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CAT’S ALUMNI


(in alphabetical order)

Cat has had the privilege of teaching and guiding the following people on their journeys in expanding their craft and creativity as songwriters and/or musicians. Since Cat has been teaching music professionals keyboards, music theory, and songwriting for over 35 years, some of these students studied with him quite a while ago, some more recently, and some continue to consult with Cat as their situation requires.

As the saying goes, "the teacher is often taught by his students". Cat has indeed been inspired and enriched by the experience of working with each one of these talented people.

 

Ryan Andreaz

Ryan is a singer-songwriter with a true gypsy flair. His music is a mixture of Southern California and Hispanic influences and is full of passion and drama. His lyrics often express the dark yearnings of the human soul stripped bare. He performs in clubs in the LA area. Andreaz studied songwriting with Cat at UCLA Extension and attended several of ...

Keep reading about Ryan Andreaz

 

Tyler Azelton

"Deep 6 Holiday"
Tyler is an amazingly self-styled singer-songwriter-pianist-idealist-lover-fighter-spontaneous crier who takes the definition of eclecticism to its limits.  Growing up with an incredible variety of musical influences from Stravinksy (Rites of Spring) to extremely alternative rock to beatnik jazz to cheesy R&B pop, she weaves incredibly unique music and lyrics into songs that are a world unto themselves.  Together with her bassist-string ...

Keep reading about Tyler Azelton

 

Patricia Bahia

Patricia is a Northern cum Southern California singer-songwriter (Oakland to LA) who writes insightful penetratingly emotional songs with her own unique flair.  She has performed with Linda Rondstadt, Carlos Santana, and Lyle Lovett among others.  After a bout with cancer caused her to examine her priorities she has decided to pursue songwriting to spread love, healing, joy and peace through ...

Keep reading about Patricia Bahia

 

Maureen Bailey

Maureen is an actor, singer and songwriter who grew up in Detroit, starred in television and on Broadway, moved to LA and worked with Berry Gordy and many Motown acts. As a very young girl in Detroit. Michigan. Maureen Bailey frequently acted on THE LONE RANGER over the ABC radio network, and spent five years singing on ABC-WXYZ's RADIO SCHOOL ...

Keep reading about Maureen Bailey

 

Tom Bimmerman

Tom is a classical orchestral composer from Luxembourg who can match Haydn and Mozart with amazing melodic and harmonic grace and style.  Schooled in Europe and at UCLA Extension where in class he revealed his jones for Britney Spears, Tom can write both the classics and classic pop like Max Martin.   Don’t be surprised when you hear his work in ...

Keep reading about Tom Bimmerman

 

Rob Binkley

"BINKS"
 is an Orange County (Fountain Valley to be exact) singer and songwriter who has a flair for the dramatic expression of working through emotional struggle and achieving heartfelt peace.  His work is well suited for film, and he is busily knocking on industry doors.  It is just a matter of time until we will hear his work in a movie ...

Keep reading about Rob Binkley

 

Susannah Blinkoff

 Susannah is a singer-songwriter who has released two EPs and a full-length album called Happy Today (recorded under the name Camp Susannah.  On her new CD Let’s Pretend she collaborated with producer-singer-songwriter Rich Jacques.  Her music has been described as catchy, groove-driven, alternative adult-contemporary pop-rock.  Her songs have been featured on MTV’s hit show “My Super Sweet Sixteen”, in the ...

Keep reading about Susannah Blinkoff

 

Barry Bortnick

Barry is a higher education consultant and songwriter with a talent for theatrical music and a strong interest in Jewish culture as well as the topic of aging.  He has recently had success in having some of his works presented on stage in the LA area.   While working on campus at UCLA, Bortnick attended Cat Cohen’s songwriting classes.  

Keep reading about Barry Bortnick

 

Stephen Bray

Stephen is an American songwriter, drummer, and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. Bray is best known for his ten-year collaboration with Madonna.  Bray began studying music through private instruction in Detroit, and continued his education in Ann Arbor, Michigan at Washtenaw College and at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Bray met Madonna when she attended the University of Michigan ...

Keep reading about Stephen Bray

 

Tracy Caine

 Tracy is a Grammy nominated multi-platinum drummer, drum programmer and percussionist as well as songwriter, music producer and vocalist.  Tracy played drums on a successful single for Selena as well as many CDs on Capitol Records.  He has his own home recording studio where he produces independent acts. Caine was a student at Cat Cohen’s UCLA songwriting classes and hosted ...

Keep reading about Tracy Caine

 

Katrina Carlson

Katrina is an artist with stirring, vibrant songs that embody universal themes of love and strength.  She grew up in Paradise Valley, Ariz., the youngest of 11 children.   Initially, Carlson did not formally pursue a musical career.  She attended Brown University, where she majored in international relations, foreign policy and diplomacy.  After graduation, Carlson earned admission into the Manhattan ...

Keep reading about Katrina Carlson

 

Gina Raye Carter

Gina Raye was born on June 13, 1972 in the city of High Point, North Carolina. She always wanted to be a singer but everyone told her to be anything but that!  Being a singer was like winning the lottery, they told her. At 24 she realized she would have to write her own songs to get noticed in such ...

Keep reading about Gina Raye Carter

 

Megan Cavallari

Megan is an accomplished composer and orchestrator of musical theater and film.  In New York she co-wrote the lively La Manchish musical Pepita. Cavallari settled in LA to pursue pop and film music venues. She did some superbly sensitive and delicate pop ballad orchestration and vocal arrangements for John Mathis' album, On Broadway. Her more recent credits include composing music ...

Keep reading about Megan Cavallari

 

Alexandra Celano

Alexandra is an Orange County based singer-songwriter with a rich professional voice who blends Americana music and Christian-themed lyrics about gratitude and redemption.  She grew up in a close-knit family with deep-rooted faith.  Always musical, she studied piano, guitar and voice, performing in local bands and doing demo sessions in the LA music scene.   After studying songcraft at UCLA she ...

Keep reading about Alexandra Celano

 

Susan Chodakewitz

 Susan is a writer and composer. Her company State of the ART -- Bringing Stories to Life develops stories for film, television, theatre, books and children's literature. She has produced various staged readings of new musicals in Los Angeles and is currently developing several projects for TV and film with her State of the ART partner Phyllis Zimbler Miller.  Children’s ...

Keep reading about Susan Chodakewitz

 

Phillip Cohen

 Phillip (no relation) is an artist-faux finisher-singer-songwriter who expresses edgy attitude-oriented alt-rock with a mixture of satire, camp and irreverence.   He lives in the Alhambra area and works as a custom faux finish artist and designer in the home of many affluent clients.   Yet his tunes reflect a much more street-oriented sensibility.  Who would think that an artist with such a ...

Keep reading about Phillip Cohen

 

Stephen Cohn

Steven (no relation) is internationally recognized for his music for the concert stage; scores for feature films, television, and commercials; as well as music for the internet.  Mr. Cohn’s concert works have been performed and recorded by the world’s finest chamber music ensembles. Cohn was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His father was an attorney who wrote chamber ...

Keep reading about Stephen Cohn

 

Sarah Coleman

"LADYTOWN"
  Sarah is a singer-songwriter in the country-folk tradition with an expressive appealing voice that brings to mind the classic singers of the past.  Accompanying herself on guitar, she records under the band name of Ladytown.  Here are excerpts of a couple of reviews of her debut CD. Coleman sings from the heart and bares her soul on this twelve-track release, ...

Keep reading about Sarah Coleman

 

Esperanza Cordero

Esperanza has long enjoyed being involved with music all of her life. As a child, she spent many hours singing along to musicals and operas. During that time, she developed bad habits as a result of singing music that was not appropriate for her age.  She was also singing incorrectly, which did not support her voice so that it could ...

Keep reading about Esperanza Cordero

 

Kelly Couchman

"KELLY ON THE MIC"
 Kelly is a progressive R&B meets electronica singer-songwriter-dancer performer with a flair for writing hip, cutting edge songs with urban jazzy chords over contemporary grooves.  Coachman studied songwriting with Cat Cohen at UCLA and consulted with him privately afterwards.  She also performed at his Performing Songwriter Nights at Synergy Cafe in Culver City. Her music can be heard at www.myspace.com/kellyonthemic

Keep reading about Kelly Couchman

 

Tony Danza

Tony is an American actor best known for starring on the TV series Taxi and Who's the Boss?, for which Danza was nominated for an Emmy Award and four Golden Globe Awards.  He was born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Anne and Matty Iadanza. When Danza was 14, he and his family relocated to the Long ...

Keep reading about Tony Danza

 

Monique Debose

 Monique is  a multi-talented Jazz-R&B-pop songwriter and singer with two CDs under her belt.  A native of Los Angeles, CA, award-winning singer/songwriter DeBose has been performing all her life. After years of playing with bands as a musician, it wasn't until a brief stint with Merck Pharmaceuticals that she knew her life's passion was to express herself through writing and ...

Keep reading about Monique Debose

 

Julie Dolan

Julie hails from the San Fernando Valley and considers the music of the 60’s as her favorite. She’s received many accolades, and was recently awarded Best Female Keyboardist of the Year at All Access Magazine’s Music Awards. In addition to her main band, The Undercover Girls, Julie keeps busy working her INXS tribute band called INXS-IVE, which just got booked ...

Keep reading about Julie Dolan

 

Pauline Drossart

 Pauline is a genre defying soulful silken-voiced singer-songwriter from Belgium who skillfully and weaves new age, bossa nova jazz, R&B, hip-hop and folk music streams into a guitar strumming necklaces of pure inspiration and joy.  Her music combines down-to-earth sensuality and spirituality with a similar grace and uplift as that of India Arie, Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway.  Her lyrics express ...

Keep reading about Pauline Drossart

 

Allan Frank

Allan is a San Fernando Valley-based singer-songwriter with a style that can be described as Americana with folk, bluegrass, gospel and country influences.  He has just released his debut CD The Road So Far which offers a retrospective snapshot of his music that spans nearly three decades of writing.  In it we hear his varied and unique vocal stylings from ...

Keep reading about Allan Frank

 

Sarra Jarvis Gallagher

 is a diverse Los Angeles based songwriter/producer who has seen many sides of the music business -- as a touring guitarist, songwriter, song producer and radio DJ.  She has written songs for numerous studios such as Sony and Paramount. In 2002, a custom-written song she co-wrote with Cat Cohen was featured in Universal’s $38M surprise summer hit feature film “Undercover Brother” ...

Keep reading about Sarra Jarvis Gallagher

 

Ellie Goldman

Ellie is originally from Cincinnati where she and her husband Rich Goldman successfully ran the legendary 5th Floor Recording. Ellie is an accomplished musician and singer. They have been partners in business for over 20 years and she is a founder of the company. Although music is her first passion, she runs the business, finance and human resources departments at ...

Keep reading about Ellie Goldman

 

Jamie Green

Jamie is a haunting evocative singer with intensely emotional moody songs who writes about political issues, women's issues, love and platonic relationships, existential type questions, sex, spirituality and the whys and woes of life. She is currently working on her third album, which production-wise is heavily influenced by Dido and Seal. 

 Reviewers from magazines such as Music Connection, Campus ...

Keep reading about Jamie Green

 

Shakeh H

Shakeh is a dynamic singer and expressive songwriter with a voice full of depth and complex emotions.   Her style best described as “Adult Contemporary Eclectic” as she spins musical tales that take the listener on a unique journey. Her candid poetic lyrics woven over tribal beats (Blue Ivory), playful, Jazzy saxophone melodies (Wherever The Loving Take Us) and sterling Rock/Blues ...

Keep reading about Shakeh H

 

Ariana Hall

 Ariana is a gifted singer-songwriter whose melodic and lyric gifts match her expressive vocals to a tee.  She writes moody, introspective, honest, heartfelt, if occasionally gut-wrenching stories of the emotional turbulence of romantic relationships.  Fans of Ani DiFranco, Joni Mitchell and other folky, smoky, pop-rock divas will enjoy her work which can be heard at myspace.cpm/ariana hall.  She performs at ...

Keep reading about Ariana Hall

 

Christopher Hawley

"CHRISTOPHER HAWLEY ROLLERS"
Christopher is a well-traveled performer and songwriter whose haunts are ski towns, artist communities, beach bars, and college towns.  With a soulful, resonant voice evoking the likes of John Fogerty, Johnny Cash, and Bob Weir, Hawley continually extends his foray into the American music troubadour scene.  A consistent tour schedule has helped spread his feel-good vibes all over the American ...

Keep reading about Christopher Hawley

 

Liz Howard

Liz is an accomplished opera and art song singer who has taught voice to countless students and professionals over the past three decades. Ms. Howard holds a B.S. and M.S. in voice from the Juilliard School and is on the voice faculty of Pepperdine University. She has also taught voice at Indiana University, University of Southern California and Hunter College ...

Keep reading about Liz Howard

 

Jon B. Hultman

Jon is a songwriter who seeks to capture in words and music the Christian’s struggle to live for God in a fallen world – the flesh warring against the spirit. The words are based on Scripture to varying degrees, and the music draws on numerous Christian and secular influences and on Jon’s own eclectic musical past. Jon is also an ...

Keep reading about Jon B. Hultman

 

Jennifer Ingle

Jennifer is a multi-talented multi-media artist living in Venice, California.  She studied songwriting and piano to complement her videos and films about animals and zoos.  In her work with Riverlight Productions Ingle shot video footage for Jack Hanna’s Zoo Life series, which was picked up by Time Life Video and Television.   She has also worked on projects about wildlife with ...

Keep reading about Jennifer Ingle

 

j.d. King

J.D. is a very talented uncompromising songwriter and performer in the tradition of the good old days of the original country western and rockabilly music of Jimmie Rodgers, Doc Watson, Johnny Cash, Porter Wagoner, Buck Owens, The Everly Brothers, and the Flying Burrito Brothers mixed in with touches of psychedelic 60s and ironic novelty wit and humor.  His songs describe ...

Keep reading about j.d. King

 

Joanne Kurman

"JOANNE MONTANA"
JoAnne is a very expressive country and folk singer with God's gift of a voice and has released her own CD as JoAnne Montana, Beauty Pageant Queen, recorded at Cat Cohen alumnus Bob Wayne’s Sunburst Recording Studio in Culver City.  Joanne mixes a delightful blend of guitar based original contemporary country and pop ballads with traditional folk song stylings with ...

Keep reading about Joanne Kurman

 

Libby Lavella

Libby is an Australian-born vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who calls sunny Los Angeles home sweet home. Once described by the LA Times as “pop soul fusion,” Libby’s sound has since grown and morphed into something too difficult to box into any particular genre, falling somewhere on the planes of the vast wilderness that is indie pop, retrospective folk and singer/songwriter.   ...

Keep reading about Libby Lavella

 

Kerri-anne Leblang

Kerri-Anne is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter with a strong pop-rock voice and style.  This energetic performer with striking long red hair communicates positive messages in her well-crafted songs such as her single “Anything Is Possible”.  LeBlang has a radio appealing contemporary pop and neo-soul sound evoking shades of Olivia Newton-John and India.Arie.   Kerri attended Cat’s song structure workshop.   ...

Keep reading about Kerri-anne Leblang

 

Lis Lewis

Lis is a voice teacher and performance coach in Los Angeles, CA. She has been training recording artists for over 30 years. Her web site, The Singers Workshop, provides information, news and products of interest to pop singers. Lis is the author of the books The Singers First Aid Kit and The Pop Singers Warm-Up Kit both published by Hal ...

Keep reading about Lis Lewis

 

Lisa Linehan

Lisa graduated from the University of Virginia and worked for a top financial firm before pursuing a music career.  She worked in New York, London, and LA , but never lost her passion for music.  An epiphany during an emergency plane landing led her to pursue life as a singer-songwriter.  Her musical influences include Sarah MacLachlan, Tori Amos, Alanis Morissette ...

Keep reading about Lisa Linehan

 

Don Malloy

"DON TRACY"
Don was  a disc jockey on the pioneering AM radio station 1580 KDAY, which, besides broadcasting R&B and dance music, was one of the first stations to play hip-hop in the 1980s. Don Tracy, as he was known on the air, started out DJ’ing at radio station KGFJ from 1969 to 1974 and moved to KDAY in 1976 where he ...

Keep reading about Don Malloy

 

Irene Malloy

Irene is a powerful singer, songwriter and guitarist who wears her heart in an easily accessible place during her performances.  She  draws the audience into her world from the first note to the last strum singing stories of loss, strength, and love.  A native Philadelphian, Irene has played at the Tin Angel, Puck, Milkboy, and the World Cafe Live, plus ...

Keep reading about Irene Malloy

 

Marie Michaels

Marie is a talented and determined country singer and writer from Virginia who moved to LA and came to Cat to learn how to write songs. Together they found she had a country heart and after two years of knocking about LA's limited country venues she realized she had to make the move to Nashville to be part of the ...

Keep reading about Marie Michaels

 

Sam Morris

Sam is a Santa Monica based singer/songwriter hailing from a blueberry farm in Maine.  In the Fall of 1999, Morris, then a 24-year-old athlete and musician, had his life change in an instant. Only two months after leading a 4,000 mile bicycling tour for a group of teenagers, he was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident caused ...

Keep reading about Sam Morris

 

Leonard Moss Jr.

Leonard is a superbly smooth masculine sensual romantic R&B vocalist whose voice you may have heard on many national commercials. He also writes intriguing original material set in a variety of contemporary grooves. This award winning singer/songwriter was originally from Chicago, then moved to Los Angeles to study business and songwriting. He is a graduate of the prestigious UCLA Music ...

Keep reading about Leonard Moss Jr.

 

Sean Nearhoff

Sean is a singer-songwriter whose music has a soulful fusion of playfully poignant lyrics, emotion-soaked live performances and true to life songwriting asking listeners, "What kind of a man are you looking for?" That's a mighty big question for a young man to answer. It's that fiery ambition and relentless passion though that make this 26 year-old native of Southern ...

Keep reading about Sean Nearhoff

 

Dani Nicole

Dani began singing at two years old. With Whitney as her inspiration, She'd belt out "The Greatest Love of All" to her stuffed animals.  At three, her parents separated and she spent her childhood going from home to home. When either side of her huge extended family would get together, they'd always try and coax a performance out of her, ...

Keep reading about Dani Nicole

 

John O'hara

John is a singer-songwriter originally from LA now living in Austin, Texas who wrote his first song at the age of 35.  He recently released his first CD Imitation Of Life, which contains songs from his first year of songwriting.  Influenced by The Beatles, Prince, Natalie Merchant, O’Hara is a very talented writer and vocalist who has an uncanny ability ...

Keep reading about John O'hara

 

Dianne Reeves

Dianne was born in Detroit, Michigan to a very musical family. Her father, who died when she was two years old, was also a singer. Her mother, Vada Swanson, played trumpet. A cousin, George Duke is a well known piano and keyboard player and producer. Dianne and her sister Sharon were raised by their mother in Denver, Colorado. As a ...

Keep reading about Dianne Reeves

 

Jay Roewe

Jay is senior vice president, Production, HBO Films and Mini-Series, for Home Box Office, responsible for overseeing the physical production of all films, theatrical and for the network, as well as miniseries under the HBO Films banner. He was named to this position in March 2004.       Roewe has overseen such acclaimed productions as the multiple Emmy® nominated “John Adams” ...

Keep reading about Jay Roewe

 

Scott Rogness

Scott is a rock and R&B styled vocalist with a strong high-pitched voice in the tradition of Lou Gramm and Hall and Oates, running the gamut of contemporary pop styles.   He was a member of The "One-Hit Oneders Revue" featuring Rogness and Rick Elias, songwriting partners and bandmates since being introduced through Geffen Records in Los Angeles. Years later, their ...

Keep reading about Scott Rogness

 

Scott Sayre

Scott is a schoolteacher, author, cook and occasional pianist who wrote the book Hip Hop Sushi, a macrobiotic cookbook that was rave reviewed (excerpts below). Hip Hop Sushi is different, something other than a cookbook; a lifestyle book, perhaps containing affirmations and prayers, after all, which I've never seen in any other collection of recipes. Scott Sayre truly believes in ...

Keep reading about Scott Sayre

 

Tracy Scharf

Tracy is a songwriter living in Los Angeles who writes very expressive haunting songs with dark introspective themes of inner conflict and desire.  After several years of writing and recording she has had her multiple songs placed in music libraries for licensing to MTV, VH1 and the Oxygen Network and included in several song compilations. Scharf‘s song ”All I Ever ...

Keep reading about Tracy Scharf

 

Kris Searle

"Searle is a BBC featured artist in the UK and has a successful career both sides of the Atlantic. Since his third award win in Los Angeles, Searle has gone on to win other awards including VH1 songwriter and other accolades so his career is skyrocketing. After just winning his 3rd Los Angeles Music Award, last year for AAA Single ...

Keep reading about Kris Searle

 

Francis Soriano

Francis is  a singer-songwriter with a unique ”Southwestern Country” style that is what you get when you cross Jimmy Buffett, Hank Williams, and Bob Wills, infuse it with Guns 'n Roses and "Weird Al"?  You get Francis' own style called "Southwestern Country".  Influenced by hair rock, down-home country, and novelty music, Francis takes humor and mixes it with all the ...

Keep reading about Francis Soriano

 

Richard Soriano

Richard is  a songwriter turned filmmaker who took his abundant creativity with words and music and expanded it into the visual medium.  Under the auspices of his company guerillafillmakers.com he has written, shot and produced several indie films including an underground film on speed dating, a chick flick, and his current project, a Bollywood-inspired film entitled SILICON BOMBAY.  Richard studied ...

Keep reading about Richard Soriano

 

Hiromi Takahashi

Hiromi is a singer songwriter-guitarist-rocker with an engaging pop-rock style.   She has been influenced by bands from the Rolling Stones To Jefferson Airplane to Modern Rock.  Hiromi has a cute video of her snowboarding to rock music on youtube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4LmdMhhSKbU.  Hiromi was a student in Cat Cohen’s UCLA Extension songwriting class.

Keep reading about Hiromi Takahashi

 

Lalita Tavedikul

"PAM TAVEDIKUL"
Lalita is a singer and songwriter from Thailand where she recorded albums for Planet Music Record Company.  Here in the U.S. she studied songwriting with Cat at UCLA Extension as well as private keyboard lessons with a strong interest in R&B and jazz.  Lalita was a lead vocalist in the band Mysteria whose CD can be heard at cduniverse.com.  Recently ...

Keep reading about Lalita Tavedikul

 

Jack Tempchin

 is an American musician and singer-songwriter, best-known for writing the Eagles classic "Peaceful Easy Feeling" and co-writing their hits "Already Gone" (Eagles song)," "The Girl From Yesterday," "Somebody," and "It's Your World Now." During the Eagles’ breakup period (1980–1994) he co-wrote with Glenn Frey producing “You Belong To The City," Smuggler's Blues," “The One You Love," I Found Somebody," and ...

Keep reading about Jack Tempchin

 

Zera Vaughan

Zera is  an incredibly gifted and versatile singer and songwriter who was born in Tunisia and raised between two cultures, the local and the European.  Daughter of an English painter and French ballet dancer, she attended the Tunisian Music Conservatory. That country’s traditional music includes malouf, imported from Andalusia after the Spanish conquest in the 15th century. While such musical ...

Keep reading about Zera Vaughan

 

Bob Wayne

"BIG DADDY"
Bob is an award winning recording engineer and producer who works out of his own studio, Sunburst Recording in Culver City. For over 25 years he has given Sunburst a solid reputation as a premier recording facility, providing a creative yet relaxed atmosphere offering acoustically designed and aesthetically pleasing rooms to assist clients in capturing great performances.  He specializes in ...

Keep reading about Bob Wayne

 

Kelly Willyard

Kelly is an attractive country influenced singer and songwriter with a sexy raspy voice, an engaging personality, and a wild “Don’t Mess with Texas” attitude.   Kelly grew up just outside of Dallas in a town called Plano. At age 8, she landed a spot in the highly sought after singing group called The Younger Generation. It wasn’t until Kelly sang her ...

Keep reading about Kelly Willyard

 

Mark Winkler

Mark is a platinum award winning singer/lyricist who has had over 150 of his songs recorded and/or sung by such artists as Dianne Reeves, Randy Crawford, Liza Minnelli, Bob Dorough and Lea Salonga.  He has written lyrics for tunes by such esteemed composers as Wayne Shorter, Dexter Gordon, Joshua Redman and David Benoit. A composition he co-wrote with David Benoit, ...

Keep reading about Mark Winkler


CAT’S COLLEAGUES


(in alphabetical order)

Cat has also had the opportunity of working or performing with the following people as fellow musicians, singers, teachers, artists, actors, writers, composers, publishers and/or panelists at music industry events. He is grateful for having gotten to experience their love for pop music, and their talents, gifts and insights. Some of his relationships are in the past while most of them continue into the present. A few are deceased, several have retired, but most of these vibrant professionals continue to make significant contributions to the entertainment industry.

In the following list you’ll find several A-listers, numerous nuts-and-bolts industry people, and countless up-and-coming music professionals of tomorrow.

 

Eric Bettelli

Eric is the Managing Editor and Advertising Director for Music Connection Magazine.  In 1977 he and J. Michael Dolan founded what became the industry standard for news of LA (aka Hollywood) performers, clubs, recording studios, publishers, songwriters, and all things pop music.  Through the years Music Connection expanded from its LA base to full national coverage.   For over 30 years ...

Keep reading about Eric Bettelli


 

Joann Braheny

Joann is a career counselor and consultant for creative people, i.e., songwriters/musicians, performers, graphic artists, designers, actors, etc.  She also offers workshops for schools and companies who are interested in furthering team-building and innovating new products and services. She offers private consultations in person, by phone, or online video/audio via Skype.com.  A unique resource, she is best at guiding and supporting ...

Keep reading about Joann Braheny


 

John Braheny

John is a highly sought after consultant and coach for songwriters and writer-performers ranging from beginners to major label artists and music companies such as Taxi.com, the world’s leading independent A&R company.  He is one of the most recognized and respected people in the music industry, and, more specifically, in the songwriting community. Braheny offers constructive song critiques and career ...

Keep reading about John Braheny


 

Samm Brown Iii

Samm is a film/TV composer, a former record industry executive, a RIAA 10X Platinum/Gold award winning record producer, songwriter/consultant, arranger, and orchestrator, who has had 9 number 1 records, (Michael Jackson, Maxine Nightingale, New Edition, David Naughton), artist manager and host of a weekly radio show on KPFK (90.7 fm), Sunday afternoon at 2 pm called “Samm Brown’s FOR THE ...

Keep reading about Samm Brown Iii


 

Dave Caylor

Dave is a vocalist who performs with choirs and as a soloist thoughout the greater LA area.  He has a powerful operatic voice, which is capable of reaching the last row of any concert venue without a microphone, yet he can also sing as softly and expressively as the occasion demands.  An ex-Marine, Caylor is the composer of two Marine ...

Keep reading about Dave Caylor


 

Pat Collins

Pat was a known as the “hip hypnotist” who had a club on the Sunset Strip at the corner of Sunset and Doheny next to Gil Turners Liquor store and also did shows in Las Vegas and Reno.  She was a pioneer in hypnotism as entertainment, one of the first to be honest as to what hypnotism could do, as ...

Keep reading about Pat Collins


 

Alex Del Zoppo

Alex is a musician, songwriter  and enterpreneur who co-hosts the Songwriters' Co-op with Franklin Spicer.  His current project, also with Franklin, is called Songwriters Vantage, offering additional services to songwriters.   Cat Cohen has been a guest speaker and critiquer for Alex at his Songwriters' Co-op.You can find out more about Alex at www.songwritersvantage.com and www.myspace.cpm/sweetwaterband 

Keep reading about Alex Del Zoppo


 

Bo Diddley

 Bo (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008), was born Ellas Otha Bates, was an American rock & roll singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He was known as "The Originator" because of his key role in the transition from blues music to rock & roll, influencing a host of legendary acts including Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. He introduced ...

Keep reading about Bo Diddley


 

Michael Dolan

Michael is the Founder, Executive Editor, and Co-Publisher of Music Connection Magazine.   He recently wrote a retrospective on his work there. “I Started Music Connection magazine in 1977 for three reasons: 1) To help musicians sort out the challenges of the biz.  2) There was absolutely nothing like MC anywhere.  3) I was 28 yrs. old and needed a music ...

Keep reading about Michael Dolan


 

Shay Duffin

Shay is a character actor featured in many films, but he is best known for his one-man-show about the life of Irish playwright and heavy drinker Brendan Behan. Playing Brendan Behan (1923-64), the poet, novelist, playwright and Irish Republican Army operative, Mr. Duffin points out that decades ago in working-class Ireland, consuming way too much alcohol was less a social ...

Keep reading about Shay Duffin


 

Duff Ferguson

Duff was born in New York City to a musical family and grew up singing in church choirs and school musicals before discovering rock guitar in his teens. He performed as a solo artist, session musician, and nationally touring lead guitarist based in Manhattan and San Francisco, self-releasing four EPs before landing in Los Angeles in 2004.   Ferguson sings ...

Keep reading about Duff Ferguson


 

Geoff Forward

Geoff is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Los Angeles Shakespeare Company, a Shakespearean actor, director, author  teacher, and scholar.  Born in Wales and educated in Canada and the United States, Mr.Forward received his B.F.A.and M.F.A. in Acting and Directing from the University of Utah. He has  been teaching Shakespeare  performance to professional actors for over 20 years. He ...

Keep reading about Geoff Forward


 

Robin Frederick

Frederick has been writing songs all her life, a couple hundred of them have aired on TV shows, and dozens have appeared on albums, stage, and a wide variety of audio products. As Director of A&R at Rhino Records, she oversaw the production of more than 60 albums as Executive Producer. Currently, she heads the A&R Team at TAXI, the world's ...

Keep reading about Robin Frederick


 

Gerald Gordon

Gerald was the director of The Hollywood Center Theater on Las Palmas Avenue just south of Sunset near the famous Strip.  Gerald Gordon has produced, directed, choreographed, acted, and taught in New York and Los Angeles - and now, in Las Vegas. To quote the dean of the Los Angeles drama critics, the late Charles Faber, "Gerald Gordon is still ...

Keep reading about Gerald Gordon


 

Libbe Halevy

Libbe HaLevy is a Life Coach and Info Product Creation Specialist, who helps small businesses, entrepreneurs, coaches and consultants create cost-effective marketing strategies utilizing Audio Info Products as lead generators and for-sale passive income generators.  She has developed a 30-Day Audio Info Product Creation teleseminar program that coaches participants into creating their first professionally produced audio product in one month. ...

Keep reading about Libbe Halevy


 

Arthur Hamilton

Arthur is a songwriter, author, and publisher, known for his classic pop standard "Cry Me a River".  Hamilton is the son of Jack Stern. His songs were recorded by such popular singers as Peggy King and Julie London. Besides his film and television work, he wrote the stage score for "What a Day", a show that today is considered to ...

Keep reading about Arthur Hamilton


 

Gaille Heidemann

Gaille is a singer-songwriter and voice-over actor who wrote the title and theme song for Ann-Margaret’s TV Special “Hollywood Movie Girls,” which was also recorded by Dusty Springfield. Her songs are featured on the best-selling party series videos “You’re Invited to Mary Kate and Ashley’s.” She produced and co-wrote the book and lyrics for “Chuck & Di - The Tabloid ...

Keep reading about Gaille Heidemann


 

Freddie Hubbard

Freddie was a much admired American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 60s and on. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives for modern jazz and bebop.  Hubbard started playing the mellophone and trumpet in his school band, studying at the Jordan Conservatory with ...

Keep reading about Freddie Hubbard


 

Ariel Hyatt

Ariel is the founder of Ariel Publicity and Cyber PR, a New York based digital firm that connects artists to blogs, podcasts, internet radio stations and social media sites.  Over the past 12 years, her firm has represented over 1400 musicians of all genres.  She has written dozens of articles on how to navigate the “new” music business and her book: Music ...

Keep reading about Ariel Hyatt


 

Jorgen Ingmar

Jorgen is a state of the art drummer, percussionist, programmer, composer and photographer. He is much sought after for recording sessions throughout the Greater LA area.  Ingmar works hand in glove with local producers such as Ed Tree, Matt Bissonette, Dallas Kruse and many many others. He has his own studio and records drums for artist's worldwide via FTP file ...

Keep reading about Jorgen Ingmar


 

Alfred Johnson

Alfred is a singer/songwriter and master of the keyboard. As a prolific songwriter, Alfred has written somewhere around 900 songs and has published at least 70 over a span of about 30 years. Early in his career he co-wrote with Riekie Lee Jones on her Platinum Grammy Award winning premiere album containing the hit single, “Chuck E’s In Love”. Alfred ...

Keep reading about Alfred Johnson


 

Thurlene Johnson

Thurlene is an R&B songwriter who has had several songs recorded by Cheryl Lynn, the group Radio (with Ray Parker Jr.) and Freddie Hubbard.  Cat met Thurlene during his work with Cheryl Lynn.  He and Ms. Johnson collaborated on several tunes where she taught him to listen to the introductory riffs in a pop recording that signify what song is ...

Keep reading about Thurlene Johnson


 

Jai Josefs

Jai, in addition to being a successful songwriter/producer, is the author of Writing Music for Hit Songs, the definitive text on modern music writing endorsed by hit writers including Diane Warren.   He also has written the multi-media workshop 2 CD-Rom set Secrets of Songwriting Success, available in both PC and Mac versions. Jai is a nationally renowned songwriting coach who ...

Keep reading about Jai Josefs


 

Dan Kimpel

Acknowledged as one of the American media's foremost authorities on popular music and songwriters, Dan Kimpel contributes to a dizzying variety of print and electronic mediums: books, interactive CD's, magazines, web sites, feature films, videos and new media. His recent interview subjects include Natalie Cole, Akon, Bobby Brown, Ne-Yo, Melissa Etheridge, Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, Green Day, Usher, Alicia ...

Keep reading about Dan Kimpel


 

Steve Kobashigawa

Steve is a performing singer and songwriter with an incredibly powerful and expressive voice that could equal any country, pop, & soul vocalist from Roy Orbison to Jose Feliciano to Ray Charles.  He plays guitar and keyboards and performs regularly in the LA area in clubs like Genghis Cohen.   Steve also does recording sessions around town as a demo singer, ...

Keep reading about Steve Kobashigawa


 

Candace Kruse

Candace is a singer, songwriter, and musician living in Las Vegas who also does voiceovers, jingles and business presentations.  Candace was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  After graduating from the Milwaukee High School of the Arts she attended the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh where she obtained a Bachelor’s of Music degree in recording engineering and music business with an ...

Keep reading about Candace Kruse


 

Judy Lamppu

Judy is a producer, writer, and singer who was a member of Los Angeles Women In Music’s Board of Directors and who has helped develop LAWIM over the last 7 years.  Judy enjoys promoting information about upcoming events and goals surrounding the organization. She and her husband Steve Scott founded the Coalition of Songwriter and Music Organizations (COSMO) which unites ...

Keep reading about Judy Lamppu


 

Michael Laskow

Michael Laskow has become one of the most well-connected people in the music business today. As President and Chief Executive Officer of TAXI, he is in daily contact with Directors and Vice Presidents of A&R at virtually all major record labels, many prominent independent labels, publishers, and music supervisors working on film and TV projects. Laskow began his career in ...

Keep reading about Michael Laskow


 

Pat & Pete Luboff

Pete and Pat have recordings by Snoop Dogg (“Trust Me,” the first single from the platinum-selling album “Top Dogg”) Patti LaBelle (gold album and the title song for “Body Language: the Musical”), Bobby Womack (No. 2 on Billboard’s Black Music chart), on Michael Peterson’s new CD, recently charting Miko Marks, and more. They’ve been teaching songwriting workshops together since 1979. ...

Keep reading about Pat & Pete Luboff


 

Cheryl Lynn

Cheryl is an R&B-dance music vocalist with an inimitable style that has equal parts sweetness & sass – oftentimes thick with rhythm, singer Cheryl Lynn (b. Lynda Cheryl Smith, March 11, 1957, Los Angeles) racked up an impressive 19 charted R&B singles in the period between 1978-1990. Known primarily for her two biggest hits – 1978’s “Got To Be Real” ...

Keep reading about Cheryl Lynn


 

Clarence Macdonald

Clarence is an exceptionally talented musical treasure whose career spans more than forty years of sublime influence as a writer, producer, performer and arranger.   Comfortable within any genre of music, McDonald's keyboard performances have been recorded with an incredible list of entertainment icons including Ray Charles, Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Justin Timberlake, Hall & Oates, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, ...

Keep reading about Clarence Macdonald


 

Guy Marshall

Guy is a gold and platinum award winning songwriter/producer and a 25+year veteran of the music industry.  He has written or produced music for artists such as Pat Benatar, The Tuesdays, and for film and television shows including Baywatch, Rocky IV, The Cobra, Lionheart, the LA Kings, Turner Broadcast Network and others. Marshall also teaches and lectures at The Musicians’ ...

Keep reading about Guy Marshall


 

Steven Memel

Steven Memel is an internationally acclaimed vocal technique and performance coach. His clients have won Grammies, Emmys, and Tony Awards and have been nominated for Academy Awards and Golden Globes. His clients have also recorded on Sony, BMG, Jive, Epic, J Records, DreamWorks, A&M, Atlantic, Warner Bros. and more.  Steven has also lectured and taught at various conferences and schools, ...

Keep reading about Steven Memel


 

Gilli Moon

Gilli is a Hollywood based Australian singer-songwriter, who delivers music, art and a brave sense of self-expression in her energetic, sensual and expressive performances and recordings. Her restless creativity and rebellious nature continually urge the artist to push the envelope when writing a song, recording in the studio, on stage, painting a canvas, or with whatever she touches. Born in ...

Keep reading about Gilli Moon


 

Phil Moore

Phil studied piano from the age of 4, eventually attending the Cornish School and the University of Washington in Seattle. He played with Les Hite and other dance bands on the West Coast, but said that when he saw the legendary jazz pianist Art Tatum perform, "I started arranging instead." He went to work for MGM studios in the early ...

Keep reading about Phil Moore


 

Ralph Murphy

Murphy was born in England and raised in Canada, and the well-traveled songwriter/eacher/music executive has worked extensively on both sides of the Atlantic during his music career. His first #1 song in Europe was "Call My Name" by James Royal (1966). After several years as an artist and producer, Ralph moved to New York in 1969 to produce the band ...

Keep reading about Ralph Murphy


 

Pamela Oland

Pam is one of the industry's most versatile, prolific and successful lyricists!  With hundreds of artist cuts and TV & film usage credits accumulated over more than 20 years as a successful songwriter, Oland has become a go-to lyricist composers, directors, artists and music supervisors look to for the precise kind of lyrics they need. Project Writing is Oland’s specialty. ...

Keep reading about Pamela Oland


 

Vytautas Pliura

Vytautas is a well-published poet and watercolor painter who hails from Illinois and resides in downtown Los Angeles among the skyscrapers.  Pliura’s father was a Lithuanian refugee who came to U.S. as a Displaced Person after World War II, and his mother, of Irish and German descent, a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.   Pliura grew up as an Illinois farm boy ...

Keep reading about Vytautas Pliura


 

Felix Racelis

Felix is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter residing in Los Angeles.  Ten of his one-act plays have been produced in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.  These include:  Peanut Butter, Woof!, Post-Matinee Tristesse, Mignon, Shhh!, Forever Fog, Uncommon Threads, Eleanor Triumphant, House of Sticks and Home Again.  Uncommon Threads won First Place in Fire Rose Productions' First Annual Ten-Minute ...

Keep reading about Felix Racelis


 

Debra Russell

Debra Russell combines her two passions-- the world of entertainment with facilitating growth and change in people's lives. As an Artist’s Success Coach and workshop leader, Debra works with creative individuals to help shape their success in their chosen field.  Debra specializes in the performing arts working with musicians and actors, and on the business and production side with producers, ...

Keep reading about Debra Russell


 

Harriet Schock

Harriet is a singer, songwriter, actress and songwriting consultant/coach who was born in Dallas, Texas and was taught to play the piano at 4 by her father, Dr. Arthur Schoch, who was a musician as well as a renowned dermatologist.      In a career that spans over 30 years, she has recorded seven albums, all of which were critical successes ...

Keep reading about Harriet Schock


 

Rob Seals

Rob Seals is a songwriter, producer, and musician based in Los Angeles, California. Songs he has written or produced have appeared in prominent shows on MTV, ABC, E!, in feature and short films and documentaries, and on national radio.  Rob has collaborated with #1 hitmakers in three different genres.  He has produced, written, and recorded with artists as talented and diverse ...

Keep reading about Rob Seals


 

Derek Sivers

Derek Sivers is best known for being the founder and former president of CD Baby, an online CD store for independent musicians.A professional musician (and circus clown) since 1987, Derek started CD Baby by accident in 1998 when he was selling his own CD on his website, and friends asked if he could sell theirs, too. CD Baby was the largest seller ...

Keep reading about Derek Sivers


 

Franklin Spicer

Franklin is the founder of the Los Angeles Songwriter’s Co-Op, a songwriting organization dedicated to helping songwriters improve their songcraft.  He is currently a partner with Alan Roy Scott in the Unisong International Songwriting Contest which is currently in its 11th year.  Franklin continues to write songs with Musion, a songwriting team which includes Alex Del Zoppo, John Allan, and ...

Keep reading about Franklin Spicer


 

Ed Tree

Ed is a producer, engineer, guitarist and songwriter with over 30 yeas of experience in the Los Angeles area.  Edward has produced over 70 indie CDs in the Americana, blues, folk, and country categories, including two Corey Stevens CDs that were top five on Billboard’s Blues Chart, a #1 on the European country charts with Lisa O’Kane, and acclaimed Brad ...

Keep reading about Ed Tree


 

Joe Varga

Joe is a highly accomplished professional scenic designer and professor based in Madison, Wisconsin where he is on the faculty of the University Of Wisconsin.  Though Varga was born in Germany of Hungarian parents, he grew up in Southern California in the Fullerton area.  He attended UCLA where he obtained a B.A. in art history and later studied at Temple ...

Keep reading about Joe Varga


 

Michael C. Viens

Michael is a contemporary fine art composer and pianist who was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on August 3, 1953. Encouraged by his father, Normand, to pursue music at a young age, Viens attended St. John's Preparatory School and then Bowdoin College (Class of 1975). Viens studied composition and theory with Elliot Schwartz at Bowdoin and then completed his Masters in ...

Keep reading about Michael C. Viens


 

Tracy & Fabreze Vignati

"THE VIGNATIS"
Fabreze and Tracy Vignati have created a new style of music, Gypsybilly, which blends English and French vocals with gypsy orchestration including acoustic guitar, clarinet, accordion and violin, swingin’ drivin’ rockin’ drum beats with modern/vintage instrumentation of electric guitar and upright slap bass as used in Rock-a-billy In addition, the Southern twang of honky tonk-esque piano and pedal steel season ...

Keep reading about Tracy & Fabreze Vignati


 

Syreeta Wright

"SYREETA"
Syreeta (August 3, 1946 – July 6, 2004), who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was a Grammy Award-nominated American R&B–soul singer-songwriter. Syreeta was born Rita Wright in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a teenager, she moved with her family to Detroit, where she first came into contact with Motown Records, working for the company initially as a secretary. After Wright ...

Keep reading about Syreeta Wright


 

Jimi Yamagishi

Jimi is a songwriter, performer, DJ, and guitar tech who was born & raised in East Los Angeles.   Jimi’s cross-cultural influences from teriyaki to tortillas have given him a broader perspective & appreciation for the world around him.
 After an epiphany in 1970, he began playing guitar & singing at church.  Not being satisfied with the traditional hymns & folksongs ...

Keep reading about Jimi Yamagishi


 

Bob Zuckerman

"BOBBY Z"
Bob is  a rock, blues, country, and soul styled guitarist and vocalist who played gigs and recording sessions throughout California full-time before changing his focus to working with computers and software in 1994. 
He learned guitar when he was in high school in Los Angeles, and soon joined a number of bluegrass and old time string bands. They performed around ...

Keep reading about Bob Zuckerman


 

Desda Zuckerman

Desda is a powerful singer in the Grace Slick San Francisco rock and blues tradition who made the transition from full-time performer in bands that she played in with her husband Bob Zuckerman to becoming a dynamic, fun-loving, international healer, speaker and teacher. Desda is a natural intuitive with clear sight, clear hearing and clear knowing abilities, she has made ...

Keep reading about Desda Zuckerman


 
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