About
The Pork Roll Stompers got together in 2025 when three New Jersey brass players realized they all wanted to play the same thing: the hot jazz of the 1920s and ’30s, stripped down to just three horns. No rhythm section, no chording instrument, nothing to hide behind. Trumpet takes the melody, trombone fills in the harmony, tuba walks the bass line.
The book is early jazz standards—“Muskrat Ramble,” “Struttin’ with Some Barbecue,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Basin Street Blues,” “Royal Garden Blues,” “Clarinet Marmalade” (no clarinet)—played the way they were meant to be played, which is with a lot of energy and outside if possible.
The Players
Stas Zakharenko — Trumpet
Stas first picked up the trumpet at age 8 to get out of piano lessons. He earned a music degree at Stony Brook, which he put to good use by going to law school. He now practices technology law at GTC Law Group to fund his music habit, which over the years has included polka bands, orchestras, big bands, British-style brass bands, and even the Fanfares des Faubourgs of Luxembourg City. He co-founded the brass quintet All About That Brass in 2018 based on a New Year’s resolution. In the Stompers he carries the melody on top. You’ll recognize him by the patchwork fedora.
Reut Regev — Trombone
Reut grew up in Israel, moved to New York in ’98, and has been playing with just about everybody since—Anthony Braxton, Frank London, Elliott Sharp, Hazmat Modine. She has albums on Enja and Ropeadope and the New York Times once called her “remarkable,” which she is. With the Stompers she gets to play early jazz, which is a different thing from her usual avant-garde work but turns out to need the same big sound. She also teaches through her studio Notes And Beyond in New Jersey.
David Citron — Tuba
David has been the organist at Holy Trinity in Spring Lake since 2008, the founding keyboardist for STARMAN: The Bowie Tribute since 2014, and pianist for GeekLifeRules: NY Cosplay Cabaret. He returned to the tuba in 2018 after a long hiatus and co-founded the brass quintet All About That Brass with Stas. His compositions range from electronica to concert hall pieces. When he’s not immersed in music, David moonlights as a software engineer. He lives in Matawan with his wife, a full-time wedding planner, and their dogs, who are full-time dogs.
