A self-taught kampung guitarist at the age of 14, Aaron's first gig was at the Expo when he was 16 and had his first job at Tropicana Nite Club @ Scott's Road in 1982 after National Service. His musical endeavors had brought him to perform as part of show bands at Ion Bar (Apollo Hotel), Rainbow Club, Peppermint Lounge, Dickerns Tavern, Hard Rock Cafe, Hilton (K.L.), Aryaduta Hotel (Jakarta), Sarawak Kuching, Bangkok, Taiwan, Penang and Hong Kong. He also performed with Police and Friends in a concert with Anita Sarawak and was part of Culture Vulture show band in the 80's.
In the 90's, Aarun had switched genres of performance from mainstream rock and pop to jazz with Sunshine Band doing standard jazz and backing Australian, Russian and British dancers with Johnny Borg Australia @ MV Coral Princess Cruise-ship. He later performed at Mandarin Hotel in Kasbar with Shang's, Neptune Theatre and most of the hotels and lounges along the Orchard Road belt. He had also did canto pop in Macau's Lai Lai Nite Club and at Japanese clubs, Sancho Panza and Don Paseo.
In 2006, he was part of the founding team of Side Show Big Band (now known as the City Swing), toured with Thomson Big Band to Miri Jazz Festival.
At home, he is a loving father to his wife, two talented sons (also musicians!) and a seven year-old daughter.
Felix Phang Double Bass
A proficient bassist, violinist and trombonist, Felix was trained in a variety of instruments before attending Berklee College of Music, Boston, USA, where he studied Jazz Composition under Scott Free and Dick Lowell. In 2000, Felix had represented Singapore to play at the Sydney Olympics. Armed with a Bachelor of Music - Cum laude in Jazz Composition, Felix is fast becoming involved in the local music scene as a jazz bassist and composer.
Currently, Felix composes, teaches double bass in secondary schools and performs regularly on gigs as an upright bass player. He has worked with the Jerry Seeco Big Band in Berklee, Berklee Repertory Orchestra, Berklee String Orchestra and in Singapore, Summertimes Big Band, Thomson Big Band, Sparkswinds, Tze Chin (piano), Marvin Khoo Jazz Quintet and Tamagoh (drums). Past performance venues include Victoria Concert Hall, Esplanade Concert Hall/Concourse/Waterfront, Young Musicians' Society, Barstop, Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel, Orchard Central, Paragon, Suntec City and Tangs, to name a few. Felix also leads the team at www.mo-tif.com - a culmination of Berklee graduates providing composition services internationally.
Eugene Toru Mug Piano
Eugene started his musical education in classical piano under the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM). Under this London-based system he won the nation's top-scorer awards for Grade 5, 8 and Diploma in piano performance. He currently holds a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music (LRSM) with distinction, also in piano performance.
Eugene developed his passion for jazz during his college years at Carnegie Mellon University. He has performed twice with Latin Grammy Award winner Nestor Torres, written two musicals for the Singapore Soka Association and performed at major events such as the Hua-Hin Jazz Festival, Miri Jazz Festival, Singapore's Mosaic Music Festival and CHIJazz.
Eugene studies under celebrated English saxophonist Greg Lyons and plays in the Greg Lyons Quartet Omniform and Groove Works. He is also leader of Mellow Motif - a cross-boundaries band which includes Thai musicians Natasha Patamapongs, Chanutr Techatana-nan (Hong), Pornchart Viriyapark, Narupa Patcharug and Andrew Tanpensuk.
Marvin Khoo Drums
Marvin graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2008. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Composition.
Although his formal music education only took place in America, it was his four years in The Saint Patrick's School Military Band that really grounded his love for music. Marvin played the clarinet and subsequently the baritone saxophone, and had the honour of being Drum Major in 1999.
From 2002-2004, Marvin was the drummer for the Singapore Civil Defense Force Combo Band, performing regularly at officer mess functions, MHA promotion ceremonies and officer dining-ins.
At Berklee, he studied with drummers Mark Walker (Caribbean Jazz Project, Paquito D'rivera), Tony "Thunder" Smith (Lou Rawls) and Dave DiCenso (Hiromi, Duran Duran). Marvin's 'day-job' is as a director of concert bands of local secondary schools.
