George Toms
 George
Toms started his musical career on trumpet in sixth grade band.
He soon changed to the saxophone as his principal instrument
and has remained there ever since. In the late sixties and early
seventies, he played in pop rock bands that performed at various
dances and events in the Louisville, Kentucky area. In 1972,
he entered music school at Morehead State University and also
taught private lessons , played on the weekends, and performed
with the USO. After two years at Morehead State, he transferred
to Bellarmine College where he studied music theory and piano
from Donald Murray. At the same time he studied alto saxophone
and jazz improvisation from Jamey Aebersold. In 1976 George
joined The Tikis, a prominent show band, which performed
in clubs, casinos, Playboy clubs, and many other prominent venues.
In 1980, George Toms decided to lead his own group and has had
his own band most of the times since then. In the early nineties,
George returned to school at the University of Louisville, where
he once again studied with Jamey Aebersold and the famous arranger
for Buddy Rich, Peter Gabriel, and many others - John Labarbra.
In 1998, he moved to the metro Atlanta area
to direct the Life University Jazz Band and to study chiropractic
medicine. During his five year residency in the area, he has
performed with many area jazz musicians such as Bob Shaw, Mark
Bynum, Jeremy Williams, Patrick Dennis, Cliff Davies, and many
others. George's musical experience has not been limited to
just jazz. Within a few days of arriving in metro Atlanta, he
was hired as a saxophonist in the funky dance band Mr. Homunculus
and played in dance clubs in Buckhead and many other area venues.
He also ran sound and did sax and vocal features with the rock
band, Libido.
Many of you have seen George in a variety of
roles, as a teacher, vocalist, saxophonist, and flutist. He
also played keyboards in country and rock bands and worked as
a lead vocalist in country bands. At one time or another, he
has played nearly every brass and woodwind instrument.
Cliff Davies
 Born
in the U. K. near London, England in to a musical family (Grandmother
a concert pianist; Father a multi-instrumentalist), Cliff Davies
studied in London with Max Abrambs (who gave
lessons to Carl Palmer) in the earlier sixties.
In 1965 he studied with Phil Seaman, who gave drum lessons to
Ginger Baker. From 1966-67 he lived and worked
in Paris and studied with Jazz Legend Kenny Clark.
In 1968 he played the club scene and studio scene in London,
England. Cliff landed a gig with The Roy Young Band
in 1969 and recorded two albums for RCA Records: 1. "The
Roy Young Band" 2. "Mister Funky",
as a drummer/arranger/writer. He joined IF European Jazz Rock
Band in 1971 featuring Dick Morressy on Sax
and Terry Smith on guitar. He recorded, co-produced,
and wrote four albums during this time: "Water Fall"
(Metro Media), "Double Diamond" (Metro Media),
"Tea Break" (Gull Records), and "Not
Just Another Bunch of Pretty Faces" (Gull Records)
as well as study music theory and pass The Royal College
of Music advanced music theory exam in the top 5% of
his class. Later in 1975 Cliff hooked up with Ted Nugent,
the crazy gun-toting motor city rocker and became Nugent's drummer
as well as co-producer, writer, and band leader. He played,
wrote and co-produced on 8 albums: "Ted Nugent"
(CBS), "Free For All" (CBS), "Cat Scratch Fever"
(CBS), "Weekend Warrior" (CBS), "Double Live
Gonzo" (CBS), "State of Shock" (CBS), "Intensities
in Ten Cities" (CBS), "Scream Dream" (CBS). He
then worked in New York City for Next City Productions, in 1981,
as an in-house producer. Here he recorded with Grand
Funk Railroad, Barry Goldberg, Paul
Butler, and Dan Warren. In 1986 he
enrolled as a Music Theory Major at Central Michigan University.
There he studied theory and composition with Professor
William Rivard and Percussion with Professor
Robert Honer who studied with Joe Morrello
for 10 years. From 1992-97 Cliff worked as a free-lance drummer/producer/writer
in New York City, Los Angeles, and Detroit.
Justin
Owen-Head
 Justin
has a bachelor's degree in upright bass from Kennesaw State
University. He has played with many area jazz groups as well
as the Macon Symphony.
Pat Dennis
 Pat
Dennis has a bachelor's degree in up-right Bass and a master's
degree in composition. He played trumpet with the Stan Kenton
Orchestra from 1978-1979 where he then proceeded to work as
a studio musician in New York City and Chicago. He has played
a variety of instruments including the saxophone, flute, trumpet,
flugelhorn, guitar, and piano, on a professional level for many
years. Pat
Dennis's Web Site
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