The Jazz Bums are a professional jazz group who play for events in the southeast part of Michigan. The group is comprised of six of the most sought after and versatile musicians in the area. Come to an event and hear a variety of repertoire featuring classic jazz, swing, and arrangements of contemporary tracks. The Jazz Bums make great background music, or fun upbeat dance tunes. We can be as relaxed or lively as you'd like.
Book The Jazz Bums for sophisticated wedding receptions, corporate events, dinners, happy hour, or parties. Create your own song list or choose from our song list. Featuring music by Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, plus many more. The Jazz Bums recreate those sublimely cool sounds with an unrivaled degree of accuracy and sense of style.
Book The Jazz Bums for sophisticated wedding receptions, corporate events, dinners, happy hour, or parties. Create your own song list or choose from our song list. Featuring music by Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Stan Getz, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, plus many more. The Jazz Bums recreate those sublimely cool sounds with an unrivaled degree of accuracy and sense of style.
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Flexibility is Our Specialty
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Merry Christmas / Happy New Year!
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Meet the Band
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Mike williams
Multi-versatile percussionist, music director, and composer, Mike Williams was born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI. When he received his first drum set at the age of 10, it began his life long musical journey and love for performing. Mike started gigging at the age of 16, and recording at age 19. In 1987, Mike began his education at the Eastern Michigan University School of Music, where he performed with the Concert Winds, Percussion Ensemble, Jazz Groups, and Orchestra. During that time, Mike played and recorded with a number of bands, ranging musically from Alternative Rock, to Reggae, to Top 40, Country and Jazz. With his diverse ability to play different music styles, Mike was hired for musical pit orchestras, including professional theaters and universities, around South Eastern Michigan. Mike also started music directing for many theaters in the area. Mike has played with the Adrian Symphony Orchestra, recording artist Tatiana Owens, and performer Terina Wakefield. He was the music director for 25 years at Marble Memorial UMC. brian rose
Brian has been performing since the age of 10. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Piano Performance and a Masters of Music Degree in Choral Conducting from Western Michigan University. He has performed as a soloist, accompanist and music theater director throughout MI. He is currently Operations Manager for Reinforcement Inc., an AV production company in Livonia. He serves as Music Director for several area theaters and High Schools, teaches private piano and voice, and is highly sought after as an accompanist. Brian and his wife Stacie live in Dexter, MI chris mike
Chris is a versatile and in-demand woodwind performing artist in Southeast Michigan. Classically-trained at the renowned University of North Texas, Chris is a fluent multi-instrumentalist, having studied with Daryl Coad (clarinet), Dr. Mary Karen Clardy (flute), Kathleen Reynolds (bassoon), and Jim Riggs & Dr. Eric Nestler (saxophone). At North Texas, Chris played in the One O’Clock Lab Band for three years, appeared on their latest Grammy-nominated album, and joined them on international tours to Europe and Thailand. Chris has performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as well as those of Irving, Texas & Plano, Texas. Chris has appeared as a performing artist on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Regularly performing a wide variety of styles, both live and in studio, Chris has recently enjoyed playing in all sorts of local ensembles, including jazz big bands, wedding bands, classical chamber ensembles, and professional musical theatre productions. Chris also teaches private woodwind lessons; his students have been competitive in state scholastic contests for many years. Adrienne pisoni
Adrienne is a professional singer and actor currently residing in Ann Arbor, MI. Receiving her formal training in Musical Theatre performance at the University of Michigan, she has performed professionally in both New York and Michigan. Most recent roles include Mother in “Ragtime” with Ann Arbor in Concert and Anne in “A Little Night Music” at the Performance Network. When not working on creative projects, Adrienne provides individual and couples therapy to adults in her private practice located in Ann Arbor, MI. Mike Bustos
Mike has a degree with the area of concentration in Jazz Studies on guitar. While in school, he focused on and studied classical and jazz, played guitar and tenor sax in wind ensembles, big-bands, smaller jazz combos, vocal jazz productions, and that's when his love of sound layering began. If he can't be on-stage, he'd either be running sound somewhere, recording in Pro Tools, or working on something in graphic / web design. When not playing Jazz Bums shows, he is involved in the pit orchestra for musical theater productions. He spends his days doing back-end web coding / development for a global science company, headquartered in Germany, with an office in Ann Arbor. If you ask him to describe his style, he'd say he considers himself a musician with a saxophonist's mentality who happens to play guitar (but he doesn't think of himself as a "guitarist"). Mike adores scales and modes, can actually read music (yes, it is possible to play guitar and know how to read), and knows his role isn't always to stand out. He thinks of himself as a piece of the puzzle and knows if his part doesn't fit in, the entire puzzle won't connect. Tim prettyman
Tim has been teaching himself to play the bass for the last 40 years or so. He loves to make music with talented musicians, so playing with The Jazz Bums makes him very happy. In addition to The Jazz Bums, he also plays in many area pit orchestras and community orchestras. He lives in Tecumseh with his wonderful life partner Sandra - together they've produced three remarkably well-adjusted children. To support his musical avocation, he processes bibliographic data for the University of Michigan Library. |