swing-nova is Jay Vonada on trombone and Kirk Reese on keyboards.
Jay Vonada is a jazz trombonist in central Pennsylvania. He has been called, “the hardest working trombonist in central PA", by his colleagues.
He plays at restaurants, breweries, wineries, nursing homes, assisted living communities, independent living communities and many other venues that have live music. He is adept at being featured entertainment, background music, or setting the ambience for a particular occasion such as a wedding.
He attended Mansfield University from 1993-1997 studying jazz with Dr. Michael Galloway and trombone with Steve McEuen.
Kirk Reese has been an active part of the jazz scene in Pennsylvania for close to thirty years. He has performed with numerous notable jazz artists including Phil Woods, Lou Marini, Marvin Stamm and Terell Stafford. On the central Pennsylvania jazz scene, he has been asked to open for Bela Fleck and Flecktones, B.B. King and others. An active recording artist, he has appeared on countless recordings including one in particular with brother/flutist Tom Reese; "The Reese Project: Blue Etude", which received a Grammy nomination in 2002. In 1997 the Reese brothers were nationally recognized by The Leonard Bernstein Foundation for “innovations in arts education”.
As a clinician, he has lectured extensively throughout the region with such jazz artists as Tim Warfield, Stephan Harris and Cyrus Chestnut. Kirk has been on the music faculty at Messiah College for nearly ten years and in that time has established a culture of small group jazz that has enhanced the department, reinforced the big bands, and been the catalyst for many students developing a life-long appreciation for the art form. Kirk also serves on theArtist/Faculty for the Central Pennsylvania Friends of Jazz Summer Jazz Workshop at Messiah College.