UMass Marimba Band

Formed in 2005, The UMass Marimba band is a student jazz band consisting of marimba, xylophone, vibraphone, bass, drums and other percussion, and often, guest piano, guitar, or vocals. They a mix of popular, jazz, and Latin music in the form of original compositions, and arrangements ranging from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones,  to Steely Dan, to John Coltrane.

Here is their 2010 rendition of "Aja" by Steely Dan:
Aja

Mass Fiction

Mass Fiction is Max Fishkin, a producing multi-instrumentalist and music major at Rutgers University. He grew up playing the trombone in 4th grade and started picking up traditional rock instruments around the 8th grade. Some of his influences include but not limited to are: Radiohead, the Beatles, Gorillaz and Marco Benevento.

Millenium Falcon

Peter Pope Boyce

 A Berkshires native, Peter Pope Boyce has been writing and producing music since he was young. "Ivy Lungs" was written and produced in 2008 by Peter Pope Boyce and Cleo Gordon at Studio 59 at Buck's Rock Performing and Creative Arts Camp. "The Marathon" is one of Boyce's more recent projects

Ivy Lungs
The Marathon

Nick Russo

Nick Russo is an Amherst-based producer, musician, radio DJ, and the current production manager of WMUA 91.1 FM. While Russo is an experienced jazz drummer and percussionist, his main interests also lie in electronic and experimental composition, media research and reform, government policy regarding media, and community media and low-power FM radio.

Here is a piece entitled SmSN:
SmSN

David Pollack

David Pollack is a popular band leader, guitarist, and vocalist originally from New York City. In high school he formed his first band, Play, which performed all over New York for a couple years. In 2006 they released an EP that featured the popular single, "Rainbow Schemes". The band disbanded in 2008. David went to college at The University of Vermont where he studied Jazz Voice. He was a member of the jazz vocal ensemble and A Cappella groups on campus. Off campus he was a member of the band The Walk. David came back to New York in the summer of 2010 to work on a solo album called Out The Other Side that was released in September of 2010. After a short stretch of gigs he helped form the Brooklyn based band Bridges that is still in its fetal stages. David now resides in New York and is ready to go where life leads him.

Here are two recordings of his. One is from a recent live performance of "Hospital" with his current band, "Bridges", and the other is a new song, "Time Machine", from his upcoming solo album, "Out The Other Side":

Hospital - 2010-11-27
Time Machine

Ben Falkoff

Ben Falkoff is a UMass jazz guitar major, Aural Skills TA, session musician, and private guitar and drum teacher, who is currently playing in the UMass vocal jazz group, a UMass jazz combo, a large UMass jazz ensemble, and the popular Amherst-based funk band, Kids on a Hill. Falkoff has been studying music since an early age, and has been playing and recording with local artists for the past few years. Though he formally studies guitar, Falkoff is also a skilled drummer and pianist. Here is a live piano improvisation recorded at the UMass Fine Arts Center:

Piano Improvisation 1

Piano Improvisation 2

Alec Hutson

 Alec Hutson is a singer/songwriter from Carlisle, MA, and goes to school at UMass Amherst. Growing up playing many instruments, his recorded tracks tend to be him on every part, and with influences as eclectic as Bobby McFerrin and Andrew Bird, Alec's music has a lot of variety. He is also a member of the A Cappella group UMASS Doo Wop Shop and is the saxophonist in the funk band Kids on a Hill, both based in UMASS Amherst. 

Here is his latest solo recording, "Rain Shadow Desert":

Rain Shadow Desert

Ben Silverman

Ben Silverman is an Amherst and Boston-based musician, who currently plays with the UMass funk band, Kids On A Hill, and the Holland/Falkoff/Silverman trio. He has also collaborated with Jeff Wyman, Larry Baione, Gerry Beaudoin, Nora Murphy, Chuck Wilson, Eno Freedman-Broadmann, Dan Catomeris, and Kasey Green. While his rock and pop styles are rooted in the Beatles, Ween, The Flaming Lips, and Mother Mother, his jazz and classical influences extend to Joshua Redman, Frank Zappa, The Bad Plus, Phish, Bela Fleck, and The Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Ben is currently recording his third solo album, scheduled for release in early 2011.

Here are some of his solo recordings, which can be found on his upcoming album, All three feature Nora Murphy on rhythm guitar and vocals:
Drew And Joanna - 2010
Caves I: Going Down - 2010
Caves II: Inside - 2010

Doo Wop Shop

The Doo Wop Shop is the only all-male A Cappella group at UMass Amherst, originating in 1993. Legend has it that the first four members formed the group to help one of them ask out a girl at a convenience store (legend also has it that they are now married). Members arrange all of the pieces they perform, and they perform two shows each semester on campus, as well as several other gigs around Amherst and Northampton.

This is a live recording of "Stay With You":

Stay With You

Beneficial Tomatoes

Beneficial Tomatoes is an American rock band, formed in Pleasantville, NY in 2004. The band consists of Ben Scherer (guitar/vocals), Tom Lombardi (guitar/vocals), Tim Sosler (drums), and Sam Mintzer (bass). 

The band originated as a two-piece musical project between founding members/multi-instrumentalists Ben Scherer and Tom Lombardi. To complete their sound, they recruited high school friends Tim Sosler (2009) and Sam Mintzer (2010). They began to play local shows as well as venues in New York City and neighboring northeast states. The band has been said to blend indie rock with elements of alternative, pop, and various other genres in which their music is influenced. 

In 2010, they performed at the annual Pleasantville Music Festival alongside such notable artists as Jakob Dylan, Rusted Root, The Bacon Brothers, and Carney. Currently, they are writing and recording in hopes of releasing a full-length LP in the near future.

Check out one of their latest tunes, "Summer Porch":

Summer Porch

Kids on a Hill

Kids on a Hill is a 9-piece funk band from UMass Amherst. Formed in 2008 with the intentions of being a one-time group to play a single concert, Kids on a Hill has been gathering a devoted fan base, and playing for about 2 years in Amherst and Northampton. Comprised of 6 music, 1 theatre, and 2 art students, Kids on a Hill plays to a wide audience of music lovers, with original jazz, funk, rap, rock, soul, and fusion compositions, as well as covers by Jimi Hendrix, Lettuce, Jeff Buckley, Sly and the Family Stone, Phish, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. If you missed them at the Iron Horse this fall, check out their show at the Middle East in Cambridge on December 27, where'd they'll take the stage with Take Care and Elephantom. 

Kids On A Hill are:

Craig Holland - bass/guitar

Ben Falkoff - guitar

Nick Pope - drums/bass/guitar/vocals

Ben Silverman - guitar/drums/bass

Chris Kazarian - vocals/keyboard

Nora Murphy - Vocals, tambourine,

Maddie Maggio - Vocals

Alex Hutson - Alto Sax, keyboard, guitar

Greg Blair - Tenor Sax, keyboard

Check out these live recordings from 2009 and 2010:
Without Words - 2010 Iron Horse
Magic Lover - 2010 Iron Horse
Meditation - 2009, UMass, first show