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Blue Jersey Band BLUE JERSEY BAND brings an eclectic mix of swing, gypsy jazz, and bluegrass to their performances. With Frank Ruck on mandolin, guitar and vocals, Ellen Ruck on guitar and vocals, and Mike Sutton on bass guitar, they provide a lively and swinging evening of music. Their influences include: Django Reinhardt, Tony Rice, David Grisman, and Freddie Green. They have played for Cafe Improv, New England Folk Festival, Swingin' Tern, Princeton Country Dancers, Belle Mead Music Club, Communiversity, Viridian Gallery in NYC., Slow Down Café, Pine Lakes Summer Series in Peekskill, NY. Their other bands have included: Ex-Tradition, Ragman, Blue Jersey Contradance, Baroque to Bossa Nova, and Rum & Onions Band. Frank Ruck, originally from the Sandy Hook area of NJ, started playing guitar at a young age but then went to Rowan University as a piano major. In the 1980's he won the NJ Traditional Styles Guitar Championship two times and then he traveled to Winfield, Kansas to compete in the National Flatpicking Championship. He took up mandolin at age 40 and hasn't stopped playing it since. Ellen Ruck started playing guitar at age 10. She was a guitar teacher at age 16 for the Guitar Workshop in Roslyn, NY. She has continued studying at Ashokan Western & Swing Camp. Over the years, she has also played classical recorder with several ensembles, taught guitar, and collaborated with Frank in several bands. She is also the sound engineer for the band. Mike Sutton, originally from Virginia, started playing accordion at age 8. Then, he played guitar as a teenager and country western after college. He met the other members of the band while playing bass at contra dances. Contact info: Ellen Ruck 609-921-7837 frankruck@verizon.net |