Alright, james zeller, singer songwriter, sometimes known as semaj rellez, does exist. but his webpage, not so much.
i will be scratching out a webpage here at some point so I can get some low paying gigs in random coffee shops and cafes where artists hang out at some point soon. or maybe that declaration is enough. who am i? i hope you find out!
in the mean time, here's a link to my project with Katie Belknap Li-nK!
and an album of original songs Here (extracted from the famous J Street Regulars Radio Hour during Covid times (the good old days, remember?))
I have lots of newer stuff , just gotta get organazized
stay tuned. Thanks!
i'm not really sure how to construct a resume. I've played a lot of music. i'm 44, been playing trombone since i was 11 or 12.
At some point i'm going to write some autobiographical pages about my life in music.
I've been lucky enough to appear on stage and to know quite a few great musicians. I think without more of the stories behind how events went down, a bio that just lists them all seems weird to me, at this time. I didn't shy away from that in the past...
I have had a lot of great teachers: Ron Bertucci taught me trombone as a kid in Eugene, OR. I studied with Tim Newman, then Benny Powell when I first arrived at the New School in NYC in 2000. I had the great fortune to study with Laurie Frink, brass legend.
When I attended Queens College I studied with Michael Mossman and Luis Bonilla. Great teachers. Also Antonio Hart. Alot of great trombonists helped me out. Because of Steve Davis sending me to sub, I got to play with the Jimmy Heath Big band. I lived with David Gibson for a while, and learned a lot from him. Because of DG I got to play with 16 trombonists and Slide Hampton for Slide's 75th birthday. What an honor.
I met and learned a lot from Curtis Fuller at Betty Carter's Jazz ahead at the Kennedy Center in 2004. Curtis was a generous and kind man, always put me on the guest list for his gigs, and I always went. No one has rhythm like that. Crazy stuff. I think anyone who was sleeping on Curtis in his later years missed out.
I"m sure I forgot a lot. Trombone is part of me, and this website exists because I want to find ways to share these sides of myself. Thank you.