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BAND MEMBER BIOGRAPHIES
STEVE THOMAS – Guitar and Sound design
Steve Thomas is a music/tech marketing veteran and multifaceted musician (guitarist, composer, audio engineer/producer). He crafts audio and music for artists, institutions and creatives working in all forms of media. He particularly enjoys engaging in art and education projects that are out to do good in the World.
Some of these projects include work with environmental health scientist, Dr. Sally Edwards and the Persistent and Pervasive podcast series; Poetry in Motion Group at the Pappas Rehabilitation Hospital for Children; years of collaboration with New York Times Film Critic Pick composer/producer Ruth Mendelson on projects for the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) including the National Geographic docufilm The Hope, The Dr. Jane Goodall Hopecast and the immersive unabridged, My Life with Chimpanzees audio book featuring Dr. Jane Goodall in her own voice; the 2023 Mendelson score mix for Our Promise: 100 years of the American Battle Monuments Commission and indie film projects with Northampton-based Happy Wasteland Studios.
In 2007 Steve was commissioned to create Windows on Earth the original soundtrack for use on the International Space Station during Richard Garriott's pioneering flight as a private astronaut (2008). Garriott's photos comprise a collection of 20 flight paths around Earth. The timeless music is emotionally aligned with views of Earth, from the Sahara and Himalayas to the moody aurora borealis, marking the first of many captivating EarthMusicTheater.org releases. In 2024 Windows on Earth was remastered for the premiere of Earth Serenade, a series produced in collaboration with UCTV and the Association of Space Explorers. January 17, 2025 marked the launch of Earth Music Theater Live with Steve Thomas –a cinematic multisensory experience that was performed before a mesmerized audience in The Workroom at 33 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA.
CHRIS CHEEK – Alto Saxophone
Originally hailing from St. Louis, MO., Chris Cheek has been performing throughout the world for the past 30 years. Following studies in Boston, Chris moved to New York where he was readily answering the call for his work as a saxophone player and improviser.
Cheek’s musicianship has earned him tenure with some of the most respected and singular artists in the world. Paul Motian recruited him in 1994 to join the Electric Be Bop Band where he remained a mainstay until the maestro’s passing in 2011. Through his association with Motian, he was summoned to work with other such luminaries, notably Charlie Haden, Carla Bley, Steve Swallow and Bill Frisell.
In addition to appearances on over 100 recordings as a sideman, as a leader, Chris has performed with the likes of Jorge Rossy, Brad Mehldau, Steve Cardenas and Kurt Rosenwinkle. His most recent CD Saturday Songs (on Sunnyside Records) along with his recordings (on Fresh Sound records) I Wish I Knew, A Girl Named Joe, Vine, and Blues Cruise have all received rave reviews internationally and have become favorites among players and listeners alike. He is also co-leader of the bands Rudder (19/8 records), The Bloomdaddies (Fresh Sound) and Reeds Ramble (Criss Cross records) Chris has also been a long time member of Guillermo Klein’s “Los Guachos” and has recorded and performed with the big bands of Dafnis Prieto, Alan Ferber and Miguel Zenon.
Chris graduated from Berklee College of Music with a Bachelors degree in Jazz performance in 1991 and in 2021 received his Masters degree in Jazz composition and arranging from Queens college in New York.
CARL CLEMENTS – Flutes and Bansuri
Saxophonist/flutist/composer Carl Clements performs and records internationally in a variety of styles, with a particular focus on jazz, Hindustani
classical music, and various forms of improvised and pre-composed music. He has traveled frequently to India to advance his studies and to perform jazz, Hindustani classical music, and a fusion of these and other genres, and performs regularly in Europe with various international groups and to present his original music.
Carl's recordings include two albums featuring his original compositions for jazz quartet, A Different Light (2023) and Forth and Back (2004); nine CDs with guitarist Kevin Kastning (including three trio recordings with Sándor Szabó); four CDs with the eclectic jazz group Crosscurrent; and many others. He is also featured on the Global Music Award-winning album Time Travel by the Indica Project.
Carl has performed extensively at jazz clubs and festivals throughout the world, and has performed and/or recorded with Kevin Kastning, Sándor Szabó, Luciana Souza, Steven Kirby, Felipe Salles, Luis Perdomo, Steve Davis, Steve Johns, Dafnis Prieto, Edsel Gomez, Gary Smulyan, Ralph Alessi, Ravi Coltrane, Jason Robinson, Bob Weiner, Willard Dyson, George Schuller, Luques Curtis, Jean-Yves Jung, Ranjit Barot, Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani, Louiz Banks, Gino Banks, Ed Byrne, Charlie Haden, Natraj, and many others.
Carl received a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the CUNY Graduate Center, an MFA in Jazz Performance from CalArts, a BM in Jazz Composition and Arranging from Berklee College of Music, and has studied Hindustani classical flute (bansuri) since 1989. He has played saxophone for over forty-eight years, and studied with Jerry Bergonzi, George Garzone, and Joe Viola. He has played North Indian classical music on the bansuri (North Indian bamboo flute) since 1989, and studied with Amiya Dasgupta, David Philipson, Steve Gorn, Devendra Murdeswar, George Ruckert, Peter Row, and has been a student of Nityanand Haldipur since 1999.
He is currently Saxophone/Improvisation Instructor and Jazz Combo Coach at Amherst College and is active as a performer and composer in the international jazz and world music scenes.
JOSH METZ – Bass
Josh Metz is a bassist arriving in Easthampton, Massachusetts after 20 years in the Seattle music scene where he made a name for himself in blues, rock, funk, and electronica bands playing electric bass.
Josh brings experience in a variety of musical approaches, including playing other instruments when the situation calls for it, arranging, recording, mixing, and producing other musicians. You could hire him for a tight blues shuffle, or he could run a laptop using MIDI foot pedals to trigger samples while laying down an irresisJtibly dance-able bass line. While bringing everything a cover band could want in a bass player, he prefers to play original music, whatever the genre. In particular, original jazz music.
With jazz now at the center of his universe, the upright bass is necessarily in focus as the priority. While making swift inroads on the instrument, he is always learning new things and evolving as a musician. Groove and timing are paramount, and he will counsel any wayward musician in the wisdom of using a metronome to practice. Josh tends to hear the big picture and finds ways to support the different individuals and groups of musicians around him on the path to excellent music.
Claire Arenius – Drums
Claire Arenius, Musician, Drummer, Composer and Educator has been actively performing in jazz for over 30 years. Her formative years were spent studying music at Univ. of Mass. where Archie Shepp and Max Roach were on faculty. She relocated to N.Y.C. after receiving a National Endowment Grant to study with master drummer, Charli Persip; which led to her joining trombonist/arranger Melba Liston’s group and to performances at Carnegie Hall, Seaport, Blues Alley, The Bottom Line, and other major jazz venues.
She toured Europe as the drummer for guitar master Attila Zoller’s Trio, playing the major Jazz Festivals in Germany, Austria & Switzerland. She has also performed/recorded with many well-known jazz artists, including Archie Shepp, Marion Brown, Charles Neville, Tal Farlow, Barney Kessel, Ray Copeland, Slide Hampton, Karrin Allyson, Bobby Bradford, Lew Soloff, Mose Allison, Sheila Jordan & more.
Claire has released a debut CD as a leader, When Worlds Touch You, featuring all her original compositions, with a trio including Eugene Uman & Thomson Kneeland. They were featured performing in South America at Medellin, Colombia‘s International Millennium Jazz Festival; and also at the Discover Jazz Festival in Burlington, VT. Also, her Trio Essence, which included virtuoso pianist Yasko and bassist Archie Kubota, and features her original compositions, which will be released in the near future. Her compositions are also featured on The Diamond Cosmos, with pianist Harvey Diamond. And her recent quintet ensemble, Resonance, will be releasing a live project soon.
In addition to performing & composing, Claire also serves as an educator on music faculty at Amherst College and at Smith College, and as a faculty member for the Vermont Jazz Center, and as adjudicator/clinician at the Holyoke Community College Jazz Festivals. She was recently chosen by the Massachusetts Music Educators Association to be this year's Guest Senior Jazz District Big Band Conductor.
She has also been the producer/creator of the Jazz On The Mothership Series, a year long weekly jazz series featuring local, national and international jazz artists, bringing jazz greats to the Western Mass. community.
Cady Coleman – Astronaut
Dr. Cady Coleman is a former NASA astronaut, retired U.S. Air Force colonel, scientist, and advocate for inclusion in STEM fields. She has logged over 180 days in space across three missions, including two Space Shuttle flights and a six-month expedition aboard the International Space Station.
She has contributed to various roles at NASA, including Chief of Robotics and lead for commercial spaceflight collaborations. Beyond her space career, Coleman is a public speaker, ABC News contributor, and co-host of Arizona State University’s “Mission: Interplanetary” podcast.
She inspires others through her advocacy work and recently published book, “Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change”. Cady is also a musician, playing her flute on the ISS as she watched Earth.
Dan Barstow – Earth Movie Maker
Daniel Barstow is Director of EarthMusicTheater.org, with movies that combine astronaut photography of Earth with joyous music by world-class musicians. Previously, he was Senior Education Manager for the International Space Station US National Lab, Director of TERC’s Center for Earth and Space Science Education, President of the Challenger Learning Center network and Principal Investigator for Windows on Earth, with its breath-taking photos of Earth taken by the astronauts.
Now retired, he continues his work with Earth photography from space, as Education Mission Specialist for the Association of Space Explorers and Earth Music Theater. He is a National Fellow of the Explorers Club.
Bookings and Managment
Jack Frisch E-mail: earthmusictheaterlive@gmail.com Phone: 917-204-6368
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