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Dave Keezer - Lead Trumpet
SJO TENURE: 4 Years
 Dave has been playing trumpet for 34 years in a variety of capacities. In the late 70's he played with groups in the San Francisco Bay area.
Most notably he played with the 17 piece big band "Blue Velvet Sound," including the lead trumpet position. He also directed and managed the BVS for a time.
In the early 80's Dave performed with various groups in Los Angeles and
Pittsburgh (PA). He started the "Stardust" big band in Pasadena, CA and played lead trumpet.
He also played lead trumpet with the Caltech Jazz Ensemble. In Pittsburgh, he played lead trumpet with the George Gee Big Band, and
second/third trumpet with the Carnegie-Mellon University Jazz ensemble.
In the mid 80's through 90's he played with several groups in Melbourne
and Tampa, Florida. In addition to lead trumpet in "big bands," Dave has also done
"legitimate" playing with such orchestras as The Rochester Youth Orchestra, the Occidental College
Orchestra, the Brevard Symphony Orchestra, the Space Coast Philharmonic Orchestra,
the University of South Florida Orchestra, Orchestra Atlanta, and the
Ludwig Symphony Orchestra.
Dave has studied with Paul McCray and Vincent DiMartino in Rochester, NY, with Herb Patnoe in San Jose, CA, with Bill Bing in Los Angeles, and with Anthony Pasquarelli in Pittsburgh. Currently Dave plays with the Alpharetta City Band, Orchestra Atlanta,
and now with the Sentimental Journey Orchestra.
Dave got his bachelors degree from the University of California at Berkeley, the Masters degree from Caltech, and the Ph.D. from Carnegie-Mellon University. He also has an MBA from Florida Institute of Technology. Dave has worked for Intel, IBM, and Harris corporations, and for the University of South Florida prior to joining Georgia Tech in 1995.
Dave is currently a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech. His teaching and research centers on digital logic design and testing for computer systems. He has authored over 100 technical articles, including several book chapters.
Leo Palese - Second Trumpet
SJO TENURE: 1 Year
Bio and Photo Coming Soon
T. J. Beck - Third Trumpet
SJO TENURE: New Member
 TJ grew up in Duxbury, MA. After graduating high school he headed to Loyola
University in New Orleans where he earned a degree in physics with a minor
in music. He spent most of his time in music dedicated to jazz performance,
playing with the Loyola Big Band and several small jazz combo groups. After
his undergraduate studies he attended Tulane University where he graduated
with a MS in physics.
While much of his time in New Orleans was spent studying physics, he
continued to play as much music as he could and was able to play many of New
Orleans' festivals and top clubs, including The New Orleans Jazz and
Heritage Festival and Tipitina's. TJ also had a chance to play with some of
the most well respected jazz musicians including: Steve Turre, Brian Blade,
Bob Sheppard, and Jason Marsalis. After graduating, TJ began playing lead
trumpet with the rhythm and blues and soul revue band "The Bougalee Rebels"
out of Destrehan, LA.
TJ currently works at the GA Tech Microelectronics Center. He lives in
Mableton, GA with his wife, Anna, and dog, Urshi. When he is not playing
music or doing research, TJ enjoys hiking, woodworking, fishing, and pretty
much anything else that requires being outdoors.
Bob Wright - Fourth Trumpet
SJO TENURE: New Member
Coming from a family of South Georgia Gospel Singers and musicians, Bob began playing trumpet at age nine after he heard his first Maynard Ferguson Album ("Maynard Ferguson Plays Jazz for Dancing"). The LP was made in 1956; he got it in 1959. All he can remember about that time is, after hearing "Hey There" on that LP, saying to himself. "I want to do that!!!" Bob studied with various teachers though most of his High School years. He began playing in bands, combos, and The Columbus (GA) Symphony while still in High School. He studied Music as a Music Major at UGA for three years until he was drafted and then spent nine years in the Navy.
He accepted a job at Hughes Space and Comm. in El Segundo, CA upon leaving the Navy. He started back playing music in LA in 1979. He met some really great players and singers in LA and became friends with many of the big time music people there. He played in clubs in LA, Anaheim, Sherman Oaks, Long Beach, etc. During his time in California, he finished a BS in Physics at Cal State Fullerton and was in the MS program at USC (University of Southern California). He also studied trumpet with Jim Linahon of Fullerton College and LMP Studios and attended many LA Jazz Workshops and Clinics. He moved back to Georgia in 1991 after becoming fed up with Southern California.
Bob had not played trumpet for thirteen or fourteen years until he met someone who encouraged him to come listen to a Big Band in Atlanta. He went with her one night to a rehearsal and got hooked again. Thanks to Past President and SJO founder, Henry Mason, for allowing him to continue to play and return to the music he loves through encouragement and friendship. It has been 4 years since he returned to playing the instrument he loves. Since then, he has really gotten back into playing Jazz and Musicals. He even takes trumpet lessons over the Internet with a fine instructor and player, Jeff Purtle! How kewl is that? Bob is a regular with several Big Bands and several Jazz Combos around Atlanta. "Life is good again”
Bob is currently an Account Support Advocate for Hewlett Packard for the past 14 years and has 3 grown children, His significant other is Ms. Myra Dempsey.
Terry Meadows - Fourth Trumpet
SJO TENURE: 30 Years
Terry holds down the fourth chair and is another of our original members. He is also the official "SJO Haberdasher," maintaining all of our extra uniform and accessory inventory. When a sub is booked, Terry gets the sizes, assembles a complete uniform and issues it to the sub. He collects it afterwards and has it cleaned and maintained. It's just one more thankless job that has to be done! If that was not enough, we played our first job with stands, lights and hats borrowed from Terry.
He's been an integral part of our trumpet section since our second gig.
He is a native of Jacksonville, NC, and has been in Atlanta since 1969.
He attended Swansboro, NC High School and earned his B. S. in Music and Psychology at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. He also earned
a B. S. in Computer Science at Kennedy Western University in Agoura Hills, CA. Terry played in both high school and college marching bands and formed
and fronted his own 15-piece dance band called the Driftwoods. He formed his band while in high school and kept it going for two years while in
college. He won the John Philip Sousa Award while in high school and was Band Captain of his college band.
He has been married to his wife Gwen
since 1965. He currently has several "day gigs" going: Computer Consultant, Massage Therapist and Realtor with Century 21. Terry is currently on medical leave.
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