The Native Jazz Quartet

THE NATIVE JAZZ QUARTET  is a hard-swinging and high energy performance act based on the swing/bebop tradition, using only native/folk melodies in their arrangements. The goal of this new quartet is to grow the Native Jazz movement and to attract a national and international audience of all ages. Everyone in the band represents a different culture: Ed Littlefield is Alaska Native/Tlingit, Reuel Lubag is Filipino, Jason Marsalis is African American/ New Orleans and Christian Fabian is of Swedish/German origin. The Native Jazz Quartet is an exciting new band, with an exciting new message that turns performances into cultural stories and standing ovations.

Members

JASON MARSALIS (Vibes) is an American jazz drummer/vibraphonist and member of the famous New Orleans Marsalis jazz musical family. Jason has not only inherited the virtuosity and compositional skills associated with the Marsalis family, but has also developed a distinctive, polyrhythmic drumming style. He recently released his second CD playing the vibraphone “In a World of Mallets” as a bandleader and was number one on all jazz stations in the country in April 2013.

REUEL LUBAG (Piano) is a graduate of Central Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music. He served on faculty at Seattle Pacific University directing the Vocal Jazz Ensemble and teaching jazz piano, and for 12 years worked with Evergreen Christian Fellowship in Issaquah as a staff accompanist. He has performed and recorded with many jazz legends.

CHRISTIAN FABIAN (Bass) is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Berklee College of Music, with a B.A. in Performance and Film Scoring, a long time bassist with the Lionel Hampton Big Band and the Mike Longo Big Band, and has performed and recorded with a multitude of jazz legends throughout his career.

ED LITTLEFIELD (Drums) received his formal music education at the University of Idaho where he majored in Vocal and Instrumental Music Education with an emphasis in percussion. He has performed with the Idaho-Washington Symphony, The Orion Trombone Quartet, The Jazz Police, and The Dallas Brass and has recorded with many musicians, including his own trio.