Daily Dose Of Jazz…

Randy Sutin was born on May 14, 1958 in Great Falls, Montana where he studied piano starting at age four and guitar when he turned eight. By the time he was ten he began study of the drums. He began playing mostly rock and some country professionally with local groups at age thirteen. At 20, he began to study mallet percussion, in particular the vibraphone, which became the main staple of his professional life as a musician.

In 1985, Randy relocated to Trenton, New Jersey, then to the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area four years later. He was a regular member of the Bill Hollis Quartet and soon began working regularly and recording with the Barry Sames Jazz Ensemble. A regular member of the late pianist Eddie Green’s group, he was featured on Eddie’s last recording, Shades of Green. He has also played and recorded with Walter Bell and the Latin Jazz Unit.

Over the last fifteen years, Sutin has continued playing as a regular member of the Barry Sames Jazz Ensemble, which does jazz arrangements of Christian music. He is featured as a soloist on both of Barry Sames’ recordings, Awaiting the Spirit and Celebration. This association with playing jazz for spiritual purposes and a desire to do a project with his wife, Marianne, who is an experienced yogi, led to his latest musical endeavor.

In 2007 they released Meditations for Percussion and Flute, a suite of compositions based on yoga practice blending a mixture of styles, but always falling back to jazz as its core. Together they created their record label, Balanced American Music. Recent work has focused on The Birdhouse Project, a trio with Jim Miller and Tyrone Brown, performing the compositions of Charlie Parker.

His most current project is with The Tyrone Brown String Ensemble. Randy is featured on both of their 2008 releases, The Magic Within and Moon of the Falling Leaves.

Vibraphonist Randy Sutin, who also plays marimba, continues to perform and record.

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