Guest Artists
Mike Crotty and Deater O'Neill
Multi-instrumentalist(trumpet/saxophones/
flutes) and composer/arranger MIKE CROTTY and singer/songwriter DEATER
O’NEILL became Arizona favorites back in 1995, when the Mesa
Symphony Orchestra brought them from Washington, D.C. to perform their
show “The Magic of Gershwin.” Soon after, they
appeared with the Flagstaff Symphony and ASU’s Symphony Orchestra
as part of a Jazz Week artist-in-residency. Subsequently, they
presented four repeat-performances with the Mesa Symphony of their
Gershwin concert, plus “Swing! Swing! Swing!” and their
latest show, “Growing Up With Television.” Humor and an
endearing, down-to-earth manner are woven throughout their shows,
featuring their distinctive horn/vocal sound in innovative, fresh
arrangements of the great music and lyrics of the American Popular
Songbook.
Musical partners since the early 1980s, Crotty and O’Neill have a
long list of performance highlights—together and individually.
Attesting to their musical talent and reputations, their first public
performance together was for the Kool Jazz Festival held at the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Other performances include the
Ella Fitzgerald Music Festival; a Sister Cities International cultural
exchange and concert series in Bangkok, Thailand, representing the
nation’s capital; a four-concert series at the J. F. Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts, as part of their 1999 artist residency;
a Smithsonian Institution concert, where they performed the songs of
the great female vocalists of the swing era of the 1930’s and
40’s; and countless appearances in nightclubs, jazz festivals and
concerts with symphony orchestras, wind ensembles and jazz bands
throughout the country.
Since
moving to Arizona in 2002, they have performed in venues throughout the
state, including the jazz concert series at Kerr Cultural Center,
Sacred Grounds, Jazz in the Hills, Jazz for the Soul, West Valley Art
Museum, the Chandler Jazz Festival, the Charles Mingus Jazz Festival,
residencies for the Gila Valley Arts Council and a recent tour of 25
concert venues throughout the state.
Long
recognized for her big band singing, Deater was described as "one of
the very best of today’s big band vocalists" in a special
television newscast on the resurgence of big bands. Some feature
performances include guest appearances with the U.S. Air Force’s
legendary Airmen of Note and the U.S. Navy Commodores, Larry Elgart,
the late Charlie Spivak and Billy Butterfield, the Dorsey Brothers
Band, the Benny Goodman Band led by Clem DeRosa, Cherry Blossom
Festival Balls and Presidential Inaugural Balls for former Presidents
Reagan, Clinton and Bush, Sr.
Mike’s
musical career, which spans more than 40 years, has featured
performances with great jazz stars such as Dizzy Gillespie, Clark
Terry, Sonny Stitt, Randy Brecker, Ernie Watts, Bob Berg, Mel Lewis,
Claudio Roditi, Louie Bellson, Billy Taylor, as well as legendary
entertainers like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Mel Torme, Sarah
Vaughan, Diana Ross, Joe Williams, Ray Charles and many others. Other
highlights include performances at the Monterey Jazz Festival, the
Montreaux/Detroit Jazz Festival, the Smithsonian Institute, the
Corcoran Gallery of Art Jazz Series and 25 years of concerts at
D.C.’s famed jazz club, Blues Alley. Appearing as bandleader,
instrumentalist and composer/arranger, he showcased his music for years
with his 18-piece Sunday Morning Jazz Band, an ensemble applauded for
its compelling innovation, musical superiority and artistic integrity.
Mike
served as composer/arranger for the Airmen of Note, the premiere jazz
ensemble of the U.S. Air Force, for 26 years. In addition to the
thousands of compositions and arrangements he wrote for the band, he
performed and toured with them, playing in both the saxophone and
trumpet sections.
In
demand as an internationally-renowned jazz writer, Mike has written
music for hundreds of albums and CD's as well as performances for such
artists as Clark Terry, Billy Taylor, Mel Lewis, Dizzy Gillespie,
Stanley Turrentine, Bunky Green, Ernie Watts, Randy Brecker, Ronnie
Cuber, Claudio Roditi, Phil Wilson, Bob Berg, Sheila Jordan and Diane
Schuur. Mike has been a mainstay in recording studios across the
country since 1965, having written and played on thousands of recording
sessions for film, television and commercial recordings.
