About The Band
Stickman boasts an impressive repertoire of engaging original compositions, topped off with arrangements of modern jazz and fusion classics. All of the group’s members are contributing composers and arrangers and, stylistically, their sound is a musical melting pot. Straight ahead, modern funk, and world beat rhythms, combined with an adventurous compositional style, are fused into a tight ensemble sound with a creative jazz spirit at its heart. In the 90’s, Stickman opened for David Sanborn at the Mellon Jazz Festival in Pittsburg, PA, and comedian Jamie Foxx. They have performed at such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center, DC’s legendary Blues Alley jazz club, Keystone Korner in Baltimore, and at the Rosslyn, VA jazz festival.
Bios
Peter Fraize - Saxophone
- Peter was instantly drawn to the saxophone because it was simply the coolest looking instrument in the school band brochure. Then and still a fan of hard rock and heavy metal music, his future career path was set upon hearing a Michael Brecker solo on a Blue Öyster Cult album. He formed his first band at age 16, playing gigs in the Washington, DC area where he grew up. After attending the New England Conservatory for two years, he went on to study at the Royal Conservatory in the Netherlands, where he found the stylistic freedom he craved. Since returning to the US, Peter has been a fixture on the Washington, DC scene for over 30 years, where he is known for his impassioned, high-energy playing, intricate and melodic composing, and his "no-boundaries" sensibility. His music draws from deep within the jazz tradition, exploratory free improvisation, modern rock and pop, and music from around the world. He is also familiar to international audiences through concert appearances in Peru, Japan, and Europe, most recently touring the UK with ATLANTICUS. Peter is a founding member of Stickman.
Matt Rinker - Guitar
- Matt’s early training as a performer was on DC’s alternative rock circuit as a guitarist and founding member of the band Graffiti. During that time, Matt joined Stickman where he contributed his own high-energy approach to improvisation and unique compositional style to the band’s repertoire. Matt has performed in many prestigious venues including Blues Alley, The Kennedy Center, Constitution Hall, The Bayou, The Roxy, The Pittsburgh Jazz Festival and the 219 Basin Street Lounge to name a few. Matt earned a Bachelors of Music Education degree in 1993 from Howard University where he studied composition. In 2005, Matt earned a Masters of music composition degree from George Mason. As an educator, Matt has been a music teacher in the Arlington County Public School system since 1994.
Jim Levy - Keyboard
- Jim began playing in area clubs as a teenager. His career as a composer includes a produced rock opera and choral oratorio. In the 1980s, he started the Jazz program at GWU (Emeritus Adjunct Professor) and for the last 14 years he has taught music in the DC public schools. Jim is the author of the DCPS piano method book. He has also recorded with noted Jazz vocalist Sharon Clark.
Liza Albright - Bass
- A lifelong native of the Washington, DC area, Liza has been involved in DC's music scene for over 30 years as a bassist and vocalist. After studying classical guitar, opera, piano, percussion, and classical music theory in college, she began to study jazz bass under George Washington University (GWU) professor David Marsh (the former bassist for Stickman). She has also been a member of several jazz ensembles and workshops at GWU including the GWU Big Band. She studied jazz vocals with nationally known recording artists Ronnie Wells and Ron Elliston. Liza has performed as a freelance artist with a number of musicians including former Sweet Honey In the Rock vocalist Evelyn Harris and Grammy Award Winner Terri Lyne Carrington. While with the contemporary jazz group Windspirit, Liza had the honor of performing at the prestigious John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Francis Thompson - Drums
- Francis, a native of St. Mary’s County, MD., received his BA degree with a major in percussion performance from St. Mary’s College of MD. Francis studied classical percussion with the late Nora Davenport, percussionist at the Kennedy Center Opera House and jazz drum set with the late Bill Reichenbach, drummer with the Charlie Byrd Trio. Francis’ diversity in music styles and performance experience have allowed him to record and perform artist including; jazz saxophonist- Davey Yarburough, jazz vocalist- Esther Williams, contemporary jazz pianist- Dan Reynolds, jazz/blues vocalist- Pam Parker, Latin jazz group Caribe Son and South African group Mahala. Francis has also made special appearances with pianist- Herbie Hancock, the late Latin percussionist- Tito Puente, the late jazz bassist- Keter Betts, the Washington Chamber Symphony and a host of events at the White House. Francis Thompson is presently the director of percussion at the famed Duke Ellington School of the Arts and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, DC. which afford him the opportunity to educate the youth in performance of classical and jazz percussion.
Dawn Elliott Robinson - Vocals
- Dawn Elliott Robinson is a fourth-generation Washington who began singing professionally at the age of 12. She is a proud graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts where she studied voice with Dorothy Dash and sang in the Concert Choir under the direction of Edward Jackson. Dawn has a Bachelor of Science in Arts Administration from Shenandoah College & Conservatory of Music (now Shenandoah University) in Winchester VA. She has appeared in stage musicals, including Godspell at Oberlin College; When E.T. Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, A Sci Fi Rock Opera; Book and Music by James Levy; and Love Songs of the Tobacco Wars by Steve Jones and Elise Bryant. She was the “big band girl singer” with the Shenandoah Conservatory Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Allen Wright, and featured vocalist with Shenandoah jazz faculty group, PeriScope, the Oberlin Conservatory Jazz Ensemble under direction of Wendell Logan; Lettumplay Jazz Ensemble; James McBride’s groups, The Members and The League of Nations; Dan Reynolds & Never Alone; contemporary jazz band, Stickman, jazz-funk groups, Grainger and the WPG Trio, and Brazilian jazz band Origem. She also toured for 9 years as a backup singer with jazz-funk artist, Maysa. Dawn is a recording artist and voting member of NARAS/The Recording Academy®. She appears on three of Dan Reynolds’ CDs: Lifeline(1994), To Be Sure (1998) and River Maiden (2009). She also appears on the self-titled CD of Stickman (1995); the Graingerdebut CD Phase I (1996); Lonnie Liston Smith’s Transformation (1998); Jimmy Wilson's Future History (2001) WPG Trio's Small Medium Large (2001); Rob Holmes' Turnstyles(2002), Charles “Ojinga” Shelton’s Seeing is Believing (2004); Al McKenzie’s Reason to Be (2006); and Dave Marsh’s First Born(2018). In 2014, Dawn released her first full CD, Some Snowy Night In Front of the Fire which she co-produced with Tom Saputo. Dawn is a two-time winner of the Washington Area Music Award (the WAMMIE): 1995 Gospel/Inspirational Female Vocalist and 1998 Jazz Contemporary Vocalist.
