GKO Members:

Gina Knight (“Bambina”)
Trained as a classical pianist, Gina found her true
passion behind the drum kit at age 10. Her range of training and experience offered her numerous scholarships and national gig highlights — from playing the Plaza Hotel in NY to the "Derby" in LA. Her musicianship and power behind the drum set also won her the title of "Joliet Area's Best Drummer" when she was only 16! These days she enjoys adjudicating and mentoring young drummers, as well as performing with various big bands, blues bands, and other artists in and around Chicago.

Vince Clark ("Papa Dazzle") comes from a long line of musicians and performers. He's a Chicago native, having been raised in the Beverly area by two professional musicians. Early in high school, he became a founding member of the Outcast Jazz Band. He studied jazz performance as a trombonist at the University of North Texas before he found out that he could sing. He got his BS in Recreation Program Management from the University of Illinois, but now spends his days hunched over computers as an IT DemiGod. Vince currently remains the driving force behind OJB, sings any song in any style for whoever will listen, and writes occasional software reviews for DownBeat magazine. He has no career highlights like his esteemed band mates, but has three small children he's pretty proud of. Turn-ons include Bombay Sapphire and old Eddie Jefferson recordings. Turn-offs include cash bars and Kenny G.

Andy Blanco ("The Maestro") is an entertainer, composer and woodwind player extraordinaire (our own Sam Butera!) with a Bachelor's Degree in Music Business from Millikin University and a Master's in Composition from DePaul. He is a proud member of Sweet Home Chicago, Chicagoland's number-one Blues Brothers tribute band. Andy exclusively and shamelessly endorses Vandoren mouthpieces, reeds and ligatures.

Ivo Braun ("Globe Trecker"), a native of Prague, received his BA in trumpet performance from the University of Illinois and his MM from the University of North Texas. Ivo has wailed for Frankie Valli, the Four Seasons, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, the Irving Symphony in Dallas and the Symphonic Pops Orchestra of Chicago. Ivo currently plays with the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band and teaches music appreciation at Triton College. Besides his music accomplishments... Ivo is a riot!! He graduated from Chicago's famous Second City.

John Janowiak ("Showtime") is best known for his trombone work in Liquid Soul, in which he played from 1995 to early 2003. He recorded on three of the band's CDs, including the Grammy-nominated Here's the Deal (2000), and performed throughout North American and Japan, plus a few gigs in Europe. In 2004 he formed his own soul-jazz combo, Soulio, which performs regularly in the Chicago area. When he isn't playing trombone with a variety of jazz, blues, funk, rock and jobbing bands, he spends his time as a freelance journalist and web designer for sites like ginaknightorchestra.com.

Keith Brady ("Groovemaster") received his BA in Bass Performance from Roosevelt University and his Masters in Accounting from DePaul University. Keith has performed with many legendary jazz greats including Maynard Ferguson, Cab Calloway and Jamey Aebersold. In addition to a busy performance and recording studio schedule, he enjoys utilizing his commercial pilot's license and flying aircraft. (Keith doesn't like to boast, but it should be known that he designed his own bass, which he tours with).

Chris Mahieu ("The Lion") has a master's degree in piano pedagogy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His biggest influences are jazz pianists Hank Jones and George Shearing. Career highlights include performing at the Chicago Jazz Festival in 2004.