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The Night Star Jazz Orchestra repertoire is comprised of modern and traditional jazz big band orchestrations. The classic sound of the studio orchestra is brought to life by the lush orchestrations that used a string section and evokes the sounds of the hollywood sessions from the 40s, 50s and 60s. Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Anita O’Day, Joe Williams, Peggy Lee all sang with bands that featured great arrangers and beautiful music. We strive to bring the essence of those bands and artists back to the stage. We also feature contemporary arrangements from current writers working in the music business today like John Clayton, Michael Davies, Gordon Goodwin, Jeremy Levy, Tim Davies, and Drew Zaremba.

The Night Star Jazz Orchestra has performed at the Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival, Excellence in the Community Concerts, the Utah School Boards Association Annual Conference and produced a tribute show to Ella Fitzgerald featuring a 35 piece orchestra.

Musicians

Night Star Jazz Orchestra is made up of world class jazz artists and performers from all facets of the music business; alumni of Disney Land bands, local music teachers, first call studio musicians and members of the local jazz community. Each member of the band has a dedicated history to the study of their instrument and are consummate performers in their own right.

Vocals:

Katrina Cannon

Vocal Groups:

Vox Nuvo

Woodwind

Trombone

  • Brian Woodbury
  • Randy Madsen
  • Kent Nelsen
  • Neil Hendriksen, Bass

Trumpet

  • Keith Davis, Lead
  • Dan Jonas
  • Reed Lecheminant
  • John Olshinski
  • Mike Raleigh

Rhythm Section

  • Bass: Larry Montoya
  • Guitar: Dan Featherstone
  • Piano: Merrill Smith
  • Drum Set: David Featherstone
  • Congas, Percussion: Ricardo Romero
  • Vibraphone: Jay Lawrence
Katrina Cannon

Katrina Cannon

Vocalist and Manager

Katrina has been singing since childhood. She could often be found singing on roller skates, singing in the garden, or harmonizing to her favorite song of the day. She has been a member of many choirs and Acapella groups. Her vocal career started over twelve years ago performing with big bands and smaller jazz groups. She has performed for Excellence in the Community for many years, corporate events, private parties, weddings, and local concert series across the Wasatch Front. Her vocal quality has been described as golden, pure and smooth. Her powerful and elegant voice perfectly complements a big band and harkens to the glory days of big band sound. She enjoys connecting with the audience while performing, sharing in the indelible experience that is created through music. She is also known for her versatility in singing jazz, blues, and folk.

Randy Madsen

Randy Madsen

NSJO Manager and Producer, Trombone

Randy is the emcee and producer of the Night Star Jazz Orchestra. His interest in music started as a piano student and was turned on to jazz in the 7th grade by his jr. high music teacher and never looked back. He would tape the jazz show on the local public radio station and listen on the bus ride to and from school. His mother was an amateur musician and sang in local choirs and taught him to love music. He studied jazz composition and trombone performance at the University of Utah.

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