately with Marc Mommaas, Wayne Krantz, and Rodney Jones. Garry Lapidus, drums/ percussion, is a lifelong musician drawn to jazz for its complexity, improvisation, and creativity. He likes to explore jazz rhythms focusing on phrasing, articulation, and dynamics while keeping accurate time. Garry plays all jazz styles but enjoys Bebop, Cool, Funk, and Latin jazz in particular. He currently studies percussion at the Hartt School of Music, under the direction of Sal Ranniello. By day, Garry directs the Injury Prevention Center at Connecticut Children's Medical Center/ Hartford Hospital. He is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics & Public Health at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. James Hunter, performer on bass guitar and acoustic bass. A public school teacher for New London, New Haven, and Groton over the past thirty-six years. James worked with rock, Latin, and jazz bands in Connecticut. He is a member of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony and currently performs jazz on the 1st and the 3rd Sundays at the Steak loft in Mystic, Connecticut. James performs gospel music Sunday mornings at Madry Temple in New London. Mark Vickers, piano/flute, has been a performer in Connecticut since beginning accordion at the age of eight. Mark went on to study jazz piano, improvisation, and arranging with Neil Slater at the University of Bridgeport while earning his bachelor's degree in music education. He received his Masters of Music Education with an emphasis in flute with Julius Baker from Juilliard. He later earned his Ph.-D. in music education at the Hartt School and continued the study of jazz flute. During his 35 - year career as a public school music educator in CT. Mark performed with various jazz groups and big bands on the piano while playing flute with and conducting multiple concert bands and orchestras in the Hartford area. Currently, in addition to performing with Metro Jazz, he is co-principal flute with CT Valley Symphony Orchestra. Mark co-directs the New York Flute Club Ensemble program in Manhattan and is an adjunct music education professor at the University of Bridgeport, where he leads the UB Knight's Ensemble Wind Band.