Q’d Up

Q’d Up has a unique and infectious sound that is a product of the personalities of the players, the arrangements and compositions of Steve Lindeman and Jay Lawrence and Kelly Eisenhour, the blend of a wide variety of sounds and styles stemming from the impressive versatility of each of the group members, and the energy and synergy that come with the love of the music and of each other. Q’d Up has existed in various incarnations since 1983 and has established itself as a musical force in Utah and the West. Quintessential is the fourth CD project since the group began using the Q’d Up name. The first is self-titled Q’d Up. The second is SQ’d Horizons, and the third is simplyQ’d Up 3. The second, third, and fourth albums include vocals by Kelly Eisenhour, and the third album also includes the amazing trombone wizardry of Andy Martin, top call trombonist from Los Angeles. The CD’s have received much critical acclaim and have enjoyed considerable airplay around the country.

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As former downbeat magazine editor and jazz critic, Dan Morgenstern puts it:

Q’d Up [is] a most unusual sextet made up of … active first-call freelancers on the Salt Lake City music scene. What makes this group unusual? For one thing, there is the impressive instrumentarium at its command: some 25 instruments, no less. For another, four are skilled arrangers and composers. And then, and perhaps most significantly, all are first-rate players and improvisers who work together in a way that can only come about when gifted musicians have spent time playing together and have become finely attuned to each other. Add to all that the rare ingredient of good taste, and we are indeed Q’d up for music that communicates to a listener’s heart, head and feet.…Jazz in Utah? You Bet!!

Kelly Eisenhour

Vocals, lyrics, and composition

Kelly is a vocal performance graduate of the Berklee College of Music. Her latest recording project, Seek and Find (featuring Bob Mintzer), achieved significant national recognition and airplay as it zoomed up to #14 in the national charts and stayed in the top 100 for over six months. She also has a wonderful recording with the Jeff Hamilton Trio, which was recorded at Capitol Studios, Los Angeles. Ms. Eisenhour has performed extensively in the Salt Lake City area, including as soloist in concerts with the Utah Symphony, and has also toured with the Boston Pops under the direction of Keith Lockhart as a guest soloist in spring of 2001. She has also performed widely with Gladys Knight as a featured backup vocalist. Ms. Eisenhour equally values her work as an educator and has been the jazz choir director and vocal jazz instructor at both BYU in Utah and Green River Community College in Washington.

Ray Smith

Soprano, Alto, and Tenor Saxophones, Flute, Alto Flute and Bass Flute, Clarinet and Bass Clarinet, and the Yamaha WX7

Ray is equally at home in classical and jazz styles, adept at all five woodwinds, electronic wind instruments, and ethnic flutes. For years he has been a mainstay in the Utah recording industry; and he has over 180 CD credits, and many film scores and television themes, including Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Sandlot, etc. Smith has performed with the Utah Symphony, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and is a member of the Utah Saxophone Quartet. In 1998, Smith was the recipient of the Voice of Jazz Award for the State of Utah. In 2008, he was named the first Utah Jazz Master, a lifetime achievement award presented by The International Association for Jazz Education. He is in his 28th year as Professor of Saxophone and Jazz at Brigham Young University and directs the university’s premier jazz ensemble known as Synthesis.

Steve Lindeman

Acoustic Piano, Hammond B-3 Organ, Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer Electric Pianos, and Compositions

Steve not only plays keyboards but also composes and arranges extensively for Q’d Up. He has studied jazz piano with Stefan Karlsson, David Baker, Barry Harris, Ronnie Matthews, Jack Reilly, Kenny Barron, and Tamir Hendelman, and Latin jazz piano with Rebecca Mauléon-Santanta. He has worked with a wide variety of artists, including John Mellencamp, Bob Berg, Bob Mintzer, Frank Foster’s workshop big band, the Salt Lake Jazz Orchestra, and many others. He is currently a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, directed by Jim McNeely in New York City. Steve is also on the theory faculty at Brigham Young University.

Matt Larson

Acoustic and Electric Basses

By the time Matt was 12, he was playing with his father’s trio and transcribing the bass lines of Ray Brown, John Clayton, Brian Bromberg and John Pattitucci. He is regarded as Utah’s premier jazz bass player, and is also the first call bassist for jazz-related studio work in Utah; he has recorded for many national film and television scores, trailers, and commercials. He has worked with Maureen McGovern, Keith Lockhart, Joey DeFrancesco, Eddie Daniels, and Frank Vignola, among others. Matt’s versatility with many styles and both the electric and acoustic basses has made him the busiest bassist in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas. Matt has also taught jazz bass at Brigham Young University.

Ron Brough

Vibes, Marimba, Drum Set, Steel Pan, and hand percussion

Ron is Division Coordinator for Percussion at Brigham Young University, and has been the Director of Jazz Studies as well. He has performed as percussionist in the Utah Chamber Orchestra, the Pioneer Memorial Theater Orchestra, Ballet West, the Utah Opera Company, the Utah Symphony, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. With these and others groups, he has toured throughout the U.S., Canada, Japan, Europe, Russia, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand. He is active in the recording studios of Salt Lake City, working on various movie film-scores and film trailer projects.

Jay Lawrence

Drum Set, Vibes, hand percussion, and Compositions

Jay has worked with Brian Bromberg, Pete Christlieb, Cyrus Chestnut, Hank Jones, Phil Woods, Eddie Daniels, and Milt Jackson. He has appeared on over 80 albums, with such figures as Joey DeFrancesco, Mike Stern, Tamir Hendelman, and Tom Garvin. He has also accompanied such celebrities as Liza Minelli, Sammy Davis Jr., Linda Ronstadt, Cher, Tom Jones, Dionne Warwick, Roy Clark, Ann-Margret, Gladys Knight, Lou Rawls, Loretta Lynn, The Coasters and others. In addition to being a first-call percussionist in the Salt Lake City area, he is an adjunct instructor of jazz studies at Brigham Young University, Snow College, BYU Idaho, The University of Utah, and Utah Valley University. He has authored a new book called The Drummer’s Workbook. Jay has also composed a lot of music for the Q’d Up repertory.