'Live at the Five and Dime' With the Chris Teal Jazz Trio Tonight

In addition to his active career as a performer, Teal strives to build new opportunities for students to experience the arts by teaching improvisation, aural learning, and student leadership through the Institute for Creative Music.  The IfCM recently launched "Creative Jazz Fundamentals," an on-line school for learning jazz.

Along with other Teaching Artists from the Institute for Creative Music, Teal has presented workshops and performances at schools throughout the United States, and has presented workshops at the 2017 NYU Impact Conference and 2015 TEDxFlourCity conference. Raised in Spokane, WA, Chris teaches drum set and popular music at the University of Arkansas and the Jazz Workshops for the U of A Community Music School in Fayetteville.

After several years of hearing his dad playing the guitar around the house and of being enthralled with Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and the virtuosic piano stylings of the late Johnny Costa on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, Matt Nelson asked his parents for piano lessons at the age of 5. It was only a year later when he met lifelong friend and musical companion, future drummer and audio engineer, Matt Nischan. As kids, the two Matts spent hours jamming, attempting to pick out melodies and beats from current rock and pop songs and various Nintendo games by ear.

At age 13, Nelson hit an impasse with his piano studies and began studying jazz with pianist Tara Singer. It was with Singer that Nelson was introduced to the basics of the jazz language, as well as being introduced to Chick Corea's "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs," an extremely influential record for Nelson. Nelson continued studying with Singer through the end of his high school years. While in high school, Nelson also spent time studying drums and percussion, including vibraphone and marimba.

Directly after high school, Nelson and Nischan entered a long period of creativity and musical exploration. Both decided to attend the College of Lake County before leaving town for a university, and Nischan had purchased a home digital recording rig. The pair spent months writing and recording music at Nelson's house; several of the tunes on "Nostalgiamaniac" were conceptualized at this time. Finally, in 2003, Nelson moved to Chicago to attend Columbia College Chicago. It was there where he met a core group of like-minded young musicians, some he has been collaborating with ever since (Aaron Koppel, Brad Dickert, Robbie Tucker, Matthew Santos, Sarah Marie Young). Nelson studied jazz piano and arranging at Columbia, developing musical skills and relationships that continue to be fruitful for Nelson's career.

Bassist and Arkansas native Garrett Jones has performed for national and international touring acts including "The Official Blues Brothers Revue," where he worked under the musical direction of Paul Shaffer, as well as Broadway touring productions of "West Side Story," "Spam-a-Lot," and "Wicked."  His versatility as both an upright and electric bassist has allowed him to work with a vast array of artists including folk musician Joe Purdy; as well as jazz musicians including The Yaniv Taubenhouse Trio, and video game sensations "The OneUps."  Festivals and venues that Garrett has found himself performing at have included Bikes Blues and BBQ, The Beijing Concert Hall, The 2012 Ryder Cup Gala, Wakarusa, The Walmart Shareholders Meeting, and The 2005 University of Arkansas Campaign For The Twenty-First Century Concert with former president Bill Clinton in attendance.