Jazz at the Live Oak with Guest Stars Jeff and Preston Rupert!

Jeff Rupert (tenor saxophone), Preston Rupert (trumpet), James Hall (keyboard), Doug Mathews (bass), and Greg Parnell (drums) will perform at the Live Oak Center on Friday, August 15 at 7:30 pm. Doors open at 6:45 pm, and there is no admission charge.

Jeff Rupert is a tenor and alto saxophone player, and professor of Jazz Studies at the University of Central Florida. He's also the leader of a jazz ensemble of UCF players, The Flying Horse Big Band. He recently recorded and released an album with jazz pianist Kenny Barron, Peter Washington, and Joe Farnsworth. Jeff Rupert's son Preston is studying at The Juilliard School in New York City.

James Hall is a pianist, vibraphone player, and composer based in New Smyrna Beach. In his hometown of Pleasanton, California, he performed with numerous jazz musicians including Matt Finders, Andrew Speight, Anton Schwartz, Michael Marcus, Roger Glenn, and Erik Jekabson. Upon moving to Florida in 2019, he has performed with a wide range of jazz musicians including Antonio Escapa, Jeff Rupert, Scott Dickinson, the Orlando Jazz Orchestra, Tom Dietz, and Bobby Koelble, just to name a few, in the straight-ahead jazz and Latin spheres.

Bassist Doug Mathews has performed extensively in Central Florida with jazz musicians including Terry Myers, Ed Metz, and Chris Cortez. A regular at the Blue Bamboo, he is also a veteran of the Sam Rivers band and participated in multiple albums with the saxophone player during the 1990s.

Jazz drummer and bandleader Greg Parnell is based in Sanford. He is the leader of the Orlando Jazz Orchestra and road manager of the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He has performed with The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, The Les Brown Orchestra, The Nelson Riddle Orchestra, The Terry Myers Orchestra, and The American Vintage Orchestra, and is among the best-known big band drummers in the state.