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John Fedchock

John Fedchock’s illustrious career in jazz has spanned over four decades. Since his emergence on the scene in 1980, Fedchock has established himself as a world-class trombone soloist, a heralded bandleader, and a Grammy-nominated arranger. An in-demand performer and writer in New York City, his multifaceted talents have led him to become one of NYC’s premier jazz artists. His critically acclaimed John Fedchock New York Big Band has become a marquee group, showcasing Fedchock’s trombone and arranging as well as the band’s all-star soloists. The JFNYBB’s five CDs on the MAMA and Reservoir Music labels have all received high praise from critics and extraordinary success on national jazz radio charts. The early success of the band resulted in Fedchock’s name appearing in DOWNBEAT’s Readers Poll under the categories of Trombone, Arranger and Big Band, simultaneously for several consecutive years. In recognition of his formidable arranging skills, Fedchock is a two-time GRAMMY Award nominee for “Best Instrumental Arrangement”. The JFNYBB’s recordings have appeared in jazz radio’s Top Ten, and the New York Times has applauded the band’s “Cheerful Syncopation, Served With Spit-and-Polish Precision.” Small group projects with his quartet and NY Sextet showcase A-list sidemen along with Fedchock’s “incomparable trombone playing, which seems to have no limit, technically or musically” (JazzReview.com).

Fedchock began his career as a jazz trombonist when he joined the legendary Woody Herman Orchestra in 1980. He toured with Woody’s “Thundering Herd” for seven years, during which time he was musical director and a featured soloist. He served as musical coordinator and chief arranger in the production of Herman’s last two Grammy Award nominated albums “50th Anniversary Tour” and “Woody’s Gold Star”, and received accolades from jazz journalists worldwide. Famed jazz critic Leonard Feather called him the “unsung hero” of Woody’s “50th Anniversary Tour” album and Woody said of Fedchock, “He’s my right hand man. Everything I ask of John he accomplishes, and I ask a lot. He’s a major talent.” DOWNBEAT magazine stated that, “it was the young blood of musicians like Fedchock that helped keep Woody Herman’s last years musically healthy and growing”. Fedchock still maintains a close association with the Herman orchestra, performing with the group on occasion and continuing to add his own compositions and arrangements to the band’s library.

Fedchock has toured with T.S. Monk, Gerry Mulligan Concert Jazz Band, Louie Bellson Big Band, Bob Belden Ensemble, Manhattan Jazz Orchestra, Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, and has performed at jazz festivals and concert halls around the world.  As a solo artist, he appears throughout the United States and abroad performing as guest trombonist/composer/conductor. To add to his already diverse list of multiple talents, Fedchock is also a producer of note, and has lent his studio expertise to several recent recording projects.

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36
Album Review

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace

Read "Grit & Grace" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Asked to name the traits women most need to succeed in today's business world, Forbes magazine in a 2019 article underlined two of them as “grit and grace." One woman who took the advice to heart is bass trombonist Jennifer Wharton. She came late to jazz but has since made it her domain of choice, founding the trombone-centric septet Bonegasm and recording three albums under its name, the most recent of which, Grit & Grace, endorses Forbes' position by using ...

10
Album Review

Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm: Grit & Grace

Read "Grit & Grace" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Blessed be the 'bone of invention and intention that is Jennifer Wharton. A mere six years ago, the noted bass trombonist had the idea to form a slide-centric septet and commission new music to bring her oft-neglected and ballasting instrument to the fore. Driven to act on that concept, Wharton thought things through, put a plan in motion and willed Bonegasm into existence. That aptly-titled band recorded its eponymous debut in 2018, released that revelation of a record in 2019, ...

Album Review

Steven Feifke: The Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra

Read "The Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Metti assieme un talentoso giovane orchestratore come Steven Feifke, un trombettista di prima grandezza come Bijon Watson e una big band con grandi nomi e prestigiosi ospiti e il risultato è scontato. Il debutto della Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra è stato propiziato dalla collaborazione col Jazz Education Network ed ha assunto le vesti di un album includendo in organico ospiti di rilievo come Kurt Elling, Sean Jones e Chad Lefkowitz Brown. Il principale riferimento è la tradizione ...

1
In Pictures

John Fedchock Swings at Old Dominion University

Read "John Fedchock Swings at Old Dominion University" reviewed by Mark Robbins


Frank Sinatra said: “My greatest teacher was not a vocal coach, not the work of other singers, but the way Tommy Dorsey breathed and phrased on the trombone." Sinatra could have easily been describing John Fedchock on the trombone. Since beginning his career with the Woody Herman Orchestra in 1980, Fedchock has become one of the finest, if not the finest, trombonist performing today. The multi-nominated Grammy Award trombonist is no stranger to the Tidewater area. It was ...

3
Liner Notes

Jennifer Wharton: Not a Novelty

Read "Jennifer Wharton: Not a Novelty" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


The eponymous debut from Jennifer Wharton's Bonegasm broke the mold. There are no two ways about it. And while some may look at a statement like that and cry hyperbole, history begs to differ. With rare exception, the bass trombone—a horn forever typecast as an anchor—has been marginalized. So the idea of an ensemble featuring that denizen of the depths—a band playing music specifically commissioned to hinge on it, highlight it, and showcase the playing of one of its foremost ...

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Album Review

Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra: The Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra

Read "The Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra, co-led by pianist/composer Steven Feifke and trumpeter par excellence Bijon Watson, is a seventeen-member ensemble comprising seasoned players paired with young lions who are poised to capture pride of place. Nowhere do the leaders say who is in which group, and it would be impolitic to name them here. Suffice to say that some of the names may be more familiar than others--as, for example, trombonist John Fedchock who cut his teeth with one of ...

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Album Review

Michael Eckroth Group: Plena

Read "Plena" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Michael Eckroth had clear goals in mind for this project--"to create music that was lyrical, modern, true to its Afro-Latin roots, but never purist in its approach"--and he's accomplished his mission with gusto. Through Plena, this Grammy-nominated pianist/composer delivers a program of original music that, while acknowledging folkloric traditions, doesn't buy into their formal strictures and structures. Instead, Eckroth deals in forward-thinking offshoots and branch realities that beautifully extend on--and past--those points. Essentially working with two different ...

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134

Performance / Tour

John Fedchock New York Big Band Live at Iridium, Tuesday September 8

John Fedchock New York Big Band Live at Iridium, Tuesday September 8

Source: Michael Ricci

The John Fedchock New York Big Band makes a special appearance at Iridium in NYC on Tuesday September 8, performing two sets at 8pm & 10pm. Made up of New York's jazz elite, the group is stocked with NYC's premier soloists featured in a variety of settings, including straight- ahead big band charts, as well as more progressive and innovative styles. The performance will showcase Fedchock's Grammy-nominated arranging, with material from all four of the band's outstanding CDs including it's ...

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Interview

Trombonist/Composer John Fedchock Interviewed at AAJ

Trombonist/Composer John Fedchock Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz

On October 30, 31 and November 1, 2008, the University of the Arts will hold an exciting symposium and series of concerts dedicated to the memory of the great trumpeter, Clifford Brown. This interview, with trombonist/big band leader John Fedchock, is the second of two interviews conducted in advance of this event, sponsored by the University of the Arts and the Philadelphia Jazz Heritage Project, the first being with legendary saxophonist Lou Donaldson.

At the performance, Fedchock will be premiering ...

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Festival

12th Annual Illinois State University Jazz Festival Set for April 4 and 5

12th Annual Illinois State University Jazz Festival Set for April 4 and 5

Source: All About Jazz

Trombonist and composer John Fedchock will be the guest artist at the 12th annual Illinois State University Jazz Festival for junior high and high school bands on April 4 and 5 in the Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall. There will be 8 p.m. concert both evenings featuring Fedchock playing with the ISU Jazz Ensemble. Tickets are $10 for the general public, $8 for faculty-staff and $7 for students and senior citizens. Tickets can be purchased at the Center ...

101

Performance / Tour

Grammy-Nominated Composer/Trombonist John Fedchock Plays Chicago!

Grammy-Nominated Composer/Trombonist John Fedchock Plays Chicago!

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

Wednesday, March 28, 2007, 8:00 PM John Fedchock with Rob Parton's JazzTech Big Band Featuring music from Fedchock's new CD, Up & Running Metropolis Center, 111 W Campbell, Arlington Heights, IL 60005 www.metropolisarts.com

Friday & Saturday, March 30-31, 2007 John Fedchock/Paul McKee Quintet The Green Mill 4802 N. Broadway Ave., Chicago, IL 60640 773 878 5552, www.greenmilljazz.com

On Tuesday, March 20 Reservoir Music Proudly Releasesd UP ...

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Performance / Tour

Grammy-Nominated Composer/Trombonist John Fedchock on Tour

Grammy-Nominated Composer/Trombonist John Fedchock on Tour

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

GRAMMY-NOMINATED COMPOSER/TROMBONIST JOHN FEDCHOCK ON TOUR

Dates scheduled in Denver, Albuquerque, Miami, Chicago, Kansas City, Rochester and more--see details below

On Tuesday, March 20 Reservoir Music Proudly Releases UP & RUNNING from The JOHN FEDCHOCK NEW YORK BIG BAND

“... dazzling trombone virtuosity"--New York Times

“Fedchock plays with a dark, virile, sharply etched tone, and he's as well organized and aware of texture in his articulate solos as he is in his terrific arrangements"--Neil Tesser, Chicago Reader

Grammy nominated and ...

74

Performance / Tour

Grammy Nominated Jazz Artist John Fedchock in Colorado February 18-24!!

Grammy Nominated Jazz Artist John Fedchock in Colorado February 18-24!!

Source: All About Jazz

GRAMMY-NOMINATED ARTIST JOHN FEDCHOCK APPEARING IN CLINICS, CONCERTS AND MASTERCLASSES IN COLORADO-FEBRUARY 18-24!

THE JOHN FEDCHOCK NEW YORK BIG BAND - UP & RUNNING New Recording Available March 20 on Reservoir Music

“Fedchock plays with a dark, virile, sharply etched tone, and he's as well organized and aware of texture in his articulate solos as he is in his terrific arrangements" --Neil Tesser, CHICAGO READER

Grammy nominated and world renowned trombonist, composer/arranger and big band leader ...

131

Performance / Tour

John Fedchock New York Big Band at the Jazz Standard, One Night Only - February 6

John Fedchock New York Big Band at the Jazz Standard, One Night Only - February 6

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

JOHN FEDCHOCK NEW YORK BIG BAND AT THE JAZZ STANDARD, ONE NIGHT ONLY - FEBRUARY 6, IN CELEBRATION of UP & RUNNING (New Recording Available March 20 on Reservoir Music)

“... dazzling trombone virtuosity"-THE NEW YORK TIMES

“Fedchock plays with a dark, virile, sharply etched tone, and he's as well organized and aware of texture in his articulate solos as he is in his terrific arrangements" Neil Tesser, CHICAGO READER

The John Fedchock New York Big ...

94

Performance / Tour

John Fedchock New York Big Band CD Release Performances!

John Fedchock New York Big Band CD Release Performances!

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

JOHN FEDCHOCK NEW YORK BIG BAND AT THE JAZZ STANDARD, ONE NIGHT ONLY - FEBRUARY 6, IN CELEBRATION of “UP & RUNNING" (New Recording Available March 20 on Reservoir Music!) Also at The IAJE Convention-Sheraton Hotel, January 13 at 6PM “...dazzling trombone virtuosity..." -THE NEW YORK TIMES “Fedchock plays with a dark, virile, sharply etched tone, and he's as well organized and aware of texture in his articulate solos as he is in his terrific arrangements." -Neil Tesser, CHICAGO READER ...

66

Technology

TrombonesOnline.com Features John Fedchock and Holiday Promotions!

TrombonesOnline.com Features John Fedchock and Holiday Promotions!

Source: All About Jazz

TrombonesOnline.com Features John Fedchock and Holiday Promotions! TrombonesOnline.com, the leading online provider of trombone equipment, related products and content, today announced that this month they will be featuring New York jazz trombonist, band leader, composer, arranger and clinician John Fedchock. “A big part of the Trombonesonline business model is to feature great trombonists of all genres", said Steve Eichen, partner and business developer of TrombonesOnline. “We are thrilled to be working with John and his publisher ...

64

Recording

TrombonesOnline.com to Feature John Fedchock's CDs and Catalogue of Etudes and Compositions & arrangements!

TrombonesOnline.com to Feature John Fedchock's CDs and Catalogue of Etudes and Compositions & arrangements!

Source: All About Jazz

John Fedchock established his career as a jazz trombonist in 1980 when he joined the legendary Woody Herman Orchestra. He toured with Woody's “Thundering Herd" for seven years, during which time he was musical director and a featured soloist. He also served as musical coordinator and chief arranger in the production of Herman's last two Grammy Award nominated albums “50th Anniversary Tour" and “Woody's Gold Star", and received critical acclaim from jazz journalists world- wide. Famed jazz critic Leonard Feather ...

"Tantalizing big-band Jazz, served New York-style."
—CADENCE "The whole band cooks and Fedchock shines throughout."
—Mitch Meyers, DOWNBEAT "Mainstream and modern at the same time." —Budd Kopman, ALL ABOUT JAZZ "Fedchock is on his way to being accepted into the Hall Of Fame of Great Arrangers." —John Killoch, MAINLY BIG BANDS "Cheerful syncopation, served with spit-and-polish precision." —Nate Chinen THE NEW YORK TIMES "Fedchock's prowess as an arranger has proven a magnet for top- drawer talent." —Mark Holston, JAZZIZ "...a group without gimmick, pretense or overt statement of purpose other than smart writing and great playing

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Primary Instrument

Trombone

Location

New York City

Willing to teach

Advanced only

Credentials/Background

Purchase College (Purchase, NY)

Clinic/Workshop Information

ABOUT THE SEMINARS

John Fedchock's credits as an experienced clinician have taken him to countless universities, colleges and high schools over the past two decades. Since his emergence on the New York scene, Fedchock has established himself as a world- class trombone soloist, a heralded bandleader, and a Grammy-nominated arranger. He brings those skills to his clinics and masterclasses, sharing his vast knowledge and experience, and giving students a look into the world of the NYC professional. Personal insights into Improvisation, Composition/Arranging, Brass Playing, and the Music Business complete the picture, providing a multi-faceted learning experience. Along with his prominent performing credentials, Fedchock's extensive jazz education background and comfortable teaching demeanor have made him a popular favorite among teachers and students alike.

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Siya Charles
trombone

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Grit & Grace

Sunnyside Records
2023

buy

The Generation Gap...

Cellar Records
2022

buy

Not A Novelty

Sunnyside Records
2021

buy

Le Gros Cube #2

Yolk Records
2021

buy

Plena

Truth Revolution Records
2021

buy

Be Normal

From: Grit & Grace
By John Fedchock

You And The Night And The Music

From: Like It Is
By John Fedchock

Videos

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