Read more about the ensembles that Eric performs with, conducts, and directs:
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The Original Farm League Big Band is a 17-piece Jazz Orchestra dedicated to expanding the modern big band repertoire while featuring the work of local arrangers/composers. Formed in 2015 by Eric Lechliter, the ensemble comprises many of the Cincinnati/Dayton area's most exciting up-and-coming Jazz players and performs entirely original material.
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The Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra (CCJO) is a 17-member ensemble dedicated to performing, preserving, and teaching Jazz as a living art form. Founded by University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music professor Scott Belck and arts administrator LeAnne Anklan in 2013, the orchestra is comprised of some of the preeminent jazz artists and educators in the Greater Cincinnati area.
As an ensemble, CCJO focuses on featuring the works of contemporary composers and contributing to the jazz legacy by producing and performing its own original material while still maintaining a firm footing in the grand tradition of big band jazz. The Orchestra’s mission is to create experiences that advance jazz as a living art form with a vision to be the region’s leading ambassador for jazz. We are committed to bringing the beauty and elegance of Jazz to students and audiences alike. We aim make jazz accessible and approachable for listeners of all backgrounds which means that the group's programming is often drawn from artists ranging from Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus all the way to Prince, Radiohead and David Bowie. The CCJO also values collaboration and has reached across musical boundaries to welcome musicians of diverse perspectives and musical persuasions to share their stage.
In addition to performing alongside many of the world's brightest jazz stars, the band has partnered with everyone from Latin percussionists to classical string orchestras to full gospel choirs. The Orchestra has performed with several Grammy-winning and -nominated performers including composer Maria Schneider, trumpeter Lew Soloff, trombonist Conrad Herwig, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, saxophonist Lauren Sevian and trumpeter Wayne Bergeron, as well as NEA Jazz Master Saxophonist Jimmy Heath, and Rolling Stones musicians Tim Ries and Bernard Fowler. CCJO partnerships include Jazz at Lincoln Center, Xavier University Music Series, Memorial Hall Signature Series, Cincinnati Youth Choir, Dillsboro Jazz Festival, OTR Performs in Washington Park and the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra. In the summer of 2023, the ensemble presented a free series at Fountain Square, A Tribute to the Jazz Masters, sponsored by Jamey Aebersold.
The artists that comprise the CCJO have performed, toured and/or recorded with many of the top names in the jazz and commercial music industry including Ray Charles, the Woody Herman Orchestra, Manhattan Transfer, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Feinstein, Fred Hersch, Conrad Herwig, the Temptations, Tony Bennett, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Bootsy Collins, Clark Terry, the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Glenn Miller Orchestra and many many more. As educators, nearly all of the ensemble members serve on the music faculties of prominent university music schools, including the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, Miami University, Northern Kentucky University, Xavier University and the University of Dayton. Eric Lechliter is the artistic director for the CCJO, appointed in 2019. Dr. Scott Belck and Rob Parton serve as ensemble artistic director emeriti.
The CCJO's Jazz@First series features thematic and exciting chamber jazz in an intimate setting at the First Unitarian Church. CCJO chairman and pianist Phil DeGreg leads the popular series which primarily features the Phil DeGreg Trio alongside jazz greats from Cincinnati and around the world.
In addition to maintaining its performance schedule, the CCJO has a similarly strong commitment to Jazz and cultural education. Through its two main educational programs - Collaborative Honing of Performance Skills (CHOPS) and "Let Freedom Swing," the organization provides no-cost guest clinicians for local Jazz programs as well as educational presentations for school districts throughout the Greater Cincinnati area. These programs seek to inspire and provide opportunities for the next generation of Jazz musicians and listeners.
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https://ccm.uc.edu/arts4all/prep/music/jazz.html
From advanced performers to novices looking to explore jazz in a group setting, CCM Prep offers an outstanding and unique experience! Our one-of-a-kind program teaches jazz musicians at all levels and most ages, from beginner to professional. CCM Prep Jazz Ensembles offer access to CCM faculty and state-of-the-art facilities. Director of Jazz programs: Eric Lechliter
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“N’awlins Soul Meets Cincinnati Funk” – That is the best way to describe The Cincy Brass. This 9-piece brass band has the essence of Bourbon St, funk, hip-hop, and jazz all wrapped into an epic explosion of sound and passion. Whether it be an original off of their album (featuring Bootsy Collins, buggs tha rocka, or Cincinnati Pops conductor John Morris Russel) or a mind-blowing twist on your favorite covers (Beyonce, James Brown, Def Leppard, Lady Gaga, Snoop Dogg, or Led Zeppelin just to name a few), or an old time N’awlins street music hit, The Cincy Brass delivers a performance that can’t be duplicated.
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Cincinnati Transit Authority is an eight-piece band paying tribute to the great horn driven sound of Chicago Transit Authority. Originating in Cincinnati, Ohio, the band consists of some of the area's best rock, jazz, and blues musicians. The group takes great pride in performing spot-on renditions of iconic Chicago tunes. The band's replication and dedication to the music make CTA one of the top Chicago tribute bands performing now.
Expect to hear all the great hits including “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”, “Make Me Smile”, “Beginnings”, “Hard Habit To Break”, “Questions 67 & 68”, “Saturday In The Park”, “25 or 6 to 4”, “We Can Stop The Hurtin'”, “Introduction”, “Wake up Sunshine”, and many more.
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http://www.bluewispbigband.com
Founded in January, 1980 by drummer John Von Ohlen and trumpeter Don Johnson, the Blue Wisp Big Band got its start in and its name from the late Blue Wisp Jazz Club. Von Ohlen, a native of Indianapolis, moved to the Cincinnati area after many years on the road playing with world class jazz orchestras, most notably those of Stan Kenton and Woody Herman.
After hearing all of the fine musicians in the area, he felt there was a need to form a group because most of them “weren’t playing any jazz, which is the reason they started playing in the first place.” He felt the desire to start a “world-class big band and wanted to put it in a tavern, a beer joint.”
Don Johnson, who had been on the Cincinnati scene for years, suggested which instrumentalists should play in the band. Von Ohlen states, “Don was the horn connection.” Pianist Steve Schmidt and bassist Michael Sharfe were already playing with Von Ohlen at the Blue Wisp, in the Steve Schmidt Trio, Wednesday through Saturday nights, so the rhythm section was easily formed.
Von Ohlen remembers approaching Paul and Marjean Wisby, the original owners of the Blue Wisp, with the idea, “Wednesday is a slow night. Why don’t we bring in a big band and blow the roof off the place. It worked real good.”
Since its inception, the Blue Wisp Big Band has been the top jazz orchestra in Cincinnati. The hard bop-oriented big band started recording in 1981: first, an LP sponsored by the Cincinnati television station, WKRC and then four for the Mopro label, founded by Fred and Helen Morr, in the 1980’s. The Mopro LP’s were reissued in the mid -’90s on two CDs on the California label, Sea Breeze, with one of the sets recorded in Los Angeles during a West Coast tour in 1984. Through the devoted and hard work of Helen Morr, the LP’s were distributed around the country and Europe, garnering notice, good reviews and airplay around the world. Among the group’s more notable members were trumpeter Tim Hagans and bassist Lynn Seaton.
The band continued to perform at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club in Cincinnati on Wednesday nights until its closure in the summer of 2014.
After a six month tenure at Japp’s Annex in downtown Cincinnati, and a short stint at Pirate’s Den in Westwood, and three years at the Urban Artifact in Northside, the band has a new home at Caffè Vivace in Walnut Hills playing on Wednesdays from 8:00 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.
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https://www.instagram.com/el_ritmo_del_manana/?hl=en
El Ritmo del Mañana is a high energy group from Cincinnati that provides listeners with the ultimate Latin Jazz experience playing music from Chucho Valdes to Sivuca with plenty of original Latin jazz compositions and arrangements.