Meet the Band

LaShaun Tweedie
Andy Rich
Jacob Bozicevic
Jon Tipton

Dave Hughes
Scott Thomas
Chris Thompson
Jhon Honce (bass)

Mike Wojciechowicz (alto)
Barron Halfen (alto)
Ray Botte (tenor)
Armando Salas (tenor)
Kerry Vesper (baritone)

Brandon Hang (piano)
Chris Hite-Devine (bass)
Jeff Pellaton (drums)

Chris Thompson (Trombone)

Chris has been living and playing in the Phoenix area since 1983 when he transferred from DePaul University in Chicago to ASU as a Jazz Performance Major. He has been playing since he was nine. “During childhood we moved around a lot and the trombone allowed me to fit in wherever we lived. We moved to Winslow, Arizona where I played with the Northland Pioneer College Jazz Band at age 12; we settled in Joliet, Illinois where I was All State first chair and lead trombone in the All-State Big Band in high school, and I commuted to Oak Park, IL to study with Mark McDunn who taught notables such as James Pankow from Chicago and many more successful studio players across the county.”

Chris also played high school varsity baseball but gave it up when he won the singing lead as Cornelius Hackl in his high school’s musical production of “Hello Dolly.” As soon as he got his driver’s license, he started sitting in with local blues and rock bands in the area.

When he got to Tempe, Chris was honored to play in big bands with Phoenix legends Grant Wolf at Mesa Community College and Fred Forney at ASU in the late 1980s. He recently did a three-year stint with the Roadrunners 50s & 60s band in Sun City, AZ playing trombone and singing lead vocals.

Chris can be seen playing around town with Desert City Jazz (since 2023), the South Mountain Community College Latin Jazz band, his own jazz quintet, Cube Roots, and as a featured soloist at various churches in the East Valley.

His playing is influenced by JJ Johnson, Andy Martin, Frank Rosolino, Michael Dease, Dick Shearer, and other trombone greats.

Like most, Chris has a day job and works in construction sales.

Chris currently lives in Mesa with his dogs Scout and Ranger, has two grown daughters who give him great joy, one grandson, and is expecting a granddaughter in January.

Kerry Vesper (Baritone Sax, Bass Clarinet, Flute)

Kerry Vesper is a multi-talented artist whose creative journey intertwines the worlds of wood craftsmanship and jazz music. With a deep-rooted passion for both media, Kerry’s artistic endeavors reflect a unique blend of precision, soul, and innovation.

Band was the center of his life in high school and college. After graduating with a degree in Psychology, he served in the Peace Corps for two years in Kenya. Upon returning to the United States, he pursued a master’s degree in Social Work. During his graduate studies, his fascination with wood carving began to take shape, initially as a hobby and later evolving into a full-fledged artistic career.

Having an intense love of all forms of music, from classical to Dixieland to contemporary jazz, he harbored a fantasy of being a musician for decades. Finally, at age 59 (19 years ago), he got out his Buffet clarinet, which had been in a closet since college.

Striving to be an all-around reed player, he has added saxophones, bass clarinet, and flute to his repertoire.

Today, Kerry balances his profession as an artist creating sculptures for corporate settings, hospitals, restaurants, and private clients throughout the world, with his passion for being a jazz musician.

He is thrilled and honored to be part of the Desert City Jazz Band since 2021.

Kerry plays clarinet and saxophone in the Hot Beignets, a Trad Jazz band that plays traditional New Orleans Jazz. www.thehotbeignets.com.

Kerry’s artwork can be seen at www.vesperwoodsculpture.com.

Jon “Tippy” Tipton (Trumpet)

A third-generation AZ native, born and raised in Coolidge, AZ, Tippy began his musical journey playing the piano at age 7 and picked up the trumpet at age 11. He continued with private lessons through college where he studied musical performance on the piano and played trumpet in the orchestra and jazz ensemble at Central Arizona College.

Tippy served on the founding Board of Directors for Desert Overture Live Cultural Entertainment (DOLCE), the parent organization of Desert Overture and Desert City Jazz, and played trumpet and piano as a member of Desert Overture for nearly 10 years.

Professionally, Tippy is a Hotel General Manager, having spent the past 20 years in the Hospitality Industry. He is a small business owner on the side. When not hotel-ing or otherwise business-ing, Tippy enjoys prototyping electronics, a good game of pool, game nights with friends, or relaxing at home with his partner and their feline fur babies.

Tippy has been a member of Desert City Jazz since 2023.

Mike Wojciechowicz (Alto sax, Soprano sax, Flute, Clarinet)

Mike has been performing professionally since he was 16, starting out playing clarinet and tenor sax in wedding bands in New Jersey. Other performance areas include dance bands, professional concert bands, jazz combos and big bands, circus bands, musical theater, chamber orchestras, Army, Army Reserve, and National Guard bands (principal clarinet and conductor). Mike has also played in orchestras for celebrities such as Andy Williams, Sammy Davis Jr., Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gormé, Jay Leno, Roger Williams, Steve Allen, Glen Campbell, and many others.

As a music educator, he taught band in New Jersey and Arizona public schools, instrumental lessons for Maricopa Community Colleges as well as private lessons in his studio. He was the director of the CityJazz program for the city of Phoenix for 15 years (1996-2011).

Several of his sax quartet arrangements have been published. He continues teaching private lessons and playing professionally on clarinet, flute, and saxophones.

Mike has been a member of Desert City Jazz since 2022.

Scott Thomas (Trombone)

While in high school in Los Angeles County, Scott played jazz trombone at every opportunity, performing 4-hour gigs nearly every weekend. He was not picky and gigged anywhere in the greater LA basin from Elks Club dances to swanky parties in Bel Air.

It was easy to get trombone gigs if you didn’t care about getting paid. Upon graduation, Scott recognized the need to earn money and retired from trombone playing to pursue a career in Engineering.

35 years later, after the pandemic lockdown was lifted, Scott was looking for a reason to get out of the house. By happy coincidence, DCJ needed a trombone player. Scott was introduced to DCJ by his long-time friend (and DCJ Co-founder) Dave Hughes in August of 2021 and has been a member ever since.

Brandon Hang (Keyboards)

Brandon Hang is a native Arizonan. He began studying classical piano at age 6 and it was evident that he had a talent for piano. He soon found himself playing recitals at Glendale Community College. His jazz journey began in high school. He volunteered to accompany the choirs as a freshman and the choral director suggested he join the jazz band, too. Suddenly, the jazz bug bit, but this involved learning how to comp, how to solo, the ins and outs of improv, and how to play along with other instruments. It was a new world. He took a summer improv jazz class through The Nash, and additional lessons from Pam Morita. Making progress, he received the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award his senior year. That same year, he was invited to be the pianist for Paradise Valley Community College’s Little Big Band, where he studied for three years under jazz musicians Adam Roberts, Russell Schmidt, Ben Hedquist, and Zachary Wiggins. Playing in that band with several professional players and instructors really pushed him to improve his jazz skills.

Over the years, Brandon has enjoyed participating in many genres of piano performance, including choir accompaniment, musical theater, classical recitals, and jazz bands. He has performed at sites including The Nash, the Clarendon Hotel Skydeck, Tempe Center For The Arts, the Lost Leaf, and ASU’s Evelyn Smith Music Theater.

Fun fact: To date, Brandon has accompanied 11 musical theater productions. Beginning in 2015, he has played in one per year (even during COVID); in 2024 it increased to two per year. With each musical score averaging over 250+ pages, he’s become well-adept at sight reading.

Currently, he plays keyboard with both Desert City Jazz and Bones Southwest, plus, he accompanies school and semi-professional choirs and theater groups, and has been a church pianist for seven years.

In Spring 2021, Brandon graduated summa cum laude from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. He is employed as a software engineer, as well as a professional pianist.

Dave Hughes (Trombone/Band Manager)

Dave Hughes is originally from Springfield, Ohio. He lived in the Washington, DC area for over 11 years and has loved living in Arizona since 1995. During his working career, he was a Software Engineer for various companies including Intel. During that time, he was a programmer, customer support rep, trainer, and manager. He has been retired for over ten years and now plays in five bands and writes retirement planning books and gay-themed novels.

Dave’s primary instrument is trombone. He also plays electric bass and steelpan. One of his biggest accomplishments was earning a spot in the Ohio State University Marching Band for five years. More recently, Dave is proud to be one of the founders of Desert Overture and Desert City Jazz.

His biggest musical influences from high school and college (the 70s) to the present are Maynard Ferguson, Bill Watrous (trombonist), Chicago, Chick Corea, the Brecker Brothers, Tower of Power, and Manhattan Transfer. His favorite big band composer-arranger-bandleaders are Rob McConnell & the Boss Brass, Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band, Matt Catingub, Bob Mintzer, and Don Ellis. Dave is also a huge fan of Brazilian music, from the 60s to the present.

Dave has been married to Jeff McKeehan since 2005. Trivia about Dave: From 1991 to 1995 he co-founded and operated a jazz CD and video mail-order business.

Andy Rich (Trumpet)

Andy Rich is originally from Long Island, NY. He first heard the sound of the trumpet when he was just 4 years old and saw the father of jazz, Louis Armstrong, in person.

Andy attended the prestigious Berklee College Of Music in Boston, MA where he earned his degree in Music Performance. While at Berklee, he studied with Greg Hopkins, Wayne Naus, and Jerry Bergonzi.

In 1993, Andy moved to Arizona. He plays in a variety of bands and teaches private lessons to aspiring trumpet players. His trumpet influences are Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan, and Donald Byrd. Andy has been a member of Desert City Jazz since 2021.

Andy works for a digital marketing company and enjoys time with his wife of 35 years, Helaine, his daughter Gabi, and his sweet dog Nina.