Annalee Van Roosendaal began playing the piano and singing at five years old. She began piano lessons at nine and vocal lessons at ten. She pursued both classical and jazz training in voice and piano. Rock, R&B, blues, jazz, classical and the oldies influenced her throughout her training.
Annalee completed her Bachelor's Degree in Music from the University of Utah in 2004. She recently received her Master's in Music degree in 2007 from the University of Utah. She has taught both voice and piano in her studio for nine years. She is a music copyist, arranger, composer, educator and performer. Currently Annalee is working on her first album entitled "Sweet Jazz" with David Howes (guitar), Matt Clayton (bass) and Shaun Thomas (drums) and Spencer Kellogg (tenor saxophone).
Annalee has performed with several musicians in the Salt Lake Area including: Mel Shore, David Howes, Matt Clayton, Spencer Kellogg, Kenji Aihara and more. She has also performed with artists in New York in several jam sessions. While performing at a jam session at Cleopatra's Needle in New York, she was noticed by Ladybird Sunshine and Jimmy 'Preacher' Robins. They invited her to perform on Sunshine's New York television show, Crystal Stairs. She has also been invited to be a performing artist on a few artists CDs in New York, which are still in the works.
Kenji Aihara was born in Hokkaido, Japan. He began his musical career early, taking on the piano in kindergarten. By junior high school, Aihara was ready for a second instrument, making the guitar his main focus. Rock, pop, jazz and many other styles played a major role throughout the high school years.
After graduation, he relocated to Ogden, Utah, to attend Weber State University. As a Classical Guitar Performance Major with a jazz scholarship, Aihara performed in various concerts and festivals, receiving awards at the Northwest Jazz Festival, Reno Jazz Festival, Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival and Fullerton College Jazz Festival. Locally, he showcased his talents with numerous groups, performing at the Utah Arts Festival, Park City Jazz Festival and Salt Lake City International Jazz Festival.
In 2005, Aihara moved his family to Las Vegas, where he immediately landed restaurant, hotel and casino gigs, playing for The Fitzgerald, Suncoast and the Bellagio (to name a few).
Now back in Utah, Aihara continues to perform with many groups in the Salt Lake City area, and teaches as a private instructor/clinician. His versatility allows him to work also as a studio musician, and he has recorded with musicians both in Utah and Las Vegas. He has recorded an album with his own Trio (Denson Angulo on acoustic bass and Steve Lyman on drums), which received a favorable review by Grammy Award winning jazz trumpeter, Randy Brecker.
Kenji Aihara has appeared with Randy Brecker, Bob Mintzer, Tom Scott, Roy Hargrove, Adam Nussbaum, Marvin Stamm, Ed Soph, John Fedchock, Jeff Jarvis, Mike Vax, Mark Elf, Eldar Djangarov and many other well-known artists.
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