A Prairie Home Companion: November 29, 2003

Special Guests
Saturday, November 29, 2003

Stephanie Davis is a fourth generation Montanan who spent several years fine-tuning her singing and songwriting skills in Nashville, and having her songs recorded by artists like Garth Brooks, Roger Whitaker, Martina McBride and Shelby Lynn. Davis not only sings and writes music, she also plays multiple instruments and has released two self-produced albums, River of No Return and I'm Pullin' Through, on her own label, Recluse Records. Davis has worked with her friend Garth Brooks and his touring band on several occasions and in 1994 she opened all of his shows for the year. Davis often appears at festivals, cowboy poetry gatherings and concerts throughout the west. Davis plans to release another album later this year and is currently working on an illustrated story-poem called The Icy Blue Norther.

Pedal steel player and guitarist Greg Leisz is a highly sought-after session musician who has worked with Joni Mitchell, Smashing Pumpkins, John Mayer, Beck, Melissa Etheridge, Shawn Colvin, Brian Wilson, Joe Cocker, Bill Frisell, Sheryl Crow, Paul Westerberg, k.d. lang, Wilco, Lucinda Williams, and the Ventures, to name a few. He has also worked as a producer on albums by such artists as Dave Alvin, Tom Russell, and Rosie Flores.

Inga Swearingen was the winner of the Shure Jazz Voice competition at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. She is currently pursuing a Master's degree in choral conducting at Florida State University. During college, she and her group were brought together by a mutual love of jazz. Ryan Garcia (guitar), in addition to working steadily as a jazz guitarist, pursues a Master's degree at California Polytechnic State University. Mike Raynor (drums) hold a degree in Jazz Studies from Cuesta College and has played in several jazz ensembles as a freelance musician. Clint Iwanicha (bass) is an architect by profession, and Linda Vanasupa is a professor at Cal Poly. The group's most recent CD is entitled Learning to Fly.