DAVID SHELTON

DAVE SHELTON - David started music lessons at age 6 - first accordion, then clarinet and piano. By high school, he was accomplished enough to win top honors in several state-wide competitions in both clarinet and piano. He then attended Washington University in St. Louis where he earned both BA and MBA degrees in a five year program. He also continued to study classical piano, but was increasingly drawn toward jazz and began playing at local restaurants and private parties.

After college, David moved to Chicago and pursued a career in venture capital, primarily with the firm he co-founded - Montgomery, Shelton & Company. Meanwhile, music remained a passion. He played regularly at community events and parties. He also formally studied jazz piano and jazz theory with Gary Swerdlow, Alan Swain, Larry Nova and Joan Hickey; and he broadened horizons by playing with a local R&B band.

Music has now moved to front stage in David’s life. He is performing regularly and becoming more active as a composer. He has also completed his first recordings with two limited release CD’s, "Captured Moments" and "Balance"; and he played with the Ed Holmes Quintet on Agnes Shawn’s release “Agnes – The Wait is Over”.

Venues have ranged from parties at private residences, benefits and upscale restaurants to country clubs, the Chicago Jazz Festival and The Art Institute of Chicago. Among recurring gigs - for three years, the Trio was a regular at the highly-regarded Sage Grille in Highwood, IL; and for the past two summers, the Trio has played weekly at Bella Via Ristorante in Highland Park, IL. Dave most often performs with The Dave Shelton Trio; however, he also sometimes performs duo with acoustic bass and piano; and a vocalist and/or other instruments are sometimes added to the Trio. His plays either as background or as a performance.

David’s music draws from his classical and jazz backgrounds, plus his work with R&B musicians. His repertoire includes a wide range of jazz and Latin standards as well as jazz arrangements of pop songs, blues and funk. More specifically, the repertoire includes:

Songbook and Modern Standards (e.g., A FoggyDay, Fly Me to the Moon, It Could Happen to You, A House is Not a Home, Moon River)

 

Latin Standards (Jobim and others)

 

Jazz Standards (from Wayne Shorter and Miles Davis to John Coltrane, Dave Brubeck and Horace Silver)

 

Jazz Arrangements of pop/rock hits (from Motown and Elton John to Stevie Wonder, The Beatles and Michael Jackson)

 

Blues and Funk (a la Ramsey Lewis, early Herbie Hancock, Les McCann and Gene Harris)

 

Jazz and Latin originals

He cites the music of Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner as having the biggest influence on his playing.