Paul Seaforth

When Paul decided that it was time to learn to play an instrument – in seventh grade – his mother (a violinist and pianist) suggested that he try the clarinet.  She told him that learning the fingering patterns would make it easy for him to add other woodwind instruments, like the flute and saxophones, later on.  Paul realized that the clarinet might not be for him when he discovered two weeks into the school year that he had yet to make a sound on the instrument while others around him were playing scales and making all kinds of noise.  When he finally got over his shyness to ask the other beginners what their secret was, they noticed that Paul didn’t have a reed on his clarinet!  He soon went to the beginning band teacher, asked for a trumpet, and switched to beginning brass class.

Downbeat Big Band - 03 08 09His family moved south where Paul attended Dana Hills High School and was inspired by legendary band director Leon Badham, formerly a trombonist with the Tonight Show Orchestra, who offered Paul free trumpet lessons at a local music store on Saturdays.  Throughout high school, Paul absorbed many styles of music but fell in love with jazz.  He got a job at a local record store, and found an elderly couple in San Clemente, Al and Mary Pucillo, whose hobby it was to buy records at garage sales and sell them to eager kids like Paul for $1.50 each.  That was the beginning of over twenty years of record collecting for Paul who had amassed over 3000 LPs by the time he’d hit college – most of them featuring a trumpeter.  To that kind of education he eventually added a bit more formal study with Bobby Shew, Larry Duke, George Graham, Buddy Lang, and Joe Marcinkiewicz.

After high school, he wanted to play in bands but noticed that if there was one horn player needed, the call always went to a saxophonist.  So Paul hit the practice rooms at Saddleback College and in six months played enough sax to get into some bands and start gigging.  He often gives himself a choice of up to seven horns on stage, playing the one that’s right for the song.  He’s been recorded on several albums including two with guitarist partner Rob Jenkins and is well-featured on Brad Powell’s "First Step in a Long Journey" as a vocalist and flugel horn soloist.  Paul also served as co-producer for Jamie Findlay’s "Wings of Light" CD.

The Old Dizzy's - a wonderful clubPaul has performed in many countries Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and in Central America, as well as all around the United States.  Paul has had the honor of performing in Carnegie Hall in New York City, America’s premier concert hall, and in Tchaikovsky Hall, Russia’s famed venue.  Over the years, in varied musical situations, He’s performed with many great musicians including Dizzy Gillespie, Eric Marienthal, Brandon Fields, Russell Garcia, George Graham, Dash Crofts, Vic Damone, Louie Shelton, Lincoln Mayorga, Pat Boone, Dan Seals, Chad Wackerman, Tierney Sutton, Buddy Childers, Bill Watrous, and Wayne Bergeron among many others.  Currently featured on the CD release, "When Did You Leave Heaven?", are Bob Magnusson, Peter Sprague, Kevin Axt, Joe Cataldo, Jim Plank, and Duncan Moore.

Though jazz is his primary musical passion, Paul holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from California State University at Long Beach and a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Classical Trumpet Performance from the University of California, Irvine.  Paul has also taught music at Grossmont College in El Cajon, California, since 1994 where he leads the Big Band and specializes in Jazz History and Music Theory as well.  He now lives in Escondido, California with his wife, Linda and their children.

DISCOGRAPHY

Shane Donovan  “Deliver Me To Paradise  1984
Seaforth & Jenkins  “Dove”     1986
World Beat Music  "Artists for the Arc"  1990
The Baha’i Chorale “Music from the Baha’i World Congress”    1993
Seaforth & Jenkins  “Search”  1994
Brad Powell Expedition “The First Step in a Long Journey”   1995
Global Music "Lift Up Your Voices and Sing" (vols. I, II, & III) 1997
Liz Lewellen "It's Only Life"  1999
Russell Garcia   “The Unquenchable Flame”    1999
Heartfriends  "Big Sky Live"   1999
Paul Seaforth  "When Did You Leave Heaven?"  2003

SERIOUS FUN band

The heart of Serious Fun is the quartet of singers who have sung together for the good part of a decade. Paul, Linda, Liz and David combine their professional experience and love of music to create an astonishing vocal sound unmatched by any band in Southern California! And together they bring excitement in many musical styles: Swing, Dance, Rock'n'Roll, Disco, Rhythm & Blues, Jazz, the Classics, and modern styles. Serious Fun does it all - just for you!

Paul Seaforth
Paul Seaforth, as well as being a featured vocalist, plays the saxophones and trumpet in the band and is a lover of jazz. In addition to tours of Eastern and Western Europe, he has given performances in the Far East, the Middle East and Central America as well as many states in the U.S. Among the musical luminaries he's performed with are Dizzy Gillespie, Vic Damone, Pat Boone, Eric Marienthal, Russell Garcia, and Brandon Fields. Practice even led Paul to his performance in Carnegie Hall.

David Draim
David Draim, who sings many of the male lead vocals with Serious Fun and carries the tenor part in the four-part harmony tunes, also provides the solid foundation for the band with his bass guitar playing. He played for many years on the East Coast, joining Paul and the others for tours of Russia, Moldova, the Ukraine, and several European countries along the Mediterranean. He has sung in the famed Carnegie Hall in New York City and has backed such performers as Dash Crofts and Dan Seals. David's uncanny ability to harmonize has made him the principal vocal arranger for Serious Fun.

Linda Seaforth
Linda Seaforth lends her beautiful soprano voice to Serious Fun's fabulous vocal blend. Honed by pop, folk, and musical theater experience and even classical voice training, hers is the sound that adds the sparkle to the four-part harmony and pleases with a smooth solo sound - and always from the heart. Linda has toured in several European countries including Italy, Spain, France, England, Germany, Portugal, Austria, and Greece as well as China and has shared the stage with performers such as Red Grammer, Dan Seals and Dash Crofts. Look closely and you might see er playing percussion, guitar, and mandolin as well as singing with Serious Fun.

Liz Lewellen
Liz Lewellen's vocal stylings and rich alto cover a wide range of categories. Raised on years of musical theater, pop, R & B and even indulging in a flair for barbershop quartet singing, Liz gives marvelous performances of songs spanning the decades. And she's a serious dancer, too! Whether it's classic swing of the forties, Motown of the sixties, songs from the American theater repertoire, hip-hop, or the most gorgeous ballad or love song, Liz creates the right mood. When she's not singing lead, you just might find Liz spelling David on the bass, adding percussion or playing keyboards. Liz has given concerts in many of Europe's major cities including Paris, Barcelona, London, Lisbon, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Athens.