thepeguesproject

Rodger Pegues, a native of Seattle, Washington, started singing solos in church at the age of 9. Inspired by the gifted music minister of Mt Zion Baptist Church, Phyllis Byrdwell, he began to study piano. In his teens he received both classical and jazz piano instruction at the Cornish School of Allied Arts. At Garfield High School, under the directorship of Clarence Acox he was awarded a superior performance award at the Reno International Jazz festival.

The music of John Coltrane, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock and Keith Jarrett were among his earliest influences as he searched for his voice among the musical panoply of jazz genres and stylings.

After studying at Cornish Rodger moved to Los Angles, CA. There as the musical director of the City Stage theater he began to explore experimental forms of jazz and performance art, fusing jazz with poetry, drama and visual arts.

In the early 1990's his creative expression came of age during his tenure at the Jazz Club in Hong Kong. There he played with the great Jon Hendricks, Billy Bang, Dakota Stanton, and the legendary Jimmy Witherspoon. After working and touring in Asia for several years 3 years Rodger returned to Seattle Washington and formed the Rodger Pegues Trio.

Leading this group he toured throughout the Pacific Northwest featuring his signature vocals , graceful, bold and eclectic piano stylings, and repertoire of original compositions that embody a synergy of passion for the innovative against a tribute to the traditional.

Presently, as brainchild of the nu-jazz mixed media collaboration, thepeguesproject, Rodger is performing his original compositions, featuring Brian Hartman on saxophone at premier eclectic venues throughout the Pacific Northwest as a harbinger of things to come with the 2009 release of his cd, "the historicity of rodger pegues".