THE HOTTEST NEW JAZZ SOUND OUT OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. SOULATUDE IS: TIMOTHY PAUL HORIUCHI, Drums & Percussion Tim was born and raised around the Arts & Music. He began Playing Piano at the age of 7. He received a certificate by the Robert Pace Piano program at the age of 9. Tim Started Playing Drum set at the age of 11, his first teacher was Louis Wilcox, He stayed with Mr. Wilcox till the age of 14. Then started his first Band and then continued on playing in various bands around the Seattle area until the age of 21. He then enrolled into the Cornish School of Allied Arts. Where he was exposed to Jazz. Tim played in various ensembles and studied in Music appreciation, Jazz History and Rhythm and Music theory classes, he had private instructions on Drum set with Jerry Grannelli and Jon Bahlman. Tim then started to add to his percussion vocabulary by studying Orchestral Percussion from Michael Clark of the Seattle Symphony. Tim incorporated orchestral percussion to the drum set. Tim also has studied “The Time Frame Concept” with Steve Smith @ the Seattle Drum School. Tim has also had various teachers on Hand drums and Latin percussion. Tim took his knowledge of the drum set & percussions and played in as many situations as he could. He enjoys challenging himself with many different styles on drum set and percussion. Tim is also a J-Town Sound recording artist. He played percussion on “The Seattle Groove” CD in 1998. And in the year 2000 played percussions on the CD “Love West” by Deems and Seattle Groove and in 2002 Tim is playing percussion on Deems and Seattle Grooves CD. “My music loves Christmas” In 1995 Tim built a Project recording studio and took classes on audio engineering and sound design. Tim as an engineer completed his first CD in the year 2000. “On My Way” By Blue Meadows. Tim was also featured on Drum set and Percussion on various tracks In 2002 Tim Recorded on Drum set and Percussion for his own CD Project Titled SOULATUDE “ The Soul has an Attitude” Also on J-Town Sound. You can catch Tim on stage in the Studio or just Practicing. DEEMS TSUTAKAWA, Grand Piano, Keyboards, & Bass "My music is a reflection of my life," says Deems Tsutakawa, jazz pianist. "I think you'll find my music warm and friendly." A native of Seattle, Washington, Deems is the second son of world famous artist, George Tsutakawa. He began playing piano at the age of five and won the annual Washington State Music Teachers Association Award at the age of nine. Deems originally played classical music but in high school turned his attention to jazz."I fell in love with rhythm & blues and soul, which led me to jazz. These American music forms reflect my personality perfectly." During Deems' formative years, music was pure and artists performed with great conviction. Artists expressed their inner souls, never worrying about what recording executives wanted to hear. He grew up on a diet of Verve, CTI, Motown and Atlantic, inspired by the musicians who were most able to express their artistic freedom. It was this foundation that Deems was able to develop his own genuine style. A unique style in which he can play any groove and you'd instantly know it was Deems. The sound he writes, arranges and produces is truly enchanting and deep from his heart. He touches your emotions with his music.His passion to perform and write continued to grow from his early days at nightclubs in Central Seattle and the International District to worldwide concert halls and clubs, from Tokyo, Japan to London, England. He has had the pleasure of working with recording stars Kenny G, Roy Ayers, Tony Gable, Julian Priester as well as opening concerts for Spyro Gyra, Hiroshima and Maynard Ferguson.Deems' desire to be heard on a much broader scope, spurred him to start his own label, J-Town Records in 1982. His first release, DEEMS, was chosen by Dr. Herbert Wong (nationally known jazz educator) to be on the "Top 20", Vital Jazz Vinyl. Deems was in good company right along with veterans Ron Carter, Miles Davis and Bill Evans. Dr. Herbert Wong writes, "Deems is a strongly melodic writer and an even stronger player . . . he gets a gorgeous sound and somehow betrays a secret he has discovered in creating a beautiful crystalline quality." His second album, LIVING DEEMS, launched the hit single, Tough Tofu. His third album, THE PLANET DEEMS, was released jointly with the late NastyMix Label. DEEMS PLAYS FOR LOVERS, is his fourth release, followed by SEATTLE GROOVE, LOVE WEST, and his very latest release L.A. LIVE.His live performances are not to be missed. A true live entertainer, Deems' music is electrifying and the visual animation of the artist is captivating. The bandleader says of himself, "I feel that my exuberance is infectious to the audience as well as the other musicians in my band."Experience the mysterious universe of Deems, where his music recognizes no boundaries. GORDON UCHIMA, Saxophones Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. After graduating from the University of Hawaii (Bachelor of Music) played music professionally in Honolulu, Hawaii as an arranger, keyboardist, bassoonist, saxophonist with The Jim Nabors Show, The Charo Show, The Don Ho Show, Royal Hawaiian Band, Cecilio & Kapono, Kalapana, as well as other various recording artists of Hawaii. Moved to the Seattle area in 1994 and performs with various Northwest artists currently including Soulatude, Deems, Colelition, Irae, Keith McClellan BigBand. Currently employed by Microsoft as an Operations Analyst. THOMAS McELROY, Guitars Eventually Thomas landed several lucrative gigs playing with longtime Dallas Thomas McElroy received his first guitar at the age of 15. For his 16th birthday his mother got him classical guitar lessons as a present. He studied classical guitar at the local music store and when the classical teacher left he was replaced by local Seattle guitar legend Donnie McGowan. Donnie installed in Thomas a life long ambition to master the myriad intricacies of Jazz guitar. When Thomas graduated from High school in 1977 he worked for a year and then went to Cornish Institute of the Allied arts. There he studied with Don Mock and Dave Peterson. Thomas was deeply influenced by the theory teachings of Gary Peacock, in fact still working on the things that were taught in that class. After 3 years Thomas left Cornish to go on the road with a rock band, further honing his playing skills. After a year in that band, playing Red Lion Inns, saving money and what not, he left and headed off to Dallas Texas where his friend Donnie was living at the time. Dallas in the early 80’s. “There was a lot of work down there at the time” say’s Thomas. He quickly landed himself a solo guitar gig at the prestigious Ambassador Park Hotel where Thomas played solo guitar for 2 ½ years at lunch every day. This was good a good gig and allowed him to work on various styles of solo playing. Soon Thomas was out in the mix. vibraphone legend Ed Hagens. Ed took Thomas under his wings and taught him how to play in a drummer less “Red Norvo” style trio. Soon after playing with Ed, Thomas got a gig with another local legend, saxophonist James Clay. “Playing with James was like being in school again” Thomas says, “every night that we played he was on me to find an individual voice for myself and was doling out harmonic knowledge to me on the band stand talking into one of my ears while I was soloing”. After several years in Dallas it was time to come home to Seattle again. Thomas came back and went to school and studied Computer Science at RVTI, eventually getting a degree in computer science and later a professional certification in Data Communications. Since being back in Seattle Thomas has played with the who’s who of Seattle’s best musicians. He has been heard on several recent recordings of Deem’s Seattle groove bands and concerts. He released his own CD and worked on others cd’s as either rhythm guitar or soloists. Thomas is currently working on several recording projects of his own getting ready for release in early 2003. Thomas also leads and or co-leads several bands including Trio Viejo, The Clarence Robinson Sextets, Quintets and Quartets and Soulatude with Tim Horiuchi. All of these bands feature writing by Thomas. Here is a list of the people that Thomas has played with. Pianists: George Duke, Robert Damper, Michael Hepburn, Paul Richardson and Deems Tsutakawa, Singers: Korla Wygal (her latest CD) and Ernestine Anderson Drums: Bruce Carter, John Bishop, Clarence Robinson And Tim Horiuchi Organists: Joey Defransesco, Jack McDuff Bassists: Jeff Johnson, Phil Sparks and Gary Peacock Saxophone: James Clay, Marshall Ivory, Dennis Springer Thomas has studied guitar with: Joe Diorio, Pat Martino, Don Mock and has had “spot” lessons with John Scofield and John McLaughlin.