Coast to Coast Jazz Band
Member Bios

• Honored Alumni

John is the co-leader of the Coast to Coast Jazz Band, as well as the leader of the Barb City Stompers Band in Dekalb IL, and the New Orleans Nighthawks in Florida. For the past 31 years, he has been the clarinetist in the Buck Creek Jazz Band. He also is the clarinetist for both the Chicago Hot Six Jazz Band, and for the (International) CanAmGer Jazz Band. He has performed at numerous jazz festivals in USA, Canada, Scotland and Europe. His style ranges from down-town New Orleans to Chicago to Swing.

Mike is the co-leader of the Coast To Coast Jazz Band as well as the leader of the Toll House Jazz Band in Columbus, Ohio and the (International) CanAmGer Jazz Band. The Toll House band recently celebrated their 16th year. The Toll House Band has played at festivals throughout the Midwest including the Bix Beiderbecke festival in Davenport, the Coon-Sanders festival in W. Virginia and the Early Jazz Festival in Ohio. Mike has led the Toll House and CanAmGer Jazz Bands on four tours in Europe including performances at jazz clubs and festivals in Munich, Dresden, Leipzig, Regensburg and in Brunico, Italy. Mike performed as solo banjoist aboard the American Queen riverboat on the Mississippi River. He was recently inducted into the Columbus Senior Musicians Hall of Fame. In addition to tenor banjo, Mike sings and plays plectrum banjo and guitar

Our lead horn player is Mr. Paul Monat (pronounced "MAH-nit", rhymes with "bonnet"). Paul has over 35 years experience playing a driving Dixieland/Swing horn. He started on tuba (still plays it) and string bass in 1963, and played with Italian bands and Up with People in Springfield Mass during the late 60's. He played in the '70s with Art Hodes, Teddy Wilson and other members of the Coon Saunders Nighthawks Club in Wethersfield CT. He played harmony cornet & trumpet with the Yankee Rhythm Kings from 1974 to 1981. He helped start the Blue Horizon Jazz Band in 1981. He went to the Japan Kobe festival in 1982 with the Uptown Lowdown Jazz Band second cornet to Bert Barr. He has recorded with the Albany NY's premier jazz group, Skip Parsons' Riverboat Jazz band (with Eddie Hubble on trombone). He is currently the cornet sub for Tony Pringle in the New Black Eagle Jazz Band and played the Sacramento Jazz festival in 1977-8-9, 1980, 1982. He also plays lead horn in the Beale Street Jazz Band and has recorded 2 CDs with them. In Massachusetts Paul is an active part the Northeast Jazz scene with his own Band The New Condon Mob amongst other bands.

Our trombonist, Gordon Moore, has been playing the trombone since age 11. Gordon’s current day job is a high school biology teacher in Miamisburg, Ohio.  At a previous school, Gordon organized several of the high school faculty into a Dixieland Band called the Do’s and Don'ts of Dixie. This band played locally near Dayton, Ohio for 10 years, and, on three occasions, played in the Grand Cayman Islands, as jazz ambassadors under government sponsorship. Gordon also plays with Dave Greer’s Classic Jazz Stompers. This band has, for the last 24 years, played in numerous jazz clubs and festivals on the east coast, plus several trips/concerts to Belgium. Gordon regularly substitutes with the Mike Evan’s Toll House Jazz Band from Columbus Ohio including a recent performance for 700,000 fans at the International Jazz Festival in Dresden, Germany

A Southern Californian, Vinnie Armstrong began playing professionally when in his teens. He has always favored the solid, two-handed stride and swing jazz piano styles. Now retired, Vinnie held down a "day job" for 30 years with the County of Los Angeles, but always took every opportunity to play gigs on the side. In addition to performing in Los Angeles and at various jazz festivals with the Yankee Wailers Jazz Band, Vinnie played occasional concerts with the following, well-known jazz artists: Eddie Miller, Dick Cathcart, Peanuts Hucko, Nick Fatool, Ray Leatherwood, Bob Havens, Red Callendar, Joe Darensbourg, Nappy Lamare, and Bobby Gordon. He also played with George Probert's Riff Machine in Holland and Belgium, and with the Sunset Music Company in Germany.

Sid Plays String Bass, Tuba and Electric Bass. He has played professionally throughout the Midwest for 40 plus years He Has a Bachelor and Master degree in Music Education, from the Ohio State University, and has taught music in the public schools for 30 years; and, is now retired. He has been an adjunct professor at the Capital University Conservatory of Music for 14 years and has taught as adjunct bass professor at the Ohio State Univ. and Otterbein College. In Ohio, Sid is presently playing with the High Street Stompers Dixieland Band, the Buckeye Tailgaters Band, and the Columbus Ohio Broadway across America Pit Orchestra. He has toured with the Guy Lombardo and Lawrence Welk Orchestras and has recorded with Terry Waldo and Carmen Cavallaro. He has performed with musicians such as Warren Covington, Les Elgart, Myron Floren, Ken Peplowski, and Randy Rinehart.

Stan grew up in a musical home. His father and uncles were musicians and music educators. He started playing drums at age 12 after watching Buddy Rich. Stan studied drums with Mr. Dick Vild growing up in Winter Haven Florida and later with Gary Werdesheim at Florida State. Stan was inspired and mentored as a teen by Bill Allred and the band at Rosie O'Grady's in nearby Orlando. Stan played in the Pride of Dixie Dixieland Band in the 1970's as a teenager. They played throughout Central Florida, traveled to New Orleans, performed at a televised PBS fund raiser, recorded an album and also appeared as a guest band at Rosie O'Grady's in Orlando. He has played with Esther Satterfield, Nat Adderley and Brian Seeger. Stan also plays with the New Orleans Nighthawks Jazz Band in Florida with John Skillman and the international CanAmGer Jazz Band.