What's Cookin' Jazz Band

A Colorado native, Eric began playing the clarinet in 5th grade. Playing through grade school and junior high, he began studying the tenor saxophone in 9th grade.

After finishing High School at Denver East High, he decided to pursue a music education and accepted a scholarship to the University of Denver in the fall of 1985.

After graduation from the University of Denver, Eric spent time playing on cruise ships and working professionally in Denver.

In 1997, Eric shifted his career focus and enrolled in a technical school, and he now works professionally in the telecommunications industry.

While music is not at the forefront of his life, Eric still plays professionally in several groups throughout the Denver metro area and enjoys the challenge of becoming a better musician.

Eric lives in the north metro area with his wife as they’re busy raising 3 kids / young adults, and experiencing this thing called life

A multi-instrumentalist and composer who performs on trumpet, bass and drums, Brad Goode is recognized as a unique stylist with a highly creative approach to improvisation. He has recorded on dozens of jazz albums, including 18 as a leader for the Delmark, Sunlight, SteepleChase and Origin labels. He is a dedicated educator, with many of his students enjoying successful music careers.

Brad began playing violin at age 4, switching to rock guitar at age 8. He later earned a BM degree in classical trumpet at the University of Kentucky, and an MM degree in bass at DePaul University. His trumpet teachers include Vincent DiMartino, Byron Baxter, Clark Terry, Chris Gekker and William Adam. He studied bass with Larry Gray, Donald "Rafael" Garrett, Carroll Crouch, and Eddie DeHaas.

Brad learned Jazz through the time-honored system of apprenticeship. His participation in this tradition was extensive, lasting well into his thirties. During his apprenticeship years, he toured and recorded with the bands of Von Freeman, Red Rodney, Eddie Harris, Ira Sullivan, Curtis Fuller, Jack DeJohnette, Ernie Krivda, Eddie Johnson, Rosemary Clooney, Barrett Deems and the Woody Herman Orchestra, among others. 

Brad led his own combo in Chicago from 1985 until 1998, including a twelve-year stint as leader of the house band at the Green Mill. As a Cultural Ambassador for Mayor Richard Daley of Chicago, he led jazz groups on tours of Asia and the Middle East.  He was named one of the most influential Chicagoans of the 1980s by the Chicago Tribune, who credited him as a “major catalyst in the revitalization of the Chicago jazz scene.”

Brad Goode has served on the faculties of The American Conservatory of Music, New Trier High School, Cuyahoga Community College, The University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, The Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts and The University of Colorado, where he is currently Associate Professor of Jazz Studies, and serves as the Musical Director for the Conference on World Affairs.

Brad makes frequent appearances as a soloist and clinician at colleges and high schools. He is an artist for XO Brass Instruments, for whom he is currently designing an Artist Model trumpet.

Rob Olds grew up in Littleton, attended the University of Northern Colorado and received a BM/BME in 1981.  Since then, he has worked as a professional trombonist based in Denver, playing a variety of musical styles such as ballet, opera, musicals, chamber ensembles, and jazz big band.  He toured the U.S. and Canada with the Broadway musicals Sugar Babies and Mame, and recently could be heard in the pit orchestras of Jekyll & Hyde (Colorado Ballet), Ain’t Too Proud (DCPA), and Mean Girls (DCPA).  As a freelance musician, he has “backed up” over 200 artists including Natalie Cole, Burt Bacharach, Gladys Knight & The Pips, John Denver, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, and The Who.

Ron Jolly (piano and keyboards) - Ron is a Denver native who received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Denver where he studied with Gene Rush and Steven Lee. Ron taught in the Jazz Department at DU's Lamont School of Music from 1979-1987. Ron was a Denver Public Schools teacher from 1987 to 2018, teaching Music, Film and Audio Engineering at the Career Education Center. He led the Citywide Jazz Combo for 31 years. He has recently retired from teaching. Ron is one of the busiest pianists in the Denver area, performing with many local bands including Mollie O'Brien and the Blue Tips, What’s Cookin’, the Denver Jazz Orchestra, the Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, Diamond Orchestra and Next of Kin. He performed with Moment’s Notice at corporate events and private parties from 1981 until 2023. Ron was a proud member of the eTones, house band for the nationally broadcast eTown radio program, from 1993 to 2020. Ron has performed with many well-known musicians and groups including James Taylor, Michael McDonald, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Bob Weir, Tim O’Brien, Sarah McLachlan, Joan Osborne, Rosanne Cash, David Sanford and The Pittsburgh Collective, Hugh Ragin, Dakota Staton, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Gatemouth Brown, Pete Olstadt and Eddie Harris. He is known for his easygoing manner, creativity and dependability. Ron just passed the 59th anniversary of his first piano lesson.

Born in Newport News, VA and raised in the Washington, DC area, Harold Summey started playing drums and percussion at age 13. With degrees from Hampton and Howard Universities and studies at Eastman School of Music, he has crafted a career that spans decades, genres, and continents.

Individuals he has performed with as either drummer or percussionist include Sonny Rollins, Clark Terry, Buck Hill, Harold Mabern, Eric Alexander, Gunther Schuller, Wynton Marsalis, Geri Allen, Pat Metheny, Whitney Houston, James Moody, John Hicks, David "Fathead" Newman, Don Braden, Brian Lynch, Charlie Young, Tim Warfield, Walt Weiskopf, Terrell Stafford, Nick Brignola, Ray Charles, Patti Austin, Aaron Neville, Paul Carr, Bobby Watson, and Frank Sinatra, Jr.  

Ensembles he has played with as percussionist and/or soloist include The Cleveland Orchestra, The Virginia Symphony, The American Festival Pops Orchestra, The Airmen of Note, The Navy Commodores, The Army Blues Jazz Ensemble, The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, The Annapolis Symphony, and The Maryland Symphony.  He is retired from The United States Army Band "Pershing's Own" in Washington, DC where he performed as percussionist and soloist with the Concert Band from 2000-2020.  Mr. Summey was also a member of The United States Navy Band in Washington, DC from 1989 to 1993.

In 1992, Mr. Summey was the first prize winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition. 

As an educator,  Harold has done clinics and master classes for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz (now the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz) in the United States and abroad as well as at Hampton University, Howard University, George Mason University, and The University of Colorado, Boulder.  Most recently, he was on the faculty at Howard University, American University, and George Mason University. While in demand as a clinician, Harold also enjoys teaching his private students, from ages 6 to 60!

Harold now resides in Denver, CO with his wife Leslie and the last three at home of their five of the best kids on the planet.