James Merenda

It has been my very good fortune to perform frequently with pianist/saxophonist/bandleader/composer James Merenda, both as a member of his band TickleJuice and also in more mainstream jazz settings.

Always active, James has performed with; Ran Blake at the Knitting Factory, the Darmstadt Jazz Festival in Germany and recorded on Hatology Records; with Roswell Rudd and Beat Science, Cameron Brown, Joe McPhee, Joe Hunt, former Ornette Coleman keyboardist Dave Bryant, Grammy Award winning pianist David Maxwell, the Either/Orchestra, the Ardvark Orchestra, the Slip, contemporary guitarists Marc Ribot, David Fiuczynsdi, Dave Tronzo and with drummer Bob Gullotti. James has also performed on Radio France, Radio Europa in Italy and in Holland, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Sweden, Denmark and Belgium with Perilous Foil and in Cambridge at the Mandorla Music Series.

Recordings include Horace Is Blue and Lettuce Prey, with Ran Blake and David "Knife" Fabris, and others.

Jon Garelick of the Boston Globe and The Arts Fuse calls him irrepressible and says Merenda never fails to bring it.

James is a brilliant performer and composer, but beyond that he's also an exceptional listener, both to his exceptional record collection and to every musician on the bandstand with him.

Jon Dreyer

Please like me! • Jon Dreyer • 781-696-2614 • 341 Red Acre Rd, Stow MA 01775-1185 • email