Conductor, trombonist, arranger, and composer Dave Eshelman has become one of the foremost champions of creative and modern big band music in the United States. Beginning with Deep Voices in 1988, he has produced three well-received large group albums with his Jazz Garden Big Band for the Sea Breeze label. He also has composed a "Suite for Jazz Orchestra" which was performed and recorded live from San Jose Jazz Festival. Further establishing himself among the pacesetters for serious big band jazz, several of his innovative big band charts have been published. Eshelman's recorded output is by no means limited to large aggregations. He has recorded with such modern jazz luminaries as John Abercrombie, Dave Liebman, and Peter Erskine in small group settings for Pacific High Productions, and recorded three albums with the Full Faith & Credit Big Band in the early '80s. Eshelman has derived inspiration from a diverse group of jazz musicians, including J.J. Johnson, Gil Evans, Horace Silver, Chick Corea, and Albert Mangelsdorff; all of whom influenced his development in trombone, composing, and arranging, and whose music he continued to listen to. Eshelman had his first professional gig in 1970 while at the University of Miami, playing with a group called Orchestration. As he moved along with his jazz career, he gained experience working with Ray Brown, Tito Puente, Gerald Wilson, and Joe Henderson. Festivals at which he has appeared include the San Francisco Jazz Festival with Maria Schneider, the prestigious Monterey Jazz Festival, and the Playboy Jazz Festival, to name a few. In addition to writing charts and recording with his Jazz Garden Orchestra, Eshelman serves as the Director of Jazz Studies at California State University at Hayward. ~ Dave Nathan