Bio & Gallery

Originally from Rochester, New York, Dennis Caiazza earned a Bachelors of Music in Classical Guitar from the Crane School of Music in Potsdam, NY. After graduation he directed both elementary and high school band programs at Rochester area schools and was invited to direct the all-county concert and jazz ensembles. He resumed his education, studying the upright bass, attending the Jazz Studies Program at The Eastman School in Rochester. Dennis then left the teaching profession to pursue a performance career and has been a full- time professional musician, arranger and bandleader for over 30 years. He played regularly in the Rochester area with the Gap Mangione Jazz Trio and Big Band, also performed with jazz greats Clark Terry, Red Holloway and Joshua Redman, as well as many other blues, funk, rock and pop bands. He has also worked in many shows, touring broadway musicals and in backup bands for performers like Regis Philbin, Tommy Tune and Don Rickles. In 1992 Dennis moved to Atlanta and during his ten years there his playing and personal singing style kept him in great demand for local and national recording sessions, orchestra work, club dates, shows and concerts. In 1996 Dennis formed Atlanta's "Swing Factory," an eight-piece swing band that played in and around the Southeast, they recorded two internationally acclaimed CD's and remained a popular force on the jazz and swing dance scene for over three years. July 1, 2002 Dennis moved to the Northwest and has since been working throughout Oregon, Washington and down the West Coast.