Kevin Batchelor — trumpet, singing, piano
J. Walter Hawkes — trombone, singing, ukulele, piano
J Granelli — bass
Diego Voglino — drums
Nick Balaban — singing, piano, bari ukulele
While informed by several genres — jazz, country, r&b, rock, funk, bossa nova, pop and more — Nick Balaban & The Lucky Otters is singer/songwriter music specifically arranged for this ensemble of beautiful and creative musicians. We welcome any and all feedback as to what this music is.
More about Nick
Nick Balaban has played with/recorded with lots of folks, many of whom have sung/played for the various children’s TV shows (Blue’s Clues, WordWorld, Bubble Guppies) for whom he’s composed/produced music — Ray Charles, Patti LaBelle, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Macy Gray, Toni Braxton, Percy Sledge, The Persuasions, Culture, Phoebe Snow, Sugar Minott, David Murray, John Boutté, Barrington Levi, Randy Travis, Alton Ellis, and many others; Kevin Batchelor currently leads The NYC Ska Orchestra and has played/recorded with Keith Richards,The Sun Ra Arkestra, Sting, Shaggy, Jason Mraz, Betty Lavette, The Skatalites,Queen Latifah, Rihanna, Sean Paul/Bunny Rugs, Marcus Miller, Urban Blight, Queen Latifah, Rihanna, Sean Paul/Bunny Rugs, Marcus Miller, Sly and Robbie, Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown, Beres Hammond, Steel Pulse, Maxi Priest, KRS-ONE, Burning Spear, Big Mountain, Black Rock Coalition, Sugar Minott, The Fleshtones, David Yazbek, Eek-A-Mouse, and many others; J. Walter Hawkes has played/recorded with Norah Jones, Elvis Costello, John Lithgow, The Four Tops/Temptations, Madeleine Peyroux, Slide Hampton, The Count Basie Big Band, Queen Esther, Taylor Mac, The Hot Sardines, and many others; J Granelli has played/recorded with David Tronzo, Julian Priester, Jane Ira Bloom, Mose Allison, Brad Shepik, Francoise Houle, Jerry Granelli, Briggan Krauss, Bill Frisell, Robben Ford, John Abercrombie, Anthony Cox, Ralph Alessi, Rinde Eckert, Jamie Saft, Buck 65, Miroslav Tadic, Peter Epstein, John Bergamo, Alicia Svigles, Jamie Haddad, Mike Dillon, Cedric “Im” Brooks, Ohad Talmor, Michael Blake, Dave Douglas, Smokey Hormel, Ned Rothenberg, Andy Laster, Anthony Coleman and many others; Diego Voglino has played/recorded with Bruce Springsteen, Marshall Crenshaw, Betty Buckley, Ed Cherry, Seamus Blake, Ben Monder, Norah Jones, Natalie Merchant, Don Sebesky, Bill Sims Jr., Chris Cheek, David Hidalgo, Scott Sharrard, Kevin Hays, Bruce Barth, James Hunter, and many others.
