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Jamie Newman Scott Pazera Don Nichols Jen Wiley
ORGANISTAN is an exciting ensemble that has recently burst onto the Indiana music scene.
With an infectious style that fuses jazz, pop, funk and experimental music, Organistan combines complex original compositions with imaginative interpretations of popular songs by artists like the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Beck.
Organistan has performed at some of the premier venues in Indiana, including the Jazz Kitchen, the Black Sparrow and the Lafayette Jazz Club Performance Series.
 SCOTT PAZERA has been playing guitar, bass guitar and double bass for over 25 years and is a motivated instructor, small business owner and spirited performer. Scott has been performing with his own jazz groups and often works as a sideman to some of the top performers in the Chicago and Indianapolis areas. Scott has performed and/or recorded with a variety of artists including Rich Little, Veruca Salt, Ce Ce Peniston, Med Flory (Supersax), Fareed Haque, Henry Johnson, Byron Stripling, Rachel Yamagata, James Russell, Satya Graha, Mike Mandell and many others. Scott has Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from Indiana University and is pursuing a second Master's degree at IUPUI.
 DON NICHOLS is a percussionist, composer and improviser dedicated to innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. He continually forges new paths with a range of percussion instruments, such as traditional and non-traditional drum sets, resonant metals and gongs, found objects, hand drums and real-time electronics. Dr. Nichols creates a musical style that integrates his experience in jazz, chamber music, solo percussion and non-idiomatic improvisation. Reflecting his diverse talents, Dr. Nichols has performed and worked with leading artists including Max Roach, Roger Reynolds, Evelyn Glennie, Evan Parker, Daniel Barenboim and John Luther Adams. In 2000, Dr. Nichols became the first percussionist awarded a Fulbright to Sweden. In addition, his impressive national and international performing history includes Carnegie Hall, Disney Hall, La Jolla Summerfest, and festivals in Romania, Argentina, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Australia, the UK, France and Germany. Dr. Nichols earned his degrees from Northwestern University, the School of Music in Piteå, Sweden and the University of California, San Diego.
JEN WILEY, Vocals
"Music has always been a matter of Energy to me, a question of Fuel. Sentimental people call it Inspiration, but what they really mean is Fuel. I have always needed Fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio." - Hunter S. Thompson
 JAMIE NEWMAN is an ex-lawyer turned musician who, having spent most of his life in big cities on the East Coast, now resides and works in West Lafayette, Indiana. He is the Staff Accompanist for Purdue University’s Dance Division, playing keyboards and electronic percussion for modern dance classes, and creating sound scores for the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company. He plays piano and organ as a soloist and in ensembles featuring local musicians, including Dr. Mo Trout, Danny Weiss, Scott Pazera, Don Nichols, Lynn Colwell, Jennifer Wiley and others. He really likes performing with Organistan.
CONTACT ORGANISTAN: Don [@] pmpd [dot] org
Go to E3 Series for Improvisation's Main Page HERE
Go to PMPD's Main Page HERE
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