Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton (born January 26, 1989) is an American multi-instrumentalist blues musician and vocalist from Los Angeles. He plays banjo, piano and violin and his musical influences are mainly rooted in the early blues from the 1920s and 30s. Jerron’s family, originally from Louisiana, moved to LA in the 50s where he grew up before moving to New York city in 2007, where he currently resides. With a strong interest in blues and jazz music before World War II, Paxton’s sound is influenced by the likes of Fats Waller and “Blind” Lemon Jefferson. According to Will Friedwald in the Wall Street Journal, Paxton is “virtually the only music-maker of his generation playing guitar, banjo, piano and violin, among other implements to fully assimilate the blues idiom of the 1920s and ’30s, the blues of Bessie Smith and Lonnie Johnson.”
Dennis Lichtman is a multi-instrumentalist who is deeply entrenched in early- to mid-1900’s American music, from traditional jazz and swing to bluegrass and western swing. His elegant voice carries through on all his instruments, lending a thread that weaves together the various genres he navigates. Originally from Boston, MA, Lichtman has been living in New York City since 2002.
In August 2018, Lichtman released Just Cross the River, celebrating with two sold-out shows at Dizzy’s Club at Jazz At Lincoln Center hosted by the New York Hot Jazz Festival. The album features nine original compositions inspired by the migration of jazz legends into the borough of Queens, NY beginning in the 1920’s. The project was instigated by a grant from the Queens Council on the Arts.
In August 2018, Lichtman released Just Cross the River, celebrating with two sold-out shows at Dizzy’s Club at Jazz At Lincoln Center hosted by the New York Hot Jazz Festival. The album features nine original compositions inspired by the migration of jazz legends into the borough of Queens, NY beginning in the 1920’s. The project was instigated by a grant from the Queens Council on the Arts.
Dennis switches deftly between fiddle, clarinet.
Lichtman has performed at Carnegie Hall, major festivals throughout the United States, and on stages in Europe, Brazil, and China. He is on the faculty of the Welbourne Traditional Jazz Camp in Middleburg, VA, and has led college master classes and inner-city school workshops through the Midori Foundation, Lincoln Center’s Meet The Artist Series, and Beijing’s Ping-Pong Productions.He has performed and recorded as a regular member of Ghost Train Orchestra, Pokey LaFarge Band, Nation Beat, Jim Kweskin Band, and many more.
Lichtman has performed at Carnegie Hall, major festivals throughout the United States, and on stages in Europe, Brazil, and China. He is on the faculty of the Welbourne Traditional Jazz Camp in Middleburg, VA, and has led college master classes and inner-city school workshops through the Midori Foundation, Lincoln Center’s Meet The Artist Series, and Beijing’s Ping-Pong Productions.He has performed and recorded as a regular member of Ghost Train Orchestra, Pokey LaFarge Band, Nation Beat, Jim Kweskin Band, and many more.
