Drummer Chris Hovan returns with his Generations Quartet! Tickets to attend in person are $20 each.

This event will also be livestreamed on BOP STOP's Youtube Channel at showtime. Accessing the stream is free but donations are encouraged and directly support the band.

Featuring:

• Chris Hovan, drums
• Tim Mirth, guitar
• Taylor Arbogast, bass
• Mark Russo, trumpet

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A respected photographer, journalist, and musician, Chris Hovan has been involved with music since starting piano lessons at the tender young age of five. Adding clarinet to his studies while in middle school, Hovan ultimately devoted his full attention to drums and percussion while a freshman in high school. He attended the prestigious music conservatory at Baldwin-Wallace College where he studied classical percussion with George Kiteley. It was at this time that he began expanding his sphere of influence by studying Latin and Brazilian percussion styles and collecting instruments. Hovan also studied drum set for a year at the Berklee College of Music in Boston with Skip Hadden, John Ramsey, and Tommy Campbell. Upon his return to Cleveland, he honed his big band and chart reading skills with the legendary Harry Damas.

Over the past 25 years, Hovan has played in a variety of Northeast Ohio venues with many of the city’s finest players including Rich Holsworth, Josh Smith, Francois Roland, Larry Ross, Jackie Warren, Jeremy Poparad, Bobby Selvaggio, Mark Russo, and the Jazz Shepherds. He has also shared the stage with such national artists as Arturo O’Farrill, Brian Lynch, Tony Monaco, Alex Harding, and Frank Lacy. Hovan presently works as a percussionist with the horn-based ensemble Funkology and plays drums with Bob Niederriter and with the guitar trio Jazz Shepherds.

Mark Russo is a freelance jazz trumpet player and educator in the greater Cleveland area. He holds degrees in Music Performance in Jazz Studies from Bowling Green State University and a Music Education from Kent State University and is currently the director of bands at Constellation Schools’ Parma Community High School. As a performer, Mr. Russo has worked for Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and has performed extensively with such local groups as Bobby Selvaggio's Hedectet Jazz Collective (HJC), The AVENUE from Cleveland Music Group (CMG), and has shared the stage with such artists as Ken Peplowski, Curtis Fuller, Benny Golson, Carl Allen, Ingrid Jensen, John Bailey, Marvin Stamm, Allen Vizzutti, Randy Johnston, Wayne Bergeron, and Mike Lee.

Russo has also recorded albums as a sideman with the likes of Bobby Selvaggio, Kevin Scaley, Jeremey Poparad, Asher Barkin and Lou Armagno to name a few. Mr. Russo is an Edwards Trumpets, AR Resonance and Torpedo Bags supported artist. He is an active member of the Jazz Education Network (JEN) and The Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA), serving as the Jazz Editor of OMEA’s TRIAD magazine. Mr. Russo is also a Jazz Education Connection of Ohio (JECO) board member and representative for the Northeast Ohio area.

Cleveland-based guitarist and composer Tim Mirth is an adventurous artist constantly seeking to create, explore, and bring energy into the world. With a seemingly limitless variety of output, it’s the deep love of jazz music and spirit that drives all his various projects. Studying classical and jazz in college and with great musicians such as Steve Adelson, Steve Aron, Jack Schantz, Rodney Jones, Peter Mazza, Bob Fraser, and Chris Crocco, Tim is constantly looking to refine his craft. It's the reaching and seeking from artists like Coltrane, Rosenwinkel, Mingus, and Dolphy that Tim constantly strives to reach, even learning other instruments from as viola to widen his perspectives.

Tim was recently named Modern Guitar Harmony guitarist of the month and has performed throughout the Eastern US and Europe with a variety of groups such as Night Terrors, Stellar Regions, Red Side Visible, and the Tim Mirth trio. He’s been involved in releasing over 10 albums, including some recent recorded projects like Mirth Co-Liberation’s Wayne Shorter Tribute, Red Side Visible’s “A Break from Normality” adventurous odd-time jazz metal, Night Terrors’ “Hear Again?” free jazz/through-composed madness, and fusion power trio Stellar Regions. You can find his masterclasses on "Mike's Masterclasses", and articles in Jazz Guitar Today.

Bassist Taylor Arbogast has also immersed himself in the jazz legacy, being initially enthralled by the masterful work of the late Scott LaFaro. Taylor and Andrew first met at a jam session at Cleveland’s Bop Stop in 2019. Forging a strong duo, the pair has performed around the Cleveland area and through other jazz sessions first connected with Hovan and Russo. James is currently forging a career as a freelance artist, while Karkosiak attends the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University.