Lenny Kellogg
Leonard "Lenny" Kellogg (trombone) and band leader, has been playing the trombone since age 10 and says he plans to continue until he can get it right! He holds a Bachelor's and Master's degree in music education and is retired after 28 years of teaching middle and high school band in Colorado public schools. Lenny has played with Your Father's Mustache band, The Pearl Street Jazz Band, and the Blu Jazz Band. He has subbed with everyone from the Queen City Jazz Band to the Hot Tomatoes, and joined the Poudre River Irregulars in 2007. "That was it," he says; "I've let things slide ever since."
Larry Lagerberg
Larry Lagerberg (trumpet) studied music performance at the University of Denver and the University of Colorado at Denver. He has played professionally in the Denver area for more than 25 years in a variety of genres. Some of the bands he has played with include Rhythm House, Shadberry Street, Blujazz and Samson Gulch, and he has subbed for the Queen City and My Father’s Mustache Dixieland bands. He also is a smooth jazz songwriter and performer and has several CDs for sale online and on iTunes.
Charlie Smith
Charlie Smith (trumpet) says he loves playing Lead. He started playing trumpet at seven and graduated from UNC with a degree in Music Performance in 1985. He's played Lead with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and Woody Herman Band, and backed up such well-known performers as Frank Sinatra Jr., The Four Freshman, Natalie Cole, Bob Hope, Jay Leno, The Four Tops, Bobby McFerrin, James Moody, and on and on. Currently he presides over AAP Automation Inc., an industrial automation company located in Colorado and Utah, and plays with Your Father’s Mustache, the Hot Tomatoes, and Lannie Garrett's Big Band in Denver, plus occasionally the Northwest Symphony Orchestra in Seattle.
Clark Burnside
Clark Burnside (clarinet) is an exciting player who began playing Dixieland jazz in high school and was featured with the University of Colorado at Denver Claim Jumpers (the University of Colorado's Dixieland jazz ensemble) at the Sacramento Jazz Festival. Our longest-serving band member, Clark has been the featured clarinetist with the Poudre River Irregulars since 2001.
Ray Leake
Ray Leake (piano) began studying classical piano at age four and has been playing professionally for over 30 years. While studying music at CU he found himself playing honky-tonk at Shakey’s Pizza, which fueled his interest in ragtime and jazz. Ray has performed with numerous Dixieland bands and with such jazz luminaries as Joe Venuti and Joe Darensbourg, as well as being a featured performer on the Mississippi Queen and the Delta Queen Riverboats. As well as the Irregulars, he plays with Your Father's Mustache band in Denver.
Rory Thomas
Rory Thomas (banjo) is expert at trad-jazz-style four-string banjo. Besides the Poudre River Irregulars, he's the regular banjoist with Denver's Queen City Jazz Band (and has played with many other bands including Karla West's Goodtyme Jazz Band). Rory earns a living as a graphic printing specialist, and his significant other, Sandy, helps the QCJB with sales and public relations.
Oscar DeZoto
Oscar DeZoto (drums) is an exceptionally versatile drummer. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, he played R&B, rock 'n roll, blues, and country (his first paid gig was at age 11). In college, he spent several years studying theory, composition, reading, and performance in all styles of jazz. Oscar credits Jazz Professor Fred Radke (ex Harry James lead trumpeter) as a mentor and friend who helped round out his versatility. Now some 20 years in Colorado, Oscar continues to play regularly in groups offering mainstream jazz, big band, swing, fusion, classic rock, and Dixieland. He says juggling all this is challenging and rewarding for his soul: "If it's musical and fun, I'm in."
Alan Sparks
Alan Sparks –
Alan has been playing bass for 30 years. He started out playing in his junior high orchestra program and played in the county honor orchestra for 3 years. In his freshman year he joined his high school jazz band and played in various other groups within his community. Now living in Northern Colorado, he has been able to express his talents here with various big bands, rock/blues bands and funk bands and now with Poudre River Irregulars.