John Elliott Swana (born 1962) is an American jazz musician who played trumpet and flügelhorn until a benign tumor forced him to put down those instruments. He then picked up the
valve trombone
The valve trombone is a brass instrument in the trombone family that has a set of valves to vary the pitch instead of (or in addition to) a slide. Although it has been built in sizes from alto to contrabass, it is the tenor valve trombone pitched ...
and
electronic wind instrument
EWI (from electronic wind instrument, ) is a type of wind controller, an electronic musical instrument invented by Nyle Steiner. The EWI has been used by many artists across many different genres.
History
The EWI was invented by Nyle Steiner, ...
to continue his music profession.
He began his career in clubs of his hometown of Philadelphia. He played in big bands, organ combos, and with musicians of the hard bop mainstream. Swana also worked with
Ralph Bowen
Ralph Bowen (born December 24, 1961) is a Canadian jazz saxophonist.
Biography
Bowen started piano lessons at an early age, with clarinet and saxophone lessons following soon after. At thirteen he led a quartet and performed in big bands in Tor ...
,
Orrin Evans
Orrin Evans (born 28 March 1975) is an American jazz pianist. Evans was born in Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia.Lutz, Phillip. "Orrin Evans The Instigator." ''Downbeat'' 81.11 (2014): 42-45. Print. He attended ...
,
Charles Fambrough
Charles Fambrough (August 25, 1950January 1, 2011) was an American jazz bassist, composer and record producer from Philadelphia.
Fambrough was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers during the early 1980s.
Suffering from kidney failure, conges ...
Norristown, Pennsylvania
Norristown is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough with Home Rule Municipality (Pennsylvania), home rule status and the county seat of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States, in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia metropolitan area. Located ...
, a suburb of Philadelphia, Swana took up Trumpet at the age of 11. He was drawn to jazz at the age of 17 after hearing
Dizzy Gillespie
John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...
, and the interest developed into a passion while he was in college. There he began transcribing the solos of
Freddie Hubbard
Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...
,
Clifford Brown
Clifford Benjamin Brown (October 30, 1930 – June 26, 1956) was an American jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer. He died at the age of 25 in a car crash, leaving behind four years' worth of recordings. His compositions "Sandu", "Joy Sprin ...
,
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...
, and
Tom Harrell
Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...
.
Discography
* ''Introducing'' (
Criss Cross Jazz
Criss Cross Jazz is a Dutch record company and label specializing in jazz.
Criss Cross was established in 1981 in Enschede, Netherlands by Gerry Teekens, a professional drummer and linguistics professor. Teekens founded the label after organiz ...
* Eric Alexander, ''Full Range'' (Criss Cross, 1995)
* Eric Alexander, ''New York Calling'' (Criss Cross, 1993)
* Chuck Anderson, ''Angel Blue Tour of Jazz'' (Anderson Music, 2002)
*
Ralph Bowen
Ralph Bowen (born December 24, 1961) is a Canadian jazz saxophonist.
Biography
Bowen started piano lessons at an early age, with clarinet and saxophone lessons following soon after. At thirteen he led a quartet and performed in big bands in Tor ...
, ''Soul Proprietor'' (Criss Cross, 2001)
*
Orrin Evans
Orrin Evans (born 28 March 1975) is an American jazz pianist. Evans was born in Trenton, New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia.Lutz, Phillip. "Orrin Evans The Instigator." ''Downbeat'' 81.11 (2014): 42-45. Print. He attended ...
, ''Justin Time'' (Criss Cross, 1997)
*
Charles Fambrough
Charles Fambrough (August 25, 1950January 1, 2011) was an American jazz bassist, composer and record producer from Philadelphia.
Fambrough was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers during the early 1980s.
Suffering from kidney failure, conges ...
, ''City Tribes'' (Evidence, 1996)
* Charles Fambrough, ''Keeper of the Spirit'' (AudioQuest, 1995)
* Jimmy Greene, ''Introducing Jimmy Greene'' (Criss Cross, 1997)
*
Benny Golson
Benny Golson (January 25, 1929 – September 21, 2024) was an American bebop and hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a p ...
Donny McCaslin
Donald Paul McCaslin (born August 11, 1966) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has recorded over a dozen albums as a bandleader in addition to many sideman appearances, including on David Bowie's final studio album, ''Blackstar (album), Blacksta ...
, ''Give and Go'' (Criss Cross, 2006)
*
Clarence Penn
Clarence Lacquese Penn (born March 2, 1968) is an American jazz drummer and composer.
Early life
Penn was born in Detroit on March 2, 1968.Kennedy, Gary W"Clarence Penn" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd edition). Grove Music Online. Oxf ...
, ''Play-Penn'' (Criss Cross, 2001)
* Chris Potter, ''
Presenting Chris Potter
''Presenting Chris Potter'' is the debut album led by jazz saxophonist Chris Potter which was recorded on December 29, 1992, and released in 1993 in the Netherlands by the Criss Cross Jazz label.J. D. Walter, ''Sirens in the C House'' (Dreambox 2000)
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings
''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...