Thursday Night Jazz: Randy Napoleon, Jeff Pedraz & Thomas Wendt’s Celebration of Detroit, Philly & Pittsburgh Jazz

Philadelphia, Detroit, and Pittsburgh are three of the most important cities in jazz, each churning out an astounding number of jazz masters. This includes some of the most important innovators in the genre, brilliant minds and musicians who helped to change and shape the way jazz is played. Guitarist Randy Napoleon (Detroit), bassist Jeff Pedraz (Philadelphia), and drummer Thomas Wendt (Pittsburgh) represent all three of these jazz cities and have come together to celebrate the storied jazz legacies of each one. In this triple-powered Thursday Night Jazz performance, the trio will focus on composers from Philly, Detroit, and Pittsburgh and include commentary to aid audiences in understanding both the music and the people who created it.

Featured Musicians:

Randy Napoleon: guitar

Jeff Pedraz: bass

Thomas Wendt: drums

About the Musicians:

Known as a forward-thinking musician with a passion for the jazz tradition, guitarist Randy Napoleon is an Associate Professor at Michigan State University. Napoleon cut his teeth touring with pianist Benny Green, The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Michael Bublé, and a thirteen-year tenure with Freddy Cole. He has also performed with artists across the jazz spectrum, such as Bill Charlap, Natalie Cole, Monty Alexander, Rodney Whitaker, and John Pizzarelli. Napoleon has performed or arranged on over seventy records. He arranged as well as performed on Freddy Cole’s seven most recent records, including the Grammy-nominated releases, Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B and My Mood Is You. Napoleon is featured on Buble’s Grammy-nominated CD/DVD Caught in the Act. Napoleon has played on The Tonight Show, Late Night With David Letterman, The View, The Today Show, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as well as TV shows in South America, Europe, and Asia. He has performed across the globe at notable venues including the Royal Albert Hall, the Sydney Opera House, the Hollywood Bowl, and Lincoln Center.

Jeff Pedraz is a Philadelphia native, bassist, and composer. Working on both the double bass and electric bass, he has worked in an array of musical genres, ranging from traditional orchestral to modern jazz. Pedraz received much of his training on stage at Ortlieb’s Jazzhaus in Philadelphia in the 1990s, where he had the chance to play with and learn from the house band, which included Shirley Scott, Mickey Roker, Arthur Harper, Mike Boone, and Sid Simmons. Major career highlights include both national and international touring with groups such as Pat Martino Quintet, Jimmy Bruno Trio, Terell Stafford Quintet, George Garzone Quartet, Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet, Freddy Cole Quartet, Kurt Elling Quintet, and the Johnny O’Neal trio. Throughout his career, Jeff has shared the stage with notable jazz luminaries such as Donald Byrd, Cecil Payne, Sheila Jordan, Christine Ebersol, Arturo Sandoval, John Swana, Jodi Christian, Frank Tiberi, Uri Cane, Eric Alexander, Bryan Lynch, Ellis Marsalis, Richie Cole, Bootsie Barnes, and many others. He continues to perform in major venues and festivals worldwide while maintaining a presence in the vibrant Detroit music community, where he strives to grow artistically and share the great jazz tradition with fellow musicians and audiences all over the city.

Thomas Wendt is a graduate of the Pittsburgh High School for the Creative and Performing Arts and has been a professional musician since the age of 14. Based in Pittsburgh, Thomas is an active member of the current jazz scene, playing with groups led by Joe Negri, Dwayne Dolphin, Mark Strickland, Kenia, and the Latin jazz group Salsamba, in addition to leading his own groups, including the sextet Firm Roots. He is also a member of the newly reformed Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra. Thomas has played with many visiting international Jazz greats, including Clark Terry, Donald Byrd, David “Fathead” Newman, Benny Golson, Monty Alexander, James Moody, Jimmy Heath, Christian McBride, Curtis Lundy, and Geri Allen. Recently, Thomas has played with NEA Jazz Master Hubert Laws at several major jazz festivals and with pianist Alan Broadbent for the Nyack, NY library jazz series, as well as traveling with alto saxophonist Jim Snidero. He has recorded with Gene Ludwig, Sandy Staley, Maureen Budway, Steve Davis, and Jay Ashby, Joe Negri, David Budway, Ron Affif, Freddy Cole, and Sean Jones (with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra), Gloria Reuben, and Brazilian vocalist Kenia. Thomas has been on the faculty of the Afro-American Music Institute since 1998 and Duquesne University since 2015, where he teaches drums, chamber jazz ensemble, and jazz history.

About Your Visit: 

The in-house restaurant, Cucina Alfabeto, is open for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Please visit OpenTable or call 412-435-1111 to make a reservation.