Rodney Reeves - Host

Rodney has been featured on German, Japanese and American television, and radio as a pianist on the luxury train-line, The American European Express. There, he performed for Joanne Woodward and Dan Fogelberg. While performing at the Grande Hotel on Mackinac Island, he played for Governor John Engler at his mansion. Other noteworthy celebrities he has played for include Mario Andretti, Jack Kemp and Mike Illitch. Mr. Reeves has worked with many of Detroit's finest musicians in numerous establishments and festivals including the Montreux-Detroit Jazz Festival. As first call Pianist for Detroit's prestigious Rattlesnake Restaurant, he has performed for many of this nations major corporations, such as The International Detroit Auto Show, The MGM Grand Hotel, General Motors, Honda, Nissan, Allied Signal, Stroh's, Stolichnaya and Seagram's. In 1995, the Metro Times listed him as one of the top five jazz pianists in Detroit. In 1993 he was granted a Bachelors of Arts in Music from Wayne State University. In 2001, he completed an accelerated Education certification program from the University of Detroit Mercy. In 2005, he and Dean Sahutske began Detroit JazzStage with the intent of promoting the wealth of jazz talent in the Detroit area. He currently co-hosts the show with Jim Gallert. In addition, he creates the mass emails, many of the promotional materials and also wrote a November 2007 advertisement that ran on WRCJ 90.9 FM.

Currently, he teaches General Music for the Chippewa Valley District in suburban Detroit while still performing regularly.

Jim Gallert - Host

Personal Mission Statement: 

To locate, harvest and transform information about Detroit jazz into accurate history.

Jim is a veteran jazz broadcaster, researcher and writer. He’s produced & hosted jazz programs on WDET-FM (“Jazz Yesterday”, “Detroit Jazz Alive”) and WEMU-FM (“Swing City”). He currently co-hosts “Detroit JazzStage”, (www.jazzstage.us) a locally produced Podcast which highlights the wealth of jazz talent in and around Detroit.

Gallert has participated in all 28 Detroit Jazz Festivals as staff writer, emcee or host of “Meet The Artist” sessions. He and Lars Bjorn produce and host presentations, panel discussions, interviews and music performances in the Jazz Talk Tent at the Detroit Jazz Festival.

As a writer, Jim has authored numerous biographies of Detroit jazz musicians including Phil Lasley, Alma Smith, Todd Rhodes, George Benson and Willie Anderson. His works have appeared in Detroit and national publications and have been used as CD liner notes. Much of his research, many photographs from his extensive collection and some of his writing were included in Before Motown: A History of Jazz In Detroit, 1920– 1960 by Lars Bjorn with Jim Gallert.

Mark Byerly - Sound Engineer/Producer

Mark's career as a trumpet player, composer, and arranger has spanned over 20 years, with experience in a vast array of genres including Jazz, Latin, Pop, Rock, and R&B music. As a student of Western Michigan Universitys School of Music, Mark became one of the top call trumpeters for bands traveling through the Midwest. The Temptations, Cab Calloway, Leslie Gore, Johnny Mathis, and Bobby Vinton are but a few names in the entertainment business to utilize Marks talents at an early age.

Upon graduating with a degree in Jazz Studies, Mark toured the United States and Sweden with the Artie Shaw Orchestra. Moving to New York City, he found success as a freelance trumpeter on the Latin music scene working with the late Puerto Rican vocalist Frankie Ruiz, percussion legend Papo Pepin, and Latin Jazz pianist Hilton Ruiz. His abilities as a creative improviser have led him to perform with many jazz notables including Abbey Lincoln, Buddy DeFranco, and David Liebman. Mark has also recorded and performed numerous live engagements with former RCA recording artists The Verve Pipe, and appeared on front-man Brian Vander Arks debut solo recording on Brash Records, Resurrection, playing a variety of instruments.

Relocating to the Detroit area in 1997, Mark quickly became one of the most desired musicians in town. His sound has been used on countless record dates and television and radio commercials produced in Detroit. He is also a driving force behind the jazz group Bop Culture, which features a number of Marks original compositions and has met with critical acclaim from the media and jazz radio.

In 2003, Mark began playing trumpet and writing horn arrangements for Jive recording artist Justin Timberlake. As part of the 03/04 Justified World Tour, he has performed in over 10 different countries worldwide, and appeared on numerous television shows including Austrias Wetten Das?, MTVs Live From London, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live, Ellen Degeneres, NBCs Justin in Memphis featuring Al Green, and the 2004 Grammy Awards with trumpet master Arturo Sandoval. Other television appearances include Jimmy Kimmel Live! with Virgin Records recording artist Dwele. Mark and the Motor City Horns have also recently toured with legendary Hall Of Fame rocker Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band as part of the hugely successful '06/'07 Face The Promise Tour.

In addition to touring and recording, Mark holds the position of Jazz Trumpet Instructor at the University of Toledo. Through his studio, Longview Sound, he has also engineered and produced recordings for Bop Culture, JazzStage Productions, Urban Transport, and the latest Unknown Records release from pianist Rick Roe Sphere, featuring bassist Rodney Whitaker. Well known for the versatility and personal approach he brings to any situation, Mark Byerly has become one of the most sought-after musicians to be found anywhere. Mark uses Keeley modified Mello Wah and Boss DD3 effects pedals. The Motor City Horns use Audio Technica microphones.

E. Dean Sahutske - Executive Producer

Dean started his entertainment travels in 1975 when he picked up his first trumpet.  Since then, he’s traveled the world playing and studying with the best musicians before settling down into a career in Information Technology. While working for BBDO Detroit, Dean started exploring ways to combine his creative talents as a musician/entertainer with his technical expertise gained through 17+ years in IT. As a founding member of JazzStage Productions, he has accomplished this goal by creating a company determined to take advantage of the many new media technologies aimed at the entertainment industry.  His first production, Detroit JazzStage, has been a worldwide success in the continually developing world of Podcasting. Dean has made connections with the most influential people in the Detroit entertainment scene and has been educating them on the advantages of exploring new media opportunities.  Dean plans on taking JazzStage Productions to the next level by creating many more productions that focuses worldwide attention on the immense talent available in here in the Motor City.