Continuing the Legacy of WUSF Jazz

Celebrating Florida Jazz

JAZZ ON ARTS AXIS FLORIDA celebrates Florida's rich jazz history and the large community of musicians and venues that make live performances possible by continuing WUSF Jazz's 56-year legacy: showcasing the best of live, local jazz through providing digital resources and advertising opportunities to jazz musicians, organizations, and venues throughout Florida.

Recent Studio Performances

a man in a black shirt is playing a piano .
12 Mar, 2024
David A. Miller was born in 1967. He studied music sporadically throughout his life, taking him from the Arizona State music program, London University, Mesa Community College Jazz Program, and to NYU. He wrote and conducted his first symphony in 1995 which was read by the Telluride Orchestra. David moved to China in 1996 and performed weekly in Beijing. He won silver prize for foreigners singing in Chinese in 1997. After living in Asia for nearly five years, he attended Chinese Medical school in New York City and drastically switched careers. Now residing in Sarasota, he is performing stand up comedy, already appearing twice at McCurdy's Comedy Club and will be performing original piano works when he returns to Beijing.
a man is sitting in front of a piano holding a microphone .
15 Feb, 2024
About Dan Bremer: A freelance musician in NYC for 40 years. Plays bassoon, clarinet, sax and piano. Played venues from the Staten Island Ferry to Lincoln Center and everything in between. Taught at Wagner College and Staten Island Community College. As a woodwind player performed with the Staten Island Chamber Music Players, the Staten Island Symphony, 7th Army Band, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. As a legit pianist, he worked as an accompanist for soloists, choirs, community theater, musical director for Staten Island Children's Theater. As a jazz pianist, he played clubs, hotels and restaurants, including Birdland, the 21 Club, the Riverside Cafe.
a man is playing a guitar and a woman is singing into a microphone.
07 Feb, 2024
Travis Van Bumble and Stephanie Ruscito are The House Cats: a husband and wife, guitar and vocals duo, playing straight ahead-jazz, bebop, and swing. Travis and Stephanie grew up near Clearwater, and have been playing music together for over ten years. Travis’ walking baselines and chord melodies give The House Cats a big, swinging sound, but as soon as they play a ballad you’ll feel the mood shift, and see the two’s chemistry shine. The House Cats pull inspiration from many of the greatest names in American jazz including Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery and Sarah Vaughan. Their repertoire consists of timeless tunes from The Great American song book; the pair hopes to breathe new life into these songs with original and inspired arrangements.
Watch the full Studio Sessions series here

Jazz Events Calendar

a calendar shows a variety of events including tampa bay blues fest
Go to Events Page

Spoken Word Poetry Performances

a man in a black shirt and tie is singing into a microphone .
12 Mar, 2024
Stephen Lindow was from FL when he moved to MA in 1998 to squeak out an MFA in English from UMass-Amherst in 2004 where he taught, loafed, trespassed, and was diagnosed. Moving to Los Angeles in summer 2012, he eked out survival with performing and creating poetry films from his laptop. He's published poems in ARTillery, Bad Robot Poetry, Penumbra, The Massachusetts Review, Bateau, and Meat For Tea.
a woman is pointing at the camera in front of a microphone .
28 Feb, 2024
Born Stephanie Jackson, Gemini Fox is the love child of Dr. Seuss and Maya Angelou. She speaks in parables and sea water runs through her veins. Using her work as a tool that unites others through common experiences. Gemini is a keen welder of raw emotion. She says that her goal as an artist is to be a voice for the voiceless, believing that poetry can be found in everything. She uses her poems to foster healing, understanding and create connections. She is an active member of the Growhouse Tampa artist collective.
a man in an orange shirt is singing into a microphone
13 Feb, 2024
Hailing from Florida, DaVon Roberts has harnessed his upbringing in the church and transformed his personal struggles into a compelling form of artistic expression. Following a near-death encounter, DaVon's mother inspired him to turn to writing to convey his faith, sparking a profound love for language that has since blossomed into poetry, melodies, and spoken word performances. From secondary school onward, DaVon has dedicated himself to perfecting his craft, cultivating self-assurance and forming bonds with fellow creatives through networking and collaboration. His masterful works delve into the depth of human experience, exploring themes of forgiveness and self-discovery, all while striving to lead not only himself but also his audiences towards a path of healing, love, and inner tranquility.

Latest News

a man in a black shirt is playing a piano .
12 Mar, 2024
David A. Miller was born in 1967. He studied music sporadically throughout his life, taking him from the Arizona State music program, London University, Mesa Community College Jazz Program, and to NYU. He wrote and conducted his first symphony in 1995 which was read by the Telluride Orchestra. David moved to China in 1996 and performed weekly in Beijing. He won silver prize for foreigners singing in Chinese in 1997. After living in Asia for nearly five years, he attended Chinese Medical school in New York City and drastically switched careers. Now residing in Sarasota, he is performing stand up comedy, already appearing twice at McCurdy's Comedy Club and will be performing original piano works when he returns to Beijing.
antwerp album cover
By Andy Harrison 08 Mar, 2024
If it sounds like drummer John Bishop and pianist Bram Weijters are playing like their hair's on fire, in a way, they are - Bishop, Weijters and bassist Piet Verbist made yearly trips to the Belgium city of Antwerp, using their time in the city to record, jam and play over a hundred shows as a trio that overflows with effortless chemistry. The COVID-19 Pandemic changed that with strict international travel restrictions meaning the three friends couldn’t make their usual trip to the city on the Scheldt.
a poster for get in the groove at arts axis florida
By Andy Harrison 08 Mar, 2024
Feeling down? Life seem a bit drab, depressing, totally-not-groovy? Change that today by getting in the groove with Jazz on Arts Axis Florida with our curated selection of smooth and slick fusion songs sure to bring the funk into your life! Handpicked by in-studio staff, this playlist featuring everything from funk classics from Isaac Hayes, Parliament and the J.B.'s to modern day four-on-the-floor psychedelic rave ups sure to bring down the house, Get in the Groove is sure to get you dancing as soon as you hit "play."

Quick Chats Q&As

a man is holding a guitar and a woman is talking into a microphone .
08 Feb, 2024
Travis Van Bumble and Stephanie Ruscito are The House Cats: a husband and wife, guitar and vocals duo, playing straight ahead-jazz, bebop, and swing. Travis and Stephanie grew up near Clearwater, and have been playing music together for over ten years. Travis’ walking baselines and chord melodies give The House Cats a big, swinging sound, but as soon as they play a ballad you’ll feel the mood shift, and see the two’s chemistry shine. The House Cats pull inspiration from many of the greatest names in American jazz including Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery and Sarah Vaughan. Their repertoire consists of timeless tunes from The Great American song book; the pair hopes to breathe new life into these songs with original and inspired arrangements.
22 Jan, 2024
Jeremy Carter is a true study of Jazz music, Nebraska native, and understudy of the Southeast’s best professors and musicians. Jazzy funk riffs, screaming over the sounds of the BSP is truly a spectacle, for the ears and the eyes. If you find yourself stop dancing in a dropped draw fashion, it is probably because of Carter’s riffs, his soul pouring over the speakers like sand. Carter has recorded with numerous national acts and has performed, recorded and produced solo albums and cameo appearances too many too list.
09 Jan, 2024
Born and raised in Leawood, Kansas, Angelus Matthew C. Roxas began playing piano at the age of three, and after a couple of years, he studied under Ms. Ying-Yu Emily Yeh. He began competing at a young age, and his passion and determination led him to perform four times at Carnegie Hall in New York, an invitation to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, and a performance at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, Teatro Studio, in Rome, Italy. He obtained a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance Degree in 2022 at the University of Missouri - Kansas City Conservatory where he studied under Dr. Thomas Rosenkranz. Matthew is currently studying under Dr. Svetozar Ivanov as he pursues a Master of Music in Piano Performance Degree at the University of South Florida with an accompanying assistantship. Matthew teaches as a piano instructor at the USF Community Music Project.

Jazz Album Reviews

antwerp album cover
By Andy Harrison 08 Mar, 2024
If it sounds like drummer John Bishop and pianist Bram Weijters are playing like their hair's on fire, in a way, they are - Bishop, Weijters and bassist Piet Verbist made yearly trips to the Belgium city of Antwerp, using their time in the city to record, jam and play over a hundred shows as a trio that overflows with effortless chemistry. The COVID-19 Pandemic changed that with strict international travel restrictions meaning the three friends couldn’t make their usual trip to the city on the Scheldt.
an album cover for aberto o som do jazz with an impressionist painting of trees and sky background
By Andy Harrison 29 Feb, 2024
O Som Do Jazz, despite what the name may imply, is not a purely Brazilian affair. A Brazilian vocalist, backed by American, Colombian and Cuban players each put their own spin on the established genre conventions. Comprised of seasoned musicians such as husband and wife duo David and Andrea Moraes Manson, José Valentino (appearing both on the flute and tenor sax) and Tabajara Belo on guitar, O Som Do Jazz has released one fine collection of songs in Aberto that pays loving tribute to the classic Brazilian sounds of Bossa Nova and música popular brasileira over eight carefully composed tracks.
Nikos Chatzisakos' Tiny Big Band 2
By Andy Harrison 07 Feb, 2024
Tiny Big Band 2 opens strong; a mysterious piano figure sets the scene before giving way to a sprightly tenor saxophone. All the players move through bandleaders Nikos Chatzitsakos’ charts with skill and nerve on “All or Nothing at All,” with the joy of the ensemble coming through the recording loud and clear. The best part is? It only gets better from here.
Read More Reviews

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