Our Team

For the last nineteen years, New York City based jazz guitarist, conductor, and arranger David O’Rourke has guided tomorrow’s jazz musicians as ‘house bandleader’ of the Jazz Standard Youth Orchestra. And for his contributions to Jazz Standard Discovery (a music education program that he has led since 1998), David and co-founder James Polsky were named “New Yorkers Of The Week” by NY1 News. Born and raised in Dublin, O’Rourke has built a career defined and shaped by his exposure to and association with many of his musical idols, both in the US and abroad. He has played with Les Paul and Bucky Pizzarelli and studied with legends such as Barry Galbraith and Pat Martino. He currently leads and writes for his own 20-piece band (The O’Rourkestra) at the Zinc Bar NYC, composing and arranging including recent commissions for the City Of Dublin Jazz Orchestra while continuing to perform in the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia jazz clubs.

As an active performer, David has played the live premiere of George Russell’s “Concerto For Billy The Kid” (this had been recorded in the late 1950s but never performed live). On the same New York Town Hall concert David got to play the guitar in a big band made up of some of the more famous Ellington and Basie alumni. He collaborated with drummer Lewis Nash on a project that brought Irish music and jazz together for a CD (“Aisling”) by a band they called “The Celtic Jazz Collective”. They played two one-week runs at Jazz Standard as well as a performance in Harvard sponsored by the Cambridge Multicultural Center. In 1990 David recorded a CD with Larry Willis (piano), Bob Cranshaw (bass) and Al Harewood (drums) and later that same year wrote an extended orchestral medley from Porgy And Bess for Larry Willis to perform with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra. A chance meeting with George Benson and Hammond B3 player Seleno Clarke led to David beginning a 12 year stint with Seleno’s Quintet. From their Harlem base the quintet played festivals in the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada and at various US festivals. Throughout his career, David has played with many jazz legends such as Tommy Flanagan’s Trio, Cedar Walton’s Trio, Jackie McLean, Billy Higgins, Curtis Fuller, James Spalding, Harold Ousley, Vernal Fournier, and Brother Jack McDuff.

In addition to an active schedule as a performer, O’Rourke is in demand as a jazz conductor and arranger. He is currently creating arrangements for the debut tour (Japan) of drummer Lewis Nash’s Big Band. David conducted the RTE Concert Orchestra in Dublin’s National Concert Hall for two years in succession as music director/conductor of the tributes to arranger Nelson Riddle. He conducted for Steve Wilson’s “Bird With Strings” project that also included a workshop in string writing when they performed at SUNY New Paltz. David also conducted Steve’s 50th birthday run at Jazz Standard and wrote string arrangements for trumpeter Jeremy Pelt’s “Close To My Heart” recording followed by further arrangements for the launch performance at Jazz Standard and Sirius Satellite Radio. String arrangements for Pamela Luss led to David conducting the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra strings in a Prague recording studio.

In his early years, David’s own quartet won the best band award at the Guinness Jazz Festival in Cork in 1984 and performed together again one year later at the same festival as part of their prize. At that time, David played in the Five Guitars led by Irish jazz virtuoso guitarist Louis Stewart (with whom he played as a teen, played the Cork Jazz Festival with Turk Mauro, (joined onstage by Teddy Edwards), Irish pianist and arranger Noel Kelihan, British Baritone Saxist Ronnie Ross.

At the age of 21, David was a finalist in the RTE Young Musician Of The Future. This was the first time a non-classical musician made it to the finals. David performed as soloist with the RTE Concert Orchestra, an ensemble that he would return some years later to conduct in the National Concert Hall.

As a child in Ireland, David grew up hearing many styles of music from classical to jazz, folk music and pop songs of his generation and he loved it all. A listening session with his father could include anything from Mozart to Miles, Errol Garner to Debussy – he remembers he and his dad listening to Joshua Rifkin playing Scott Joplin’s rags (not just The Entertainer!) around the time the movie The Sting was popular.

Administrative Coordinator Christina Kulick, 

Whether as teacher or student, artist or audience, behind the scenes or center stage, Christina Kulick is a devoted advocate for Music and the Arts. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Ms. Kulick engaged in her studies of Music and Dance at the age of three, and thus the seeds of a lifelong habit of Music were planted. Showing a gift for Song, she began studying Voice and Piano through private lessons and became an active performer in her Elementary and High School Theatre Departments. In addition, she was accepted to The Harrisburg Arts Magnet School as a student of the Music Theatre Program. A recipient of the Minna Kauffman Ruud Vocal Scholarship, she went on to further her studies at Chatham College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a Double Major in Music and Theatre. There, Ms. Kulick continued her Classical Voice and Piano studies and was an active member and performer in Music Department Recitals, Choir and Madrigals, Theatre Performances and Technical Design, Directing, Ballet and Modern Dance Performances through The Chatham College Dance Collective and also performed in The Freeport Summer Theatre Festivals. She received her BA in both Music and Theatre in 1999, graduating Cum Laude. Honored as the only student in the College’s history to write and perform two Senior Theses, Ms. Kulick showed her diversity in singing, acting, scriptwriting, directing, choreographing and set and costume design. Her Theatre Thesis centered on researching and performing the role of Josef Gross in Vaclav Havel’s acclaimed play “The Memorandum” and the Absurdist Theatre Movement that resulted from the social and political climate of the time. For her Music Thesis, she researched and performed the Music of George Gershwin and Cole Porter and explored their influence on American Music. Ms. Kulick was asked to perform a song of farewell at her commencement ceremony and recalls feeling her time there had come to full circle, ending as it began, with a song.

Relocating to New York brought many years of enjoying the beguiling Arts scene, writing and performing original Music and Jazz standards at both private events and Singer/Songwriter Series at venues such as The Rising, CB’s Gallery and The Bitter End. Working as the Musical Director for B.R. Guest, Inc., a large restaurant corporation in Manhattan, Ms. Kulick was responsible for booking Jazz and R&B bands for live entertainment and special events. In 2004, Ms. Kulick joined the Faculty of The Piano School of NYC and has been committed to teaching her wonderful students ever since, through both private lessons and Group Piano classes at several schools in Brooklyn. Continually inspired by her students’ joy and growth, she is quite sure they have taught her to grow as well both as a Musician and as an Educator.  In addition to her teaching at The Piano School, Ms. Kulick is pleased to be a part of the administrative team as Senior Brooklyn Branch Manager to help the Piano Programs grow and bring much needed Music Education to many more deserving students.

Working with a team of collaborators, she has composed the score to “Zuly in the Last Place on Earth”, a new Family Musical that radiantly promotes the positive messages of peaceful conflict resolution and being true to yourself. Through the development process, “Zuly” was under consideration in the 2006 Global Search for New Musicals and enjoyed its first public performances in 2007 in New York City in both the Warning: Not for Broadway Musical Theatre Festival and The Midtown International Theatre Festival. “Zuly” was also selected as a finalist in 2008 and semi-finalist in 2010 for The Moondance International Theatre Festival and enjoyed performances in 2009 and 2011 at The Moxie Spot in Brooklyn, NY. Additionally, Ms. Kulick and a cast of actors have performed Musical selections from “Zuly in The Last Place on Earth” at The Golden Fleece Composers Chamber Theatre in New York City. In the school years of 2010 through 2014, “Zuly” was invited to partner with The Brooklyn Arts Council as a part of their acclaimed Arts in Education Programs and performed for many students throughout Brooklyn.

In 2014, Ms. Kulick was pleased to have one of her original songs featured in “A Picture Of You”, a J.P. Chan Film.  She is currently teaching both private lessons in Piano and Voice, as well as Group Classes in Brooklyn and Manhattan. In 2018, Ms. Kulick has been invited to join Jazz Generation – a Jazz education and performance initiative that creates playing and learning opportunities for children and adults in separate, yet complementary, programs. Leading and coordinating the Jazz Discovery Program, based at NYC’s Jazz Standard, she will help bring Musicians, Students and Schools together in a special program which introduces the history and traditions of Jazz Music to New York City Students, while providing an exciting and inspiring opportunity to hear live Jazz Music performed by professional Musicians. Ms. Kulick continues her songwriting, composition, performances and teaching.

*For inquiries, please contact: jazzdiscovery@gmail.com or by phone (718) 360-4803.

Bandleaders

Jeremy Pelt arrived in New York in 1998 after graduating from Berklee College of Music. Once he got there, it wasn’t long before he started being noticed by a lot of top musicians in the city. His first professional Jazz gig was playing with the Mingus Big Band. That gig lead to many long lasting associations with many of the talent in the band, and a great opportunity for growth. Since his arrival, he has been fortunate enough to play with many of today’s and yesterday’s Jazz luminaries, such as Jimmy Heath, Frank Wess,Charli Persip, Keter Betts,  Frank Foster, John Hicks, Ravi Coltrane, Winard Harper, Vincent Herring, Ralph Peterson, Lonnie Plaxico, Cliff Barbaro, Nancy Wilson, Bobby Short, Bobby “Blue” Bland, The Skatalites, Cedar Walton, and many, many more. Jeremy has also been featured in a variety of different bands, including the Roy Hargrove Big Band, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, the Duke Ellington Big Band. Currently, he is member of the Lewis Nash Septet, and The Cannonball Adderley Legacy Band featuring Louis Hayes.

Pianist/Composer- Fintan O’Neill’s musical training started early,as he came from a musical family in his native Ireland(his mother, for example, sang operatic songs and played piano).After years of classical piano lessons(and a few years of tenor saxophone instruction) Fintan spent his college years playing in rock groups and found himself increasingly drawn to jazz. The young pianist plunged full time into jazz studies and performance, and by 1987 he was a prize winner in the Jazz Piano category in the Dublin Music Festival Competition (Feis Ceoil). In1988, He began playing with the top Irish Jazz musicians in Dublin and was featured in the Tommy Halferty Trio at the Cork Jazz Festival. Late in 1989, Fintan moved to New York City and began studies with several top New York pianists including Kenny Werner, James Williams and Larry willis. Shortly after that, Fintan began playing on the New York scene with many top players, including James Spaulding, Regina Carter, Steve Wilson, Lewis Nash, Peter Washington, Larry Coryell, Art Baron, Don Sickler, Brian Lynch, Javon Jackson, Abraham Burton, Theodross Avery, Dwayne Broadnax, Essiet Essiet, Dennis Irwin, Bob Cranshaw, Billy Pierce, Tony Reedus, Jeremy Pelt, Bill Mobley, Billy Drummond, Steve Kroon, Allen Harris, John Ellis, Al Harewood, David O’Rourke, Don Pate, Jed Levy, Mark Johnson, Dennis Mitcheltree, BIlly Johnson,et al. Fintan’s debut album as a leader “In The Moment “on Amosaya records (AM-2530-CD) has received much critical acclaim from Jazz journalists, radio stations and the public alike.The album features three Jazz Messengers, BIlly Pierce, Brian Lynch,and Essiet Essiet with Mark Johnson and produced by James Williams. Fintan’s arrangements have been featured at a number of concerts in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital room. Fintan is the featured pianist with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra under the direction of David O’Rourke and the Nelson Riddle family.

Pianist Matt Ray has worked for the Jazz Standard Discovery Program for the last 7 years, educating thousands of New York schoolchildren on the wonders of jazz. He is well known in New York as a versatile artist, having worked for many years as a jazz pianist, recording artist and producer, music director for theater and cabaret shows, a sideman for singer-songwriters, as well as an accompanist for some of the city’s best vocalists. His work as a bandleader includes two albums, and a number of tours and New York featured performances. His album We Got It! climbed as high as #12 on the Jazz radio airplay charts, and was the one of the most played jazz CDs in America in 2002. His most recent CD Lost In New York was also released to wide critical acclaim. In addition, the Matt Ray Trio has performed all over the world, including the Caribbean and Central America for the U.S. State Department as part of the Kennedy Center’s Jazz Ambassadors program. In his years as a professional musician Matt has worked with a diverse group of musicians including jazz artists Joe Lovano, Jeremy Pelt, Anita O’Day, Queen Esther, Bobby Hutcherson, and Marcus Belgrave; rock and pop artists Paul Brill, The Flying Change, and Danielia Cotton; and theater artists like Taylor Mac and the cabaret troupe The Citizens Band. In 2009 Matt played piano in, and music directed Taylor Mac’s Obie Award winning theater production The Lily’s Revenge, and can be seen touring with Mac’s hit show Comparison Is Violence: Or the Ziggy Stardust Meets Tiny Tim Songbook. Matt’s has played on a number of film scores, including What’s On Your Pate (2009), Give Up Tomorrow (2011), and Paper Man (2009). His piano playing is heavily featured in the score of the documentary film Charlotte (2011), on which he collaborated with composer Paul Brill. Ray and Brill have had a long working relationship, with Ray having played on three of Brill’s albums, and two Brill film scores — Pindemonium (2008) and the soon to be released Better This World. Currently Matt is in the studio lending his piano playing to composer Pat Irwin’s score for the third season of HBO’s Bored to Death series. Music has provided Matt the opportunity to travel the world. Recent sojourns include China, japan, the U.K, and Ireland. His talents have been requested by dignitaries and heads of state both abroad and right here at home where he has played for President Bill Clinton, Vice-President Al Gore, and Secretary of State Madeline Albright. In 2000, the Matt Ray Trio toured the Caribbean and Central America for the U.S. State Department as part of the 1999-2000 Kennedy Center’s Jazz Ambassadors program. In addition, in 1999 he traveled to his birthplace, Washington D.C., where he was honored as a semi-finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. Matt holds a Bachelors of Music from Oberlin Conservatory, is a member of the National Music Honor Society Pi Kappa Lambda, and in 1999 was honored as a semi-finalist in the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. Matt is a board member and Vice-President of Consilience Productions, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to using live music performances to increase civic engagement and activism.

Drummer/Educator/Producer Ulysses S. Owens Jr. graduated with a Bachelors of Music degree in Jazz Studies from The Juilliard School in 2006. He has toured extensively in 7 of the 8 continents with many world- class musicians such as Ron Carter, Count Basie Orchestra, Terence Blanchard, Dianne Reeves, and many others. He is currently working with Grammy Winning artists Christian McBride, Kurt Elling, Nicholas Payton, Ted Nash, and Wynton Marsalis. He was fortunate to receive a 2010 Grammy Award for his performance on Kurt Elling’s “Dedicated To You”.

He has been featured recently in Modern Drummer Magazine as “Up & Coming Drummer of 2011”, and Jet Magazine, on Wynton Marsalis’ list of the next generation of jazz greats to watch. He is now emerging as an up & coming producer, with three albums slated for 2011 release. As Artistic Director for his family’s 501 (c) 3 organization don’t Miss A Beat, Inc he creates programs for inner –city students in Jacksonville Florida about the Arts, as a tool to enrich and educate their lives. Ulysses is incredibly gratuitous and appreciative to be granted such vast opportunities.

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Many thanks to our hosts: Jazz Standard and Blue Smoke.