A Swingin' Affair! 

Claire Victor - Vocalist

Claire creates a vocal style that is uniquely, and expressively, hers. Whether she is accompanied by her own band, “A Swingin’ Affair", or performing intimately at a small gathering, her lush vocals invite you into a mood that is as large as your dreams and as soft as your heart. Claire’s diverse background in music has led her into a career that is exciting and varied. Originally from New York, she received her B.A. in Theater Arts from East Stroudsburg University, PA. In bi-coastal performances, she has shared the jazz stage with the likes of Jon Hendricks, Mark Murphy, and Bob Dorough. Theatrically, she has performed leading roles in numerous musicals including: Stevenson By Heart under the musical direction of Grammy award winner Peter Matz, I’m Getting My Act Together & Taking it on the Road (for which she received a Bay Area Theatre Critics Award nomination), Anything Goes, Sweet Charity, Little Shop of Horrors, and Cabaret. Her writing talents have resulted in Cinnabar Theatre productions of Cole Porter’s People, Don’t Ask Me Not to Sing, & her own compelling cabaret shows. In addition to her private vocal studio, Claire has been a guest artist at Brigham Young University - Hawaii, for four years, where she has taught master classes in jazz vocal technique, cabaret singing, singing for musical theater and lyric interpretation. Claire is excited to be writing and performing her own music mixed with our rich jazz and American musical theater heritage on her first CD which will be available in the near future.

Grant Johnson - Keyboard/Vocals

Grant comes to us via L.A. and has tickled the ivories with such music biz luminaries as “Philly” Joe Jones (drummer with Miles Davis), George Morrow (bassist with Clifford Brown), Gene Vincent (“Be-Bop-A-Lu-La”), members of The Doors, Dobie Gray, (“The In Crowd”), The Coasters, The Platters, & Eric Clapton. Grant can often be found in his own music studio or one of many recording sessions for Bay Area artists. Besides session work in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, Grant creates and produces music advertising in his own studio for Bay Area Radio. Working in collaboration with Barry Volk of Sound Advantage, Grant has written “jingles” for the Luther Burbank Center of Arts, The Wireless group, Sho-Ko-wa Casino, & Hansel R.V. to name a few. With Blair Hardman of Zone music, Grant has won numerous Sadie awards for excellence in radio advertising. He has won the coveted “Jumbo Prawn Award” from the Northern California Broadcasting Association with Warren Dennis of Banquet Recording for their KVON radio theme song. His master piano classes concentrate on jazz, pop, and blues, and its historical perspective. Among the many venues his music has been presented at, he has been a soloist at the Russian River Jazz Festival. Along with Brooke Wolff, he has written numerous songs - two of which appear on her recent “Umpe Records” release of “The Last Broad Standing” now chomping the “Monster Music” charts on the internet, which tracts the popularity of alternative college music audiences. Grant is currently working on the “Swingin’ Affair” CD with Claire Victor, whom he has collaborated with in writing numerous songs.

Kendrick Freeman - Drums/Percussion/Vocals

Kendrick is one of Sonoma County’s most sought after drummers because of his versatility on the drumset and percussion skills in jazz, Latin, pop, & original settings. His drumset teachers include Bay Area artists George March and Eddie Moore. He has studied hand drum with various artists from the Congo & Haiti and applied these skills as musical director for 4 years of “Group Petites La Croix”, San Francisco’s premiere Haitian dance company as well as accompanying African & Caribbean dance for 16 years. Kendrick has recorded two CD’s with Sonoma County’s Tokenki and currently tours with string player Joe Craven and with the Alison Brown band out of Nashville.

Ed Randol - Saxophones/Vocals

Originally an orchestral musician, Ed gravitated towards the saxophone and jazz band while playing oboe in high school & at Santa Rosa Junior College. Also active in vocal music, Ed toured Europe in 1976 with the Northern California Chamber Chorale performing works for solo oboe as well. As a member of the “Samonte” Ed has opened for jazz artists Nancy Wilson, Bobby Hutcherson, Dave Brubeck, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. After spending five years touring as musical director of the Ice Capades, Ed returned home to Santa Rosa where he currently enjoys playing sax, keyboard, singing and writing vocal arrangements for the band.

Tom Shader - Bass/Vocals

Tom is an acoustic player raised in the Detroit area. As a youth, he played classical music and studied the violin, cello, viola, string bass & voice. His early professional career was dedicated to playing the electric bass and exploring many of the rock/pop genres. Since jazz has become Tom’s passion, he has had the privilege of performing and recording with many fine musicians, including Steve Allen, Henry Mancini, Tommy Newsome, Jesse Colin-Young, Bob Lucas, Calvin Keys, & Phil Smith. In addition to being a mainstay at many North Bay and San Francisco jazz clubs, Tom has made regular appearances at some of the area’s popular jazz festivals including the Russian River, Cotati, & Benicia Jazz Festival, & the Sacramento Jubilee. Tom can be heard on several recent CD’s cut by such artists as Phillip Smith & the Gentlemen of Jazz, Jesse Colin Young, Debbie Voltura and Jazayer.