Project Description
SEAN H
Sean began his musical journey at age 9, years after begging his parents for a drum set. Being a musical family, with his dad a guitar player, they eventually caved and Sean began his studies. He took lessons with Cincinnati drummers, Shawn Elsbernd (Ringling Brother Circus) and Jason Smart (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey), throughout his youth and into the college years. With an early interest in classic rock and prog rock, eventually he was led to sounds of fusion and then to traditional jazz. After high school, Sean attended Northern Kentucky University and completed his degree in Jazz Studies in order to explore his interest in Jazz. There he studied with many members of the local Cincinnati jazz scene including William Brian Hogg, John Zappa, Phil Burkhead and Dan Dorff.
In 2008 he founded the progressive rock band, Don’t Fear the Satellites along with bassist, Matt Wiles, and continued to lead the group through many local and regional tours. The band was gaining recognition in the Midwest tour and festival circuit until 2015 when the band disbanded.
Also in late 2008, Sean met with a trio, JKT, which includes keyboardist Jon Kohne and bassist Chris Barlow. Still an active group today, JKT released their debut record in 2019, Jupiter, which blends electric jazz with the use of synthesizers and other styles. The record also featured renown Cincinnati multi-instrumentalist Gene Marquis on clarinet.
Following the disbandment of DFTS, Sean founded Zig and the Live Sequence in 2015, which later shortened its name to Live Sequence in 2019. Sean began experimenting with electronic music and live improvised looping (using Ableton Live), and eventually brought this style to what has become the rotating supergroup, Live Sequence.
In 2017, Zig was invited by William Brian Hogg to play mallet percussion for The Voyager Jazz Ensemble. With all of the experimenting Sean had already done with synthesizers and electronic music, he combined that with the electronic MIDI mallet instrument called The Malletkat.
Sean’s teaching journey began in 2008 by taking on his former teachers’ students at the Cincinnati music store, Buddy Rogers Music. There he maintained a roster of students throughout college and then later joined with West Chester Academy and Cincinnati School of Music in 2016, where he averaged about 50 drums and piano students weekly between the two locations while also managing a consistent gigging and rehearsal schedule. In 2021, Sean relocated to Denver, Colorado to continue his teaching and playing career at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
Music Production:
Sean has been producing music and working with various DAWs over the past 15 years mainly in Ableton and Pro Tools. While most of his experience lies within Ableton and Pro Tools, Sean has also had exposure to other systems including Logic, Cubase, FL Studio, StudioOne, Virtual DJ, Reason, Audacity, Garageband, and Nuendo. While the many DAWs on the market have some different features, all DAWs function similarly, so the topics discussed from these classes can be applied to a wide range of recording software and hardware.
Having produced and assisted many albums from various regional bands from the midwest including Live Sequence, JKT, Don’t Fear the Satellites, Voyager Jazz Ensemble, and Majestic Man, Sean has experience in producing various genres such as Rock, Jazz, and Electronic music styles. In addition to leading and producing the supergroup, Live Sequence, he also performs and live produces with Ableton, Push2, Apc40, and various synthesizers/MIDI controllers.