Bass guitarist Jeff Ruzich has been performing and teaching music for more than four decades. He received a degree in music education and performance from Rowan University and a master’s degree in music education from Temple University. Jeff studied bass guitar with jazz educator Al Stauffer, and music theory with composer and jazz band leader Manny Albam. He taught public school music for many years in the Philadelphia, PA area, founded and led a jazz combo, and traveled frequently to New York City to perform and record there with jazz musicians. After moving to Norwich, NY, Jeff composes, records and performs with Brian Murphy, The Octobermen jazz trio, and with Alone Together (duo with Bill Scranton).
Guitarist Bill Scranton’s career in music and sound is diverse and extensive. He started playing guitar and ukulele at age 12. With help from his guitar player father, Bill was exposed to music standards from the 30’s and 40’s, as well as big band sounds. That era in music still remains a favorite in his playing. Playing in the high school jazz band and playing solo guitar / vocal gigs was his main activity throughout his teenage years. Tape recording and sound equipment was also a major interest at an early age. Bill attended Berklee College of Music in 1974 and ’75 concentrating on Music Theory and arranging. He left college to perform with a big band backing up nightclub singers and continued with solo guitar gigs throughout the 1970’s. In 1980, Bill started acquiring recording equipment to document his original compositions – playing all the parts and learning mixing techniques. In the following years, he opened a commercial recording studio in Utica, NY with great success. This led to his mixing talents being sought by a major record label. Leaving the NYC life behind – he opened a recording studio in Syracuse, NY – also with great success. Bill joined a pro audio company in 1986, designing sound systems and recording studios. Bill’s playing technique is finger-style guitar with creative chord voicing. He plays acoustic and jazz guitars. Bill also sings classic jazz standards in his baritone range. For the past 10 years, he has played mandolin and acoustic guitar in a traditional Irish group. He also performs in a trio – The Octobermen – playing blues and R&B.
