Current Projects

"I'm presently performing in several different groups.  The largest of which is Pacific Standard Time Orchestra, which features among it's members female vocalist Candace Delbo, veteran percussionist Ken Delbo, virtuoso pianist Greg Spaulding, and accomplished Acoustic String Bassist  Josh Meehan.  Candace and I share lead vocal duties, and trade harmonies on a diverse list of well-known Standards and Jazz pieces, which range from familiar Swing and Bossa Novas, to Burt Bacharach, and selected Show tunes.  All the members of the group share a common passion "The Great American Songbook".  The group is currently performing throughout Southern California at various different concert venues, formal private engagements, and selected special events."

photo by Natalie Wilde © 2001

"I'm also performing regularly at various local jazz venues with "The Contemporary Jazz Trio", whose other members include noted Guitarist Jim La Diana, and L.A. session Bassist Trevor Lindsey."

"The combination of instrumentation is different from the normal jazz quartet fare, and allows us to have a lot more musical freedom to experiment, as well as the ability to fit into tight places and gig where a traditional quartet simply cannot fit.  La Diana and Lindsey are both seasoned pros, each having impressive résumés.  Together, we collectively have over a hundred years of playing experience between us.  We’re currently playing  original compositions, as well as familiar Brazilian and Latin jazz pieces, along with some classic Fusion, jazz standards, and assorted other swing favorites from "The Real Book".  

"This year also marked the fifth year in a row that I have participated in the "God's Manly Man Event" Worship Band.  This annual event is held every Spring at the Forrest Home, Ojai Campus on Burnham Rd.  The God's Manly Man  (GMM) event, which is largely attended by father/son teams, is a men's retreat designed to bring the attendees closer to God, and to one another.  As the name implies, the event features manly man kinds of events, that sort of loosely resemble a 3-day Christian "Fear Factor" episode, if you can imagine that.  Extreme sports competitions, macho chest-pounding and gross-out eating contests are the norm.  Cheating is encouraged; just don't get caught, (or you have to pay a monetary fine that goes to charity ). This year, the leadership team at  GMM honored the musicians with a special dinner presentation that included the usual great food, speeches thanking GMM Band, Certificates of appreciation, and special jackets that were individually monogrammed with our names.  All in all, this years' GMM event was very special."

"In all of my uniquely different groups, I strive to achieve  a common goal, which is to keep Jazz alive as an art from; the key element being personal expression through improvisation.  Ultimately, the true essence of Jazz is allowing each individual artist to express himself, and to put into music what words cannot say.  Jazz is about celebrating life, with it's many ups, downs, and in betweens, (and because it's just plain fun!)  We're not worrying about trying to reinvent the wheel, here, either.  It is my feeling that many artists, too often this day in age, try so hard to be unique that, (in the process), they lose site of making pleasing music that has any kind of appeal to anyone other than themselves, (or other musicians).  It's my intent to present traditional toe-tapping jazz pieces, which are melodic, harmonious, and filled with improvisational expression.  I try to allow each musician to explore his own  unique artistic interpretation and treatment every song.  In this way, familiar sounding melodic and chordal formats are presented in a straightforward manner without any smoke and mirrors.  I feel that above all, jazz should be easy for anyone to listen to, even newcomers.  You shouldn't have to have a degree in music to understand and appreciate a Jazz presentation."

~ Joseph Horswell ~

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