(l to r) Bonnie Para - vocals, Frank Moran - bass and double bass, Pat Holten - keys
"Your group was just the right fit for our event. Good to see you again!" Tom Moak, Kiwani's "Wine, Jazz and Tuscany" Event Coordinator.
The Columbia Jazz Trio was formed in November, 2007. Our focus is on American jazz standards as well as other popular music, eventually adding everything from George M. Cohan to the Beatles. The guiding inspiration behind our musical endeavors is two-fold; a deep respect and passion for the art of the American popular song and the genius of the countless brilliant artists who have reinvented and transformed it.
Unfortunately, guitarist and co-founder Scott Nelson has left us to pursue career advancement. Scott was raised in Ames, IA and is retired from the military. He is married with two children. Scott has been playing guitar for about 10 years and says he still has a lifetime of learning to master the instrument. He will be profoundly missed as a guitarist, founder and friend of the Trio, and we wish him the best of luck. To honor him, the band has made him a permanent member.
Bonnie Para - Vocals
Bonnie Para is originally from Long Island, NY. She spent countless hours sitting on the piano bench next to her father listening to him play jazz standards and learning to love music. After experimenting with violin, flute, piano and guitar lessons, she settled on voice. Through the years and in different locations, Bonnie has performed with a variety of bands and in a number of musical comedies with local theater groups. Her favorite role was Adelaide in "Guys and Dolls". She says the vestiges of her "Noo Yawk" accent came in handy for the role.
Pat Holten - Keyboard, Vocals
Pat grew up near St. Paul in white Bear Lake, MN. She grew up dreaming about the piano, but actually was relegated for many years to a Hammond organ. Playing whatever was available, she loved her flutaphone and then graduate to the flute in junior high school. She studied a little piano in high school and at WSU where she also took some music classes. She generally ignored her love of music as being frivolous and impractical. She had many fond memories of singing around the piano with fellow high school band members. The next thirty years passed by quickly (marriage and three children) and needing a sanity outlet, she resumed her flute playing through the CBC Concert Band and began piano lessons with the Tri-Cities’ own Steve Haberman. She started playing at Kadlec and at various nursing homes. It was through Steve that Scott found Pat. Her love of happy sing-a-longs still effect her choice of music and she loves to be in a band where the audience smiles and says it is so good to hear that song.
Frank Moran - Bass, 3/4 Double Bass
Frank joined the band in February of 2008. Frank was born and raised in NE Philadelphia were he started playing classical trumpet in elementary school. He quit the trumpet in favor of the bass guitar shortly after graduating high school in the Bay Area. He is retired from the US Navy. After the military, Frank resumed playing bass guitar in the Columbus, OH area acting as temporary chair for several heavy metal and classic rock bands. He moved to Benton City, WA and was frequenting the open mic circuits with the "Red Mountain Road Jam Project". This is his first jazz project and he is excited to be playing this genre of music. He has recently introduced the "double bass" into the project. He is married and has two adult children and two grandchildren.
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