Mike Renzi

By the time Providence-born pianist Mike Renzi was 13, he had already gotten his union card and begun his professional career. Word spread rapidly about his extraordinary skills as an improviser and he soon found himself leading the house band at legendary Rhode Island jazz clubs The Kings & Queens and Allary while earning degrees from the Boston Conseratory and Berklee. When he moved to New York in 1976, his experiences backing jazz greats such as Ben Webster, Bobby Brookmeyer and Art Farmer and vocalists Blossom Dearie, Chris Connor and Mark Murphy served him well. He started out with Mel Torme and was quickly recognized as a superlatively gifted and intuitive vocal accompanist and arranger which launched a stellar career accompanying and acting as music director for the finest singers of the 20th century including Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt, Cleo Laine, Carol Sloane, Maureen McGovern and, most recently, Tony Bennett. Mike pursued a parallel career in television and movies and racked up an astounding 17 Emmy nominations with 7 wins for Music Direction and Composition. Due to his busy schedule, Mike has released only a handful of recordings as a leader or co-leader, but his legacy as a jazz pianist is secured by his appearances on more than 100 internationally-released albums and two Grammy nominations.

John Chan

While a student at Providence College in the early 1970s, John Chan developed a deep appreciation of Jazz and Blues thanks to college radio and some record collecting friends. He’d been working at his parents’ restaurant in Woonsocket – Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining – since the age of 15 and began working there full time in 1974 after graduation. In 1977, he decided to add music to the menu and tested the waters with a performance featuring two local jazz legends, vocalist Jean McKenna O’Donnell and trombonist Sam Sherman. The evening was a success and the restaurant’s name was amended with the legend: Eggrolls & Jazz. For the next decade, Chan presented performances by dozens of local and national jazz, blues and folk artists and after expanding in 1986, Chan’s quickly became known as one of America’s premier listening rooms. In addition to bringing in legends such as Dizzy Gillespie, Mose Allison, Pinetop Perkins and Leon Redbone, John remains committed to local talent and was instrumental in helping Rhode Islanders Scott Hamilton, Roomful of Blues, Duke Robillard and Greg Abate achieve international success. John is also an artist of note and has turned his lifelong passion for the visual arts into another facet of this Woonsocket jewel – the venue’s walls serve as a gallery for his and others’ music-related paintings and photographs.