The Current Members of The Louis Armstrong Jazz Quintet 2005-2007
Scott Trayer - Bass
"Scott Trayer grew up in the small rural town of Stuarts Draft, Virginia. His father bought him a bass guitar at the age of eight, and he got started on the double bass as a freshman in high school. Scott attended James Madison University after high school, majoring in music education and studying classical music. During his sophomore year at JMU an interest in jazz began to grow, and a few months later he packed everything he owned into a 1986 Chevrolet Cavalier station wagon and set out to study in the prestigious jazz program at the University of North Texas. While at North Texas Scott studied with renowned double bass teachers Jeff Bradetich, Lynn Seaton and Todd Markey. He also gained valuable experience in big band and small group playing, as well as marathon running (he completed three full 26.2 mile marathons while in Texas). Scott earned his BM degree in jazz performance in 2000 and then moved to Richmond, Virginia where a busy performance schedule and a position teaching double bass at Longwood University kept him busy. Acceptance into graduate school at Manhattan School of Music in 2001 brought Scott to New York City. While at MSM he studied with bassist Jay Anderson, arranger Michael Abene and Grammy Award winning jazz historian and researcher Phil Schaap. In June of 2002 Scott accepted a job with Carnival Cruise Lines. During his three years with Carnival, Scott played with jazz trios and show bands on many different ships sailing all over the world. Scott left the cruise industry in 2005 to accept an offer for a Teaching Assistantship from the University of New Orleans. Scott has performed with John D'earth, Dave Larue, Royce Campbell, Hod O'brien, Glenn Wilson and Tony Martucci.
Alberto Medina - Guitar
"Born in Mexico City, he began his musical studies at an early age. His interest in Jazz guided him to undertake a major degree in Jazz Composition and Arranging, and also as a guitar performer at Berklee College of Music in Boston Massachusetts, graduating on 1996. At his graduation he received his title with honors from the world known guitarist Pat Metheny.
During his studies at Berklee, he took private lessons around the city of Boston with some of the best guitar players of the New England music scene like Al Defino, John Demian, John Wilkins and Rick Shilling.
In 1998 he undertake a diploma degree in Jazz Composition with canadian Dave McMurdo.
Returning to Mexico, he gets quickly into the Jazz music scene playing with the top Mexican and Latin America artists. In 1999 he recorded a studio project called Jazztlan, along with some of the best Mexican jazz players. In 2000 he put together the Xul Quintet, recording an album with same name. During 2004 he decided to record "You & Me" with his own band called Alberto Medina Trio, where he accurately reflects his traditional Jazz background.
Since 1999 he has participated in several Jazz festivals and music events within Mexico, North America and South America.
At the beginning of this year, he decided to continue his studies in traditional Jazz and applied for a scholarship for the New Orleans University for a Masters in Jazz Studies, where he could be able to learn from the world known guitarist Steve Masakowski.
He gets a full scholarship and also a position in the Louis Armstrong Quintet, which is the official Jazz band of the University of New Orleans, having the opportunity to play with very well known guest artists like Nicolas Payton and Randy Breker.
David Potter - Drums
David Potter grew up in Durham, North Carolina where he attended the Durham School of the Arts. It was there that he began to study jazz under the tutelage of Dr. Andrew Sioberg and continued his education at the Florida State University. He has played with Marcus Roberts, Ellis Marsalis, Jason Marsalis, and Phillip Harper, and has performed in master classes and university concerts with Victor Goines, Wycliffe Gordon, Russell Gunn, Roland Guerrin and Fred Wesley.
Khari Lee - Saxophone
Khari Allen Lee is a native of Tuskegee, Alabama, born in 1980 to a family of musicians and music lovers. In 1991 he moved with his family to Auburn, Alabama where he attended Auburn High School. Under the guidance of Dr. Russell Logan, Khari began to blossom as a musician, earning over 20 superior ratings at state solo and ensemble competitions and a spot on the Alabama All-State Band. In his senior year at Auburn High, he was a very active performer, lead the Marching Band as drum major, was chosen to receive the John Philip Sousa Award and became an Honor Graduate in music. That year also saw his first performances as a professional musician.
In the fall of 1998, Khari began attending Auburn University as a molecular biology major. After a shift in consciousness and brief stint at the University of South Carolina under the tutelage of Roger Pemberton, he returned to AU to continue his work in music. From 2000 to through 2002, he was extensively involved not only on the university level, but also throughout the southeast as a performer and educator. At Auburn he performed as a member of the university's marching band, jazz bands, as principal chair in the symphonic band, in various musicals with the AU Theatre Department, including Caberet and Grease, as a member of the AU Singers Band, and was an active member of Kappa Kappa Psi, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, and the AU chapter of Collegiate Music Educators National Conference, serving as president of that organization in his final year. Outside of the university, Khari was an active multi-instrumentalist in several groups of varying styles from straight-ahead jazz to funk, including a very involved stint as lead alto and director/ front man for the Auburn Knights Jazz Orchestra, the nation's oldest college-aged dance band. His activities earned him the Tamblyn, Blanca Renard, Alma Dark Howard, and Auburn Arts Association scholarships in addition to an incentive from the Berklee World Scholarship Tour.
In 2002, Khari earned a B.S. in music education from Auburn University and went on to attend the Berklee College of Music in the fall. While at Berklee, he collaborated with and learned from many great students and teachers, foremost among those being Bill Pierce, Walter Beasley, Phil Wilson, Lin Biviano, Mitch Haupers and Mick Goodrich. Among the highlights of his career at Berklee were performances with Phil Wilson's Rainbow Band at the Caramoor Jazz Festival, at the inaguration of the college's new president with Chaka Khan and John Blackwell, in tribute to the Yellowjackets with Marcus Baylor and Russell Ferrante, and the Berklee commencement concert at the Matthew's Arena. He was the recipient of the Sarah Vaughn Endowed scholarship, the Louie Bellson scholarship and the Charlie Parker Scholarship, in addition to scholarships from Berklee's woodwind and professional music departments. In the spring of 2005, Khari Lee graduated from Berklee with a diploma in professional music and was chosen to become a member of UNO's Louis Armstrong Quintet.
Satoru Ohashi - Trumpet
Bio coming soon!
