BRYAN PEZZONE

Bryan is the consummate crossover pianist of his generation.  He has excelled in classical, contemporary, jazz and experimental genres and is known for both his versatility and virtuosity as a performing artist, improviser and composer. Bryan performs with composers and musicians as diverse as Pierre Boulez, John Williams, and John Adams, and records on countless film and television soundtracks. He is the pianist in the group Free Flight; a crossover classical/jazz quartet. These concerts feature many of his own compositions. In addition, Bryan has initiated a performing series that he calls “FREEDOM SERIES” which involves improvisations and verbal musings on life.

Bryan has  performed with many major symphony orchestra associations, and is known in the Los Angeles area as one of the primary freelance pianists for film and television soundtrack recording, contemporary music premieres, and chamber music accompany. As a soloist, Bryan has performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Pasadena Pops, Santa Monica Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute Orchestra, United States International University Orchestra, U.C. Irvine Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Philharmonic and the Pacific Symphony.

Bryan has produced CDs of his own music which blends jazz and classical styles– including “Flying on Water” produced by Steve Wight, featuring M.B. Gordy on drums and Bart Samolis on bass, as well as solo piano CD’s featuring his more introspective music, including Piano Prayers, Visits with Gershwin, Hymns for Holliston, and Music Candles and Mountaintops.

In addition, Bryan has been principal pianist in the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra from its inception in 1991-1999 as well as the former chair and founder of the Multi-focused keyboard department at the California Institute of the Arts from 1987-2000. He abandoned both those positions in order to discover new paths and is passionate about continuously redefining himself and his role as an artist, musician, and person in today’s complex and eclectic culture.

MARINA MANUKIAN

At the age of 11, violinist Marina Manukian joined the Radio and Television Violin Ensemble of Armenia thus becoming the youngest professional musician in the former Soviet Union. She received her musical training from Georgi Ajemian, Alice Schoenfeld, Yehudi Menuhin, Sandor Vegh, Edward Schmieder, and Sidney Weiss. Marina has studied at the prestigious Mozarteum School of Music in Salzburg, Austria and is also a USC graduate with Highest Honors.

Since childhood, Marina has performed radio and television broadcasts, recordings, solos with orchestras, chamber music concerts and recitals. Her passionate artistry has been heard and embraced throughout Europe, former U.S.S.R. and the United States.

She is the winner of numerous music awards and prizes including the 1st prize for National Young Artist Competition, in former U.S.S.R., Aspen International Music Festival and Herb Alpert Music Award from A & M Records.

Marina has performed with such renowned artists as Mstislav Rostropovich, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Valeri Giergiev, Kent Nagano, James Conlon, Lynn Harell, and others.

The Los Angeles Times identifies Marina Manukian as “a violinist extraordinaire…whose virtuosity is exceeded only by her calmness and confidence, working through the intricacies with masterful grace and strength.”

Since 2006 Marina has been the Music Director and Concertmaster of The Enlightenment Chamber Music Series which present concerts performed by the selection of expert chamber musicians, soloists and recording artists from around the world. In addition to her solo and chamber music performances Marina has recorded for over 600 television and motion picture scores working with numerous composers including John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Newton-Howard, James Horner, Alan Silvestri, Danny Elfman, Hans Zimmer, and Michael Giacchino.

Marina Manukian’s recordings together with pianist Bryan Pezzone of “Brahms Violin Sonatas” and “Inspiration” have received critical acclaim and were chosen as the top classical CDs by several major radio stations worldwide. AMG All Music Guide writes: “listen to the radiant warmth of their tone, to the timeless stillness of the tempo, to the evanescent inwardness of their playing, to the rapt ecstasy of their ensemble: this is the soul and spirit of Brahms’ music made manifest and, great as the competition is, Manukian and Pezzone express it with almost unbearable poignancy.”

DAVID RAIKLEN

David Raiklen: composer-producer-host. David was mentored by Oscar winner John Williams and Pulitzer Prize winner Mel Powel. Dr. Raiklen studied at USC and CalArts and later taught at those universities. He has worked for the major studios including Sony, Fox, Disney, Sprint, Mattel, Warner Bros and PBS, plus many independent productions. His projects have starred Elliott Gould, Doug Jones, Blythe Danner, and Martin Sheen. David made the New York Film Critics Top Ten with the documentary Heist, the short list for an Academy Award® for Worth, and Mia, A Dancer’s Journey won the Emmy.

David Raiklen compositions have been performed at the Hollywood Bowl and Disney Hall. He is also host of a successful radio program, Classical Fan Club, where guests include Yo-Yo Ma and John Williams; and is host and leader of The Academy of Scoring Arts seminars. David is currently producing and composing for Space Command, a series of epic adventures set in a hopeful future, and producing Virtual Reality concerts.

Mike Clelland is an avid outdoorsman, illustrator and UFO researcher. He has written extensively on the subject of alien abductions, synchronicities and owls. It was his first-hand experiences with these elusive events that have been the foundation for this research.
His website (http://hiddenexperience.blogspot.com) explores these events and their connections to the alien contact phenomenon. This site also features over 200 hours of audio interviews with visionaries and experts examining the complexities of the overall UFO experience.

Beyond that, Mike is considered an expert in the skills of ultralight backpacking, and has authored or illustrated a series of instructional books focused on advanced outdoor techniques. He spent nearly 25 years living in the Rockies, and now lives in the Adirondacks.

Lucia comes from a lineage of strong Ancestral healers and shares the gift of healing and evolution through doing heart-centered, accurate and insightful readings. He also uses his healing potential to help others to heal physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He hosts a local TV show and has received offers to do network television, as well. Lucia helps clients from different parts of the world to heal, connect and receive.

Debbie Jordan-Kauble was the central figure in Budd Hopkins’s New York Times best-seller, “Intruders, the Incredible Visitations at Copely Woods”, as well as the 1992 CBS mini-series, “Intruders”, using the pseudonym “Kathy Davis” to protect her young family. In 1992, she revealed her true identity and co-authored, with her sister Kathy Mitchell, “Abducted, The Story if the Intruders Continues”.

While more recently she very rarely makes public appearances, she has appeared on The Discovery Channel’s “Investigation X”, the History Channel’s UFO Hunters”, The Sci Fi channel, Unsolved Mysteries, Sightings, Maury Povich, Danny Bonaducci, Oprah Winfrey’s A.M. Chicago, The Dini Petty Show (Canada) as well as others. She has been the guest speaker at numerous universities, think tanks and conferences around the world as well as guest appearances on numerous radio broadcasts and pod casts.

She co-hosted her own podcast, Midwest Paratalk, with Gregg Cable and together with Gregg, co-founded the paranormal research team, The Paranormal Underground.

Her special interest in paranormal research is with Electronic Voice Phenomena and she has collected many impressive examples over the last several years.

She is a wife, mother to 4 and grandmother to 8. She lives in North Central Indiana, is a member of the Disaster Action Team for the local chapter of the American Red Cross, a member of MENSA, a licensed cosmetologist and works full time as a circuit board repairperson at an automotive electronics parts supplier.

THE RAY SHASHO SHOW WELCOMES

LEGENDARY DRUMMER & JAZZ-FUSION PIONEER

B I L L Y   C O B H A M

In 1969 Billy Cobham co-founded the fusion group Dreams, which also featured Randy Brecker, Michael Brecker, John Abercrombie, Don Grolnick, Barry Rodgers, and Will Lee. The following year he was invited to join Miles Davis's group and contributed to four pivotal recordings by the trumpeter, including Bitches Brew (where he collaborated with guitarist John McLaughlin) and Tribute to Jack Johnson. 



Mahavishnu Orchestra was formed by McLaughlin in 1971 with Cobham, Jan Hammer, Jerry Goodman, and Rick Laird. They released three acclaimed albums (beginning with Inner Mounting Flame) before the band was dissolved and Cobham chose to launch his solo career with Spectrum, one of the definitive albums of the jazz-rock era. 



During the 1970s and '80s, he recorded steadily as a leader for Atlantic, CBS, Elektra, and GRP, collaborating with artists ranging from George Duke, John Scofield, and Tony Williams to Jack Bruce and the Grateful Dead, both on stage and in the studio. 



Cobham was engaged by UNICEF in 1992 to work with autistic outpatients and street children in Santos (near São Paulo), Brazil, in a musical project of several years' duration. "The street children fell into my realm of operations almost by chance, as it was not part of my original mandate," he says. "But due to the unavoidable specter and shadow cast by so many little personalities with big hearts and so much time to ponder life without parental direction, it was inevitable that I would find myself working with them-some of the brightest minds harboring raw talent that I have ever witnessed to date. The shame of it all was that many would never have the opportunity to use their gift." 



In '93 Cobham performed, recorded, and produced at the WOMAD Festival (World of Music, Arts and Dance) with Peter Gabriel, Nigeria's Okuta Percussion, and Farafina from Burkina Faso. (His association with WOMAD continues to this day: over the last several years he's conducted sessions in performance techniques at the University of Bath Spa in England, and he is now an Official Patron of WOMAD in Bath.) 



His current collaboration with the Cuban group Asere has been ongoing since their first performance together at the WOMAD Festival in Reading in 2002. A new CD, De Cuba y de Panamá, is due for summer 2008 release, and a DVD, A Latin Soul, directed by John Hollis, is already out. That package contains live concert footage, two documentaries, and a bonus CD with live and studio tracks. Cobham and Asere will be touring the U.K. this fall. 



In 2011 Cobham began teaching drums online at The Jazz and Fusion Drum School.



In 2013, Cobham celebrated the 40th anniversary of the release of Spectrum CD by touring in USA, Canada and Europe with the Spectrum 40 Band. Also that year, Purple Pyramid Records released the Billy Cobham Compass Point two-CD set, recorded live at Compass Point hotel in the Bahamas in 1997, which was never released before.



Early 2014 marked the release of the much-anticipated "Tales from the Skeleton Coast", which is the third installment of the four recordings produced as a commemoration and celebration of Cobham's mother and father, both of whom were musicians. 

In the summer of 2014, Cobham released a live CD recording from the celebrated Spectrum 40 tours, which dazzled audiences around the world in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Spectrum CD, the defining album of the jazz-fusion genre. (Spectrum 40 LIVE)

Drumming legend and jazz fusion pioneer Billy Cobham will bring his highly acclaimed Art of the Rhythm Section Retreat back to the Mesa Arts Center for its second year, offering an immersive educational program for drummers, bassists, guitarists and keyboard players. Geared for advanced students to music educators and working professionals alike, the intensive curriculum is designed to give experienced musicians a range of opportunities to delve into the finer points of working as a cohesive unit in the rhythm section from Billy Cobham, along with Dean Brown (guitar), Ric Fierabracci (bass), Gerry Etkins (keyboards), and global drumming ambassador Dom Famularo.

In the words of program founder Billy Cobham, “The unique format of the program allows participants to explore and expand their artistry, develop and refine their band and focus on the all-important elements of teamwork and collaboration, so that all types of instrumentalists can benefit and learn from the perspective of each one of our coaches.”

Through a variety of learning experiences, including interactive lectures, discussions, demonstrations, playing exercises, and nightly jam sessions, participants will discover how to …

Gain and build trust among fellow Rhythm Section musicians in performance.

Stay in sync with yourself so that you can control what you play through your instrument while receiving information from your colleagues in the Rhythm Section.

Keenly listen in performance, interpret what is offered by your fellow players and offer effective musical ideas in return.

Control tempo and provide a sense of security in performance.

Present a more harmonious musical character through heightened awareness.

Remain in control of syncopated musical ideas within the performance.

The Retreat will also offer a musician enrichment program, “Social Media on Steroids conducted by marketing expert Dan Shinder, to help musicians better leverage social media in promoting their music and their brands.

The Billy Cobham Art of the Rhythm Section Retreat culminates with a special Saturday night performance with Billy and the Spectrum 40 Band at the Mesa Arts Center on Saturday, July 22, 2017 in the Piper Theatre at 7:30 pm  (1 E Main St, Mesa, AZ 85201 near Phoenix, Arizona)

Enrollment for the program is now open, with spaces limited for each of the four Instrument categories of drums, guitar, bass and keyboards.

Billy Cobham on Facebook … https://www.facebook.com/officialbillycobham

Billy Cobham on Twitter …Billy Cobham @gladbash

Dr.Michael E. Salla, is a pioneer in the development of ‘Exopolitics’, the political study of the key actors, institutions and processes associated with extraterrestrial life. His interest in exopolitics evolved out of his investigation of the sources of international conflict and its relationship to an extraterrestrial presence that is not acknowledged to the general public, elected officials or even senior military officials.

Dr Salla’s groundbreaking Exopolitics: Political Implications of the Extraterrestrial Presence (2004) was the first published book on exopolitics and explained the political implications of extraterrestrial life.

In Exposing U.S. Government Policies on Extraterrestrial Life (2009) he revealed how the world’s most powerful nation secretly manages information concerning extraterrestrial life and technology.

In Galactic Diplomacy: Getting to Yes with ET (2013) he shows how humanity can negotiate with extraterrestrial civilizations in a way that protects our vital interests.

In Kennedy’s Last Stand: Eisenhower, UFOs, MJ-12 & JFK’s Assassination (2013), he documents the tragic efforts by President Kennedy to share more widely the truth about UFOs & extraterrestrial visitation.

In Insiders Reveal Secret Space Programs and Extraterrestrial Alliances (2015), Dr. Salla analyzes whistleblower testimonies revealing the extent of classified  space programs and extraterrestrial diplomacy.

Finally, in his most recent book, US Navy’s Secret Space Programs and Nordic Extraterrestrial Alliance (2017), he presents extensive documentation supporting the existence of a highly advanced US Navy space program capable of interstellar travel.

Dr. Salla is an internationally recognized scholar in international politics, conflict resolution and US foreign policy, and is the author/editor of an additional four books including The Hero’s Journey Toward a Second American Century (Greenwood Press, 2002); (Central Queensland University Press, 1995); Why the Cold War Ended (Greenwood Press, 1995); and Islamic Radicalism, Muslim Nations and the West (1993). He has also authored more than seventy articles, chapters, and book reviews on peace, ethnic conflict and conflict resolution. He has held academic appointments in the School of International Service & the Center for Global Peace, American University, Washington DC (1996-2004); the Department of Political Science, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia (1994-96); and the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington D.C., (2002). He has a Ph.D in Government from the University of Queensland, Australia, and an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Melbourne, Australia. He has conducted research and fieldwork in the ethnic conflicts in East Timor, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Sri Lanka, and organized peacemaking initiatives involving mid to high level participants from these conflicts.

Dr. Salla founded the Exopolitics Institute (2005) and the Exopolitics Journal (2006). He has co-organized five international conferences on extraterrestrial life and Earth Transformation on the Big Island of Hawaii. Dr Salla is the host of ExoNews.TV and has appeared in hundreds of radio and television shows and international conferences for his research on exopolitics and international conflict.