As leader of his own trio, sideman with The Tony Castaneda Latin Jazz Band, (which has been voted Madison’s favorite jazz group for four years in a row) and participant in numerous other regional bands, Dave Stoler is one of the busier musicians in the area, and a first-call if you’re looking for a jazz keyboardist.

As a young kid, while visiting a local library, he discovered recordings by Count Basie and Oscar Peterson. That event was a catalyst which motivated his curiosity to master the piano. After studying both classical and jazz idioms, he began playing professionally as a teenager, eventually studying music formally at UW-Madison and the University of Miami in Coral Gables. Along the way, he was also a semi-finalist in numerous international jazz piano competitions. In 2011, his interest in the music of Steely Dan motivated him to transcribe enough of that group’s music to begin the vision of what is now Steely Dane.

“I first heard Steely Dan over an AM car radio from a local station.While at the time, I didn’t know why it was good or different, I knew it was music I had to keep checking out. Later, I realized that it’s combination of pop, rock, funk and jazz made it one of the better examples of popular music. Many decades later, my interest culminated in the creation of Steely Dane.”

Dave has a critically acclaimed album, “Urban Legends”. You can keep up with him via his Facebook page.

Photo: Dan Kazinski

He has performed as both sideman and leader, most notably as a member of the Clyde Stubblefield Band, Janet Planet & the Urban World, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Madisalsa, Phat Phunktion, Arturo Sandoval, Don Rickles, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Jim studied trumpet at UW-Madison and the Eastman School of Music in addition to studying jazz with the renowned tenor saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi. Jim directed the big band at UW-Madison for a decade and directed the Madison East High School Jazz Orchestra for four years, and currently teaches trumpet privately.

Her father was the funniest person everyone knew and he also taught himself how to play guitar. Her mom plays piano, sings, acts and directs; brother acts, sings, and plays French Horn; and her sister plays trumpet and guitar and was once herself in a band based out of Nashville.

When Courtney was eight, her mom forced her into piano lessons saying, “You’ll thank me one day,” and boy was she right. In fifth grade came the biggest decision of her life…picking an instrument to play in the school band. Her two older siblings said they’d disown her if she didn’t pick a brass instrument. Courtney’s no dummy and she wasn’t about to live in anyone else’s shadow so that left the baritone, trombone, and tuba. The tuba was way too big to drag onto the school bus. The baritone seemed sort of “meh” so she thought to her ten-year-old self, “at least the trombone had that cool slide thingy.”

Courtney attended UW-Madison participating in numerous musical groups from jazz to symphony band and even one athletic group, the UW Marching Band. In 1997 her childhood pal, Al Falaschi, told her Phat Phunktion was looking to add a trombone to the lineup and the rest is history from there with the band producing four full-length albums and touring throughout the United States and Japan.

In addition to Phat Phunktion and Steely Dane Courtney has played with a variety of other groups including The Tim Whalen Nonet, The Darren Sterud Orchestra, and various trombone ensembles. She is also an active participant in Funk Out Cancer, a concert series and silent auction that Phat Phunktion puts on bi-annually to raise funds for cancer research. Our the past four events, Funk Out Cancer has donated over $150,000 to the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center. Courtney believes this is one of the most important things we can do for our community. None of us hasn’t been affected by this lousy disease at some point in our lives.

In 1992, Tom earned a Bachelor of Music degree from UW—Madison and moved to Brooklyn, New York, to further his training in Afro-Caribbean percussion at The Harbor Conservatory. He studied timbales, piano, composition, and arranging with Johnny Almendra, José Madera, Victor Rendón and Francis Rodriguez. In 1996, he formed Grupo Latin Vibe with Anibal Tito Rivera. GLV became one of the most popular salsa bands in New York, recording three albums and touring the US, Italy, and the UK.

Tom has been an adjunct percussion instructor at Hunter College in Manhattan for the past 20 years. He also leads Rico Vibes, a Latin jazz group, and The Vibrojets, a surf rock/exotica band. Currently Tom is transitioning his home base from Brooklyn back to his Madison roots and plays with Steely Dane, Tony Castañeda’s Latin Jazz Sextet, and Mambo Blue.

The Marc Golde Band, and Blues Artist Bruce “Groove King” Koenig, among others.

In 1990, Dennis won the Best Young Guitarist (ages 17-21) award for Henri’s Music Company by showing his mastery of several different guitar styles.

In 2002, Dennis moved to Chicago to work for world renowned amplifier manufacturer Hughes & Kettner. While there, he also joined the Steely Dan tribute band Reely Dan. He performed “The Night Belongs to Mona” and “What I Do” from Donald Fagen’s “Morph the Cat” album onstage with Harmonica virtuoso Howard Levy (Bela Fleck) who played harmonica on both cuts for Fagen. Dennis moved to Nashville in 2005 where he played with Bobby Keys (Rolling Stones), Phil Kenzie (Al Stewart), Michael Fair, The Scat Springs Band featuring Joseph Wooten and a host of some of Nashville’s top musicians. From 2008 to 2010, Dennis toured the Southeast with Eclipse: Recreating the Music of Pink Floyd, painstakingly recreating the brilliant tones and phrasing of guitarist David Gilmour.

Dennis now lives in Appleton, WI and we’re glad to have him bring his considerable skills to Steely Dane!