VIBEAT (Nathanael Skinner)

VIBEAT (Nathanael Skinner)
West Palm Beach, FL
Grant amount: $12,370

About the Artists

Andre Sudol is a drummer and composer based out of Boston, Los Angeles, and South Florida. He has been an active member of the South Florida and Los Angeles music scenes for over 8 years, performing extensively in many musical contexts, such as jazz, reggae, pop, and, rock. Andre studied under Vince Mendoza and Peter Erskine at the USC Thornton School of Music. Recently Andre completed his Master’s degree at the prestigious Berklee Global Jazz Institute, where he studied under Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Joe Lovano, and Dave Liebman. Today, Andre performs regularly with the Stephen Scott Trio and leads/composes for genre-defying groups dedicated to emphasizing music’s rich storytelling capabilities.

Joshua Ewers was born and raised in West Palm Beach FL and attended Dreyfoos School of the Arts for classical Upright Bass. While in high school, Joshua started playing jazz. After graduating he attended Palm Beach State college for a brief period. Has played with the likes of Roy Hargrove, Stephen Scott, Charlie Porter, and Tal Cohen.

Sean Devivo was born in Wellington Florida, and started playing the saxophone at age 11 on a 70-year old saxophone that was a gift from his grandfather. Sean attended the University of North Florida for two years and had the privilege to study under jazz master Bunky Green. He then attended the Berklee College of Music under scholarship and earned a Bachelor's degree in music performance. Sean currently resides in South Florida where he teaches and performs regularly for different events, both private and public.

Nathan Skinner fell in love with jazz at a young age when he first heard Miles Davis' album "Kind of Blue." When he heard Lionel Hampton play Take the "'A' Train" he decided that the vibraphone was the instrument for him. Nathan attended the University of Miami where he studied with Terence Blanchard, Shelly Berg, Martin Bejerano and the legendary Gary Burton. He has performed at the Amelia Island Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, UCF Jazz Festival, and New Orleans Jazz Festival. Nathan has recorded with Shelly Berg, Brian Lynch, Chuck Bergeron, Kevin Mahogany and also recorded on the Grammy Nominated album "With Love" by Jeremy Fox in 2014. In addition to performing, Nathan composes/produces music for Big Bands, Marching Bands, Video/Arcade Games, and Electronic/Dance/Hip-Hop Music projects. He also gives clinics and workshops at Schools and Universities across the country.

Since its inception in 2018, VIBEAT has performed throughout the south east at venues including the legendary Churchill’s Pub (2019), Art Basel festival (2019), The Citadel, The Norton Art Museum (August 2022), the Lake Worth Street Painting Festival (2018), Rudy’s Jazz Room (2019), Lagniappe House (2019-2022) and have been featured artists with the SoFar Sounds concert series. While the band has evolved over the years, the music and mission have always remained the same: to groove hard, take improvisational risks like the jazz greats always have, and to make sure the audience is having an AMAZING experience. In 2019 we self released our first album “VIBEATEP”, recorded in Miami, FL. Currently we are in the process of recording our second studio album entitled “Ready to Die” inspired by the legendary Biggie Smalls. While the band is rooted in traditional jazz, we continually try to break the barriers between jazz music and Hip Hop, bringing audiences something they can groove to, while still enjoying the improvisatory approach we take to our music.