The Jocelyn Michelle Jazz Organ Quintet featuring Jocelyn Michelle playing the Hammond B3 organ along with guitarist John Rack, drummer Sammy K, saxophonist John Zangrando, and trumpeter Paul January perform in concert at the Altitude Deck in Kihei.  Doors open at the open-air rooftop venue at 5:30pm and the show begins at 6pm, For tickets, go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/konabluemusicllv/1436337

 The Hammond tonewheel organ, produced from 1935 to 1975, was one of the first mass-produced musical instruments which combined the electrical, mechanical and acoustic worlds. It is a keyboard instrument that could produce totally new sounds, and at the same time imitate other acoustic instruments. Considered by some to be the "grandfather of electronic music," from gospel to blues, from rock concerts to jazz clubs, the Hammond organ was truly revolutionary.

 Although Jocelyn Michelle also plays piano and guitar, she’s found her true voice on the Hammond B3 organ.  A talented composer and lyricist as well as a musician, she has been performing different musical genres for many years and reimagines well-known songs in her own unique style. She could play by ear from a very early age and started piano lessons at seven years old. Jocelyn went on to attend the University Of Miami School Of Music and then played organ and keyboards all over south Florida. There, she met her husband, guitarist John Rack, and the two went on to become musical and life partners. They moved to the island of Hawaii in 2013 and continue to perform, record and tour together.

 John Rack has played guitar in jazz and blues bands with his wife Jocelyn for the past several decades. They played in south Florida and Los Angeles, California. After moving to Kona, Hawaii ten years ago, they’ve performed at Jazz Minds in Honolulu, Gertrude’s Jazz Bar in Kona, and the Blue Dragon in Kawaihae among many other venues. In 2019 they started playing in Osaka, Japan and returned there in the spring of 2024 for more shows.

Grammy nominee Song and Album of the Year Drummer (Dove and UCMVA Awards), Sammy K is an international educator, clinician and performer. He is an educator for the Music for All Summer Symposium (sponsored by Yamaha), Joe’s Jazz Camp, New Horizons Band Camp, and the Dayton Jazz labs. Sammy also does distance clinics and teaching with high school and college students around the world. Sammy has appeared on the Emmy-winning Wayne Brady Show, Ally McBeal (with KC&The Sunshine Band), with Josh Grogan, and in the movie “The Fast and The Furious”. He has recorded and or performed with a list of artists including: Bob Hope, The Manhattan Transfer, Burt Bacharach, Dave Brubeck, Steve Lawrence, Jimmy Heath, Lucy Lawless, John Hendricks, and the United States Air Force Band. His playing can be heard on Disney holiday DVDs, major television networks and several films.

 John Zangrando or “Johnny Z.” came to Maui in 1980 from New York and has been one of the busiest sax players on the island since. He has played or recorded with George Benson, John Mayall, Michael McDonald, Dionne Warwick, and Gladys Knight. He has also played with Dr. Lonnie Smith, Danny Gottlieb and Mark Egan of Elements and was musical director for singer Jon Hendricks for his Hawaii tour. Johnny Z plays tenor, alto, soprano, baritone and bass saxophones, as well as flute, piccolo, bass clarinet and electronic wind instrument (EWI).

Trumpet player Paul January got his first paying gig when he was 11 years old, playing piano for a children’s fashion show in Denver, Colorado. By 1972 he was attending music school, teaching piano and trumpet, and working every weekend. He spent the next 46 years playing in various spots around Reno and Tahoe, as a single performer playing jazz, standards, and pop, or with groups as large as 17 playing everything from funk to big band jazz. He has had the privilege of working with some of the biggest names ever to grace the stages of Reno and Las Vegas, and has made many friends along the way.

For more information, visit www.JocelynMichelleJazzBand.com.