The Stitely Orchestra - Meet the Band
Jeff Stitely — Drums
As the band leader of the Stitely Orchestra, Jeff is the mastermind behind this whole kit and caboodle. He loves working with people and bringing joy to their celebrations. He has pulled together the top musicians in Chicago to consistently guarantee that your party has the best entertainment and that you will have an unforgettable night.
A Rhythm That Can't Be Beat
Jeff began his career as a jazz drummer building a reputation in Chicago by playing with such superb artists as Chick Corea, Wynton Marsalis, Randy Becker, Eddie Harris, Larry Coryell, “Groove” Holmes, Kathleen Battle, Zoot Sims, Patricia Barber, Von Freeman, the Grant Park Symphony and many others. Jeff won “Best Soloist” at the 9th International Jazz Competition of Belgium and has been awarded 2 National endowment for the Arts grants. The Jeff Stitely Quartet recorded three CDs. “Chameleon Eyes” won the distinguished award of “Top 10 CDs of the year” by WBEZ and the Sun Times. They toured both the U.S. an Europe and were finalists in the Hennessey National Jazz Competition.
Jeff studied and performed African drumming and dance with Gideon Foli Alorwoyie for five years. This great musical tradition is about bringing spirit to the rituals of the community. In that same spirit, Jeff started Stitely Entertainment in 1994 to provide quality music for our celebrations.
Lorin Cleveland – Vocals
Lorin Cleveland is a Chicago suburb native, from Wheaton! She began singing at the age of 3, started intense vocal training by age 7, and landed her first residency at 16 years old. Lorin is diverse in many backgrounds such as jazz, R&B, pop, and samba! She has been fortunate to perform/record with many artists, like Cory Henry, Sir the Baptist, Jonathan McReynolds, Jimmy Johnson, and Tiffany Stevenson, to name a few. Lorin is currently in the process of recording original music, pulling from influences of traditional jazz and neo soul. As well as finishing her undergrad degree in Music Business at Columbia College Chicago! In the thick of the global pandemic, Lorin became fond of providing voice lessons, mentor sessions, and spreading lots of wisdom to younger singers.
Brandon A. Lampkin – Vocals
Brandon has been passionate about music for as long as he can remember. He started studying classical piano at the age of four and began to compete by the age of six. As Brandon continued to study classical piano, he incorporated gospel and jazz into his playing style. He is an alum of the Chicago Children’s Choir and sang in the Choir from the age of 11 until he graduated. Brandon has sung across the country with a variety of high-profile artists that include New Kids On the Block, Barbra Streisand, Donald Lawrence, Yebba, and Chance the Rapper. In addition to performing as a vocalist, he works as an accompanist (playing both piano and organ) for churches around the Chicagoland area and for Chicago Children's Choir.
Jon Scarpelli – Guitar/Vocals
Jon Scarpelli has been a fixture of the Chicago independent music scene for 18 years. Leading a diverse selection of bands, weathering the ups and downs of the local industry. From Alt-Country, acid jazz and punk all the way to electronic rock and ethereal percussion, Jon has impressed audiences at every turn. Trained as a composer and recording engineer, his ear for what makes a song connect to an audience is where his talent thrives.
Beginning his professional career in the commercial jingle world at Rhythm Café working with long time producer and composer Brando Triantafillou and Ralph Beerhorst, Jon cut his teeth learning composing, playing and recording for TV and radio spots. Gaining experience with some of the best studio musicians in the business, Jon took that experience and threw it all into his own work.
He has 7 self produced albums under his belt. Starting with “Living Lavishly in the Public Eye” (2006), “The Johns EP” (2008), “Foresight/Poorsight” (2009), “A Naïve Push To Escapism” (2011) by Push, and 3 albums by his most recent band Low Swans “The Whole World Has No Clothes”(2014), “MMXV” (2016) and finally the 2 part “Break Up” (2018) album produced and mixed by local engineering legend Craig Bauer.
Vijay Tellis-Nayak - Piano/Keyboards
Vijay Tellis-Nayak is currently sought after as one of the top musicians in Chicago as a keyboardist, producer, composer/arranger, and engineer.
Vijay began studying classical piano at the age of 5 and by 11 had won numerous awards for his symphonic compositions. He began playing electric guitar at 13 and by 16 was performing professionally. Vijay attended Northwestern University receiving an undergraduate in Music Technology and a masters degree in Rhetoric/Mass Media.
As a keyboardist he has performed top artists in genres ranging from jazz to pop to musical theater. Some of these include Jennifer Hudson, Chuck Berry, Randy Brecker, Wicked, The Supremes, The Lion King, Howard Levy, Joe Piscopo, Umphrey’s McGee, Fareed Haque, Bill Dickens, and Congolese Soukous legend Diblo Dibala.
Vijay’s passion for jazz and acoustic recording has since put him at the helm of scores of projects featuring internationally renowned artists and grammy winners.
Cory Biggerstaff – Bass
Cory is a pro, always ready to play your favorite tune while adding impeccable groove. As an exemplary musician, you can count on him to consistently bring it.
Carries a Big Bass
After teaching in Nebraska’s Lincoln Public Schools for a year, Cory moved to Chicago to attend DePaul University where he received a Masters Degree in Jazz Performance in 2004. He studied with many DePaul faculty members including bassist Kelly Sill and had the opportunity to play with notable jazz performers, Phil Woods, Marvin Stamm, and Kenny Werner. He’s also had memorable nights backing Rich Little and the Guy Lombardo band. Cory is on the faculty at Harper College, a private instructor at the Laughlin School of Music, and an adjunct faculty member at Harold Washington College. He performs with jazz, classical, and contemporary bands covering a wide variety of musical styles and also performs as a freelance musician on both acoustic and electric basses around the Chicago area.
Bill Overton – Saxophone
The brass tacks is that this guy can really play the sax. He also happens to be our resident band clown and comedy aficionado. On top of that, he is a lexicon of music history - knowledgeable about every music style. Get him started and he’ll talk your ear off, so just ask to hear him play instead.
One Cool Comedic Cat
Bill was born in Memphis and grew up immersed in its tradition of blues, soul and jazz. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Music Education from the University of Illinois. After moving to New York in 198, he performed with artists such as The Temptations, Mel Lewis, Doc Cheatham, Vic Dickinson, Rosemary Clooney, Odetta Bo Didley, The Spinners and The St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra. He has also worked with a number of Broadway orchestras and has extensive recording experience. While in New York, Bill also taught at William Peterson College, The Brooklyn Conservatory and The Aebersold Summer Jazz Clinics. Bill moved to the Chicago area in 1998 where he continues to perform with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, the Ellington Dynasty, The Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Frank Wess, Kenny Burell and many others.
Connor Bernhard – Trumpet
Connor Bernhard is an in demand trumpeter in Chicago where he plays every genre, from esoteric creative music, to simple and tight groove-based hits. He started playing at the age of 10 and was mainly self-taught until college when he studied trumpet with Art Davis and learned the roots and rhythm of blues and swing music from renowned jazz educator, Ronald Carter at Northern Illinois University where he toured with jazz greats such as Ernie Watts, Randy Brecker, Victor Lewis, Terell Stafford, and Steve Davis. Later, he would study with Victor Garcia at Roosevelt University's Chicago College of Performing Arts where he received his Bachelor's in Music Performance in 2017.
In addition to his Quintet, Connor regularly performs and has recorded albums with groups such as Neil Carson's New Nostalgia, Sachmo, Zochen, and Zoofunkyou. He is also a member of Kenthany Redmond's Infrared Quintet and has performed with The New Lionel Hampton Band Feat. Jason Marsalis, The Chicago Jazz Orchestra, Eryn Allen Kane, The Adam Meckler Orchestra, Chris Madsen's Kings of the Lobby, The Right Now, and countless others.
Brendan Whalen – Trombone
Brendan Whalen is a freelance musician, instructor, composer, and music producer based in Chicago IL. Originally from Wichita KS, Whalen began his musical journey on the trombone in 2007. He started performing in Chicago in 2015 while pursuing a Bachelor of Music from DePaul University. Since moving to the city, Whalen has performed with prestigious local artists such as Ric Wilson, Sen Morimoto, Kaina, and many more. He frequently appears in other jobbing bands such as Maggie Speaks, BKO, David Rothstein, and others. He is currently self employed as a trombonist, has a private studio of over 10 jazz and trombone students, and recently launched a website where he sells electronic compositions to artists, podcasters, and content creators around the world.
Enrique Calderon – Latin Vocalist
Enrique Calderon was introduced to salsa music being played all around Chicago nightclubs like Intas, Excalibur and Tropicana D’Cache to name a few. An opportunity arose in 1998 and Enrique started singing backup with Jesus Enriquez for over 2 years. He also traveled up and down the Midwest singing backup for other salsa legends such as Lalo Rodriguez, Cano Estremera, and Marvin Santiago among others. In 2000, Enrique along with his close friends started their own band La Unica, further immersing themselves in the salsa scene. La Unica included singers such as Ricky Luis (formerly of N’Klabe) and Alex Torres (Rica Obsesion) and together they performed throughout Chicago. He also sang with Dennis Calito’s Rica Obsesion and later with Nabori from Milwaukee and Angel Rodrigues’s Humboldt Park Orchestra. He has performed as a backup vocalist with a new generation of Salsa singers as well as salsa legends such as Willito Otero, Kayvan Vega, NG2, Carlos Nevares, Maelo Ruiz, Charlie Aponte & Luisito Carrion.
Enrique started his own band in July 2016 and continues to perform throughout Chicago. He also started diving into his creative side and began writing and recording. In February of 2017, Enrique began working with Ricky Luis and Joe Mende (Afincao) on producing new original music. He recorded his first single “Mas Tiempo" which was released on September 4, 2017. As of November 2020, he has released 4 more singles with a total of 5 singles. He began working with Gerardo Rivas & Norberto Velez also know as NG2 recording 2 singles in Puerto Rico, Amarte Sin Descanos (5/2018) & No Te Contaron Mal feat NG2 (9/2019). He also recorded an acoustic version of Amarte Sin Descano. In 2019, Enrique was the opening act at the 2019 Chicago International Salsa Congress where he opened up for the world renowned Don Perignon y La Puertorriquena. He also opened up for International Salsa star La India. You can find Enrique performing at various locations in Chicago such as The Cubby Bear, Alhambra Palace, PL Lounge to name a few.
Javier Quintana – Latin Percussion
Javier Quintana started to play percussion at a very young age following in the footsteps of his father Francisco Ocasio. His first instrument was the congas playing various Latin and Afro-Cuban styles. From then he was introduced to other prominent Latin percussion instruments such as bongos, timbales, clave, quiro, shakers etc.
Javier has performed with the Venezuelan band Cepillao, saxophonist Roy McGrath and guitarist Johnny Martinez’s Latin jazz bands and Cuban timba with Angel de Cuba.