Bands
Tetralogy
Friday Main Dance
Led by: Jeremiah St. John
Band members: Kurt Reeder, Max Osawa, Max Beckman
The four-piece swing quartet "Tetralogy," is composed of long-time members of the Champaign-Urbana area and the local Midwest.
Jeremiah St. John is a trombonist originally hailing from Ft. Myers, Florida where he learned Jazz and Improvisation under the tutelage of NY trumpeter, Dan Miller. His musical experiences include performing with artists such as Clarence Penn, Yasushi Nakamura, Michael Feinstein, and Wayne Newton, and has recently appeared on Echoes of Cherry Street, where he collaborated with bandmate Max Osawa, and fellow CU alum, Dr. Reginald "Reggie" Lewis. His other musical accomplishments include performances and composing with the award-winning Jazz Trombone Ensemble at the University of Illinois. He currently teaches at Bradley University in Peoria as an affiliate low-brass faculty member, providing applied lessons on a range of instruments, as well as directing combo and teaching improvisation and arranging.
The Swinging Quintet
Saturday Main Dance
Led by: Leon Lewis-Nicol
The Swinging Quintet strives to keep swing music live while highlighting the individual artistic voices within the band. This diverse group of top-notch musicians have a knack for making any audience dance.
Nicole Frydman
Headliner Vocalist
She/they
Champaign, IL
Nicole Frydman has been swing dancing longer than probably most of the Illini Swings participants have been alive - 28 years! But even before that, she’s been a fan of swingin’ jazz music since an early age. Her father loved it and played it around the house so when the swing “fad” of the mid-90’s came her way while she was at school in NYC, it was a natural match. Over the years, she’s taught, she’s competed, she’s won some stuff, she’s judged some stuff and even head judged for a few of those big events, she was in a movie because of her dancing, and she’s gotten to travel the world teaching and performing. In addition to the dance, she was the lead singer of 3 swing bands, including her own. She’s seen and done a lot, and still loves it. But she especially loves the chance to bring this beautiful art form to new folks and watch them fall in love just like she did.