Sean Peterson's Ess-tet are at the Jazz Station in Eugene
- Ron Bertucci trombone
- Paul Krueger trumpet
- David Morgenroth piano
- Sean Peterson bass
- Nik Barber drums
Sean Peterson is a double bassist and composer based in Eugene, Oregon. For over 25 years he has performed in numerous genres, including jazz, baroque, funk, and salsa. He performs regularly with Halie Loren, Laura Kemp, Brazilian Skies, The Emerald City Jazz Kings, and Torrey Newhart. Previously he performed regularly with Tony Glausi, Carl Woideck, Oregon Bach Collegium, Cascadia Chamber Opera, Eleven Eyes, Taarka, the Oregon Composers’ Big Band, Beta Collide, John Shipe, the Oregon Jazz Ensemble, Azuquita, and Paul Biondi. In 2015 he released his first album as a leader, "Let It Show," which he composed, arranged, recorded, and mixed. Sean holds an MMus in jazz studies and a PhD in musicology from the University of Oregon. In his dissertation, entitled "Something Real: Rap, Resistance, and the Music of the Soulquarians,” he reads the work of a loose collective of hip hop and R&B producers known as The Soulquarians as a musical discourse of opposition to dominant trends in commercial rap of the late 1990s and early 2000s. He has presented papers on singer and composer Erykah Badu, hip hop producer J Dilla, and hip hop band The Roots at regional and national academic conferences. Sean teaches university classes on The Beatles, Jazz History, Blues History, Rock History, and Hip Hop History, and is the founder and coach of the University of Oregon Hip Hop Ensemble, a for-credit band which composes, arranges, and performs hip hop music.
David Morgenroth, a native Montanan, is a solo and collaborative artist in classical, jazz and popular genres. He holds graduate degrees in both classical piano and jazz studies from the University of North Texas (UNT), including the first doctoral degree in jazz performance awarded by that institution. He has performed across the United States and Canada as well as in Europe, Asia and South America, with such luminaries as Michael Brecker, Buddy DeFranco, Benny Golson, Lionel Hampton, Freddie Hubbard, Gary Peacock, Toots Thielemans, and Joe Williams. David's principal teachers include Fred Hersch, Dan Haerle, Art Lande, and Chuck Marohnic (jazz); Dr. Lucien Hut, Dr. Steven Harlos, Sophia Rosoff, and Dr. Jack Roberts (classical); and Dr. John Murphy (research). Teaching jobs include Arizona State University, UNT, the University of Montana, and Western Oregon University, where David currently performs an adjunct role. David has released four recordings under his own name, collaborating with notables like Chris Potter and Bob Sheppard (saxophones), Drew Gress and Chris Colangelo (bass), and Joe LaBarbera (drums). Bill Donaldson of Jazz News writes, “Morgenroth provides evidence of a style shaped by intelligence, clarity of conception, and even an elegance that shimmers. He possesses both invention and originality of sound in abundance.” David lives with his wife, Barbara Koostra, and their two wonderful rescue dogs, Izzie and Joan of Bark, in Eugene, Oregon.
Ron Bertucci is retired from Lane Community College where he was director of instrumental music and jazz from 1992-2013 and he continues to teach trombone there. Ron founded the Lane Jazz Festival in 1998 and teamed up with Steve Owen as co-director of the Oregon Jazz Festival (at LCC and UO) from 2003-2015. Ron played with the Eugene Symphony from 1979-2016 and has also performed with the Oregon Bach Festival, Oregon Festival of American Music – with Marin Alsop, Eugene Opera, Oregon Mozart Players and the Eugene Brass Quintet.
Paul Krueger is an Assistant Professor and Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Oregon where he teaches jazz trumpet and jazz composition lessons, Jazz History, Advanced Jazz Arranging, Jazz Pedagogy, and the program’s premier small group, JazzArts Oregon. He is also the director of the Oregon Jazz Festival, which takes place each January in Eugene, OR, and the University of Oregon Jazz Improvisation Summer Jazz Camp, which takes place each July. Krueger's compositions and arrangements have been programmed by university ensembles around the country, and have been performed by artists such as Kendrick Scott, Dave Pietro, Steve Wilson, and Dan Tepfer. In May 2012, Krueger's arrangement of Steve Wilson's "Wish You Were Here" received a Downbeat Magazine Student Music Award for Best Jazz Arrangement, and Krueger was named one of ASCAP's Young Jazz Composer Award winners for original compositions in 2012, 2013, and 2014. He is published by UNC Jazz Press and Walrus Music Publishing. Also a skilled trumpet player and improviser, Krueger is known for his broad sound, lyrical style, and his musical sensitivity on the bandstand. His first album, The Wayward Traveler , was released independently in December 2011, and features eight of his original compositions performed by his quartet.
Originally from Vancouver, WA, Nikolas Barber has become an integral force in the Eugene OR music scene. Currently playing in some of the Willamette Valley’s best up and coming acts, Barber has imprinted his own propelling, colorful, and versatile sound upon the groups he plays with. Nik first started playing the drums shortly after his older brother Aaron began playing guitar when the boys were both children. Over the span of Nik’s childhood, he became heavily engrossed in the emotive qualities of beat-oriented music, with some of his earliest inspirations being Metallica and The Beatles. While growing up in Vancouver WA, Nik attended the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, where he got to closely study Jazz and Big Band style drumming. It was during these formative years that Nik discovered his love for Jazz music, soon rising to the highest level Jazz Band in the school. During High School, Nik would go on several regional tours with the Youth Rnb/Soul Band “Heatwave” out of Palm Springs, CA. In 2016, Nik was awarded the prestigious “Shape of Jazz to Come” Award, as well as the “Eli M. and Ruthe Nadel” Scholarship from the Stanford Jazz Workshop. In the summer of 2017, Nik relocated to Eugene OR to attend the University of Oregon’s Jazz Studies program. While in college, Nik studied with renowned Pacific Northwest Drummer Gary Hobbs, and has been a part of the Oregon Jazz Ensemble. It is with this group that Nik toured internationally, performing at the Umbria, Vienne, and Montreux Jazz Festivals. Nik is also a part of the dream-rock collective Laundry, who has opened for artists such as Mild High Club, Ritt Momney, The Backseat Lovers, and Winona Forever. Laundry has amassed over 2.5 Million listens on Spotify, as well as regularly maintains 30,000 monthly listeners. Laundry’s latest album “Movie Star” was released in 2021. In addition to Laundry, Nik is also part of the indie/songwriter group Golden Boy, Blues band Inner Limits, and has toured with the Swing Revival Band Cherry Poppin’ Daddies. Nik is currently pursuing a Master’s of Music Degree at the University of Oregon under the direction of Ken Mastrogiovanni and Keith Brown.
