A musical trio featuring Dmitry Mospan on the saxophone, Ashlin Parker on the trumpet and Michael Watson playing trombone.
About Dmitry Mospan
A regular member of Igor Butman’s Big Band and one of the most called-for saxophonist on Russian jazz scene, Dmitry Mospan is a true lifesaver for a number of Moscow bands. It’s hard to find such a consecutive devotee other than Mospan to the language and sound of the most respected jazz saxophone legends. Wherever he appears, his rich and strong voice adds faithfulness to the music he performs, making it sound as homage to such icons as John Coltrane, first and foremost. However, as a musician and composer he’s standing aside from most Coltrane followers whose aim is to “do as the maestro”. One can barely hear him performing his own compositions on a daily occasion although each of them is a fascinating contribution to contemporary straight ahead jazz.
Dmitry Mospan, b. 1983 in Volgograd city, came across classical music by attending violin and clarinet classed since the age of 7. He switched to saxophone after arriving to Moscow and entering Gnesin’s College shortly after that. Being a true child prodigy, he got place in the oldest jazz orchestra led by Oleg Lundstrem even before becoming a college student. At the age of 16 he became a regular member of Igor Butman’s Big Band, remaining there to the present days. In the period of 2001 to 2007 he studied at Moscow State Univercity of Culture and Arts. In 2005, he underwent a training at New School University, NYC, under tuition of Hal Crook, Jimmy Heath, Lewis Nash and others.
During his career Dmitry Mospan appeared in bands a big variety of Russian jazz musicians, and even worked in Creole Tango Orchestra of a famous Russian rock composer Andrey Makarevich.
Mospan introduced his music to jazz audiences by co-founding Impulse Band, a band that unites soloists of Igor Butman’s Big Band. Later, in 2010, he took part in the recording of Ivan Farmakovsky’s album The Way Home, which featured 2 songs by Dmitry. His path of a composer never lies through the simplest routes. However, being fluent in a sophisticated language of time skips and affluence of sounds, he always keeps composure and lucidity of self-expression.
About Michael Watson
Michael Watson entered into a family of music lovers and legacies in 1985 in Canton, Ohio. From the time he picked up the trombone in 1994 to the time he went to Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio he has played in four All State Jazz Bands, The Grammy Jazz Ensemble with the top twenty-four high school musicians in the world at the 2003 Grammy Awards, and the Tri-C All Star Jazz band at the Tri-C Jazz Festival. In 2006, when his service in the U.S. Marine Corps brought him to New Orleans, he became actively involved in the city’s vibrant live music scene.
In addition to his performances with the Marine Corps band at Mardi Gras parades he has had the privilege to play with John Clayton, Aretha Franklin, Bill Summers, Irvin Mayfield, Dave Matthews, and Bonerama. After completing his active duty service in 2010, he has been performing regularly with Bill Summers, and Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, and other various ensembles, making appearances at French Quarter Festival, and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. And was also asked in 2012 to record on New Orleans Born John Boutté’s most recently released album All about Everything.
In 2011, through a partnership with The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and the New Orleans NBA team, was asked to be a bandleader. Where he and his band performed at 13 home games throughout the 2011-2012 season. Michael has also toured nationally with Comic Relief’s “The Return of Tony Clifton”, and toured nationally with The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, performing at may different major venues including Carnegie Hall (2012)
In 2010, Michael Watson began his international tours for music. He made is first appearance in Europe at the Ascona Jazz Festival in Switzerland, as apart of the Regeneration Brass Band of New Orleans. Where they continued to perform for 3 consecutive years. He has also performed with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra throughout Brazil(2010).
And in 2012, aside from the Ascona Jazz Festival, Michael was invited to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he was honored as a featured artist for two consecutive years with the band Jazz Five under the leadership of saxophonist Johan Lang. There, he played at the Copenhagen Jazz festival, The Maribo Jazz Festival, Frenge Fest, and Riverboat Jazz Festival, which was held in Silkeborg, Denmark.
About Ashlin Parker
As a member of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Ashlin shared in the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble for their album, Book One. In addition to the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, Ashlin is also currently a member of Delfeayo Marsalis’ Uptown Jazz Orchestra. He is a member of several bands, including Bill Summers and Jazalsa, The Next Generation Big Band, and Tony Clifton’s Cliftones, as well as the bands of Roland Guerin and Adonis Rose. Ashlin has been a member of the Vivaz!, Brasiliance, and ¡Otra! bands.
Ashlin has played in the bands of Aretha Franklin, Anthony Hamilton, Steve Masakowski, and Leon “Kid Chocolate” Brown, as well as The Kermit Ruffins’ Big Band, Matt Lemmler’s New Orleans Jazz Revival Band, Leroy Jones’ The Original Hurricane Brass Band, Russell Batiste and Friends, David Torkinowski’s Big Band, Ed Peterson and the Test, Khris Royal and Dark Matter, the Delfeayo Marsalis Septet, Pat Casey and the New Sound, and Brother Joscephus and the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra. In addition to the various bands and orchestras mentioned, Ashlin has played professionally with such musicians as Nicholas Payton, Ellis Marsalis, Jason Marsalis, Herlin Riley, Vincent Gardner, Brice Winston, Tim Warfield, Ron Westray, Evan Christopher, and Gino Vanelli.
As a band leader, Ashlin has led musicians in an array of settings and cities. He has led band performances in Charlotte, NC venues since 2004, for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (2005-07), and at the Chandler Jazz Festival in Arizona (2010). Since 2008, the Ashlin Parker Quartet has regularly performed in New Orleans’ premiere clubs such as Snug Harbor, Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse, and Mayfield’s I-Club. In 2011, Ashlin was selected as a band leader for a special partnership between the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and the New Orleans NBA team, the Hornets. He led this band at 14 home games during the 2011-2012 basketball season.
Ashlin has toured nationally with Anthony Hamilton in Jill Scott’s Summer Block Party (2011) and Comic Relief’s “The Return of Tony Clifton” (2008-12). He has toured nationally and internationally with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (2008-12) in the large concert halls of the United States and Brazil, and has played with numerous bands in national and international festivals such as The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, French Quarter Fest, Jacksonville Jazz Festival, Macy Music Fest, Hangout Fest, Bayfest, Playboy Jazz Festival, Salem Jazz Festival, South Carolina Jazz Festival, St. Louis Jazz Festival (Senegal, Africa), North Sea Jazz Festival (The Netherlands), and the Ingolstädter Jazztage (Germany).
Since the release of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra’s Book One, Ashlin has recorded several albums with other artists, such as the self-titled Pat Casey and the New Sound, andKhris Royal and Dark Matter. Most notable among these albums are two versions of a tribute to Harold Batiste: a live recording entitled A Living Tribute to Harold Batiste (from the 2012 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival) and the studio recording, Harold Batiste Presents The Next Generation Big Band, that is soon to be released under the historic AFO record label.
Ashlin holds the Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Shenandoah Conservatory (2005) and the Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of New Orleans (2009). He has been serving as Adjunct Faculty in the Music Department at the University of New Orleans since January 2011.