Acoustic, Rock & Indie Bands - Meet the Musicians
Neal Alger - Guitar
Guitarist Neal Alger is known in Chicago for his consummate musicianship, versatility, and accompaniment skills. Alger has been heralded as “one of the most sensitive and creative guitarists in a city filled with them” by Howard Reich (Chicago Tribune) and has been described as “monstrously talented” by Christopher Loudon (Jazz Times magazine).
Neal graduated summa cum laude from Northern Illinois University with a bachelors' degree in jazz guitar performance and studied with renowned virtuoso guitarist Fareed Haque. After college studies, Neal moved to Chicago in 1995 and established himself as an in-demand sideman and leader. Neal has performed or recorded with Lin Halliday, Howard Levy, Luciano Antonio, Don Stiernberg, Under the Streetlamp, Ed Thigpen, George Fludas, and most notably, singer/pianist Patricia Barber. Neal has toured Europe, the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Russia, and South Korea with Patricia and he is featured on her Blue Note Records releases Verse (2002), Live: A Fortnight in France (2004), Mythologies (2006), and The Cole Porter Mix (2008). Neal has also appeared on recordings by Chicago-based musicians/groups including Matt Geraghty, Chicago Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble, Typhanie Monique, Bad Sneakers Orchestra (Steely Dan tribute), William Kurk Enterprise, Keri Johnsrud, and Brian Gephart.
Neal’s newest project as a leader is a trio dedicated to performing several varieties of Brazilian music (samba, choro, baiao, frevo, etc.). Past projects have included a BLUE NOTE QUARTET which unearthed classic and obscure compositions from the legendary Blue Note jazz record label and an original rock band NEEDLES IN THE RED in which Alger sang, played guitar, and composed all of the music and lyrics. Neal also recorded three CD’s as a co-leader with vocalist Typhanie Monique, capitalizing on their intimate voice/guitar duo: Intrinsic (2004), In This Room (2007), and Yuletide Groove (2008).
Michael Arnopol - Bass
Mike has been on the cutting edge of the jazz and popular music scene in Chicago for 35 years. He’s played in a gazillion bands of all styles but his biggest claim to fame is being in the Patricia Barber Group for 20 years. Patricia is a Blue Note recording artist and McArthur Genius Award recipient. They recorded 8 albums together and toured all over the world yearly. He’s also passionate about the Motown and Funk bass traditions having deeply studied James Jamerson and the other great bass players of that era.
Mike is also internationally known as a high fidelity speaker cabinet designer with very famous bass players and keyboard players using his cabinets.
Jeff Stitely - Drums
Jeff began his career in Chicago joining Indie Rock band “Fish of Destiny” which played all the rock clubs around. He also played in various dance bands while also building a reputation as a jazz drummer playing with such superb artists as Larry Coryell, Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Randy Becker, Eddie Harris, “Groove” Holmes, Kathleen Battle, Zoot Sims, Patricia Barber, Von Freeman, Bobby Lewis, Brad Goode, the Grant Park Symphony and many others. Jeff won “Best Soloist” at the 9th International Jazz Competition of Belgium and has been awarded 2 National endowment for the Arts grants. The Jeff Stitely Quartet recorded three CDs. “Chameleon Eyes” won the distinguished award of “Top 10 CDs of the year” by WBEZ and the Sun Times. They toured both the U.S. an Europe and were finalists in the Hennessey National Jazz Competition.
Jon Scarpelli - Guitar/Vocals
Jon Scarpelli has been a fixture of the Chicago independent music scene for 18 years. Leading a diverse selection of bands, weathering the ups and downs of the local industry. From Alt-Country, acid jazz and punk all the way to electronic rock and ethereal percussion, Jon has impressed audiences at every turn. Trained as a composer and recording engineer, his ear for what makes a song connect to an audience is where his talent thrives.
Beginning his professional career in the commercial jingle world at Rhythm Café working with long time producer and composer Brando Triantafillou and Ralph Beerhorst, Jon cut his teeth learning composing, playing and recording for TV and radio spots. Gaining experience with some of the best studio musicians in the business, Jon took that experience and threw it all into his own work.
He has 7 self produced albums under his belt. Starting with “Living Lavishly in the Public Eye” (2006), “The Johns EP” (2008), “Foresight/Poorsight” (2009), “A Naïve Push To Escapism” (2011) by Push, and 3 albums by his most recent band Low Swans “The Whole World Has No Clothes”(2014), “MMXV” (2016) and finally the 2 part “Break Up” (2018) album produced and mixed by local engineering legend Craig Bauer.
Simon Ciacco – Bass
Simon is a rising star on the Chicago music scene in a variety of genres. He began his musical journey at the age of 13 when his sister gifted him an old Fender. In the past ten years that same Fender bass has provided the low end in musicalenues and festivals all throughout the Chicago land area.
As a recent graduate from DePaul Universities Jazz Studies program, Simon has studied extensively Chicago’s most esteemed musicians and educators including Dana Hall, Scott Burns, Tim Coffman, Bob Lark, Jim Trompeter, and his main mentor Dennis Carroll. This education provided him with extensive knowledge of musical theory, composition, music history, and technical ability on the upright and electric basses. His proficiency on both instruments have landed him in playing situations of nearly every genre including folk, soul, jazz, hip hop, punk rock, and more.
With the knowledge of a professional, and the charisma of a 24 year old, Simon provides a joyous presence to the bandstand and it is felt in his playing.