Intrepid Jazz Trio

 

The Intrepid Jazz Trio combines rich saxophone, acoustic bass and piano
to create a contemporary yet timeless sound that ranges from jazz standards
by Miles Davis, Duke Ellington and John Coltrane to American musical theater
classics by George Gershwin, Cole Porter and Rogers and Hart. The trio is
made up of Eric Olson on piano, Tim Grant on bass, and Ed St. John on
saxophone.

While performing as a singer/ songwriter in the 1970s, Eric Olson's
focus increasingly gravitated towards jazz. After graduation from Shenandoah
in 1981 with a degree in Piano Technology, jazz piano study led to some
piano bar playing. Demands of running a full time piano service business
and raising a family made for a hiatus from performing, until the summer of
2001 when he joined the Intrepid Jazz Trio.

Tim Grant began playing bass in 1991 while studying classical trombone at
Radford University. He held the jazz chair in the RU big band as well as
playing in countless jazz combos. He graduated from Radford in 1995 and has
been teaching music in the public school systems ever since. During this
time he continued his study of the bass. Grant co-founded the Intrepid Jazz
Trio in 1999 with which he is playing upright acoustic bass.

Ed St. John, who plays Alto and Soprano Saxophones with the Intrepid Jazz
Trio, began playing trumpet in the early 70s studying with top New York
musicians including the jazz trumpeter Charles Sullivan. He later switched
to saxophone, continuing his studies and playing in a variety of settings
including big bands, saxophone quartets and various combos. He began
teaching music in 1989 and gives private instruction on sax, flute and
clarinet in the Shenandoah Valley and Manassas areas. Along with Tim, he
founded the Intrepid Jazz Trio.