For the first time ever, the New York-founded Nate Sparks Big Band will be premiering a very special show at Des Moines' own Noce Jazz Club! Bringing Nate's exciting music to life will be an all-star band comprised of 18 of the most talented young musicians from the Des Moines area, Iowa City, Cedar Falls, and even Los Angeles. Vocal sensation Max Wellman will be featured as well, so join us from 7:00-10:00pm to experience the magic!
Here's the epic lineup you won't want to miss:
Reeds:
Gabe Scheid
Dave Bohl
Aaron Ehrlich
Robert Espe
Daniel Madison
Trumpets:
Dan Meier
Cory Schmitt
Joseph Schnoebelen
Ryan Wheeler
Lee Stickney
Trombones:
Derek Pyle
Michael Conrad
Brad Sparks
John Sens
Guitar: Sean Veeder
Piano: Nate Sparks
Bass: Chris Walsh
Drums: Nic Addelia
Special Guest Vocalist: Max Wellman
The Nate Sparks Big Band is a New York-based 18 piece ensemble that plays a wide variety of music fitting for both concert and party events, all of which is composed and/or arranged by Nate Sparks. Its members consist of some of the finest up and coming jazz and classical musicians in the world, who's individual voices are authentically highlighted in the writing. Whether it be through grandiose original works inspired by great classical and jazz composers, cleverly arranged popular songs from TV and internet memes, or just down-to-earth dance tunes, the NSBB sound is defined by exciting soloists and awesome music. The band formed in the fall of 2016, and has since performed frequently at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, the Slope Lounge, the 48 Lounge and other various events.
Nate Sparks is a New York-based composer/arranger/performer who grew up in Runnells, Iowa. Nate began playing the piano at age 7, trumpet at 11, and pursued jazz throughout his middle school and high school years. His acceptance into several national high school honor bands and music festivals led him to a post-secondary study of jazz at the Juilliard School, where he also began his career as a writer.
Since then he has been commissioned to write music for the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, Bobby Sanabria and the Multiverse Big Band, the Grammy-Nominated MSM Afro-Cuban Orchestra, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, The ABS Chamber Orchestra, the New York Trumpet Ensemble, and the Des Moines Big Band among others. While he regularly takes commissions for freelance work, his main outlet as a writer is with his own band, the Nate Sparks Big Band, a New York-based 18-piece jazz orchestra. Playing exclusively his own compositions, arrangements, and transcriptions, the Nate Sparks Big Band performs regularly at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in New York City.
In May of 2017, Nate graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor's degree in performance, and now in addition to writing and performing, actively pursues a career as a jazz educator. Since then, Nate has been a faculty member of the Lafayette Summer Music Jazz Workshop and the Simpson College Jazz Workshop. He has also been a guest clinician for the New York Youth Symphony Jazz Orchestra (New York, NY), The University of Scranton (Scranton, PA), Drake University (Des Moines, IA), Delaware Valley High School (Milford, PA), and Southeast Polk High School (Des Moines, IA). Nate also teaches private lessons in Jazz Piano, Piano Fundamentals, Theory, Jazz Improvisation, Composition and Arranging, and Trumpet.