Get To Know Us

Experience matters

The musicians of Suspension Bridge have been on the professional scene for decades. They bring extraordinary musicianship and a sense of creativity and play to every performance. Their combined expertise helps them craft new and exciting interpretations of classic jazz, Soul, R&B and blues music. No two shows are ever exactly the same.

Laurie Ellington

Vocals

Josh Ballard

Bass

Rick Marshall

Percussion and Vocals

Adam Call

Tenor/alto sax and EWI

Rick Marshall: has been active on the music scene in Western Mass for over 50 years. He has performed regionally with such acts as The Floyd Patterson band, the jazz fusion band Street Temperature, Dyn-o-myte Disco Revue, and The Ethel Lee Group. He has toured nationally with Matt “Guitar” Murphy of Blues Brothers fame, Souled Out Motown tribute band, The Temptations Revue, and The Manhattans, and internationally with the band New Star. While Rick maintains a rigorous playing schedule, he has also been a faculty member of the Community Music School of Springfield teaching drum set since 1998. He co-directs CMSS’ Sonido Musica program, which has been instrumental in bringing music back into the curriculum of 30+ schools in Springfield and Holyoke, MA, providing instruments, instruction and performance opportunities to over 1,000 students.

Laurie Ellington: Laurie began singing professionally while still a college student, launching a long career in jazz, rock, blues, contemporary a cappella and musical theater. Her career took her from Boston to New York's off-off-Broadway scene to Germany, where she played with ensembles as large as a 28-piece big band, as small as a guitar duo. She toured Europe and Asia with her funk a cappella sextet, Harmony Central and as a backup singer for the chart-topping dance act La Bouche in the late 1990s. She has studied improvisation with Bobby McFerrin, Rhiannon and Judi Vinar and sings regularly with the James Germana Band. She holds a Bachelor's from Harvard University and a Master's in Music from Boston Conservatory.

Josh Ballard: Originally from Poolesville, Maryland, Josh studied under Whit Brown and Anthony Vitti at Berklee College of Music, before moving to Baltimore in 2014 and diving into the thriving DMV music scene. While there, he played with Mindy Miller (The Voice season 29 semi-finalist), Batuque Samba Project, performed regularly with Jeff Carmella for the music therapy program at Walter Reed Medical Center, and toured nationally with The Dirty Grass Players.
Since he started playing around Western Mass in 2023, Josh has performed with Mamma’s Marmalade and Eric Lee, runs the Americana Jam + workshop at the Parlor Room, and tours with Splendid Torch.

Adam Call: is a born-and-raised Western Massachusetts musician. Since graduating from Westfield State University in 2007 with degrees in Music Education and Jazz Studies, Adam has been very active in the local music scene, playing with, among others, the Floyd Patterson Band, Brass Attack, The Yacht Rock Band and the James Germana Band. Adam is comfortable in many genres: pop, rock, blues, jazz, and salsa. He has performed with the late Charles Neville of the Neville Brothers Band and has cites a performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a career highlight.