Florida Jazz Plus MUSICIANS
MATT VANCE
PAUL WEIKLE
Matt Vance, a native of Boone, North Carolina, is Professor of Instrumental Music and Director of Jazz Studies at Florida Community College at Jacksonville.  Before joining FCCJ, he was Director of Instrumental Programs and Instructor of Music at Thomas University in Thomasville, Georgia. 

Matt earned a Bachelor of Music degree in 1991 from Appalachian State University in saxophone performance with a secondary concentration in bassoon.  He then completed a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies at Florida State University in 1994 with a secondary concentration in classical saxophone.  In 1999 Matt directed the International Association of Jazz Education’s Community College National All Star Jazz Ensemble at the annual conference in Anaheim, California.  He recently produced the first FCCJ jazz compact disc recording, Jazz from 11901 Beach Boulevard. Under his direction FCCJ Jazz Ensemble I was the only community college ensemble selected to perform at the 2003 IAJE Conference in Toronto, Ontario.

Matt has conducted jazz and classical clinics in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Virginia and California.  He has also taught as an adjunct at Jacksonville University, the University of North Florida and at Appalachian State University’s Cannon Music Camp.  Matt is a professional freelance woodwind artist, having performed with Rosemary Clooney, The Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, Crystal Gayle, Gladys Knight, Michel Legrand, The Manhattan Transfer, Barry Manilow, New York Voices, Olivia Newton-John, The Temptations, the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, John Abercrombie, Michael Brecker, Peter Erskine, Tim Hagans, Slide Hampton, Joe Lovano, Diane Schurr,
Bobby Shew, Bill Watrous, Nancy Wilson, and many others.  He is also a per-service player with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and the Coastal Symphony of Georgia.

Matt also enjoyed a part-time career as a radio announcer, working at stations in North Carolina and Florida.  Most recently he was employed as an on-air talent at "MIX 103.1" in Tallahassee and "102 dot 3" in the North Carolina High Country.  He was also the public address announcer for the Appalachian State University Marching Mountaineers and was the radio voice for the UNF Celebration of Classic Jazz Series Swing Era concert.
A native of Cocoa, Florida, Paul Weikle is Director of Bands and Professor of Instrumental Music at Florida Community College at Jacksonville, South Campus. Paul is active as a performer and clinician both locally and nationally.

Weikle earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Central Florida in 1986. He then went on to study with legendary tubist Harvey G. Phillips at Indiana University as his graduate assistant. During four consecutive summers (1984 - 1987), Paul studied with Jamie Hafner, Principal Tubist with the Brevard (NC) Music Center. In the summer of 1987, he was selected to perform the Music Center's premier of "Suite for Tuba, Celeste, and Percussion" by composer in residence Crawford Gates. Paul earned his Master of Music in Performance (Tuba) in May 1988 from Indiana University. He has also had tuba-coaching sessions from Arnold Jacobs and Gene Porkorny.

Since that time, Mr. Weikle has been involved in many full-time performance activities. From May 1988 to January of 1992, he was the tubist in the Busch Brass at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. The group was seven musicians (5 brass and two percussionists) and Paul was the leader for the last 2 and half years. In February of 1992, he started substituting in the Studio Brass Band at Universal Studios, Orlando. Within 4 months, Weikle had assumed the position of tubist and throughout the next seven years played tuba, euphonium and trombone in the band.

Paul has maintained a very active free-lance career performing with the Florida Orchestra, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Florida West Coast Symphony, Henry Mancini, Julie Andrews, Lou Rawls, Natalie Cole, Rosemary Clooney, the
Ringling Bros. & Barnum Bailey Circus Band and
many others. Paul was appointed the Music Director of Grandlink World, a theme park in Qingdao, China and spent 4 months there in the summer of 1998. Weikle was also selected to guest conduct the Junior High All-County Band in Clay County in January 2001. This past summer, Paul made his 4th trip to Asia and spent a month there doing clinics and performing. He has formerly served as an adjunct on the faculties of University of North Florida, University of Central Florida, Brevard Community College and the University of South Florida.
NAT MICHELSON
Nat Michelson has been making music professionally for forty years, since his first big band gig at age 13, playing lead alto.  He is equally adept in the jazz and classical modes, having earned a master's degree in music education at Auburn University, where his primary instrument of study was bassoon. 

He has performed on bari-sax behind all of the traveling Motown acts such as The Temptations and The Platters, Trish Yearwood, Ray Charles, Diane Schuur, The Village Voices, Manhattan Transfer and a long list of other jazz legends.  Additionally he filled the Bari chair in the Jacksonville, Savannah, Charleston and London Symphony Orchestras. 

He is an agile doubler and has juggled up to six instruments in over 13 Broadway productions, such as Annie, A Chorus Line, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, and Hello Dolly.
DOUG MATTHEWS
Doug Matthews, a native of Eugene, Oregon is the Director of the Piano Program at LaVilla School of the Arts in Jacksonville.  He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of North Florida in 1992.  The same year the UNF music faculty cited him as Outstanding Student Musician.  He is an active performer, composer and arranger with several of his compositions and arrangements recorded by various artists.  As a freelance pianist, Doug has performed with Louie Bellson, Randy Brecker, Richie Cole, Dizzy Gillespie, Branford Marsalis, James Moody, Percy Sledge, Dennis Yost and many others.
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RICK RAVELO
Bassist Rick Ravelo teaches applied bass, sight singing, music theory and combo lab at the University of North Florida.  He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from UNF and a masters degree from Florida State University.

He can be heard on a Marcus Printup recording on the famous Blue Note label, as well as on many other CD projects.  Rick frequently plays clubs and concerts from Florida to New York City.