The Jon Bates Band
featuring Steve Riddick & Debbie Major
Having performed seasonally on Martha’s Vineyard for the past 30 years at parties, bars, clubs, weddings festivals and special events, The Jon Bates Band is a New York based extended family of world class musical talent that features phenomenal frontline vocalists Steve Riddick and Debbie Major, joined by guitarist Ken McGloin, Bill Dotts on bass, and bandleader/vocalist Jon Bates on drums. They perform an inspired selection of “feel good” Rock n’ Soul, Jazz, Folk, Country, and classic popular gems from the 1940’s to contemporary favorites.
PERFORMER BIOS:
Steve Riddick (Vocalist) is as authentic as it gets! Renowned music critic Rickey Wright described Steve as “the real deal old school soul master, who takes full ownership of every song he sings and makes you feel it to your core!" Steve began his professional career as the lead vocalist in several elite regional NY-based R&B, Pop, Gospel groups, and has performed throughout the US and abroad ever since. His recording and performance credits run the gamut and include sharing stages with a wide range of luminaries, from jazz trombonist Roswell Rudd to the legendary R&B soul group “The O’Jays”, Bo Diddley, Roberta Flack, Jeffrey Osborne, and others.
Debbie Major (Vocalist) is an award winning “first call” vocalist, performer, music teacher and vocal coach who has recorded and collaborated extensively with many prominent musicians, producers and music contractors throughout her career. Debbie is also the Founder and visionary force behind "ZYLOFONE", which provides powerful life-changing music and drama therapy programs for people with cognitive and physical disabilities to express their creative talents inside the magical world of music and the performing arts. She has become well known for her innovative teaching methodologies that empower people to discover and develop their own inherent creative gifts. Her son, Gage, has also been a proud participant in the Camp Jabberwocky summer community every summer since 2012.
Jon Bates (Drums/Vocals) has established a very solid track record as a bandleader, music contractor, drummer and percussionist over his almost 50-year career. For 20 years he was the production coordinator for many worldwide music events, presenting a Who’s Who of music royalty in numerous renditions of “The Floating Jazz Festival”, “The Blues Cruise”, and many other highly acclaimed festival events aboard luxury cruise ships around the world, while also performing with such notables as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Dr. John, Astrud Gilberto and others. He was also a studio manager and in-house producer/engineer at Hank O’Neal’s famous “Downtown Sound” Recording Studio in New York City, home of the Chiaroscuro Records label, and worked with legendary Columbia Records producers John Hammond Sr., George Avakian and many others. He has production and/or performance credits on more than one hundred commercially released recordings.
Ken McGloin (Guitar) has been a working musician since the age of 14, able to play many styles with an authentic feel and appreciation for what makes each valid in its own way. He is the Director and Guitar-Bass- Ukulele instructor at The Poughkeepsie Day School in Poughkeepsie, NY and runs their Summer Jazz Camp program. Ken has led bands ranging from swing to hip-hop, folk to funk, and his “hard-core alternative” band, Lunchmeat, played the main stage at the 1994 25th Anniversary Woodstock Festival. He is the guitarist and musical director for the internationally acclaimed "Face The Music"- www.facethemusicblues.com - which presents innovative team building programs, using music to inspire and enhance the performance of corporate management and sales teams, administrators, researchers, and ranking professionals at Fortune 500 companies around the globe, and his music has been featured on many popular shows, including "The Real World" (MTV) "Road Rules" (MTV), “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, and the ESPN network.
Bill Dotts (Bass) has performed with such renowned acts as “The Harlem Gospel Choir” and as longtime bassist with jazz legend Lonnie Liston Smith’s band, Bill has toured Japan, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, all throughout Europe, and across the United States many times. He also performed for many years with the world renowned New York-based Afro-Caribbean collaborative known as "Spirit Ensemble". Some of the many inspired recordings he has performed on include the soundtrack for Spike Lee’s blockbuster movie, “Do The Right Thing”, Now That I’ve Got Your Attention (Lesette Wilson), Inspirations (The Spirit of Life Ensemble), and Broad Strokes (Roswell Rudd).