Tony Cuda’s Jazz Cats Cleveland's most heavy-hitting instrumentalists converge on BLU for a night of traditional & modern jazz, featuring Tony Cuda (bass), Dave Sterner (sax), Joe Miller (trumpet), Chris Cuda (guitar), David Zamos (keyboards) & Steve Renko (drums)

Tony Cuda is a bass player and composer. He is a graduate of Cleveland Hts High School. Tony attended Berklee College of Music in Boston for 3 years in the late 1970’s and received a Masters degree from John Carroll University in education. His musical influences include Weather Report, Chic Corea, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis, Yes, King Crimson and many, many others. As part of CuDa, RenKo & CuDa, the band released 3 CD’s and performed as an opening act for such luminaries as Allan Holdsworth, Adrian Belew, Tony Levin, Carl Palmer (ELP), Ambrosia, Project Object (former Zappa members) and Scott Henderson, Jeff Berlin and Mike Clark.
 
Dave Sterner (sax) is a 1992 graduate of Indiana University’s Jazz Studies program, where he studied under renowned jazz educator David Baker. In addition to teaching for the Cuyahoga Community College jazz program, Mr. Sterner conducts the Lakeland Community College Civic Jazz Orchestra and co-directs the Lakeland Jazz Festival. Dave has recorded with the Ernie Krivda Fat Tuesday Big band, the Jazz Heritage Orchestra, the N. Glenn Davis Quintet (featuring Phil Woods), and the Dave Sterner Quintet. He has won awards from the Scene magazine and Free Times magazine for best jazz ensemble and horn player. As a free-lance musician, Sterner has performed locally with Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, The Temptations, The Manhattan Transfer, Vanessa Rubin, David Sanborn, The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra and the Dizzy Gillespie All-star Big Band to name a few.
 
Dan Maier (keys) attended Berklee School, New England Conservatory, and studied jazz piano with Lennie Tristano, Jaki Byard, Ran Blake, and classical piano with Andreus Kuprevicius, George Haddad, and Margaret Chaloff. In NYC, Dan was a member of Blood, Sweat, and Tears, and toured with Philip Glass and Woody Herman. In Cleveland, Dan plays at the jazz club, Nighttown, where he recently led trios for Cheryl Bentine of Manhattan Transfer, Nicole Henry, Alexis Cole, Jackie Ryan, and Ann Hampton Callaway. He has worked with hundreds of world-class acts in all musical genres, and has been a member of the Cleveland Pops and Jazz Orchestra. He is currently a member of the North Coast Jazz Collective, with 3 released CD’s of original compositions, and The Mojo Big Band.
 
Chris Cuda (guitar) is a self-taught acoustic/electric/synth guitarist. Chris has a new release coming out this year with Kip Reed (Bass), Steve Renko (Drums), as well as other guests. Chris has recorded and/or performed with David Thomas (Rocket From The Tombs & Pere Ubu), Horns & Things, Sonny Geraci (The Outsiders), Len Berry, Tommy Roe, Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, Leslie Gore, Billy J. Krammer, The Shangri-La’s, Gilby Clarke (Guns & Roses, MC5, Heart), Michael Cartellone (drummer for Tommy Shaw, Damn Yankees & Lynyrd Skynyrd) Jeckyl & Hyde, Jackie Cooper (O’Jays drummer) Michael Gibbs (session w/orchestrator for Mahavishnu, Jaco, and Peter Gabriel), and Dazz Band & Beaucoup band members, and Chris’s primary band – CuDa RenKo CuDa since 2006. Chris’s influences include Julian Bream, Bill DeArango, John Coltrane, Miles, James Brown, Yes, John McLaughlin, and 20th century composers.
 
Steve Renko (drums), received his first drumset at sixteen months and has been playing ever since. At nine, he began his formal musical education with Cleveland’s legendary percussion instructor, Bob McKee. Since then, Steve has performed with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Sammy Nestico, Al Jarreau, Dave Koz, Jeff and John Clayton, Bobby Watson, and Terrance Blanchard. At thirteen, Steve was ruled the national runner-¬up for the Guitar Center Drum Off. Age fourteen saw Steve joining Ernie Krivda’s Fat Tuesday Big Band, one of Ohio’s most prestigious traditional “big ¬bands.” Steve was then chosen to participate in the Gibson/Baldwin High School Jazz GRAMMY Ensemble, as well as the Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony, and the Vail Jazz Foundation Workshop. Steve was also selected for The Yamaha Corporation’s “Young Performing Artists” which involved performing for the Bands of America Summer Camp. Steve is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City.
 
Joe Miller (trumpet) is one of the most sought-after trumpet players in the area. Whether it’s jazz, Broadway or r&b, Joe has toured and performed extensively with international and regional artists, including as a member of the Grammy-nominated Acid/Groove/Jazz group, Liquid Soul and with Bobby Caldwell. His recording credits include highly acclaimed saxophonist, Kenny Anderson, and the late Gerald Levert. Joe has performed with many international artists, including Aretha Franklin, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, The Funk Brothers, Frankie Valli, and many others. He has been a featured soloist at the TriC JazzFest and with The Contemporary Youth Orchestra. Joe currently holds the lead trumpet chair at Playhouse Square and has played many of the hottest Broadway musicals in the world, including Wicked, Book of Mormon, Porgy and Bess, Chicago, and many more. Joe teaches jazz trumpet at Cleveland State University, and performs and records with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, Paul Ferguson’s Jazz Orchestra, Sammy Deleon’s Orquestra and fronts Sammy’s Latin Jazz group.

$10