Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet Bio's

Ginny Carr

Ginny is the leader and founder of Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet and has written many of the jazz arrangements that the group has performed over the years. She arranged most of the compositions on and produced the group’s first CD in 1992 and has written several original compositions which the group performs. With Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet, Ginny has shared the performance stage with jazz greats Ahmad Jamal, Charlie Byrd, Butch Miles, and the US Airforce Airmen of Note. She has performed on and been interviewed about the group on many Washington television and jazz radio shows. She is an accomplished jazz pianist and performs regularly as a solo pianist/vocalist and with other jazz and society musicians in the Virginia/Washington/Maryland area. She has been a regular entertainer at clubs, lounges, festivals, and private functions for over 25 years and has provided music for such notable occasions as Senator Robert Dole’s and Senator Bill Bradley’s Campaign functions and other Congressional events, and the Washington Cherry Blossom Festival.  Ginny performed as a solo house pianist and led a jazz combo for three years at the Tides Inn, a world-class resort in the Chesapeake Bay area.  During college, she was the soprano soloist with the William and Mary Choir and acted/sang in numerous stage  musicals with the William and Mary Theater. After graduating, she wrote original scores and directed casts and pit orchestras for several W&M Theater productions and for the nationally-reknown Colonial Williamsburg Historical Drama, "The Common Glory." She also sang radio jingles in the 80's.  Ginny holds a B.S. in Psychology from the College of William & Mary and a B.A. in Music Education from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is employed as a computer systems analyst and methodology writer for an international hi-tech firm in suburban Washington, DC.

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Robert McBride

Before singing with Uptown VJQ, Robert thrilled audiences in his hometown of Alexandria, Virginia, with his many vocal, instrumental, and acting performances on stage at Patrick Henry Elementary School. Leaving the K-6 program for greater show business opportunities, Robert attended T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, part-time, while concentrating on his percussion talents in the school’s wind ensemble. He earned rave reviews in the marching band world for his innovative bass drum technique and entertained torpid student audiences in both his symphonic band and stand-up comedy appearances. (Sometimes these were done simultaneously, which may have been a contributing factor in his band director’s eventual madness.) During this time, he also gave command performances in the principal's office as a result of his entertaining antics, both on and off stage.

After high school, he formed and starred in a couple of "rock" bands, which were completely successful in fighting off the artistically stifling commercial success and the inevitable, accompanying "sell-out" that has so often been the ruin of other young cultural titans. After a brief tour with the Radford University players, he appeared in a number of main stage and studio productions at The College of William and Mary. Through intense self-discipline and focus, he was able to successfully steer himself away from the distracting allure of liberal arts classes while spending his Williamsburg years singing, emoting, playing electric bass and spastically lurching about in his Danskins.  It was at this time that he met Ms. Carr who had recently graduated from the institution and who, because of the distressed state of the local economy, was continually and unexplainably found loitering on the campus. Together, they began a musical collaboration that expanded the bounds of mid-1970’s American music and, unlike their many imitators, (such as The Captain & Tenille, Wayland Flowers & Madam and Josie & The Pussycats) they continue their experiment in multi-ethno-poly-tonal-ortho-harmonic-jazzophony to this day. Over the years, they formed and re-formed the personnel of Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet through an evolutionary process, somewhat akin to sausage making, as they perfected their musical blend of talent and personalities.

Until the invention of the personal computer and the advent of the highly-paid computer nerd, Robert wasted many years in near-poverty while pursuing his musical interests. Now, as a highly-paid computer nerd (but still in near-poverty), Robert enjoys many musical endeavors and lives in Woodbridge with his wife, a high-school band director. He says that the fact that he will now spend many years listening to her complain about annoying band students is further proof that "what goes around, comes around." When he is not Uptowning or Computer Nerding, Robert has been heard performing with the Capital Winds, a local symphonic wind ensemble, singing in church choirs, playing in umpteen-zillion wedding bands and volunteering in the schools to help young performers learn their craft, develop their talents and annoy their directors.

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Lisanne Lyons

Lisanne Lyons is an Associate Professor of Music at Virginia Tech and founder of the Vocal Jazz Curriculum. She currently directs the New   Virginians I and II jazz vocal ensembles and maintains a full-time jazz voice studio. Lisanne received her Master of Music degree (Studio Music and Jazz Performance) from the University of Miami (Fl), where she served as assistant director and lead soprano for the award winning "Jazz Vocal One" ensemble and featured vocalist for the nationally acclaimed "Concert Jazz Band." During that time she received the Downbeat magazine "Dee Bee" award for best jazz vocal soloist for two consecutive years. Lisanne's career began immediately following high school as the featured vocalist for the Air Force bands. During her six years in the service she performed worldwide with the "Norad Command Band", Travis AF "Band of the Golden Gate", and the U.S. Air Force Academy "Falconaires". She has since been featured with the Woody Herman Orchestra, Maynard Ferguson Big Bop Nouveau, Arturo Sandoval, the University of Miami Concert Jazz Band and various bands across the the country. She has also performed with many of the world's top jazz artists such as Bobby McFerrin, Mark Murphy, the Four Freshman, Mose Allison, Jon Hendricks, and Darmon Meader. Prior to accepting a Virginia Tech faculty position, she performed a year with the first national touring company of Cy Coleman's Broadway hit "City of Angels." With numerous performing, recording, and back up singing credits, she was also a featured performer with Joel Grey on the NBC TV Orange Bowl half-time show, "You'll Get a Kick Out of Cole." In the 1996-1997 academic year, Lisanne received the Gamma Mu Chapter of Delta Omicron Music Professor of the Year Award. She is currently working on her first solo recording project which will feature jazz artists Arturo Sandoval, Duffy Jackson, Chip McNeill, Ed Calle and various others. She continues to perform in National and International jazz festivals and is currently in demand as a clinician/adjudicator.

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Roger Reynolds

Roger is a versatile vocalist, composer, arranger, leader, and teacher. He holds Bachelors and Masters degrees from U. of Miami in Studio Music and Jazz Voice Performance. At UM, he sang in and acted as assistant director of the award-winning jazz ensemble Jazz Vocal I, taught private lessons, directed the group Jazz Vocal III, and coached numerous small ensembles. He also taught voice and directed the vocal jazz ensemble at Florida Atlantic University and taught jazz voice at a community college in Richmond, VA. Roger’s professional experience has varied from 4 seasons as a chorister with Opera Colorado and the Greater Miami Opera to performing on 3 floats in the King Orange Jamboree Parade in downtown Miami. He has shared the stage with jazz greats Jon Hendricks, Mark Murphy, Chris Vadala and Don Shelton. He has voice-over credits on nine movies and numerous jingles. Roger has fronted many bands and combos and has led musical groups of his own, including an original rock band, a jazz group, an a cappella jazz quintet, and a jazz vocal/guitar duo. He hails from Colorado and currently lives in Boone, NC; a truly dedicated vocal jazzer, he regularly makes the 8-hour commute to Washington, DC to perform with Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet!

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