Boston Swing Band Members...

Boston Swing is Mark's preferred backing band (a collection of the country's finest solo performers who have come together to present many amazing and memorable musical performances)...

Mark "Raz" Rasmussen
(Piano / Arranger / Musical Director)
Rasmussen has been playing the piano since the age of six.  He received his B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas in 1993, and played in the KU Jazz bands from '84-'93.  Among his many accomplishments, Mark backed Bo Diddley with his band "So What" which featured Stanley Sheldon (from Peter Frampton's band) on bass and Don Mumford on Drums.  He also had the opportunity to play with Frank Wess of the Count Basie Orchestra while in college and again with his band "So What" with the grammy legend Jimmy Witherspoon.  Between '95-'99, while in Denver, Mark played with Soul act Freddi and Henchi, and then went on to work at Westlake Audio in Los Agneles.

Mark was selected for First Night Providence 2003 as a featured act. 
When he's not working with Boston Swing, Mark is finishing off his self-titled CD "Suite for Rhode Island", working on a record with vocalist Mikelyn Roderick and supporting other live performance and recording projects with other exceptional talent, including: Jerry Bennett's "The Sultans of Swing" and Vocalists Roixannes Jones, Ralph Graham & Boston Swing's own Jennifer Keaney.

Raz is currently appearing every Friday night at The Rat Pack Cafe (solo piano)

Michael Lavoie
(Bass)
Mike is a New Bedford resident and career musician.  He has performed regionally at countless festivals and enjoyed a wide varitey of live performance.  His natural skill in various styles of music, on both electric and acoustic bass, has helped him become a widely sought session/studio musician, freelance bassist and private instructor.

As an active educator he has been involved with the Berklee School of Music's "Summer Guitar Sessions" and numerous clinics on the high school and college level.  his general knowledge in his filed has prompted his being sough for contribution on articles for publication and on instrument manufacturing.

As the "first call" Bass player, Mike has been a part of the Boston Swing  family for several years.  He has performed at private engagements and public concerts in some of our countries most notable rooms, recording with countless emerging and well-known musicians, and brings an unrivaled level of musicianship to the band.

Put simply, Mike's a "bass enthusiast" (to say the least).  he is currently construction innovative instruments and designs for retail instruments.  He is also the resident instructor and Bass Repair Specialist at Symphony Music in Dartmouth, MA.
 

Steve Silverstein
(Drums)
Steve began playing drums professionally at age 13, as well as a student at the Berklee College of Music under Mr. Keith Copeland until the age of 17.  Over the past 30 years he has traveld the world as a musician and has been an educator since 1992.

Notable past performance include Kennedy Center for the performing arts, 1996 Summer Olympics (Atlanta), NBC's Today Show, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Kravis Center for Performing Arts (W. Palm Beach), The Blue Note (NYC), and Birdland (NYC).

As an active educator, he served the faculty in the jazz department at The University of North Florida (as their drumset instructor) and also teaching privately in Jacksonville, FL).  Since returning to Boston in 2000 he has maintained a busy teaching schedule.

Steve has performed with such jazz artists as Harry Allen, Carmen Bradford, Bunky Green, Bobby Watson, Joshua Breakstone, Ben Tucker, Shawn Monteiro, Nathan page, Jay Corre, The Artie Shaw Orchestra, as well as Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra members Marcus Pintup, Vince Gardner, Walter Blanding Jr., Wes Anderson and Ted Nash.  Steve is also a regular touring performer with piano prodigy Matt Savage.

Trent Ryan Austin
(Trumpet / Flugelhorn / Valve Trombone)
Trent has led a varied career in music- performing in many musical circles (jazz, classical, and contemporary music).  While attending High School (Nokomis Regional HS) he was selected as a featured performer for the 1992 Montreux Jazz festival in Switzerland and the First Chair trumpet of the Maine All-State Festival.  He was also awarded a full music scholarship to attend the Univeristy of New Hampshire to study classical trumpet.

Individual awards include: 1993 Berklee Grammy High School Jazz Band, lead trumpet for 1995 Disney All American Show Band, featured soloist for 1996 Harmony Ridge Brass Festival and 1997 Lake Placid Institute of the Arts Seminar.

Trent has performed with such artists as Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole, Joe Williams, Wynton Marsalis, Clark Terry, Jack Jones, Bob Brookmeyer, Maria Schneider, Peter Erskine, Arturo Sandoval, Hal Galper, Dick Oatts, Marvin Stamm, Red Holloway, Jess Davis, Dick Johnson, Kenny Werner and Bob Wilber.  Trent plays lead trumpet with the Artie Shaw Orchestra Tour and is a highly sought after Boston area jazz soloist.

Trent performs on exclusively on Eclipse Instruments and Osmun Mouthpieces.

First solo CD entitled "Trumpet 101" is available through his website.
Newest CD release features many great artists performing with Trent (among them is the incomparable jazz pianist Benny Green).

Jennifer Keaney
(Vocalist )
-Bio by Mark Mahar -

Jennifer is just an incredibly talented vocalist- a singer's singer...with a great and kind personality.  There are so many pretenders out there and I have to tell you- this lady is real on many levels.  Her voice travels from caressing to funky, silky to sultry, then rocking and riffing. 

It only takes a moment of seeing Jennifer on stage to know that she loves it- and she belongs there.

Jennifer is also a songwriter who knows her way around a jazz tune.  She has a very natural way of improvising her own little touches to a familiar melody or grabbing your attention with one of her own lyrics. 

We are very pleased to have her as part of the Boston Swing family.  I couldn't personally ask for a more well-rounded, seasoned and talented vocalist to help our band meet the increasing demands of a wider audience.  This girl has a stage presence, a great voice, and so little ego that I sometimes wonder if she actually knows just how talented she really is (whether she knows it or not, you will agree that her talent is unmistakable).

Jennifer Keaney's Original Music can be heard in major motion pictures:

• Paris Hilton's "The Hottie and the Nottie" (Featuring Jennifer's Song, "Beatles Souvenir").
• The Farrelly Brother's "National Lampoon's Bag Boy" (Featuring Jennifer's Song, "Turning Tables")

Watch for Jen's Debut CD release coming soon

Kyle Nasser
(Reeds: Tenor Sax / Alto Sax / Clarinet)
A native of New Bedford, MA, Kyle began playing music at age six. He started with the clarinet and picked up saxophone a few years later. He now plays clarinet, alto sax, and tenor sax. In high school he was chosen lead tenor for the Massachusetts All-State and All-East Jazz Ensembles in addition to winning numerous "outstanding soloist" and "MVP" awards at Northeast high school jazz competitions.
Kyle went on to study economics and political philosophy at Harvard College. He graduated in June 2005 with an A.B. in Economics, magna cum laude. While at Harvard, he was an active member in both the Harvard and Boston music scenes, playing an eclectic assortment of styles ranging from straight-ahead jazz to funk and neo-soul to traditional Indian music. During these years Kyle had the opportunity to perform with many jazz greats including Joe Lovano, Hank Jones, Dave Douglas, Jim Hall, Joanne Brackeen, Don Braden, Kenny Garrett, and John Benitez.

Kyle currently attends Berklee College of Music on full merit scholarship. In addition to playing with Boston Swing, his current musical projects include a straight-ahead jazz quartet and jazz duo, as well as a funk/soul group fronted by distinguished vocalist Mikelyn Roderick. Kyle plans to pursue a career in music performance and education.

"The band members of Boston Swing may change as our players continue to achieve their own successes...and I'm not always the guy behind the microphone (sometimes I'm not even on the gig).  I am a personal fan of every Boston Swing musician and vocalist.  I'm hopeful our band will remain as timeless as the music we all love so much." - Mark Mahar

OTHER MUSICIANS & VOCALISTS (world class people that we hire & work with when the occasion allows):

Dennis Marks (Bass; Arturo Sandoval [many others])
Dave Zox (Bass)
John Farrell (Drums)
Mike Levesque (Drums; Seven Mary Three [many others])
Benny Benson (Drums; Benny Benson Trio)
Dean Johnston (Drums; Superhoney)
Danny Gottleib (Drums; Pat Matheny / Sting [many others])
Justin Piper (Guitar)
Jamie Toomey (Guitar/Vocals)
Eric Fontana (Guitar/Vocals)
Greg Luttrell (Guitar/Vocals)
Johnny Ray (Vocalists/Guitar; The Johnny Ray Band)
Mike Mele (Guitar)
Al Vega (Piano; Al Vega Trio; BOSTON LEGEND)
Andy McWain (Piano; Audible Think)
Josh Nelson (Piano; The Josh Nelson Experiment)
Ben Zecker (Piano)
Ron Zack (Piano)
Rusty Scott (Piano)
Michael Goods (Piano; Aaron Neville Band)
Matt Quinn (Piano; ut monumentum)
JB Scott (Trumpet)
Scott Aruda (Trumpet)
Doug Olsen (Trumpet)
Mikah Mauro (Trumpet)
Eric Bloom (Trumpet)
Marcus Monteiro (Sax/Reeds)
Tim Mayer (Sax/Reeds)
Tony Quintiliano (Alto Sax; Las Vegas; The Johnny Ray Band)
Jeff Galindo (Trombone)
Alex Asher (Trombone)
Brian Thomas (Trombone)
Bird Taylor (Vocalist; Taylor Made, National Artist)
Erika Van Pelt (Vocalist/Actor/Producer)
Greg Shirad (Vocalist; Michael Bolton [many others])
Karen Dawn (Vocalist)
Steve Nowell (Vocalist/Actor)
Luke Mahar (Vocalist/Actor [currently serving in U.S.M.C.])
Ralph Graham (Vocalist; Major Label Artist)
Jeffrey Thomas (Vocalist; Heart & Soul)
Mikelyn Roderick (Vocalist; Barry White [many others])
Melanie Correia (Vocalist; Miss America Finalist)

Boston Swing hires only the most elite solo talent (those who also work in well-known bands when not performing with us).  All Musicians are hired based on their availability and the client's preferences.
We pride ourselves on a superb musical presentation!

Check out our upcoming shows