Merrimans' Playhouse Homegrown Jazz Performance Series presents The Dean's List!

The Dean’s List is a Michiana Jazz combo playing straight ahead swing, blues, ballads, and Latin tunes with their own twist. The group was formed in 2013 by percussionist Sonny Carreno and guitarist Danny Dean, thus the name. They met as guest musicians at a gig and decided they wanted to form their own band that focused on jazz. Local saxophone dynamo Sam Que soon joined the band. After cycling through several bassists, Randy Horst now holds down the low end.

Sonny Carreno grew up in Texas and has a bachelor’s degree in Music and Music Education. He has a long and varied history as a drummer for a wide range of groups both in his native Texas and in northern Indiana.

A native of Miami, FL, guitarist Danny Dean began performing jazz at community college and in 2004 moved to Nashville earning a bachelor of music in composition and arranging at Belmont University. His main performing influences are midcentury luminaries Wes Montgomery, Herb Ellis, Chet Baker, Stan Getz, and Oliver Nelson. Danny’s current composition project is introducing Mennonite hymns to a jazz context by re-harmonizing and adding strings and guitar to the existing piano.

Sam Que (pronounced ‘KAY’) is from Elkhart, and his first notes could be heard from the pews of his father’s church. At 18 he began to gig in South Bend while attending IUSB, and was a regular at Merrimans’ Playhouse open jams.

Randy Horst grew up in Denver, CO. He first took up the bass in college to be part of his friends’ band, mainly playing folk, bluegrass, and country. About 16 years ago he fell in love with Jazz.