Rabbit Hole Sessions with Abe Ovadia

Today’s guest is pianist Michael Kanan, a Boston native whose lyrical touch and deep roots in the jazz tradition have made him a sought-after accompanist and bandleader. From touring the world with the legendary Jimmy Scott and Jane Monheit to recording with Kurt Rosenwinkel and leading his own trio, Michael’s career bridges tradition and innovation. His journey is one of quiet mastery and unwavering dedication to the art of jazz.

Joining us is Clovis Nicolas, a French bassist originally from the Ivory Coast whose career has taken him from philosophy studies to sharing the stage with legends like Brad Mehldau and Herbie Hancock. A Juilliard alum and Ron Carter protégé, Clovis has become a vital presence on the New York jazz scene, with acclaimed recordings on Sunnyside Records and contributions to socially-driven projects like The Healing Project. His artistry is as thoughtful as it is powerful—both on stage and beyond.

Join us for a continued conversation with the phenomenal bassist Mike Boone!

On this episode of Rabbit Hole Sessions, I’m joined by drummer Dan Aran — one of the most versatile and sought-after drummers on the New York jazz scene. Over the past two decades, Dan has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists including Natalie Merchant, Stacey Kent, and Itai Kriss’s TELAVANA, showcasing his ability to navigate everything from straight-ahead jazz to Latin and Middle Eastern grooves. We talk about his journey from Jerusalem to New York, his acclaimed debut Breathing, and his latest release New York Family, described by Downbeat as a “fascinating record.” Dan’s wide musical range and deep rhythmic sensitivity make this a conversation you won’t want to miss

Ralph Alessi — an ECM recording artist, visionary trumpeter, composer, and educator whose work bridges classical precision and avant-garde exploration. With roots in a deeply musical family and a career that’s included collaborations with artists like Steve Coleman, Ravi Coltrane, and Fred Hersch, Ralph has carved out a singular voice in contemporary jazz. We talk about his critically acclaimed ECM recordings, including Baida and his latest, It’s Always Now, as well as his upcoming 2025 release featuring his brother Joe Alessi. Ralph also shares insight into his approach to improvisation, both as a performer and educator shaping the next generation.

I’m joined by legendary drummer Bill Goodwin — a cornerstone of the jazz world for over six decades. From launching his career with Charles Lloyd at 17 to a 40-year Grammy-winning collaboration with Phil Woods, Bill's journey reads like a who's who of jazz history. He’s played with everyone from Bill Evans and Dexter Gordon to Tom Waits and The Manhattan Transfer, and continues to lead a dynamic trio performing at top venues across the East Coast. We dive into his storied career, producing legacy, and what keeps him inspired behind the kit.

On this episode of Rabbit Hole Sessions, I’m joined by pianist and composer Greg Murphy — a Chicago native who’s been a vital force in the New York jazz scene since the 1980s. Best known for his 22-year collaboration with the legendary Rashied Ali, Greg's career spans decades and continents, including performances with jazz giants like Wynton Marsalis, Ornette Coleman, and Christian McBride. From his early days in Chicago to recording with Carlos Santana in France and scoring an Oscar-nominated documentary, Greg brings a deep, multidimensional voice to the music. 

On this episode of Rabbit Hole Sessions, I'm joined by Tim Brey — a phenomenal pianist, composer, and educator based in Philadelphia. Known for his dynamic work as a bandleader, sideman, and solo artist, Tim has performed with legends like Terell Stafford, Renée Fleming, Peter Bernstein, and Samara Joy. We talk about his third studio album News, his evolving voice as a composer, and his role shaping young musicians at Temple University. 

Today, we’re joined by Peter Lin—a powerhouse trombonist, producer, and educator shaping the New York and New Jersey jazz scenes. A Taiwanese-American artist, Peter has shared the stage with legends like Ron Carter, Slide Hampton, Winard Harper, and JD Allen, performing at top venues like Carnegie Hall, NJPAC, Blue Note, and Birdland.

Beyond performing, Peter is dedicated to education and community-building. He’s a faculty member at Jazz House Kids, leads the AAPI Jazz Collective, and co-founded Yardbird Entertainment, a production company bringing jazz to new audiences. His albums With Respect and New Age Old Ways showcase his cultural roots, original compositions, and bold arrangements.

Today, we’re diving into the mind of Brad Shepik—a guitarist, composer, and educator whose music seamlessly blends jazz with world influences. With a career spanning over three decades, Brad has played with legends like Paul Motian, Dave Douglas, Carla Bley, and Charlie Haden, appearing on over 70 recordings as both a leader and sideman.

From his early days exploring Balkan and Middle Eastern music to his acclaimed solo work, Brad has constantly pushed the boundaries of jazz guitar. His latest album, Human Activity Dream of the Possible—a ten-movement meditation on climate change—dropped October 11, 2024.

Today, we have a true staple of the New York jazz scene—Michael "Spike" Wilner. A pianist, bandleader, and longtime owner of Mezzrow and Smalls Jazz Club. From steady gigs at now-legendary clubs like The Village Gate to his ongoing performances at Smalls, Spike has lived and breathed the jazz life in its purest form.

Today, we’re sitting down with Jordan Young, a powerhouse drummer whose dynamic approach bridges the tradition of jazz with fresh, modern influences. A Detroit native, Jordan cut his teeth playing everything from rock and metal to jazz before diving deep into the art of swing. His journey has taken him from the University of Michigan to Juilliard, where he studied under the great Wynton Marsalis. His latest album, Jazz Jukebox (Posi-Tone, 2016), showcases his signature blend of groove-heavy organ jazz, featuring Brian Charette, Matt Chertkoff, and Nick Hempton. With influences ranging from Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff to the Beatles and ’70s TV soundtracks, Jordan’s music speaks to both jazz purists and modern listeners alike. (This interview was cut short due to a power outage.)

Today’s guest is legendary bassist and educator Mike Boone, a cornerstone of the Philadelphia jazz scene. Born in New York City, Mike studied at Eastman and toured with Ben Vereen and the Buddy Rich Big Band before settling in Philly, where he played with icons like Trudy Pitts and Shirley Scott. He spent over 16 years as part of the iconic house trio at Ortlieb’s Jazz Haus and currently teaches at Temple University. Mike's latest release Family and Friends - Confirmation was also just released this year.

Today, we’re joined by James Burton III, a powerhouse trombonist and dedicated educator who has shaped the jazz scene both on and off the stage. A former pre-med student turned Juilliard faculty member, James’ journey took a sharp turn at 14 when he first heard John Coltrane’s Blue Train—a moment that set him on a lifelong path in jazz.

He’s worked with icons like Jackie McLean, Ron Carter & Christian McBride, performed on some of the world’s biggest stages, and now helps mentor the next generation of jazz musicians at Juilliard. But beyond the music, James is full of surprises—he was recruited to play Division I football, has a soft spot for bad ’80s pop, and once threw his trombone slide off mid-performance at Dizzy’s Club.

Today, we’re joined by one of the most exciting drummers in jazz today—Jimmy Macbride. Named one of Downbeat’s “25 for the Future,” Jimmy has become a highly sought-after sideman, known for his musicality, versatility, and dynamic touch behind the kit.

Since moving to New York in 2009, he’s worked with legends like Terence Blanchard, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and Kevin Hays, performing everywhere from Dizzy’s Club and Smalls to the Newport and North Sea Jazz Festivals. Whether backing top-tier soloists or driving a big band, his artistry speaks for itself.

Today, we’re joined by Benny Benack III—a rare talent who’s making waves as both a trumpeter and vocalist. With a fiery command of postbop trumpet and a crooner’s charm, he’s been recognized as Rising Star Male Vocalist in the 2025 Downbeat Readers Poll while also ranking among the top jazz trumpeters.

Benny has performed worldwide, gone viral with Postmodern Jukebox and the 8-Bit Big Band, and shared the stage with Christian McBride, Emmet Cohen, and Bria Skonberg. Whether leading a band, hosting jam sessions at Smalls, or lighting up the stage at Birdland, he’s redefining jazz performance for a new generation.

Dive into the world of an unsung saxophone hero—Ned Goold! From his unique approach to jazz to his deep musical philosophy, this episode sheds light on his incredible contributions to the scene. Don't miss it! 🎶🔥 

Today, we’re joined by bassist Peter Brendler, a dynamic musician whose versatility spans upright and electric bass. A Baltimore native, Peter honed his craft at Berklee College of Music—where he graduated Magna Cum Laude—and later earned his master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music. He has worked with jazz greats like John Abercrombie, Victor Lewis, Barry Altschul, and Jon Irabagon, performing at legendary venues like The Blue Note, Birdland, and The Kennedy Center. As both a sideman and bandleader, Peter continues to make his mark with acclaimed albums such as The Angle Below, Outside the Line, and Message in Motion. 

Legendary saxophonist Frank Catalano has been lighting up stages across the world with his powerhouse performances and signature sound. With over 150 shows a year, from sold-out venues to major festivals, Frank’s influence in jazz and beyond is undeniable. Whether tearing through an electrifying solo at The Hollywood Bowl or crafting a top-charting album, his impact on music spans generations and genres. Today, we dive into his incredible journey, collaborations with rock and jazz icons, and what keeps his passion for the saxophone burning

Today, we’re honored to welcome Kim Perlak, an innovative guitarist whose work bridges classical, jazz, and American traditions. As Chair of the Guitar Department at Berklee College of Music, Kim has shaped modern guitar education while leading impactful projects like the Veterans Guitar Project and co-authoring Classical Technique for the Modern Guitarist. Her performances blend jazz improvisation with classical technique, and she has collaborated with top musicians across genres. With a career spanning NPR features, cutting-edge curriculum development, and dynamic live performances, Kim continues to inspire guitarists worldwide.

Today, we’re diving into the world of pianist and composer Randy Ingram, a true modern jazz visionary. Hailed as 'a formidable composer' by The San Francisco Chronicle, Randy has worked with some of the greatest musicians in jazz, from John Patitucci and Jeff Tain Watts to Ari Hoenig and Billy Higgins. His latest album, Aries Dance, featuring Billy Hart and Drew Gress, showcases his deep harmonic sensibility and expressive touch. With an incredible career spanning recordings, international tours, and film appearances, Randy continues to shape the jazz landscape.

Today, we’re honored to have the legendary saxophonist, composer, and educator Bobby Watson. With a career spanning decades, Bobby has released over 40 albums as a leader and appeared on more than 100 recordings. From his GRAMMY-nominated Tailor Made to his celebrated work with Smoke Sessions Records, his music is deeply rooted in jazz history. As a former Director of Jazz Studies at UMKC and a Kansas City Jazz Walk of Fame inductee, Bobby’s contributions to jazz education and performance are immense. Let’s dive into his incredible journey!"

Today, we’re sitting down with the multi-talented Wayne Tucker—trumpeter, composer, arranger, violinist, vocalist, actor, and model. Wayne has toured and recorded with legends across genres, from jazz greats like Kurt Elling and Dee Dee Bridgewater to pop icons like Taylor Swift and David Crosby. His band, The Bad Mothas, brings a fresh, high-energy take on the American Songbook, blending jazz, R&B, and rock influences. Whether it’s playing in NYC’s small clubs, Madison Square Garden, or even appearing on Succession, Wayne does it all.

Today, we have the incredible Stacy Dillard, a powerhouse saxophonist making waves in the jazz world. After studying at Central State University, a chance encounter with Wynton Marsalis led him to New York, where he quickly became an in-demand player. With four albums as a leader and over fifty as a sideman, Stacy has worked with jazz greats like Cyrus Chestnut, Eric Revis, and Wycliffe Gordon. His sound is soulful, powerful, and unmistakably his own. Let’s dive into his journey!"

Today, we’re diving deep into the world of one of the most exciting young voices on the double bass—Felix Moseholm. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, Felix started on the cello before making the switch to bass, following in the footsteps of his granduncle, Erik Moseholm. Since then, he’s worked with jazz greats like Samara Joy, Brad Mehldau, and Wynton Marsalis, and has become a force on the New York jazz scene. From Juilliard to NPR Tiny Desk, his journey is nothing short of inspiring. Let’s get into it!"

Growing up surrounded by jazz, today's guest was introduced to the music by his father, Bill Miner—a respected jazz record collector and discographer. From an early age, he absorbed the sounds of classic records, attended live performances, and studied with some of the finest teachers, shaping him into one of the most in-demand bassists on the New York City jazz scene.

With a career spanning decades, he has toured and recorded with legends like Jon Hendricks, Annie Ross, and Jane Monheit, contributing both as a bassist and arranger on multiple albums. As a leader, his six records showcase his deep musicality, compositional voice, and respect for the jazz tradition.

Whether on stage or in the classroom at The New School and City College of New York, he continues to carry the legacy of jazz forward.

Hailing from the mountains of East Tennessee, today’s guest was immersed in the world of great guitar playing from an early age. With a deep connection to the instrument through his uncle, renowned Martin historian and luthier John Arnold, he had the rare opportunity to watch and learn from legends like Norman Blake and Doc Watson up close.

Blending the traditions of bluegrass and folk with later influences of jazz, electric slide guitar, blues, and progressive rock, his approach to music is both rooted and adventurous—bridging genres with a unique and dynamic style.

A three-time GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist and composer, today’s guest has become one of the most in-demand musicians of his generation. Equally at home in a variety of styles, he has recorded and toured with legends like Joey DeFrancesco, Van Morrison, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Orrin Evans, Kurt Elling, and Veronica Swift, solidifying his reputation as a first-call saxophonist.

With sixteen releases as a leader—including his latest, Green Lights, featuring John Patitucci, Paul Bollenback, and Jimmy Macbride—he continues to push boundaries both with his quartet and his electrifying project, Nu-Jive. His dynamic approach to the saxophone and fearless exploration of sound make him one of the most exciting voices in jazz today.

A forward-thinking guitarist with deep roots in the jazz tradition, Randy Napoleon has spent decades shaping the sound of modern jazz. Currently an Associate Professor at Michigan State University, he honed his craft on the road with legends like Benny Green, The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Michael Bublé, and spent thirteen years with Freddy Cole.

With over seventy recording credits, including Grammy-nominated projects, his playing and arrangements have been heard on major stages worldwide—from Royal Albert Hall to The Hollywood Bowl—and on television appearances spanning The Tonight Show to The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Praised for his warm tone, intricate finger-style technique, and deep swing, Napoleon embodies the balance of tradition and innovation in jazz guitar.

Today, I’m joined by a drummer and composer whose work bridges the worlds of Black American music, African rhythms, and contemporary European jazz. Whether as a sideman, bandleader, or co-director, he has performed and recorded with some of the most innovative voices in modern music, including David Murray, Archie Shepp, Oliver Lake, and Joëlle Léandre.

From co-leading the African jazz ensemble Benkadi to shaping Paris’s improvisational music scene with the MiRR collective, his artistry pushes the boundaries of rhythm, sound, and collaboration.

Today, I’m joined by an award-winning pianist and organist whose playing is deeply rooted in jazz, soul, R&B, gospel, Latin jazz, and classical music. Originally from Boston, he made his mark in Philadelphia, where he studied at Temple University and went on to perform and record with artists like Seal, Roy Ayers, Curtis Fuller, Nicholas Payton, Macy Gray, and many more.

With three solo albums under his belt—including his powerful Black Lives Matter-inspired release I Too, Sing America: A Black Man’s Diary—he continues to push boundaries as both a performer and educator.

Marianne Solivan is a jazz vocalist known for her rich tone, soulful delivery, and fearless improvisation. She has performed with top musicians like Christian McBride, Jeremy Pelt, and Peter Bernstein, captivating audiences with her dynamic stage presence. With multiple album releases, including Prisoner of Love, she brings a fresh yet classic approach to jazz vocals. Whether leading her own groups or collaborating with renowned artists, Solivan continues to make a powerful impact on the jazz scene.

Mike Lee is a saxophonist, composer, and educator who has been a key figure in the New York City and Northern New Jersey jazz scenes for many years. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he has performed with legendary ensembles such as The Jimmy Heath Orchestra, The Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, and The Roy Hargrove Big Band. He appears regularly at top venues like The Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, and Smalls, while also touring internationally. In addition to his performing career, Lee is a dedicated educator, serving as Professor of Jazz Saxophone at Montclair State University and playing a vital role in developing Jazz House Kids’ education programs.

Brad Whiteley is a versatile pianist, organist, and music director known for his ability to elevate any musical setting. He has toured with Regina Spektor, conducted on Broadway, and played on a Grammy-nominated track. As a jazz musician, composer, and improviser, his debut album Pathless Land earned a four-star DownBeat review and was named an Editor’s Pick. Based in the Bronx, he serves as music director at Blessed Sacrament Church and Live Music Pros, balancing a dynamic career across genres.

Today, we’re joined by Max Light, a Brooklyn-based guitarist whose innovative playing has earned him accolades as one of the most promising voices in modern jazz. His latest release, Chaotic Neutral (AGS Recordings 2024), was described by Downbeat Magazine as “complex, shrouded in mystery and endlessly intriguing,” solidifying Max as a true trailblazer.

From earning 2nd place in the prestigious Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz International Guitar Competition to collaborating with jazz luminaries like Noah Preminger, Donny McCaslin, and Christian Sands, Max has built an extraordinary career. Join us as we explore his creative journey, groundbreaking projects, and what makes him one of the most exciting guitarists of his generation. 

Anthony Nelson, Jr. is a saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, and composer known for blending jazz, gospel, funk, and neo-soul into a unique and captivating sound. A versatile musician, he has performed with legends such as Billy Hart, John Hicks, Regina Carter, and the Count Basie Orchestra. His recordings, including Testament: Live at Cecil’s and Tenor for Two, showcase his deep musical storytelling. Nelson also serves as the Artistic Director for the Jazz in the Sanctuary series at Shiloh Baptist Church, bringing world-class jazz to the community. He exclusively plays Vandoren mouthpieces, Yanagisawa saxophones, and Uebel clarinets.

Jeff Williams is a drummer, composer, and educator born in Mount Vernon, Ohio, on July 6, 1950. He started playing drums at age seven and later studied at Berklee School of Music. Over his long career, he has performed with jazz legends like Lee Konitz, Stan Getz, Dave Liebman, and Richie Beirach. He has led his own groups, including Coalescence and Circadian Rhythms, and has also been part of the trio Interplay. Williams has taught at the Royal Academy of Music and Birmingham Conservatoire and is married to author Lionel Shriver.

“Abe Ovadia is one of the true treasures of the Jazz Guitar world. Renowned as a leader among contemporary Jazz artists. He headlines on the stages of the most famous Jazz Venues…this man has been a dedicated supporter of directly educating our youth in schools and adults in public centers. He believes the art of jazz guitar belongs to all people to know and enjoy, not a select elite.

Abe Ovadia carves out precious time from his very busy schedule whether on tour or performing in his NYC region. We enthusiastically applaud Abe Ovadia’s long standing and ongoing tireless crusade to include and educate the uninitiated, inexperienced and uneducated in this American art form.”

Matt Eichen, President

MUSICVOX GUITARS

Noah Jackson is a bassist, cellist, composer, and curator from Detroit, Michigan. As a member of NEA Jazz Master Abdullah Ibrahim's ensemble Ekaya, Mr. Jackson has performed internationally to critical acclaim and recorded the latest album, The Balance, released in 2019 which reached #3 on the Billboard Jazz Charts (July 2019). He has also recorded Nnenna Freelon’s latest release- Time Traveler which has reached #4 on Jazz Week (July 2021). Mr. Jackson has also performed with Nnenna Freelon, Branford Marsalis, The Marsalis Family, Kenny Garrett, Jason Marsalis, George Burton, Jazzmeia Horn, Christian Sands, and Winard Harper. Noah Jackson is also a member of the Recording Academy.

As of March 2021, Noah was also appointed as curator, creative director, and artist-in-residence at Cliff Bell’s, a Jazz Club in Downtown Detroit- responsible for the curation, promotion, and contracting artists 5 nights weekly. He holds a weekly residency with his band Full Circle.

A recipient of the Creative Engagement and UMEZ grants from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and the State of New York, he produced a work based on the music of Duke Ellington- On A Turquoise Cloud at the Schomburg Center in September  2019 and performed at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra @ The Cube in February 2020. His group also recorded an album, "Contemplations: A Suite" in 2011, which has garnered critical praise.

As a leader of the Ase string quartet, Mr. Jackson was commissioned to compose and direct the quartet in a multidisciplinary collaborative art project- Practicing: Silence at Grace Farms under the direction of Kenyon Adams as part of their Practicing series alongside featured dancers from the American Ballet Theater. He has also led his Detroit-based Tangent String Quartet in a rare performance of  Quartet No.2  by black composer Florence B. Price as part of a video series presented by the Detroit Institute of the Arts in February 2021.

A graduate of Michigan State University (B.M.) under the direction of Rodney Whitaker, and Manhattan School of Music (M.M.) with Dr. Larry Ridley, Noah currently resides in Detroit, MI.

Zaccai Curtis moved to New York City in 2005 where he’s connected with and regularly performed with artists such as: Lakecia Benjamin, Christian Scott, Donald Harrison, Cindy Blackman Santana, Eddie Palmieri, Brian Lynch, the Mambo Legends, Abraham Burton, Ralph Peterson, Ray Vega, and Avery Sharpe among others.

Currently Zaccai is a professor of music at the University of Hartford: Jackie McLean Jazz Studies Division and University of Rhode Island. Besides being an educator Zaccai authored two books “Art of the Guajeo” and “Theory of the Common Voicing” which are meant to aid students in their Jazz and Latin Jazz education. Zaccai composes and arranges for his own quartet and trio as well as for artists such as Little Johnny Rivero, Steve Kroon, Sonido Solar and more. In 2003 he was chosen as a winner of the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer’s competition and each year consecutively through 2006. Zaccai and his quartet were selected by the U.S. State Department to be in the American Music Abroad (Jazz Ambassadors) program two times in 2006. They performed in Bangladesh, Calcutta, Bangalore, Mumbai, Sri Lanka and Maldives. In 2007 Zaccai Curtis was awarded the ‘Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism’s Artist Fellowship’ for ‘original composition.’ In 2017 Curtis became a Chamber Music America: “New Jazz Works” grant recipient. In 2020 Zaccai was voted as the Rising Star in the Critics Poll for Downbeat Magazine. Most recently, Curtis has been invited to be the special guest director for 2023 CMEA Southern Regional High School Jazz Band.

When Zaccai is not busy being a sideman, he performs his own music with his group ‘Zaccai Curtis Quartet’ and ‘Sonido Solar’ and after five successful releases; He plans on releasing his next recording “Cubop Lives” in 2023.

Zaccai, along with his brother Luques, has developed the record label TRRcollective which is a collective of musicians that produce their own music and release it together. He is also proud to have produced and released the GRAMMY nominated album, ‘Entre Colegas’ by Andy González (2016). Zaccai has created the first ever music news app developed for record labels, artists and venues. ‘The Riff: Music News‘ available for free on iTunes and android.

🚀 Episode 105 is here! 🎙️

We're thrilled to welcome back the incredible Benito Gonzalez to Rabbit Hole Sessions with Abe Ovadia! 🔥

We dive into:
🎶 His new trio with Lenny White & Buster Williams
🎷 His work with the legendary Pharoah Sanders
💡 Turning life’s challenges into positives

Tune in for an inspiring convo! Drop a 🎵 in the comments if you're listening!

#RabbitHoleSessions #JazzPodcast #BenitoGonzalez #LennyWhite #BusterWilliams #PharoahSanders #JazzLife #PodcastVibes 🎧✨

Ned Goold is as distinctive an inside-outside tenor player as there is, and he should be a household name given the luck he's had with employment.

Besides fronting his own trio on several CDs, he has been a mainstay of Harry Connick Jr.'s bands since the early '90s. Goold's unique tone combines something of the cool, sharp delivery of Bird and Charlie Rouse with the breathy insistence of Lester Young and subtle phraseology of Dizzy Gillespie.

His modern system of harmonic improvisation (based on 20th century serial concepts) brings the swing approach into the new century. Ned Goold is perhaps best known as a member of Harry Connick, Jr.'s backing band, but he has also performed with artists like Ben Wolfe, Brother Jack McDuff and the legendary Haitian group, Tabou Combo. In the early '80s, Goold got his start as a session saxophonist, playing paying gigs at night while studying his craft during the day. By 1990, his solo improvisation skills were well known enough for Harry Connick, Jr. to invite Goold into his band, and an additional gig with Connick's bassist Ben Wolfe followed shortly after.

In addition to his work on Connick's records and the showcase album Jazz Underground: Live At Smalls, Goold has released four solo albums, 1998's Goold and the following year's Entropy. He has since recorded and released two acclaimed CD's on Smalls records: The Flows and March of the Malcontents.

Born in Berkeley, California in 1960, Peter Apfelbaum started playing drums at the age of three, taking up piano and saxophone in elementary school and forming his first band at age 11. A product of the Berkeley Schools' pioneering Jazz Project, Apfelbaum began performing professionally while in his early teens and was a member of the award-winning Berkeley High Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Phil Hardymon. In 1977 - his senior year at Berkeley High - he formed the 17-piece Hieroglyphics Ensemble as a vehicle for composing and exploring non-traditional musical forms. The Ensemble was initially largely comprised of fellow BHS classmates, some of whom would later move to New York and achieve recognition in their own right. The band originally included pianist Benny Green, saxophonist Craig Handy and trumpeter Steven Bernstein and would later feature saxophonist Joshua Redman prior to his move to NY. The band released their self-produced debut album, "Pillars", in 1979 and began to attract international attention for their unique mix of elements of world music with the aesthetic of the jazz avant-garde. Around this time Apfelbaum made his first sojourn to New York, where he worked with Carla Bley, David Amram and the late Eddie Jefferson. He toured Europe for the first time in the Fall of 1979 with Karl Berger's Woodstock Workshop Orchestra, an all-star band which included Lee Konitz, Oliver Lake, Don Cherry, Leroy Jenkins and Trilok Gurtu. In 1981 Apfelbaum returned to the Bay Area and resumed rehearsing regularly with the Hieroglyphics Ensemble. In the mid-80's he toured the U.S. with O.J. Ekemode and the Nigerian All-Stars (first on baritone saxophone, later on drums) and also worked regularly with Cuban percussionist Francisco Aguabella's band, as well as with local reggae and r&b bands. By 1988, the Hieroglyphics' performances had become more frequent, and in the Fall of that year Apfelbaum was commissioned by the San Francisco Jazz Festival to write a suite for the band. The resulting "Notes From The Rosetta Stone" was premiered at the Palace Of Fine Arts and featured the legendary trumpeter Don Cherry as guest soloist. Cherry was so impressed with the band that he took up residence in San Francisco and adopted Apfelbaum and fellow Hieroglyphs Bo Freeman (bass) and Josh Jones (drums) as his "Multikulti" group, touring extensively in North America, Europe and Japan over the next several years. Cherry also continued to appear frequently as a guest with the Hieroglyphics, and featured the band (as well as two Apfelbaum compositions) on his album "Multikulti" (A&M, 1989).

Since moving to New York in 2001, Frank Basile has been fortunate to establish himself as one of today's most in-demand baritone saxophonists.

Dubbed a "prized sideman" by The New Yorker, Basile has been called upon to perform with, record with, and tour the world with many of jazz's finest musicians and ensembles. Among this distinguished list are The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, The Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band, The Jimmy Heath Big Band, The Bob Mintzer Big Band, The Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra, The Joe Lovano Nonet, The Dave Holland Big Band, Dennis Mackrel's Manhattan Symphony Jazz Orchestra, The Christian McBride Big Band, The Count Basie Orchestra, Michael Bublé, Pablo Mayor’s Folklore Urbano, The Richie Vitale Quintet, The Fabien Mary Quintet, and The Osian Roberts-Steve Fishwick Sextet.

Born in Illinois in 1978 and raised in Nebraska, Frank Basile began his musical studies in grade school. After four years on clarinet and alto saxophone, he made a permanent switch to the baritone saxophone. Once in high school, Basile’s interest in jazz began to grow and, with the help and encouragement of his parents, he sought out further instruction on the ins and outs of this great music. Basile was soon playing in numerous big bands and combos throughout the Omaha area. 

Basile enrolled at the University of North Texas to continue his musical studies. While at UNT, Basile played in the world-renowned One O’clock Lab Band for six consecutive semesters. After graduating with honors and a bachelor’s degree in Jazz Studies from UNT, Basile moved to New York in the summer of 2001 as a selected member of the first Jazz Studies program at the Juilliard School.

As an educator, Basile has maintained a private studio for the past decade and has served as an adjunct faculty member at The New School. He has also been called upon to teach lessons or masterclasses at such institutions as New York University, the Eastman School of Music, Temple University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, SUNY Purchase, the University of Nebraska, and the New York Youth Symphony Jazz Orchestra.

In addition to his activities as a sideman and educator, Basile also takes an active role as leader of his own quartet, quintet and sextet. To date, Basile has released three recordings as a leader, and his band has headlined at many of New York's major jazz clubs.

“Abe Ovadia is one of the true treasures of the Jazz Guitar world. Renowned as a leader among contemporary Jazz artists. He headlines on the stages of the most famous Jazz Venues…this man has been a dedicated supporter of directly educating our youth in schools and adults in public centers. He believes the art of jazz guitar belongs to all people to know and enjoy, not a select elite.

Abe Ovadia carves out precious time from his very busy schedule whether on tour or performing in his NYC region. We enthusiastically applaud Abe Ovadia’s long standing and ongoing tireless crusade to include and educate the uninitiated, inexperienced and uneducated in this American art form.”

Matt Eichen, President

MUSICVOX GUITARS

Welcome back to the podcast, saxophonist Nick Biello! We're excited to have him join us again for another great conversation. If you haven’t seen his previous episode, be sure to check it out to learn more about his incredible journey and deep insights into jazz.

Welcome back to the podcast, saxophonist Eric Wyatt! We're excited to have him join us again for another great conversation. If you haven’t seen his previous episode, be sure to check it out to learn more about his incredible journey and deep insights into jazz.

Paul Sikivie is an American jazz double bassist. Originally from Gainesville, Florida, he has lived in New York City since 2007, when he began studies at the Juilliard School. He has played with many artists of international stature, including long associations with Cecile McLorin Salvant, Aaron Diehl, Matt Wilson, Johnny O'Neal, Ted Nash, and Grant Stewart.

Since 2015, Sikivie has turned attention towards composition and arranging. Most notably, he melded string quartet and jazz piano trio for six pieces on McLorin Salvant's Dreams and Daggers, which was awarded the 2018 Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

Jazz guitarist Roni Ben-Hur has earned a sterling reputation as a musician and educator, renowned for his golden tone, improvisational brilliance, compositional lyricism and ability to charm peers, students and listeners alike. Eminent jazz critic Gary Giddins wrote in the Village Voice: “A limber and inventive guitarist, Ben-Hur keeps the flame alive and pure, burning in every note… He’s a guitarist who knows the changes and his own mind.” Roni — born in Israel in 1962 but a longtime American citizen, based in the New York City area — has recorded a dozen-plus albums as leader or co-leader, with The New York Times praising his “crisp, fluid style” and Time Out New York calling him “a formidable and consummately lyrical guitarist.” He has developed a rare facility in both straight-ahead jazz and samba/bossa-nova styles, underscored by his work with masters in each field, from bebop piano sage Barry Harris and winds ace Frank Wess to beloved Brazilian vocalist Leny Andrade and composer Marcus Valle. 

Roni’s newest album as a leader, Stories — released by Dot Time Records in March 2021 — features a poetic mix of songs and instrumentals, one that sees the guitarist tracing a line from childhood musical memories in Israel to his life today as a globally minded artist. JazzTimes, in its glowing review of Stories, noted the guitarist’s inspired interplay with such generationally diverse talents as pianist George Cables and trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, as well as vocalists from Israel and Mexico; the review went on to laud Roni and company’s brand of storytelling as “distinctive” and “uniformly engaging.” Always an educator as well as a performer, Roni has directed the jazz program at New York’s Kaufman Music Center for more than 25 years. Along with creating acclaimed educational products – such as the method book Talk Jazz: Guitar — Roni has also directed international music camps for two decades, currently leading his Roni Ben-Hur Jazz Camp in Vermont and France. Jazz guitar star Russell Malone got it right when he said: “Everything Roni does is beautiful. He has the magic touch.” 

Originally from Tunisia, Roni’s family relocated to Dimona, Israel, where he was born into a large, working-class family — and grew up not only with good ensemble values but also a sense for the necessity of improvisation. Going on intuition above all, the guitarist began performing in wedding bands and in Tel Aviv clubs as a teenager enraptured by the recordings of Wes Montgomery, Grant Green, Joe Pass, Jim Hall and Kenny Burrell. The young musician also came to love the classical Spanish repertoire via the iconic guitarist Segovia, hearing a Moorish sound that resonated with his family’s North African roots. Later, after moving to New York City in 1985, he would fall for Brazilian music, particularly through the work of guitarist-composer Baden Powell. 

“My dual affinity for jazz and Brazilian music has a lot to do with where I come from,” Roni explains. “With my family coming from Tunisia, I felt at home with each style since the Brazilian and jazz rhythms both ultimately come from Africa. And when you consider the jazz-standard repertoire, the melodic content of songs by composers like Harold Arlen, Jerome Kern and Irving Berlin is very much rooted in Jewish music. And while North Africa has that link to Moorish sounds, those sounds are also at the root of Brazilian music. So, I’ve just always gravitated toward those beautiful minor-key songs and romantic melodies of the standards songbook, as well as the deep rhythms in both bebop and Brazilian music. It all feels totally natural to me.” 

When Roni came onto the New York jazz scene, he was fortunate to be taken under the wing of Barry Harris, a disciple of Thelonious Monk and Grammy Award winner who led the influential Jazz Cultural Theater during the mid-’80s in Manhattan. As an up-and-coming guitarist, Roni played in Harris’s band, absorbing musical and life lessons from the now late NEA Jazz Master. “I was so lucky to -learn at the elbow of Barry Harris,” he insists. “The young players at that time and all the listeners, too, we just loved his feel. When we performed for that knowing audience of his, you could actually see when the beat was right by how everyone in the crowd moved their heads and bodies. It was the same thing on stage. You would get a shot of energy coming through you from that authentic, uplifting swing that Barry always had in his fingers.” 

Harris also had an incredible store of knowledge in his head, “but when he talked about complex concepts that would normally take years to digest, the way he articulated them made sense right away,” Roni adds. “In that way, his teaching was like his playing — it had an immediacy. Everything was related to the beauty in the music, never rote exercises. If Barry saw me jotting down notes during a lesson or recording with a Walkman, he would say, ‘No, don’t take notes… don’t tape it.’ For him, the lessons were part of an oral tradition, one you had to experience in the moment, to truly absorb. That meant when you were on stage, you had those lessons in deep inside and you could really be in the moment with the music.” 

As it was for Harris, teaching has long been important to Roni, and the guitarist has developed an international reach as an educator over the years. As founding director of the jazz program at the Lucy Moses School of the Kaufman Center in Manhattan starting in 1994, he has educated a multitude of jazz enthusiasts in ensemble playing, improvisation and jazz guitar. Over the years, Roni has also led jazz camps from Maine and New York to such far-flung locales as Brazil, Puerto Rico and Turkey, teaching workshops in straight-ahead jazz, Latin jazz and Brazilian jazz. These days, the guitarist holds his Roni Ben-Hur Jazz Camp in Vermont each summer and in France every spring and fall — for music lovers for whom playing jazz, Roni says, “is a passion, not a vocation.” The camps held near the village of Uzès in the South of France double as culinary and travel experiences, including cooking classes and excursions to nearby sights.  

Reflecting on his teaching philosophy, Roni says: “I learned so much about teaching with Barry Harris as a mentor. It’s always about love of the music and respect for the student — and keeping the bigger picture in mind, not just mastering tunes. The people who come to my jazz camps are serious amateurs. I give them the opportunity to learn a lot — repertoire, rhythms, techniques — but I also give them the space to enjoy themselves in a relaxed, vacation-friendly environment, with a lot of hanging out and jam sessions. The goal is to have fun learning, so that the experience is rewarding and refreshing. Most of the students are accomplished professionals beyond music – they’re doctors, lawyers, business people. I’m a believer in practice, of course, but I aim to teach students at their own pace. And I want the jazz-camp participants to learn music through a love of the experience, not only through theory. As Barry did, I emphasize aural learning so that students can absorb music through their ears and fingers. Assimilating it that way means the lessons really stick with you.” 

Stories, Samba and Introspection… 

With the songs and instrumentals of his recent album Stories, Roni traced influences and emotions across his journey as both a musician and a man. “The tunes on Stories are all connected to my life in one way or another,” the guitarist explains. “As a child in Israel, I would hear ‘Ha’omnam,’ a moving song about never giving up hope sung by the popular folk singer Chava Alberstein. The lyrics, written during the dark days of the Holocaust, are by the Hebrew poet Leah Goldberg, and those words never go out of date, sadly. They’re sung with such a lovely, bell-like tone on the record by Tamuz Nissim, who’s originally from Israel. We also play ‘After the Morning’ by the great jazz pianist John Hicks, who was another important figure for me when I first came to New York. I wrote the instrumental ‘Ma’of’ — which means ‘taking flight’ — for my daughters as they were going off on their own. There’s also the song ‘A Redoblar,’ which means ‘let’s roll’ and reflects the fight against oppression in 1970s Latin America. Latin music and culture have come to mean a lot to me in my musical journey. Magos Herrera, who grew up in Mexico, sings that one with such depth of feeling, as she also does with a Ladino folk song, ‘La Serena.’ The album also includes my original instrumental ballad ‘But I Had to Say Goodbye,’ about lost love.” 

For Stories, Roni fronted a quintet featuring frequent bass partner Harvie S. and drumming great Victor Lewis, as well as esteemed veteran George Cables on piano and, in a first studio meeting for Roni, the award-winning Canadian trumpeter Ingrid Jensen. Along with the aforementioned pieces, the album includes the Cables instrumental “Melodious Funk” and a vintage piece by unsung bebop pianist Elmo Hope, “Something for Kenny.” Jazziz magazine pointed out how Stories showcases “some of the world’s finest contemporary jazz musicians,” while All About Jazz marveled over Roni’s interpretive and storytelling skills on an album that’s “glowing with wisdom.” As for working with the vocalists on Stories, Roni says: “I love working with singers. It was artists like Billie Holiday who attracted me to jazz in the first place. As an instrumentalist, working with a singer requires a special, subtle discipline. You always have to leave space in the arrangement, to really listen, concentrate on the melody and help convey the message of a song.”   

Prior to Stories, Roni released the autumn 2020 album Samba do Arraial (Tratore Records) as a co-leader with Brazilian drummer-producer Percio Sapia. Along with bassist Marinho Andreotti and percussionist Vinicius Barros, the disc features veteran vocalist Leny Andrade on four tracks. She was dubbed “the Ella Fitzgerald of Brazil” by none other than Tony Bennett, who has always been a fan of her samba-meets-jazz stylings. Roni has worked with Andrade for years now, touring the world as a duo with the singer and releasing a lauded album with her, Alegria de Viver, in 2014. Samba do Arraial is another showcase for Roni’s love for the music of Brazil and his natural facility in samba and bossa-nova styles — as well as the kindred-spirit relationship he has so often enjoyed with the country’s musicians over the decades. Recorded in a collegial, workshop atmosphere, Samba do Arraial draws from the classic songbooks of Baden Powell, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius de Moraes and Hermeto Pascoal, among others. 

In that relaxed workshop environment near São Paolo, the band explored the intricacies of Brazil’s various regional rhythms, with Sapia, Andreotti and Barros providing deep grooves underneath Roni’s six-string lyricism. Along with praise from various outlets for the album’s authenticity (“not the Hollywood version of samba… totally hot”), New York City Jazz Record extolled Roni’s “virtuosic and creatively limber fretwork” on Samba do Arraial. Ever modest when it comes to his own skills, the guitarist says: “Percio and Vinicius are masters of all those distinct rhythms, a truly mysterious art. So it was a fascinating privilege for me to work so closely with them for hours and hours, developing a real interplay together and coming up with fresh treatments of vintage Brazilian songs.” When it came to Andrade, she invested her performances with the rich artistry and emotional wisdom that fans of Brazilian music have heard in her voice across seven decades. “To work with Leny again was such a pleasure and an inspiration — she’s special, whether singing a ballad or a bossa nova,” Roni says. “It doesn’t matter if you can’t understand a word of Portuguese in the lyrics. You can feel in your heart what she’s expressing.”  

In spring 2018, Roni released Introspection, an exceptional trio album, via the Jazzheads imprint. He co-produced the record in close collaboration with bassist Harvie S. The two players, in league with drummer Tim Horner, explored classics by jazz composers from Billy Strayhorn, Thelonious Monk and Tadd Dameron to Kenny Dorham, George Shearing and Joe Henderson. The album also includes Brazilian numbers by Baden Powell and Ary Barroso, plus a Jerome Kern standard. Introspection brims with subtly insistent swing and insinuating melodies, the rapport between the players intimate and conversational. “The tunes on Introspection are ones that I had always wanted to play, feeling drawn to them whether for the melody, the harmonic possibilities, the rhythmic feel, or all of the above,” Roni explains. “Many of the pieces are rarely heard – and almost all had never been recorded before in the setting of a guitar trio. That allowed us to put a fresh, personal spin on them. Harvie and I created the arrangements organically, over about a year of working together. The way we perform this repertoire features both the guitar and bass as equal parts of the ensemble, with the melodies played by both of us. The interaction is constant.” 

Introspection is a record to play on repeat, with its warm, glowing allure like candlelight in a room. Yet there are highpoints to underscore: the beautifully atmospheric trio intro to Henderson’s “Serenity,” Roni’s liquid phrasing in Barroso’s “Pra Machucar Meu Coração” and the way he brings Neal Hefti’s ‘Repetition’ to life with glinting melodicism. Harvie S colors Strayhorn’s “Blood Count” with aptly vulnerable arco, while his solos buoy Kern’s “Nobody Else But Me.” Then there is the bassist’s hip, thrumming intro to Dorham’s “Asiatic Raes” — and the whole cooking, album-capping trio performance that follows, with Roni soloing up a storm and Horner getting his licks in, too, the drum-and-cymbal interplay of his solo richly musical. The players reach into themselves as per the album title of Introspection, but there’s also the sense of communion that the best records often have – in this case reaching from the long-gone com

New York bassist/composer and bandleader Ben Wolfe’s music has been described as “Mingus and Miles Davis meet Bartok and Bernard Herrmann” (Ben Ratliff – The New York Times). With acclaim by some of the jazz world’s most respected critics, Wolfe continues to produce works that draw top-flight reviews from fans and jazz journalists alike.

Ben’s 2024 release The Understated is his eleventh as leader and features all original compositions. Nicole Glover who plays tenor saxophone on the record says in her liner notes “This record succeeds in bringing Ben’s beautiful music to life through extremely conscientious group playing. Nothing is forced or pushed; everything that needs to be stated is stated.”

“The Understated is a beauty.” (Carlo Wolff, Downbeat)

In many ways, The Understated is a continuation of his previous release the critically acclaimed Unjust. “Unjust is a brilliant work of melodic ensemble writing and superb playing by a stellar intergenerational crew.” (Bill Milkowski, Downbeat).

It’s balance – of elegance and propulsion, of accessibility and edge – distinguishes it from most conventional jazz. Its details reward repeated listening.” (Larry Blumenfeld, Wall Street Journal)

There is no doubt that after decades as one of the most sought-after bassists in jazz, performing with top names such as Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall and many others, award-winning composer and bandleader Ben Wolfe is clear about his creative direction…

“Much of the music I’ve composed; particularly the music that includes strings, I think of as chamber music within a jazz context.”

An award-winning composer, Ben is a two-time recipient of Chamber Music America’s New Works: Creation and Presentation Program Grant through the Doris Duke Foundation. First received in 2004, Ben was able to use this funding to compose his extended work “Contradiction: Music for Sextet.” He received the grant in 2020 and composed “Nonet”. Both of these extended works have been recorded for future release.

Wolfe has distinguished himself through a significant catalogue of original music, including over one hundred songs across eleven albums, several extended works, and the film score for Matthew Modine’s 2008 short I Think I Thought. The New York Sun hailed his work on this film as, “a standout music score.”

Wolfe’s early career included Grammy award-winning, platinum-selling collaborations with both Harry Connick Jr. and Diana Krall, including Harry’s 1988 soundtrack album When Harry Met Sally, and Diana’s 1999 release When I Look in Your Eyes. He appeared alongside both artists on numerous world tours.

Wolfe’s ongoing and close association with Wynton Marsalis; during which Marsalis recorded as a guest on two of his albums, has seen Ben appear on a number of Wynton’s releases, and included a stint in the Wynton Marsalis Septet and membership in the Jazz at Lincoln CenteOrchestra (JLCO), where he performed with jazz luminaries such as Joe Henderson, Doc Cheatham, Jon Hendricks, Harry “Sweets” Edison, and Billy Higgins, among many others. Contemporary jazz greats with whom he has also worked and recorded include Branford Marsalis, Orrin Evans, Eric Reed and Benny Green.

Ben Wolfe’s full list of recorded original albums as a leader:

• The Understated, Resident Arts Records (2024)
• Unjust, Resident Arts Records (2023)
• Fatherhood, Resident Arts Records (2019)
• The Whisperer, Posi-Tone (2015)
• From Here I See, MAXJAZZ/Mack Avenue Records (2013)
• Ben Wolfe Quintet: Live at Smalls, SmallsLIVE (2011)
• No Strangers Here, MAXJAZZ/Mack Avenue Records (2008)
• My Kinda Beautiful, Planet Arts Records (2004)
• Murray’s Cadillac, Amosaya Music (2000)
• Bagdad Theater, Mons Records (1997)
• 13 Sketches, Mons Records (1996)

Ben maintains a busy schedule, performing and touring on the international stage. Currently a member of the teaching faculty at The Julliard School in New York City, Ben is helping to shape and mentor the jazz scene’s next generation of outstanding talent.

“Ben Wolfe swings with authority!”– to quote Wynton Marsalis. It can’t be said any better!

An American guitarist, composer and producer from San Diego, California, Jeff Miles is a Berklee College of Music alum and the winner of the 2008 Montreux Jazz Guitar competition. Featured on numerous recordings, Jeff is sought after for his orchestral pallet of sounds and blistering, evocative improvisations. He has performed around the world in venues such as The Monterrey Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Las Condes Jazz Festival,  Saulkrasti Jazz Festival, Blues Alley, Bar Next Door, 55 Bar and Smalls Jazz Club. He currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.

Ever since Brian Pace emceed his kindergarten production of Star Wars, the microphone was always the place where he’s felt most comfortable. In fact, Pace’s journey has not always been an easy one, but through God’s grace and speed, he’s allowed him to become one of the most innovative and well-researched journalists in America.

Brian was born on June 1st, 1972 in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father was a scientist who eventually became a teacher and mom was a school psychologist. “My parents always stressed the importance of reading and education as a means to be self-reliant and to become your own person,” he explains. “My mother, who retired from the Indianapolis Public School system, claims I was reading at 18 months.”

Brian’s social skills were both a blessing and a curse for him and his parents. As a child, his teachers were always calling home telling them about his excessive joke telling or, how he was the one who took leadership on a major project. These skills eventually paid off as he would become a successful producer.

His first exposed to radio and television was through WJEL-TV and FM at North Central High School. It was also during his junior year of high school the Youth Telecommunications Workshop of Indiana Black Expo brought the nationally syndicated Black Entertainment Television program “Rap City” for a taping. North Central was undergoing lots of racial tensions at the time and Indiana Black Expo’s program was a way to break the ice. While they were taping, Pace, who was the class comedian, made his debut as co-host of the “Rap City” with co-host and comedian Chris Thomas. He would co-host the program again during his senior year of high school.

Although Brian wasn’t asked back for his senior year at WJEL, the Youth Telecommunications Workshop invited him to join their program. “Gary Holland and IBE staff were the guys who helped me gain the business and professional side of not just television, but life,” explains Pace. “It it weren’t for the steady discipline and precise hands-on experience of the program, I wouldn’t be where I am now.” YTW was a progressive program that taught African-American students between the ages of 12 to 18, the fundamentals of television production. The students wrote, edited, and hosted their own programs which aired on public access. Brian created and produced “Teen Chat” a talk show that centered around issues pertaining to teenagers.

Ken Wessel is a versatile, sensitive and soulful guitarist and composer. A vital and personal voice on the jazz guitar, Wessel has been involved in projects playing jazz, ranging from straight-ahead to free music. Ken is also very interested in creating and investigating points of intersection between jazz and Indian music and has performed and recorded with musicians from various parts of the globe. He has performed in 27 countries at major jazz festivals, concert halls and in radio and television appearances.

Wessel worked with revolutionary jazz artist Ornette Coleman for over 12 years (1988-2000), touring the world as a member of Prime Time, Ornette’s groundbreaking ensemble. Ken can be heard on Ornette Coleman’s critically acclaimed Polygram/Verve CD, Tone Dialing. Performing “Skies of America,” Ornette Coleman’s seminal work for symphony orchestra and jazz ensemble, Ken has appeared with Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic and London’s Philharmonia Orchestra. Ken can also be heard on Steely Dan frontman, Donald Fagen’s album, Morph the Cat as a featured guitar soloist. He has worked with artists from different shades of the jazz spectrum, including John Abercrombie, David Liebman, Gloria Lynne, Arthur and Red Prysock, Karl Berger, Steve Gorn, Adam Rudolph, Hamid Drake, Steve Turre and Johnny Hartmann.

Ken has a strong interest in world music, particularly with North Indian music, and he has performed with Debashish Bhattacharya, Karaikudi Mani, V.M. Bhatt, Samir Chatterjee and others. Wessel co-leads a trio with jazz tabla master Badal Roy and bassist Stomu Takeishi. Their CD, Daybreak, was included in JAZZIZ magazine’s Top 10 Critic’s Picks of 1998. They have performed together extensively throughout North America. In 1995, Ken and Badal toured India and the U.S. with their composition, “Testimony,” which was commissioned by the Battery Dance Company. As a U.S. Jazz Ambassador, Ken has toured South Asia and South America, visiting India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bengladesh and Venezuela in 2002-03.

He is an active composer (he has received numerous “Meet the Composer” grants) and his original music has an organic and evocative quality. Wessel recently released Unstrung on Nonotes Records, which features Lisa Parrott and Adam Kolker on saxophones, Matt Pavolka on bass and Russ Meissner on drums. His earlier release, Weights & Measures on Nonotes Records, which features Joel Frahm (sax), Brad Jones (bass) and Kenny Wollesen (drums), got 4 stars in Downbeat magazine. Jawboning (CIMP), with bassist, Ken Filiano and drummer, Lou Grassi, investigates the boundaries between freedom and structure.

A dedicated jazz educator, Ken currently teaches at Western Connecticut State University (in Danbury) and at CCNY, in addition to the New York Jazz Workshop. He has given clinics and Master classes at numerous institutions in the U.S. and overseas, including Yale University, Manhattan School of Music, ISCMS Festival, Istanbul, Turkey, the Jazz Education Network Conference, Atlanta, GA, Mahaidol University in Thailand, the Music Academy in Oslo, Norway, and Columbia University.

"Critics and listeners alike have praised saxophonist Glenn White for his innovative compositions and commanding presence. NextBop describes his work as 'grand, elegant, even somber in some places... kind of perfect,' while Jazz Weekly highlights his 'sophisticated mix of probing and intriguing original compositions.' With a soulful, warm tone and a flair for blending tradition with modern textures, White's music has been called 'progressive jazz made accessible' (All About Jazz) and 'heavy with emotion, with great power' (Hartford Courant). His artistry, both as a composer and performer, continues to captivate audiences and push the boundaries of contemporary jazz."

Geoffrey Keezer is a GRAMMY®-winning pianist, composer, arranger and producer based in New York City. A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, he began playing piano and composing at an early age. After briefly attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Keezer moved to New York in 1989, becoming the last pianist with the legendary Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Keezer has toured and recorded with Ray Brown, Roy Hargrove, Joshua Redman, Diana Krall, Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Barbara Hendricks, Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, Chris Botti, Sting, Joe Locke and Christian McBride; produced and arranged three GRAMMY®-nominated recordings with vocalist Denise Donatelli, and released a series of albums drawing influences from Hawaiian, Okinawan and Afro-Peruvian folk traditions. His 2009 album Áurea (ArtistShare) was nominated for a Best Latin Jazz Album GRAMMY® award. Geoffrey’s 2013 solo piano release, Heart of the Piano (Motema Records), seeks to redefine solo jazz piano as a personal and interactive showcase of melody, energy and groove, while his 2018 album On My Way to You (MarKeez Records) is a stunning set of music featuring his working trio with the addition of guest vocalist Gillian Margot. Keezer’s latest album Playdate(MarKeez Records) earned a 2023 GRAMMY® in the Best Instrumental Composition category for his song “Refuge”.

Geoffrey’s compositions have been commissioned by the Mainly Mozart Festival, Art of Elán ensemble, Saint Joseph Ballet, Zeltsman Marimba Festival, Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra and Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. His music can be heard in the films What Happens in Vegas, The Wedding Year, and Inhale, and in numerous TV shows including The Young and the Restless, Parks and Recreation, Casual, House of Lies, Call Me Kat, American Crime Story, Clarice, and The Originals.

Time Magazine wrote, “Geoffrey has more than enough virtuosity and sheer musical wit and intelligence to weave all of his apparently disparate strands of influence into an original and compelling whole”, and pop icon Sting said “In the universe of piano players that I have been exposed to over the years, Geoffrey has proved himself to be not only a superb technician and improviser, but also above and beyond this, a composer and conceptualist who can maintain the overall line and the DNA of the song in everything he plays. A musician’s musician.”

Geoffrey Keezer is a faculty member of The Juilliard School and is a Yamaha artist.

Acclaimed guitarist, composer and bandleader Bob DeVos has enjoyed over 50 years as an in-demand player. With long, blues-drenched melodic lines and a horn-like approach, he has a signature style of groove and sophistication. From solo to big band, Bob is a modern player with strong traditional roots, equally at home with straight-ahead jazz, blues, Rhythm & Blues, funk, Latin, and more.  

A master with a full, warm sound, in his formative years Bob toured and recorded with the giants of organ jazz–Trudy Pitts, Richard “Groove” Holmes & Sonny Stitt, Jimmy McGriff & Hank Crawford, and Charles “The Mighty Burner” Earland’s greatest band. Bob went on to perform with a Who’s Who in and out of the organ genre: “I feel fortunate to have played with these larger-than-life masters; each had a strong identity. I gained profound insights into the music, how to be a musician, and finding my own voice.”

Beginning with Breaking The Ice (produced by Charles Earland) DeVos’ CDs as a leader for HighNote/Savant and other labels have earned rave reviews and many stars in Downbeat and throughout the jazz media, were among the top five on JazzWeek’s National Airplay Chart for many months, and appeared on many yearly top CDs lists. Longtime collaborator Eric Alexander appears on Bob’s Shifting Sands and Playing for Keeps. His most current CDs are the hip Shadow Box featuring Ralph Bowen and the lustrous Six String Solos.

DeVos currently leads his own groups and collaborates with vibraphonist Behn Gillece and with pianist Andy LaVerne. Bob was the musical director and guitarist for the famed concert, An Organ Summit Supreme, reuniting with Jimmy McGriff, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Trudy Pitts and tenor legends David “Fathead” Newman and Houston Person.  

Bob studied jazz as a teenager with Harry Leahy and the legendary Dennis Sandole. When Sandole sent his students to replace Pat Martino in Trudy Pitts’ Trio, Bob got the gig. Bob deepened his compositional and harmonic approach while playing with the Teo Macero Nonet, Gerry Niewood’s Timepiece with Dave Samuels, and as a composer/player for the forward-thinking Ron McClure Quartet. He studied classical composition with Edgar Grana, and received a 1996 NJ Council of the Arts Grant in composition. “My composing is the structural side of my improvising. I strive to develop a musical idea thematically in both my writing and improvisation.”

Bob has a far-reaching discography as a sideman, including over 100 studio recordings. He has a strong following for his innovative work with, among many others, Pepper Adams, Joey DeFrancesco, Billy Drummond, Don Friedman, Billy Hart, Etta Jones, Steve LaSpina, Mike LeDonne, Hendrik Meurkens, Etta Jones, Jack McDuff, Pat Martino, Adam Nussbaum, Irene Reid, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Stanley Turrentine and many more. As a young musician he played with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins & recorded for Frank Sinatra and Gladys Knight.

In recent years, Bob has performed at the Kennedy Center, The Kimmel Center, The NJ State Theater, The Blue Note, Iridium, The Jazz Bakery, The Kitano, SMOKE, Chris’ Jazz Cafe, the Smithsonian,  the San Diego Art Museum, Jazz Forum Arts, Birdland, Jazzmobile, Smalls, Mezzrow and numerous festivals in the US and worldwide, including JVC Jazz Festivals and The San Francisco Jazz Festival.

An innovative, generous teacher Bob has done extensive work in jazz clinics worldwide, has been on the faculties of William Paterson and Lehigh University, and is a past artist-in-residence at Newark Arts High. He currently teaches privately both on and off line.

Growing up on the mean streets of Sydney, Hempton and the Jazz School system didn’t see eye to eye, and he learnt to play jazz the old-fashioned way: jam sessions at local clubs and late night practice sessions on Sydney’s famous Harbour Bridge. A year at sea working on the cruise ships raised the funds for a flight, and in January 2004 he touched down in NYC. 

From 2005 to 2016 Nick led The Nick Hempton Band, delivering “highly entertaining, hard-driving and solid swinging modern jazz,” (E–Jazz News) to most of the major New York venues, as well as touring regionally and internationally. With this group, Nick released four highly-praised studio albums: “Nick Hempton Band” (self-released, 2008); “The Business” (Posi-Tone, 2011); “Odd Man Out” (Posi-Tone, 2013); and in 2015, the innovative “Catch and Release,” which was recorded and released track-by-track over the course of a year. This was followed by the pared-back “Trio Stonk” (SmallsLive, 2017), recorded live at NYC’s famed Smalls Jazz Club.

In 2018, after years of flirting with the organ band format, Nick recorded his sixth album, the organ quartet outing, “Night Owl.” Featuring renowned guitar ace Peter Bernstein, Night Owl harkens back to the classic ‘60s organ band sound, “that greasy, funky soul-jazz popularized by the likes of Lou Donaldson, Grant Green and Stanley Turrentine... complete with a Gene Ammons-grade soul tenor sax.” (Something Else Reviews). “Night Owl” was such a gas, Nick took the same band back to the same studio, and the hotly-anticipated follow-up, “Slick,” was released to much acclaim in November 2021.

Amanda Monaco has performed at venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, Jazz Standard, and the Blue Note, and with artists such as Milt Hinton and the Mingus Orchestra. She has released eight albums as a leader. Her current jazz projects include her eclectic quartet Deathblow, rambunctious organ quartet Glitter, and all-female sextet Lioness. Her Pirkei Avot Project performs her original music with lyrics from selected verses (from a collection of rabbinical teachings with the same name) compiled in the third century C.E.

Monaco’s guitar playing is “well within the modernist canon, but quite distinctive: her phrasing is often made up of tartly dissonant chords and insistent yet off-kilter repetitions that remind one of Grant Green by way of Andrew Hill... her playing is utterly unique, a breath of fresh air in the cookie-cutter climes of both mainstream and free jazz.” (Clifford Allen, The New York City Jazz Record)

Monaco is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music, where she has taught private instruction, labs, and ensembles since 2011. She also teaches for Berklee Online and recorded a MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), available worldwide at www.coursera.com. Monaco's book, Jazz Guitar for the Absolute Beginner was published by Alfred in 2004. In 2022, she joined the guitar faculty at Boston’s New England Conservatory.

Monaco is the Artistic Director of Convergence Arts, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization whose mission is to share the art and fun of improvisation with people of all ages. Convergence has presented festivals in New York City such at the Six String Summit (showcasing guitarists Nels Cline and Julian Lage, among others), the Queens Jazz OverGround’s Spring Jazz Fest, and the Lioness™: Women in Jazz Concert Series.

Christopher Crocco attended Berklee College of Music in Boston and graduated Cum Laude in 1997. Since that time he has worked nationally and internationally as a full time performer, composer, and educator. With performances as a sideman and leader at every major jazz club in New York City, Crocco established himself as one the most unique improvisational voices on the scene. He has performed with Kenny Werner, Mike Mainieri, John Lockwood, Dennis Irwin, George Garzone, Greg Tardy, Sam Yahel, Antonio Farao, Frank Tiberi, Bob Gullotti, Francisco Mela, Ben Street, Kenny Brooks, Ross Pederson, Peter Slavov, Pete Zimmer, Jeremy Allen, John Sullivan, Rick Margitza, Essiet Essiet, Eivind Opsvik, Charles Blenzig, Sean Conly, Tony Moreno, and Ian Froman amongst others.

 

Crocco's longtime relationship with master saxophonist and educator George Garzone, has helped him acquire a uniquely individual voice not only as a guitarist but also through his continued mentoring to students at all levels of music development. Crocco is the only musician qualified to fluidically perform, compose, and teach Garzone's original pedagogy called, "The Triadic Chromatic Approach". He has had the privilege of conducting master classes at music institutions and universities across Europe and the United States. In addition to teaching private students in New York City, Crocco is also an adjunct professor within the New School Jazz Department.

 

His current group is called "FLUID". It includes a rotation of some of the finest musicians working and performing in improvisational music today. "FLUID" has released a number of highly acclaimed CDs & DVDs. Exploring every aspect of truth in music and art, "FLUID" performs with a ferocity and freedom... swing and organic color. Every show is energized with the colors of life.

James Gibbs III who currently tours with 8 time Grammy nominated singer/song writer Joe Thomas was born in Newark, and raised in Irvington, New Jersey. He began playing the trumpet at the age of 14 and began his jazz training at The New Brunswick Jazz Institute, under instructor and legendary organist Radam Schwartz.

James performed his first professional show on December 12, 1994 for the annual WBGO Jazz membership party and Gala at The Five Spot jazz club in New York City, where he was discovered by the late great jazz singer, arranger, composer, band leader and actress Dr. Betty Carter. She invited James to audition for her annual jazz performance program called “Jazz Ahead”. After he landed the audition, he studied with Betty and performed jazz concerts at. (Brooklyn Academy of Music) and The Kennedy Center with other young amateur/professional musicians from all over the world. That experience inspired James to go forth with his music career as a band leader, composer, producer, arranger and engineer. James performs all over the world as a leader and as a side musician with other bands in many venues and festivals.

James performs many styles of music from: Jazz, Rock, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Reggae, Classical, Brazilian, and many other ethnics styles. James has shared the stage with many greats such as: John Lamb (bassist from Duke Ellington’s Orchestra), Rufus Reid (legendary bassist), Buster Cooper (trombonist from Duke Ellington orchestra) , Mark Whitfield (guitarist), Sean Jones (trumpeter formerly from The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra), John Lee (bassist formerly from Dizzy Gillespie’s All-Star Band), Kenny Drew Jr (pianist), Terrence Blanchard (trumpeter/grammy winning composer in Spike Lee films), Joe Thomas (8 time grammy nominated singer/song writer), Jerry Stiller (Broadway actor, singer and television star), Eric Roberson (grammy nominated singer/song writer), Smokin’ Joe Frazier (former heavy weight champion), Roy Hargrove (trumpeter), Wynton Marsalis (trumpeter/music director of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra), Cecil Brooks III (drummer/club owner “Cecils”), Cyrus Chestnut (pianist), TS Monk (drummer/award winning songwriter/composer/son of iconic pianist Thelonious Monk), Joshua Paul Thompson (guitarist/award winning songwriter, composer and producer), David Pic’ Conley (flutist, saxophonist, award winning song writer and producer, founder of the grammy winning R&B Group “Surface”) and many others.

Charles Ruggiero was born to be a drummer. The son of world renowned jazz musician Vinnie Ruggiero, Charles spent his early years surrounded by the "who's who" of jazz. There was always music around, and with musicians like Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, Freddie Hubbard, and Jon Hendricks coming to spend time and play, it was only a matter of time before he caught the bug and asked his father to play the "bang-bangs." 

    As a teenager, Charles got serious about drumming, playing anywhere he could. Soon, local high schools and colleges, as well as professional theatre groups, and popular local bands throughout western N.Y. started to hire him. After winning a seat in the New York State All State Jazz Ensemble, music colleges came calling. Manhattan School of Music offered a full scholarship and a chance to study with famed jazz educator Justin DiCioccio, so he jumped at the chance. The jazz scene in New York City in the early 90's was vibrant and he was plying regularly with his own "who's who" of  jazz, including Joshua Redman, Peter Bernstein, Jane Monheit, Ryan Kisor, Joel Frahm, Sam Yahel, Brad Mehldau, Myron Walden, Chris Potter, and Dwayne Burno, to name a few.

    In 1994, Charles joined Chuck Mangione's group, touring with the jazz superstar for the next 4 years. The first months of his time with Mangione provided him with the chance of a lifetime - learning the ropes, playing alongside the legendary drummer Steve Gadd. "He taught me so much, and he never uttered one word about music." says Ruggiero.

    In late 2000, former MTV/VH1 vee-jay, Abby Gennet, asked Ruggiero to play on a demo of a few of her songs, and the rock-n-roll band SLUNT was born. The band's rise was quick. In only their second year they were on tour with Marilyn Manson. The following years found them on tour with Motorhead, Drowning Pool, and Paul Stanley (KISS) as well as releasing two albums on Repossession Records. After SLUNT Charles found himself on Ozzy Ozbourne's Ozzfest tour, replacing drummer Matt Sorum (Guns and Roses/Velvet Revolver) as a member of Circus Diablo - a band which also featured Billy Duffy (The Cult), Brett Scallions (FUEL), Billy Morrison (Billy Idol), and Ricky Warwick (The Almighty).  

  Home again in his adopted Los Angeles, Charles continues to thrive. Touring and recording with stoner rock powerhouse Geezer, and Rocco DeLuca, recording for The Loop Loft, filming MyMusicMasterclass videos, teaching private lessons, gigging locally, and continued recording and releasing of his own records keep him busy. 

     Spring of 2019 saw the release of two new co-lead records for Ruggiero, first "Charles Ruggiero & Hilary Gardner Play The Bird & The Bee" - a jazz-trio-plus-singer take on the iconic LA indie pop duo's music. Second will be "Slide's Blues" - a record with Frank Basile of nine  tunes arranged, and in some cases, also composed by Slide Hampton, where Slide himself guests on two tracks. Both records are on the SmallsLIVE record label. In late 2020, Charles continued collaborating and released a holiday record with Gary Matsumoto and Alex Frank called "Jazz YULE dig!" 

    2022 began a new chapter in Charles' "solo" career with the release of "Drummer. Composer." (affectionally referred to as Roo•Gee•Air•Oh!)  - an album of completely original material by Ruggiero himself.  It hit #25 on the Jazz charts and continues to receive acclaim and airplay.

    2024 showed no signs of slowing down in the touring or recording departments with Charles recording new records with Arturo Sandoval, Brian Bromberg, and Bob Reynolds, and Tony Guerrero as well as releasing his 8th album as a leader, "But of Course" a swinging affair with a couple of standards, a couple of songs by his contemporaries, and a few more originals by Ruggiero. 

A native of the Bronx, saxophonist, flutist, drummer, and composer Peter Brainin is a Grammy and Latin Grammy winning artist (he is also featured on 7 other Grammy nominated recordings) who has performed at major concert venues and jazz festivals all over Europe, Russia, Japan, India, North, South and Central America and the Caribbean. Some of the the bands and artists he has toured with internationally include pianist Hilton Ruiz (1989-99), Chico O’farrill Afro Cuban Jazz Orchestra (with whom he recorded 2 Grammy nominated albums, the Latin Grammy winning “Final Night at Birdland” and appeared in the films “Calle 54” and “Thomas Crown Affair”), Mongo Santamaria, Valery Ponomorev, Willie Colon and Legal Alien (1992-2002), Bebo Valdez, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, Samuel Torres, Mambo Legends Orchestra, John DiMartino & Quartet of the Americas, Arturo Ofarrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra (with whom he is featured on the Grammy winning CD’s “Cuba: The Conversation Continues” and “Offense of the Drum”) and with his own quartet. Other artists he has performed and/or recorded with include Randy Weston, Benny Golson, Wynton Marsalis, Jeff Watts, Ray Barretto, Jerry Gonzalez, Harold Mabern, Paquito D’Rivera, Jaco Pastorious, Lionel Loueke, Joey Calderazzo, Ruben Blades, Eddie Henderson and Eddie Palmieri. He was twice awarded the BRIO Award (Bronx Recognizes Its Own) for music composition. Some of his compositions and arrangements can be heard on his original CD recordings with co-leader, drummer Steve Johns and with the quartet Native Soul.

As an educator, Peter has led ensembles at New York University, New England Conservatory, the New School, and has done residencies performing, teaching privately and giving master classes in Jazz and Afro-Cuban Jazz at University of California at Long Beach and University of Maine in Orono. Peter has also worked extensively for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz in the Schools Program as a clinician with Arturo O’Farrill in schools in all 5 boroughs of New York City as well as residencies with Mr. O’Farrill for Jazz at Lincoln Center at high schools and universities in California, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

Steve Picataggio is a professional drummer and educator in New York City from Coral Springs, Florida. From the age of ten, Steve immersed himself in classical percussion, marching drumlines, pit orchestras and big band jazz ensembles. 

He then made the commitment to study with world-renown jazz drummer Danny Gottlieb at the University of North Florida. There he had the opportunity to learn the extensive hand techniques originated by Joe Morello. He focused on the history of jazz drummers, most notably Mel Lewis and his influence on big band drumming. As well as the drummers of Count Basie and gravitated towards small group drummers such as Shelly Manne, Philly Joe Jones, Jimmy Cobb, Ben Riley and Ed Thigpen. 

During his time in Jacksonville, Steve met Ulysses Owens Jr. a native Floridian and NYC based jazz drummer. For five years Owens mentored Steve on drums and the music industry. Under Ulysses’ guidance, Steve expanded his musical knowledge and mindset and was given the tools required to be a successful musician in New York.

This mentorship jump started Steve’s journey to New York City in 2011, where he studied with Billy Drummond at New York University Steinhardt School of Music while pursuing his Master’s Degree in Jazz Performance. 

After graduating from NYU in 2013, Steve Picataggio began a professional career as a bandleader and sideman. He has performed at The Blue Note Jazz Club, Birdland, The Kitano, The Bar Next Door and Feinstein’s 54 Below. 

His debut record Two Feet on the Ground features original compositions and arrangements and is available on iTunes and CD Baby. 

He performs regularly in New York with jazz and Broadway singers, straight ahead jazz small groups, big bands, cabaret, and musical theatre shows. Steve has also toured the US performing with the jazz group The Hot Sardines.

In 2018, Steve began playing drums for Suzi Shelton, an award winning children’s music singer/songwriter. Performances include Outreach morning concerts for the Brooklyn Public Schools, Fort Greene Music Festival, Madison Square Park Summer Festival, Brookfield Place and The Levitt Pavilion in Westport, Connecticut. He also played in Suzi’s band for a performance and interview on Kids Place Live at the Sirius XM Radio Studios in Washington, DC. 

Steve has been the drummer for Broadway’s Lesli Margherita since 2013 and appears on her record Rule Your Kingdom: Live at 54 Below (Broadway Records), All Hail The Queen (Feinstein’s 54 Below) and Broad (Birdland Jazz Club).  He also plays drums for Wicked Divas, a cabaret show featuring current and former actors from Wicked.

He has played the Off-Broadway shows Under The Bodhi Tree (Royal Family Theater) and About Love (Sheen Center). Currently, Steve is the drummer with Four Phantoms in Concert. A touring performance featuring former actors from the Broadway production.

Originally from Israel, Itay started playing the drums at the age of six Itay and was honored to study under the direction of the the finest musician and teachers in Israel.

Since November 2016 Itay has been the working drummer in piano legend's Johnny O'neal trio. Since then, he performed with him in prestigious venues and festivals around the world, to name a few: Detroit Jazz Festival, Nice Jazz Festival, Red Sea Jazz Festival, Rostov International Jazz festival, Blue Note Milano, Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, ESSE Jazz Club moscow, as well as weekly residencies in NYC own Smalls Jazz club, Mezzrow Jazz Club, Smoke Jazz Club, Ginny's Supper Club and more.

In October of 2017, Itay was honored to be on Johnny O'neal's new record - "In The Moment" Featuring - ROY HARGROVE and GRANT STEWART.

By 17 years old, Itay has already toured the world and shared the stage with the finest Jazz musicians in Israel, and international well known musicians.

A graduate of the Thelma Yellin School of Arts, a student of BFA Jazz Studies (The Center for Jazz Studies at the Israel Conservatory of Music, Tel Aviv in collaboration with The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, NY), Itay's passionate dedication and skillful sensitivity on the drums has become widely known in Israel and made him a wanted drummer in many Jazz ensembles and stages.

By the age of 15 Itay was honored to receive a few scholarships and awards for his playing (Berklee College of Music, The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, NY, Stanford Jazz Workshop, Europafest), and play in international jazz festivals.

Since 2013 Itay has been making his way into the New York Jazz scene, and got to work and perform with many great musicians such as – Johnny O'neal, Roy Hargove, Ravi Coltrane, Tivon Penicott, Tuomo Uusitalo, Mulgrew Miller, Eli Degibri, Doug Weiss, Gadi Lehavi, Cyrille Aimee, Daniel Zamir, Omer Avital, Ofer Ganor, Avishai Cohen, Joel Frahm, David Berkman, Dayna Stephens, Gilad Hekselman, Lew Tabackin, Yotam Silberstein, Peter Slavov, Aaron Goldberg, Donald Harrison, Grant Stewart, J.J wiggins, and more..

"He is an energetic and imaginative musician". "Itay has what it takes to elevate and propel any musical situation". (Ravi Coltrane)

"Itay is an extremely talented musician and drummer, with excellent technical abilities. He has dynamic flexibility when playing and great energy supporting the composition and the band. He has immense capabilities in a wide variety of musical styles" (Amit Golan)

Satish Robertson is a multifaceted trumpeter and composer whose soulful sound resonates across a spectrum of musical genres, from jazz and gospel to hip-hop, R&B, funk, and blues. His compositions often showcase a cinematic depth, reflecting his broad artistic vision.

A Jersey City native, Satish’s musical journey began with the piano, but he was ultimately captivated by the trumpet, inspired by the legendary Miles Davis. His talent was honed under the guidance of renowned trumpeters such as Rob Henke, Jeremy Pelt, Dr. Eddie Henderson, and the late Ted Curson, leading him to develop a distinct and bold voice on his instrument.

Throughout his career, Satish has collaborated with an impressive roster of artists, including jazz greats like James Carter, the Spirit of Life Ensemble, Kahlil Kwame Bell, and Deborah Davis. His versatility also extends to the hip-hop realm, where he has worked with artists like Ace Clark and Skyzoo, as well as R&B icon Meli’sa Morgan. Beyond his collaborations, Satish has led numerous dynamic jazz groups of his own.

In 2020, Satish pushed his creative boundaries with the release of 80’s JOINT, a groundbreaking album that blends virtuosic jazz trumpet with the vibrant sounds of 80's pop, rock, funk, and new wave. The album is a testament to his creativity, with Satish not only composing, arranging, and producing the entire record but also performing nearly all of the parts himself.

Eric Dupont was born and raised in New Hampshire, receiving his first drum set at the age of 12. Beginning to seriously hone his craft in high school, he earned titles as the NHMEA Jazz All-State drummer and recipient of the Woody Herman Jazz Award. His work as his school’s Drumline captain, jazz band drummer, and wind symphonic band percussionist led him to performances as far as New York, Florida, Canada, Germany, and Austria.

Eric initially studied European classical percussion with Jeff Fischer at the University of Massachusetts in 2012, while studying drum set privately with Boston legend Fred Buda. In 2013, Eric transferred to the jazz program at William Paterson University on music scholarship – he graduated magna cum laude in 2016 as the Outstanding Musician Award recipient, with a major in Jazz Studies and Music Management. With the school’s close proximity to New York City, Eric has been fortunate enough to study under the tutelage of such drum heavyweights as Billy Hart, Winard Harper, Horacee Arnold and Bill Goodwin.

Eric draws inspiration from his drum heroes, which include Max Roach, Jimmy Cobb, Louis Hayes, Philly Joe Jones, and Art Blakey. He has received scholarships and grants from the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) and the Music Business Association. Eric was also selected as one of 15 fellows of the 2018 Program for Jazz at Ravinia's Steans Music Institute in Highland Park, IL.

Dr. Shawn Purcell, originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a jazz guitarist, educator, arranger, and composer in the Washington DC region. Purcell has shared the stage, recorded with, and/or toured with Pat Bianchi, Terell Stafford, Nicholas Payton, Tim Warfield, Sean Jones, Brian Charette, Regina Carter, The Chicago Jazz Ensemble, The Metropolitan Jazz Orchestra, Jim Pugh, Chip McNeill, Eddie Daniels, Chris Potter, Steve Allee, Jason Tiemann, National Symphony Orchestra and many others. He has performed at jazz clubs and festivals nationally and internationally including: Blues Alley, Smalls, The Jazz Kitchen, The Blue Wisp, The Jazz Factory, Club Bonafide, JazzB (Sao Paulo), DC Jazz Fest, JEN, PASIC, IAJE, Savannah Jazz Festival and Indy Jazz Fest.

Purcell can be heard on nearly 40 recordings including Chip McNeill’s The Whirl, Steve Fidyk’s Heads Up! and Allied Forces, Alan Baylock Jazz Orchestra’s Prime Time, featuring Doc Severinsen, Darden Purcell’s Easy Living and Where the Blue Begins, The Capitol Bones’ The Beat Goes On, Ben Patterson’s Push the Limits, and Ben Patterson Jazz Orchestra’s Vital Frequencies featuring Chris Potter.  Symmetricity, Purcell’s first recording as a leader, was released in 2019 on Armored Records.  As a leader and sideman, stay tuned for new releases from The String Queens, The Capitol Bones, Mike Tomaro Big Band, The Ben Patterson Group, The Way of the Groove, (Origin Records) and Shawn Purcell 180, Purcell’s 2nd release as a leader and debut release on Origin Records.

Purcell has spent over 18 years as a member of the military big bands in Washington DC. From 1996-2004, Purcell was the guitarist in the US Air Force jazz ensemble, The Airmen of Note. During his time with “The Note,” Purcell performed throughout the world including England, Germany, Turkey, Luxembourg, The Azores, Belgium, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Italy, Kuwait, and Bahrain. He is currently the guitarist with the Washington DC based US Navy Band “Commodores” jazz ensemble.

As an educator, Purcell currently serves as adjunct professor of jazz guitar and jazz arranging at George Mason University. He has served on the jazz faculty at Towson University, Middle Tennessee State University, and was a Visiting Lecturer in Jazz Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, under the direction of David Baker. He has led master classes at major universities throughout the country. He has served on the faculty for The National Jazz Workshop, Maryland Summer Jazz Camp and The National Guitar Workshop. Purcell has also penned educational articles for Jazz Guitar Life, Premier Guitar and DownBeat Magazine. Purcell earned a BM in Recording Arts & Sciences from Duquesne University, an MA in Music from Middle Tennessee State University and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Born In Denver Colorado, Colin Stranahan has always been surrounded by music. By his teenage years he was already actively working on the local Denver scene, and has recorded multiple records on the Capri Record label. After receiving the prestigious National Foundation Advancement of the Arts Presidential Scholar award in 2005, he studied at the University of the Pacific for one year as a Brubeck Institute Fellow. Shortly thereafter, he attended the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Stranahan was also one of the winners of the 2012 Thelonious Monk Drum Competition. Now living in Brooklyn, New York, Colin is among the most sought-after drummers in the world working with such artist as Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jonathan Kreisberg, Dr. Lonnie Smith,Fred Hersch, Terence Blanchard, Dave Kikoski, Kevin Hays, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and many others. He is part of a collective trio featuring some of the most talented and praised young musicians in New York City. Together, the Stranahan/Zaleski/Rosato trio has recorded and released two successful albums and are releasing a third that was recorded live at Smalls, scheduled to be released in 2015.

Colin Stranahan currently holds adjunct teaching positions at Aarhus Royal Academy of Music, and London’s Royal Academy of Music, where he teaches both private lessons, and ensemble teaching.

He also teaches at a few summer Jazz programs including The Brubeck Institute Summer Jazz Colony, The Fara Sabina Summer Jazz School and Festival in Fara Sabina, Italy. Colin also gives drum master classes at Oberlin College, New England Conservatory, International Jazz Conference in Thailand, and the Singapore Esplanade Jazz Festival.

New York City organist/pianist, Brian Charette, has established himself as a leading voice in modern jazz. Charette is a Hammond U.S.A, Hammond Europe, I.K Multimedia, and Casio endorsed, Cellar Live recording artist. Brian is currently #2 on the 2024 Downbeat Critic’s Poll for organ and #6 for keyboards. Brian was also the winner of the 2014 Downbeat Critics’ Poll “Rising Star: Organ” award and 2015 Hot House Magazine's “Fan's Decision Jazz Award for Best Organist”. Charette’s new Cellar Live release, Jackpot, was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder’s hallowed studio featuring Bill Stewart on drums. The album received 4 stars from Downbeat and was on the Jazzweek radio chart for months, peaking at #9 for 6 weeks. Charette is also a prolific composer of large ensemble music, penning and performing compositions with The Jazz Dock Orchestra in Prague and The Modern Art Orchestra in Budapest.
     Born in Meriden, Connecticut in 1972, Brian was introduced to music by his mother, Catherine. By the age of 17, he was playing with jazz luminaries such as Lou Donaldson and Houston Person. Since graduating on the Dean's List from UConn in 1994 with a BA in Music, Charette has been performing extensively in Europe and the USA with his home base being the East Village, NYC. Brian is a staple of the downtown NYC scene working with virtually everyone who plays with an organist.
Brian has performed with many notable artists such as Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Oz Noy, Vinnie Colaiuta, John Patitucci, and many more. Charette is also an active author and educator, writing for Keyboard Magazine, The New York City Jazz Record, DownBeat, Electronic Musician and the Czech magazine, Muzikus. Brian teaches masterclasses all over the world and is on the faculty of the Czech Summer Jazz Workshop at Jesek Conservatory in Prague. In NYC, he teaches lessons and group classes at The New School and 92nd Y School of Music. His first book, 101 Hammond B3 Tips, released through publisher Hal Leonard, has become very popular, as well as his videos on the website, mymusicmasterclass.com. Outside of music, Charette is passionate about White Crane kung fu, in which he holds a black sash.

A solid fixture of the New York jazz scene and respected world-wide, Ralph Lalama embodies the best of the jazz sound ideal – great time, great swing, expressed through great melodic ideas. Everything he says and plays comes out of his deep connection and appreciation for “the Beat.” Jazz critic Zan Stewart put it succinctly: “Lalama is a grand, modern-minded storyteller…a first-class jazz soloist.” He excels in a chord-less trio format with his amazing command of the harmonic progressions articulated through his horn. But on top of being a great jazz soloist, Lalama is equally a solid veteran of jazz ensembles and orchestras. Over his impressive career starting with Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, and the Mel Lewis Orchestra – now the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – he has honed the craft of sonic blending.

Lalama is a three-time Grammy winner through his work in the Joe Lovano Nonet and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. He has nine CDs out as a leader and is on more than sixty recordings as a sideman. He has received praise from the likes of critics Gary Giddins, Stanley Crouch, Ben Ratliff, Ira Gitler and Stuart Troup, among others. His latest release as a leader is the 2012 “Bop Juice: Ralph Lalama Trio, Live at Smalls.”

Ralph Lalama’s playing reveals an enormous depth of musical heart and knowledge. With his muscular, free-wheeling sound and masterful ability to tell a story through his horn, one understands why he so thoroughly connects with musicians, students and listeners alike.

Equipment: Selmer Mark VI Tenor Saxophone; Buffet Crampon Clarinet; Altus Flute.

Guitarist Tom Dempsey’s reputation for hard swinging sophistication and pure musicality have made him a distinct voice in the New York jazz scene. Dempsey has performed and/or recorded with a virtual “Who’s Who” of world renowned jazz musicians including: George Coleman, Kenny Barron, Roy Haynes, Bobby McFerrin, Jack McDuff, Jim Hall, John Abercrombie, Brad Mehldau, John Scofield, Tal Farlow, Buddy Montgomery, Gerald Wilson, Mel Torme, Richard Wyands, Muhal Richard Abrams, and Dave Brubeck. He has recorded four CDs as a leader: What’s Going On (Citytone Records), Perspectives (Imaginary Records), Blues In The Slope (Igmod Records/TJD Music), If Only We Knew (TJD Music). Tom has also recorded as a sideman on many recordings. Since 1992, Tom has been performing as a leader and a sideman at some of the top jazz venues throughout the world including the JVC Jazz Festival, SF Jazz Festival, The Blue Note, Yoshi’s, Smalls, and Smoke. Tom is an Artist Endorsee for Thomastik-Infeld Strings. Known for his versatility as a musician Dempsey has made numerous appearances on New York radio and television including performances on The Rosie O’Donnell Show, the HBO series Sex and the City, and NPR. Dempsey has also performed for many Broadway shows including Bring In ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk, Patti Lupone on Broadway, and Aida. Along with his active performing career, Tom Dempsey’s talent as a composer is receiving noteworthy attention. Because of his distinctive sound and style Dempsey’s music has been described as having “fine compositional ability and stylistic accessibility.” His music has been featured on his four CDs as well as television and radio programs throughout the world including the HBO hit series Sex and the City. Tom received his Bachelor of Music Degree in Jazz Studies from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in May 1991. In May 1996, he acquired his Masters Degree in Jazz/Commercial Music at Manhattan School of Music. Tom’s deep commitment to education has made him a highly sought after educator and clinician. In recent years he has been teaching at Jazz at Lincoln Center, SUNY New Paltz, Rutgers University, and the National Guitar Workshop where he serves as Artistic Director for the Jazz Summit and Director of Music for all of the campuses. As an author Dempsey work includes four books: The Jazz Guitar Experience, Easy Jazz Soloing for Guitar, Sight-Reading for the Contemporary Guitarist and Classic Jazz Styles for Guitar and one DVD entitled Theory for The Contemporary Guitarist which are available through Alfred Music and Workshop Arts. He has also produced over 170 online music lessons for WorkshopLive.com. For more about Tom, visit www.TomDempseyMusic.com.

Charles Owens is a master tenor saxophonist, composer, band leader, recording artist, and educator and has been performing, composing, and teaching for over 25 years.

After attending the New School and working as a musician in New York City from 1992 to 2004, he is currently living in Richmond, VA. Charles is an integral part of the vibrant music scene there and in Charlottesville, VA. He also travels back to New York City several times a year to perform at venues such as Smalls, The Django, Fat Cat and others, with his trio. He has made 9 albums as a leader and appeared and continues to appear on a plethora of recordings as a hired soloist. He’s performed with such jazz luminaries as Brad Mehldau, Mark Turner, Omer Avital, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Brian Blade, Peter Bernstein, Larry Goldings, Ari Hoenig, Alexander Claffy, Jeff Watts, and Joel Frahm among many others. He has devoted his life to pursuing excellence in music and bringing peace and happiness to his fellow humans with his saxophone playing, performing, and composing.

Joshua Bruneau was born June 23,1988 in Waterbury Center, Vermont. While growing up, Josh was frequently found on the baseball field. After seeing a Time Life commercial, he was instantly drawn to classical music. Josh asked for classical tapes and records by composers like Bach, Mozart, and Chopin. His life took a dramatic turn when he was introduced to the trumpet and subsequently, jazz.  Josh began to study the art of music and taking trumpet lessons when he 10 years old. These formative years proved very important as Josh discovered many recordings of musicians such as John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker. He immediately fell in love with these musicians and made a conscious decision to try to emulate these people’s playing. He started forming his own groups and playing locally from a young age. He was soon traveling with a local big band. He honed his skills all through high school at Harwood Union High School in Duxbury, Vermont.  In the fall of 2006, Josh began his studies at the Jackie McLean Institute at the Hartt School. Josh was introduced to his two most important mentors, Nat Reeves and Steve Davis. He immediately started gigging around the Hartford area with local musicians and fellow students. Josh received the opportunity to travel to Ireland with Nat in his freshman year. Ever since, Josh has been playing with his instructors, Nat and Steve, on a regular basis. That same year he played with Nat, Steve, Eric McPherson, Alan Palmer, and Jovan Alexandre opening for Dionne Warwick.  Because of his established relationship with his two mentors, Josh now frequents New York City to perform at world famous Jazz clubs such as Smoke and Smalls.  September 2011 he played at the Detroit Jazz festival with another of his great mentors, Curtis Fuller. He has also shared the stage with artists such as Harold Mabern, Mike LeDonne, Eric Alexander, Joe Farnsworth, Carl Allen, John Webber, Ken Fowser, and Larry Willis to name a few.  Now with the 2014 release of his debut album as a leader, Bright Idea (Cellar Live), Josh continues to look forward musically and push himself and his colleagues further.  

Guitarist, composer and teacher Nat Janoff, has been working steadily in the contemporary jazz scene for the past 15 years. Nat’s earliest experience with music started with the piano. Then, he switched to bass. After hearing Eddie Van Halen, Nat had to play guitar. Growing up in the 80’s, Nat’s musical interests were all things rock and metal and Nat earned a reputation for being one of the best shred guitarist in the area. Nat’s transition from metal and rock guitar to jazz occurred when he sought out a platform to improvise for longer than the standard rock riff. That, and hearing Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Birds of Fire for the first time. Pursue jazz he did and after earning his Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Performance from William Paterson University in 1996, Nat set to work forging his own musical path.

The first marker on that path was Nat’s debut album, Looking Through featuring the rhythm section of world renowned electric bassist, Matthew Garrison and drummer Gene Lake, putting Nat on the map as both a player and a composer.

“Any 29 year old that can hang with this duo (Garrison & Lake,) let alone lead the date, has transitively proven himself worthy of attention.” Review of Looking Through by Phil DiPietro for allaboutjazz.com 2000

Two more albums soon followed—a live acoustic recording with fellow William Paterson alumnus Jake Schwartz simply titled, Live and a collaborative project with Rave Tesar (of Annie Haslam’s Renaissance on keys and left-hand bass) and Ray LeVier entitled, Berkana.

2010 has been a busy year for Janoff with regards to recording. He was honored with the opportunity to contribute to ESC Records latest tribute album, Mahavishnu Redefined II, recording the track, Are You the One? with bassist Ray Riendeau and drummer Martin Diamond. Janoff also played guitar on three tracks on Ray Riendau's latest cd, Atmospheres. Most recently, Janoff went into the studio to record his latest cd, Come Together Move Apart with the great talents of pianist John Escreet, bassist François Moutin and drummer Chris Carroll. This album was officially released on September 28th 2010.

In addition to playing with his own groups, Nat Janoff has performed with the R&B singer, Joe, R&B legend David “Pic” Conley from the group Surface, legendary pianist, Norman Simmons and drummer Victor Jones’ group, Culturversy. Nat can also be heard on Atlantic Records’ recording artist Debelah Morgan’s CD, Dance With Me and on R&B artist Roland Clark’s new track, The Simple Things.

Jon Herington is a longtime New York city based guitarist, singer/songwriter, producer, and bandleader. He is the leader of the Jon Herington Band and has been the guitarist of choice with the iconic band Steely Dan for both recording and touring since 1999. With the launch of (quiet) encore, Jon now has eight solo releases in his discography. His previous release, Time On My Hands, was nominated for Vintage Guitar Hall Of Fame Album of the Year. His guitar work with Steely Dan can be heard on their recordings Everything Must Go and Two Against Nature (both the CD and the live DVD) and on the Steely Dan VH1 Storytellers and Making of Aja DVD releases. Jon was also featured as lead guitarist on the Dukes of September Rhythm Revue's Live at Lincoln Center DVD.

Jon also tours regularly with unique song stylist Madeleine Peyroux and has previously toured with Donald Fagen; Boz Scaggs; The Dukes of September (a supergroup featuring Donald Fagen, Boz Scaggs, and Michael McDonald); Bette Midler; Phoebe Snow; and Bobby Caldwell.

Roberta Piket is a pianist who loves to swing while exploring the more adventurous harmonic possibilities of jazz and improvised music.

Roberta’s father was the composer Frederick Piket, whose works were performed by the New York Philharmonic under famed conductor Dimtri Metropolis. (The elder Piket, who passed away when Roberta was eight, is also renowned for his significant contribution to the musical liturgy of reform Judaism.)

From her mother, Cynthia, Roberta learned by ear the tunes of Porter, Gershwin, Kern, Rodgers, and Berlin (as well as accompanying lyrics).

In her early teens, a chance encounter with a classic LP rescued from a flea market changed the course of Roberta’s life.

“My older brother had bought a few copies of an old Muse LP of Walter Bishop Jr.’s trio for 25 cents each. He played it for me and I flipped. I just fell in love with the sound of the jazz piano trio. The CD was called Speak Low, and I found the original sheet music for that tune in my mother’s collection. I learned all the songs on that record,” which, in addition to the title tune, included Alone Together, Milestones and On Green Dolphin Street. Shortly after that epiphany, Roberta became fascinated with the 20th century classical recordings that had belonged to her late father. Soon she was dividing her time between the stacks of old sheet music in the attic, learning standards, and the Bartok and Schoenberg records and scores in her father’s library. Sprinkled into the mix were a handful of Ellington scores borrowed from the New York Public Library, and saturation listening to WRVR-FM, the New York jazz radio station at the time. As her passion for music intensified, Roberta’s mother tried to discourage her from the difficult path of a professional musician. As a compromise, she attended the joint five-year double-degree program at Tufts University and New England Conservatory. “Coming from a high school with a strong liberal arts curriculum [New York’s prestigious Hunter College High School], I was not opposed to continuing in the liberal arts tradition in college, rather than narrowing my focus only to music. I believed then, and still believe, that an artist needs to be stimulated by the surrounding culture and not live in a vacuum.” Roberta graduated with a degree in computer science from Tufts and a degree in jazz piano from New England Conservatory, but after a year as a software engineer, it was clear her heart was in music, and she returned to her native New York to study and play.

After applying for a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, she began to study with pianist Richie Beirach. “I was so young and naïve when I moved back to New York. I didn’t really know much about Richie’s music. It was sort of blind luck that I started studying with someone who was able to help me integrate my love of modern classical music into my jazz playing and composing.” As her artistry developed, Roberta found herself in the unusual situation of playing both “straight ahead” jazz as well as so-called “free” music. After a last minute gig subbing with the Lionel Hampton band brought her to the vibraphonist’s attention, she was invited to play on two tunes for his upcoming CD. “The first CD I ever recorded was with Lionel Hampton. The production was a bit disorganized so I ended up doing a little of everything from helping Lionel rehearse the music, to writing out lead sheets for Ron Carter (who chastised me for writing diminished chords instead of dominant 7th chords), to helping in the editing stage. ” Around the same time, Marian McPartland would hear her as a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Composers Competition and invite her to appear as a featured guest on NPR’s Piano Jazz, the first of three appearances she would make on the show. “Marian was a good friend to me and to countless young musicians,” Roberta recalls. A 1999 Japan tour with her own trio magically brought Roberta full circle. “The first night we arrived, I was sitting in my hotel room playing with the cable radio system. There were several jazz specialty stations. As soon as I turned on the radio, the first music I heard was a track from that long ago Walter Bishop Jr. LP, Speak Low. It was eerie and incredibly moving to be brought back to that moment when I first fell in love with the piano trio while on my first international tour with my own trio.” Over the years, Roberta has appeared professionally as a sidewoman with David Liebman, Rufus Reid, Michael Formanek, Lionel Hampton, Mickey Roker, Eliot Zigmund, Benny Golson, Ted Curson, Virginia Mayhew, and the BMI/NY Jazz Orchestra. She has also toured and performed with some of the most interesting musicians in European and American improvised music, including drummers Klaus Kugel and Billy Mintz, and saxophonists Roby Glod, Petras Vysniauskas and Louie Belogenis. A gifted composer as well, Roberta was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk BMI Composers’ Competition. She was also the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Roberta is from Queens, NY. Her father gave her her first piano lessons when she was seven. Roberta began serious music studies in her early teens, studying jazz piano with Walter Bishop, Jr and classical piano with Vera Wels. While at New England Conservatory she studied privately with Fred Hersch, Stanley Cowell, Jim McNeely and Bob Moses. Upon returning to New York, in addition to six years of study with Richie Beirach, she studied briefly with Sofia Rosoff. In addition to Japan, Roberta’s trios have toured Spain and the U.S. She has performed at the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), at the Earshot Festival (Seattle), at the Rochester (NY) Jazz Festival, and in New York at Small’s, Mezzrow’s, the Blue Note, Birdland, and Dizzy’s at Jazz at Lincoln Center. On her 2011 CD release, Sides, Colors, in addition to featuring her trio, she orchestrated several pieces for winds and strings, sang, and played organ as well. An eclectic series of projects has followed, including an electric band, Alternating Current, the free improvisation trio Belogenis, Piket, Mintz, the international Roby Glod Quartet, and the Nabokov Project, which sets poems by Vladimir Nabokov to music for piano, violin, mezzo-soprano, percussion, and speaker, blending neo-classical harmonic concepts with lush melodies and free improvisational sections. Roberta’s most recent focus has been solo piano performance. Her 2012 CD, Solo, made the “ten best of the year” list of three jazz critics. A spring 2015 follow-up CD is called Emanation (Solo: Volume 2). Recent solo concerts include Kostel sv. Vavřince in Prague, Reigen in Vienna, Palomar College in San Marcos, CA, An Die Musik in Baltimore and Smalls in New York City. As an educator, Roberta has held master classes at the Eastman School of Music (where she performed solo and in duet with Marian McPartland), Rutgers University, Cal Arts, Duke University, the Northwestern University Composers’ Colloquium, and others in the U.S., Europe and Japan. She has served as a panelist for the Queens Council on the Arts grant review process and has taught at the Litchfield Jazz Camp and the Vermont Jazz Center. She is also the author of the Jazz Piano Vocabulary series of workbooks. Roberta occasionally performs on B3 organ at clubs such as the Harlem landmark Showman’s, as well as now and then leading her own groups at Smalls and Mezzrow. She has written several big band compositions, and is also a self-described “closet singer”. In recent years she has toured Europe several times, including France, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Ukraine and Spain. The melding of different musical worlds in her youth resulted in Roberta’s unique musical sensibilities and interests. Her numerous recordings reveal an artist equally at home playing standards (Solo, Emanation), free improvising (Poltva, Op Der Schmelz), and composing and arranging her own music (Sides, Colors; Live at the Blue Note). For Roberta, there are no genre boundaries, only the opportunity to make exceptional music.

Putter Smith was born in Bell, California, and began playing the bass at the age of eight, inspired by his older brother, jazz musician Carson Smith. He made his performing debut aged 13 at the Compton Community Center.

He went on to perform with Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Duke Ellington, Billy Eckstine, Diane Schuur, Lee Konitz, Bruce Forman, Jackie and Roy, Carmen McRae, Gary Foster, Art Farmer, Alan Broadbent, Mose Alison, Bob Brookmeyer, Blue Mitchell, Erroll Garner, Art Pepper, Mason Williams, Percy Faith, Burt Bacharach, Ray Charles, The Manhattan Transfer, and Johnny Mathis. He also works as a session musician, and has played on recordings by Sonny and Cher, The Beach Boys, and The Righteous Brothers, among many others.

Smith was playing with Monk at the Los Angeles jazz club Shelly's Manne-Hole when he was spotted by director Guy Hamilton, who cast him as the assassin "Mr. Kidd" (alongside Bruce Glover as "Mr. Wint") in the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever. He went to have several other minor acting roles on film and television.

Tom Lippincott
8- and 6- string guitarist
Eight- and six-string guitarist Tom Lippincott was born in New Jersey and grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but has made South Florida his home since 1988. He has a bachelor's degree in jazz studies from the University of North Texas as well as a master's in jazz performance from the University of Miami.  
 
Tom teaches jazz guitar at Florida International University and Broward College.  He also teaches lessons in person and online, conducts clinics and workshops, and has jazz guitar classes available through Mike’s Master Classes.

As a longtime contributor to the South Florida jazz community, Tom has played and recorded extensively with many of the area’s musicians and bands. He has also performed throughout the world as both sideman and leader and has performed and/or recorded with jazz luminaries John Stowell, Jonathan Kreisberg, Ben Monder, Dave Liebman, Don Friedman, and Ed Schuller.  

In addition to previous recordings such as his 2000 release Painting the Slow Train Brown, Tom has been featured as a performer and composer recently on David Fernandez’s Land, as well as the upcoming release from Rodolfo Zuniga’s band Surfaces with Strings featuring Camila Meza.  Tom has a new album of original compositions, Twenty Years Later, available on his website at tomlippincott.com.

Saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist and composer Nick Biello is developing a reputation as an exciting and artful musician.

Nick has shared the stage with world-class artists, such as Slide Hampton, Cedar Walton, the Jimmy Heath Big Band, Rich Perry, Phil Markowitz, Steve Davis, Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band, Clarence Penn, John Benitez, Henry Cole, Harvie S, Victor Bailey, Jaimoe Johnson and Butch Trucks of the Allman Brothers. He has performed at the Pescara and Bussi Jazz Festivals in Italy, as well as the Litchfield Jazz Festival, the New Haven Jazz Festival, and the Westchester Jazz Festival. Nick's saxophone has been heard at venues such as Birdland, Blue Note, Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln Center, Cellar Dog, The Iridium, B.B. King's, The House of Blues in Chicago, The Paramount Theater, The Birchmere Theater, Smalls, Smoke, Zinc Bar, The Kitano, Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, Bar Next Door, Rockwood Music Hall, Webster Theater, Infinity Hall, and Toad's Place.

Nick was accepted to the John F. Kennedy Center's prestigious "Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead" program in 2009. "Betty Carter" focuses on developing the compositional skills of participants through masterclasses and workshops. Its faculty boasts some of the most respected names in Jazz, such as Jason Moran, Ralph Peterson, and Mark Whitfield.

The Blue Note selected the Nick Biello Quartet to participate in their Thelonious Monk Emerging Artist Series in 2010. The series focused on young, upcoming talent in Jazz. The Quartet shared the stage with vibraphone legend Gary Burton. 

In 2014, Nick joined the Martin Schulte Quartet for a 2-week concert series in Seoul, Korea. Topping off the tour was a performance and masterclass for the German Consulate of Korea. 

Recently he was recognized for his prowess as a saxophonist and improviser by being named the winner of the Julius Keilwerth 2014 International Saxophone Idol Competition. Additionally, as part of being named the winner of the competition, Nick was afforded the opportunity to perform alongside the great Ernie Watts.

Nick has been recorded on hundreds of albums, from his own original projects to his work as a sideman for other artists. His debut album, "Vagabond Soul," released in 2017 on the  Truth Revolution Recording Collective, features Phil Markowitz, John Benitez, Clarence Penn, Paul Jones, Andrew Renfroe, and Vincent Lionti.  “Between Light and Shadow”, a collection of original compositions for the chordless trio format, will be released in May of 2024 on La Reserve Records and features Biello’s working trio of Alex Tremblay on bass and Peter Kronreif on drums.

In demand as a composer and arranger, Nicholas has written arrangements that have been performed by artists such as Stevie Wonder, Dave Koz, and Kelly Rowland. His work has been televised on networks such as ABC and ESPN, and heard in venues in Las Vegas, L.A., and New York City. He has worked with members of the famed Apollo Theater house band in music composition and production.

Nick has studied with Jackie McLean, Steve Wilson, George Garzone, Jon Gordon, and Phil Markowitz, and holds a Master of Music Degree from Manhattan School of Music.

With experience in an array of educational environments, Nick is available as a group clinician or as a private teacher. He teaches Saxophone at The New School and New Jersey City University, is the Artistic Director of the Blaine Harbor Music Festival in Washington, and teaches private students.

Nick is a D'addario Woodwinds Artist and uses D'addario reeds and accessories.

Having spent many years deeply embedded in the vibrant jazz scenes of New York and Philadelphia, Behn Gillece has carved out a distinguished reputation as both a virtuosic vibraphonist and a prolific composer. Drawing inspiration from luminaries like Milt Jackson, Gary Burton and Bobby Hutcherson, Gillece has dedicated himself to pushing the boundaries of vibraphone artistry while leaving an indelible mark on the jazz landscape as a composer. Hailing from New Jersey, Gillece honed his craft through numerous performance opportunities in his home state and Philadelphia before making the leap to New York City in 2006. Since then, he has solidified his status as a sought-after sideman, as well as a formidable bandleader and recording artist.

His latest album, “Stick Together” (2024, Posi-Tone), is a testament to the powerof collaboration and synergy. Teaming up with esteemed musicians such as pianist Art Hirahara, bassist Boris Kozlov, and drummer Rudy Royston, Gillece crafts musical creations imbued with an undeniable sense of joy and ease.

From 2009 to 2013, Gillece co-led four transformative recordings on Posi-Tone with tenor saxophonist Ken Fowser, garnering international acclaim and extensive streaming and radio play. His albums as a leader— including “Mindset” (2015), “Dare To Be” (2016), “Walk Of Fire” (2017), “Parallel Universe” (2018), “Still Doing Our Thing” (2021), and “Between The Bars” (2023)— propelled him into the spotlight, earning him a 2018 Downbeat Rising Star award. Additionally, Gillece has lent his talents as a sideman to various acclaimed recordings, collaborating with artists such as Patrick Cornelius, Michael Dease, New Faces, Walt Weiskopf, Melody Gardot, Idle Hands, Out To Dinner, and Ensemble Novo.

Gillece’s performances have reached prestigious venues worldwide, including the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Kimmel Center, Smalls Jazz Club, Mezzrow, Jazz Standard, Side Door, Smoke Jazz Club, Fat Cat, Yoshi’s, Chris’ Jazz Cafe, as well as renowned festivals such as North Sea, Montreux, Nice, Molde, Ghent, Montreal, and Toronto festivals.

In addition to his robust performance life, Gillece also has a burgeoning career as a music educator. Gillece is a member of the faculty at Rowan University, where he teaches vibraphone, jazz ensemble, music theory, and online courses. In addition to the various workshops he has been asked to give at colleges and universities across the world, he has prepared over 700 lessons for online instruction on vibesworkshop.com, which benefits percussion students internationally.

A recipient of numerous accolades, including the 2018 Downbeat Rising Star Vibraphonist award, Gillece holds a master’s degree from SUNY Purchase and is endorsed by Malletech instruments. Other honors include the 2009 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead residency, winning the Generations competition in 2009, and winning the 2008 Jazz Improvisation competition at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.

For more information on Behn Gillece, to purchase albums, or to view his
upcoming performance schedule, visit his website at behngillece.com.

Steve Cardenas began his musical career in Kansas City and has been an integral part of the New York City jazz community since 1995.

Steve has performed and recorded with many well-known and highly esteemed musicians. Notably, he was a longstanding member of the Paul Motian Electric Bebop Band, Charlie Haden Liberation Music Orchestra, the Steve Swallow Quintet, as well as Joey Baron's, Killer Joey. Steve is currently a member of the Ben Allison Band, John Patitucci Electric Guitar Quartet,  Jon Cowherd Mercy Project and Adam Nussbaum Lead Belly Project. He has also performed with such diverse artists as Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Paul McCandless, Madeleine Peyroux, Norah Jones, Eliane Elias and Marc Johnson. Steve has toured extensively throughout Europe, North and South America and Asia, performing at international music festivals, theaters and clubs. He also leads his own group and has released seven recordings as a leader. Healing Power - The Music Of Carla Bley is Steve's latest release, in an ongoing trio collaboration with Ben Allison and Ted Nash, on Sunnyside Records.

Steve is also a well-respected educator. He is on faculty at The New School For Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City where he directs the Thelonious Monk Ensemble, Improv Ensemble and the Guitar Duos class, as well as offering individual lessons. He has also been on faculty at the California Institute of the Arts, Siena Summer Jazz Workshop, Begues Jazz Camp, Segunda Residencia Antonio Sánchez, Alternative Guitar Summit Camp, Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony, Stanford Jazz Workshop and Banff International Workshop in Jazz and Creative Music. 

Additionally, Steve is co-author, along with editor Don Sickler, of the Thelonious Monk Fakebook, Hal Leonard Publishing. The Thelonious Monk Fakebook marks the first time all of Monk's compositions have appeared in one volume, many of them appearing for the first time.

Paul Deatherage is an active performer and educator in the central Kentucky area. He regularly plays with the DiMartino / Osland Jazz Orchestra, the Osland / Dailey Jazztet, the Raleigh Dailey Trio, the Ross Whitaker Trio, the Walnut Street Ramblers, and Grupo LexiSamba.

Paul Deatherage is on faculty at the University of Kentucky as a drumset instructor, at Centre College as a percussion instructor, and is assistant director of percussion at Lafayette High School, a 23-time marching band state champion. He also maintains a private studio at Don Wilson Music, Lexington. He holds degrees from Tennessee Technological University (B.M. Music Education), and University of Kentucky (M.M. Percussion Performance).

Paul is a Zildjian artist and an Innovative Percussion artist.

Devin is a musician whose life has been shaped by music from the very beginning. By the time he was 12, after a few years of private study, he knew that music—specifically drumming—wasn’t just a hobby; it was his purpose. Over the years, his passion evolved into a sense of responsibility, driving him to pursue excellence. That dedication earned him a scholarship to Berklee College of Music, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. At Berklee, Devin not only worked with talented peers who pushed him to grow but also played in bands alongside his teachers, gaining real-world insight into what it means to be a professional musician.

Devin’s philosophy as a drummer is all about serving the music. Whether it’s holding down the groove, listening attentively to the needs of the band, or creating the perfect feel for a song, he always puts the music first. He’s equally comfortable keeping it simple or delivering “off-the-walls” drumming when the situation calls for it. Devin is a team player who understands the big picture of what the songwriter or band is trying to achieve.

Over the past six years, Devin has built an impressive career as a professional drummer. He’s performed across the Midwest, Northeast, and East Coast, and even taught and played in Taiwan. He’s collaborated with an incredible range of artists, including Reverend Kim Lesley, Chulo Gatewood, Timmy Cappello, Felix Pastorius, Lincoln Goines, and Meshell N’degeocello, among many others.

Currently based in Brooklyn, NY, Devin is a versatile freelance performer, bandleader, and producer, as well as a dedicated drum instructor. Whether you’re looking for a dynamic drummer for your next project or personalized drum lessons in your home, Devin is ready to bring his expertise and passion for music to the table.

Devin proudly uses Tama drums, Zildjian cymbals, Remo heads, Vic Firth sticks, DW pedals, and MONO cases. Get in touch to work with him!

With a deep passion for jazz and Brazilian music, Ben has made a significant impact in the world of music through performances, recordings, and teaching. As the leader of the Brazilian jazz group Tudo Bem, Ben has captivated audiences at renowned venues like the Blue Note in New York and Fukuoka, as well as clubs across Moscow, Switzerland, and Germany.

Ben’s career highlights include performing at prestigious festivals such as the Montreaux, North Sea, Istanbul, Marsala, and Bell Atlantic jazz festivals, often as a sideman with celebrated artists like Ute Lemper and Ballin' the Jack. His recording credits span collaborations with respected figures like Gunther Schuller, Yutaka Uchida, and the Boston Jazz Composer's Orchestra, showcasing his versatility across styles and genres.

Beyond the stage, Ben’s dedication to music education shines. With a unique teaching approach influenced by Brazilian rhythms and the Bill Leavitt method, he guides students in mastering the guitar and developing professional-level skills. His philosophy emphasizes understanding music holistically—reading, improvising, and interpreting chords with intelligence and creativity.

As a veteran musician, Ben’s ear training classes integrate diverse influences, from samba to jazz fusion, equipping students with the skills to recognize, transcribe, and perform a wide range of musical elements. His lifelong commitment to exploring the history and lineage of music inspires both his own artistry and the next generation of musicians.

Kerri George is an actor, singer, performer, and a dedicated voice teacher and coach. As a proud Leo (if that means something to you, great—if not, Kerri might even be a little envious), she approaches her craft and her teaching with warmth, authenticity, and a touch of humor.

Kerri’s work is all about connection—whether on stage or in the studio. She’s not just here to teach techniques; she’s here to help people discover their voices, build confidence, and embrace their own creative journeys. Her teaching philosophy is rooted in creating a safe and comfortable environment, where asking questions and making mistakes aren’t just okay—they’re celebrated.

Kerri’s students often describe her as someone who genuinely cares about their growth, and that’s no accident. She’s deeply passionate about empowering others, especially singers, to believe in themselves. For Kerri, teaching isn’t about pointing out flaws—it’s about opening doors. She’s most energized when she sees that spark of realization in her students—the moment they make a sound they never thought they could or when a new possibility suddenly feels within reach.

A performer herself, Kerri knows firsthand that singing and acting are as much mental as they are technical. That’s why she emphasizes what she calls the “unwritten rule” she wishes she had learned earlier: you are enough. Her mission is to help others internalize that truth, on stage and off.

Outside of teaching, Kerri is committed to living life boldly and authentically. She’s constantly pushing herself to share her thoughts and passions more openly, a journey she views as both personal growth and a gift to others. Whether she’s performing, teaching, or just writing about herself in third person (wink), Kerri’s goal is always the same: to leave a little more light and confidence in the world.

Adam Niewood is a saxophonist, composer, drummer, and craftsman, who has been involved in a variety of different creative projects over the past 30 years, in and around the New York metropolitan area.  More recently having worked for 6 years in David Liebman’s “Elvin Jones Live at the Lighthouse” Band playing the Tenor 2 book once held by Steve Grossman in the early 1970s incarnation of the Elvin Jones Quartet.  Also a long tenure as a member of the Pat Martino Quintet during Pat’s last years of touring, Adam can be heard on Pat’s last album as a leader, Formidable.  While in another mode as a craftsman, making Saxophone mouthpieces for today’s virtual who’s who, of professional world-class Saxophone player’s like Michael Brecker, Chris Potter, Dick Oatts, Mark Turner, Greg Osby, Ron Blake, John Ellis, Greg Tardy, Ben Wendell, Dayna Stephens, and countless others.  It’s becoming arguable, exactly what Adam Niewood is most well-known for.

Adam comes from what some refer to as “an artsy family” His father, Gerry Niewood, was a world renown jazz artist best known for his long association with Chuck Magionne. Saxophone studies began at age 3 (!) and by the tender age of 5, Adam had traveled on the road (tagging along with dad) with Simon & Garfunkel and Liza Minelli. While still in high school, Adam played tenor and toured in big bands that included Lew Soloff, Don Menza and Steve Gadd.

After early studies with his dad and a two year stint in Boston at Berklee, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree from William Paterson University under the tutelage of David Demsey. Upon graduation, Dr. Demsey recommended Adam for a professorship at Montclair State University, where he instructed saxophophone, jazz history and small ensemble. Eager to continue his education, he received a full scholarship to attend Manhattan School of Music (earning a Master’s Degree). Subsequently, he became one of the first attendees of the jazz program at Juilliard (earning his Artist Diploma in May of 2010).  More recently, Adam taught Drum Set at Lafayette College as a musical instructor. In addition, he has been a guest lecturer at William Patterson University, The Juilliard School and multiple jazz workshops. 

Throughout his career as a freelance musician, Adam Niewood has played with an eclectic wide spectrum of various different artists ranging from: Renee Olstead, Ronnie Cuber, Andy Fusco, George Benson, Richie Cole, Tito Puente Jr., Bill Charlap, Joe Piscopo, Jim McNeely, Rufus Reid, Debbie Gibson, Warren Vache, Vic Juris, Steve Gilmore, Gene Bertoncini, Bill Goodwin, Phil Woods, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Dave Leibman, Gene Perla, Adam Nussbaum, Pat Martino, and many other accomplished musicians.

With now several recordings, under his belt, as a leader: Adam’s latest releases on Steeplechase Records –  “Blue as a Whistle” and “Home with You At Last” – feature jazz greats John Scofield, John Patitucci, and Jack DeJohnette.  (Check out the Music page for Adam’s select discography)
Adam’s work as a craftsman on Mouthpieces, has evolved over years of study and apprenticeship.  Having been “in-business” professionally for 20 years, he is now recognized as one of the most intuitive and serious craftsmen on the planet. His fascination with mouthpieces was inspired by the late Jon Van Wie, an acknowledged master of refacing. After Jon’s passing, Adam knocked on the door of the legendary Ted Klum (taught by the master Everett Mattsen) and became an apprentice of Ted’s, learning and perfecting the art of the mouthpiece – as well as establishing a lifelong friendship. 

JJ Fajardo is a talented drummer originally from Denver, Colorado, who comes from a family of musicians and began playing club gigs before his teens. While attending the Denver School of the Arts, he showcased his exceptional talent as part of the Jazz Workshop Orchestra, competing in the prestigious Essentially Ellington Jazz Festival Competition. During his high school years, he also earned spots in the Colorado All-State Jazz Band and the 2004 Mile High All-Star Big Band, further solidifying his place as a rising star in the jazz world.

In addition to his early accomplishments, JJ performed professionally with Denver's acclaimed Latin jazz group Amanecer, gaining valuable experience and recognition. His dedication and skill earned him the prestigious Presidential Scholarship to Berklee College of Music in 2005/2006, where he studied alongside fellow drummer Ayeisha Mathis, focusing on performance and music business/management.

Now residing in Florida, JJ has expanded his musical horizons, playing with a variety of groups spanning jazz, Latin, and contemporary music styles. His career has taken him around the world on tours, sharing his dynamic drumming and musical versatility with audiences globally. JJ continues to inspire with his artistry, blending his deep roots in jazz with a passion for exploring diverse musical genres.

Mike DiRubbo: A Saxophonist Supreme

In a jazz world of questionable infrastructure, shrinking media and variable degrees of artistic taste, one thing remains clear: New York City-based alto saxophonist, bandleader, composer and educator Mike DiRubbo has been the most swinging and soulful artist on his instrument for nearly 30 years. 

His new CD, Inner Light - his tenth recording as a leader,  is proof positive of his stature as a saxophone colossus. The 11-track, 65 minute recording features DiRubbo backed by longtime partners, organist Brian Charette, drummer Jongkuk Kim, and guitarist Andrew Renfroe. DiRubbo’s piercing and poetic sax tones have never sounded better. He’s supported by a rhythm section that recalls the searing sound of the legendary Newark organist Larry Young. The CD captures DiRubbo in a variety of Afro-Latin, 4/4, ballad and quiet storm moods and grooves, and it also features his first single, the radio friendly midtempo number, “Love the Same.”

The new recording by DiRubbo is his latest stop on his road to jazz enlightenment that began in New Haven, CT when he first started playing the clarinet in the 4th grade and switched to alto saxophone. His musical life changed when he came under the tutelage of alto sax master and educator Jackie McLean. He studied at McLean’s Institute of Jazz of the Hartt School, University of Hartford,  and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in 1992. He also earned a Master of Music in 2018 from SUNY College at Purchase.

DiRubbo moved to New York City in 1997, and quickly established himself as a leader and a sideman with  Al Foster, Jim Rotondi, Steve Davis, Cecil Payne, Tony Reedus, Joe Farnsworth, David Hazeltine, Brian Lynch, Michael Weiss, Carl Allen, Essiet Essiet and Harold Mabern. 

DiRubbo’s nine previous recordings as a leader from 1999 to 2018 include: From the Inside Out, Keep Steppin’, Human Spirit, New York Accent: Live at the Kitano,  Repercussion, Chronos, Four Hands, One Heart, Threshold and Mike DiRubbo Quartet – “Live at Smalls.” DiRubbo has been featured in articles, reviews, and interviews in magazines such as Jazziz, Hot House, JazzTimes, Down Beat and  JazzWise. He’s also a perennial presence in The Down Beat Critics Poll in the Rising Star: Alto Saxophone category. 

DiRubbo has been a teaching artist at the Litchfield Jazz Camp for 27 years, and more recently at the Stanford Jazz Workshop. He is currently an online adjunct professor at Saint Leo University.

As his music and accomplishments make clear: Mike DiRubbo will be a steady guide as we navigate the shape of jazz to come in this post-COVID world. 

Mike DiRubbo is a Yanagisawa Saxophone artist, and uses Theo Wanne Mouthpieces and RW Reeds.

Davy Mooney is a jazz guitarist from New Orleans who records for Sunnyside Records and is Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and head of the jazz guitar program at the University of North Texas. He has recorded six CDs as a leader, and many others as a sideman. His latest Sunnyside CD, Live at National Sawdust, was recorded live in Brooklyn, NY with Brian Blade, Jon Cowherd, John Ellis, and Matt Clohesy. In 2018 he recorded Benign Strangers, a collaboration with Japanese drummer Ko Omura (also on Sunnyside), and toured Japan to promote the release in the summer of 2018. His previous Sunnyside releases are 2017's Hope of Home, and 2012's Perrier St. In promotion of these CDs, Mooney has toured the US extensively, as well performed in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Myanmar. Mooney's first book for Mel Bay, a guitar and improvisation instructional volume entitled Personalizing Jazz Vocabulary, was published in 2019. Mooney has a PhD in jazz performance from NYU, and wrote a dissertation on the early 1960s work of Joe Pass entitled "Joe Pass's Catch Me!, For Django, and Joy Spring: Transcription and Analysis." He placed third in the 2005 Thelonious Monk International Guitar Competition, and studied at the Monk Institute of Jazz Performance from 2007 to 2009, under artistic director Terence Blanchard. The Monk group worked with many jazz legends-including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Ron Carter-and toured Panama and India. Mooney received his master's degree from the University of New Orleans in 2005. Shortly thereafter he relocated to New York City and performed at clubs such as the 55 Bar, The Bar Next Door, The Blue Note, and Smalls. In 2006 he recorded a duo guitar CD with John Pizzarelli entitled Last Train Home. The following year he recorded Astoriano, released on the Japanese label LateSet Records. Mooney has also made the foray into the literary world by self-publishing two novels: 2017's Annalee and 2012's Hometown Heroes.

LUKE SELLICK is a bassist, composer, teacher and recording artist. Hailing from Winnipeg, Canada, Luke is now a mainstay on the NYC music scene, and bassist-of-choice of many preeminent jazz artists including Monty Alexander, Russell Malone, Benny Golson, and others.

Luke’s musical education began in Canada, where he was home-schooled, and then attended the University of Manitoba’s jazz program. In 2012 he moved to New York to pursue his Master’s degree at The Juilliard School, where he was mentored by legendary bassist Ron Carter. Luke received his ‘on-the-job’ training as a member of the Johnny O’Neal trio, with whom he performed weekly at NYC jazz clubs Smoke, Smalls and Mezzrow for several years.

In 2017 Luke released his debut album ALCHEMIST, followed by his CHRISTMAS EP. His latest project SMALL VACATION is a duo with guitarist Andrew Renfroe, featuring music by Neil Young, Tom Petty, Dolly Parton and others. He is currently based in Harlem, and has performed worldwide with artists including George Coleman, Houston Person, Kenny Barron, Jimmy Greene, Renee Rosnes, Ron Blake, Lewis Nash, Alina Engibaryan, Carl Allen, Peter Bernstein, Donald Vega, Mike LeDonne and a great many others.

In addition to his busy performance schedule, Luke is active as a teacher and clinician, and has worked with various colleges, private and public schools. He can also often be heard at his church in NYC, CityLight. His non-musical passions include hockey, aerial photography, canoeing and fishing. Luke’s musical philosophy is epitomized in the words of J.S. Bach, that “the end of all music is none other than glory of God and the refreshment of the spirit”.

Dave Pietro has been on the New York music scene since 1987. A native of Southboro, Massachusetts, his talents as a saxophonist, doubler, composer, and educator have made him an in-demand musician who has performed at jazz clubs, jazz festivals, schools and concert halls in more than thirty countries throughout the world.

Dave is a member of the Grammy Award-winning Maria Schneider Orchestra and the Grammy nominated groups - the Gil Evans Project and Darcy James Argue's Secret Society.  From 1994-2016 he played lead alto saxophone and recorded seven albums with the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra. He has also performed, and/or recorded with the bands of Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Maynard Ferguson, The Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, John Fedchock, Mike Holober, and Pete McGuinness among others. Pietro has performed with many other well-known musicians such as Louis Bellson, Ray Charles, Harry Connick Jr., Liza Minnelli, and John Pizzarelli.  He has also studied East Indian music and performed with various groups led by Indian tablist Sandip Burman. 

Professor Pietro has released ten albums as a leader with many of the top musicians in jazz including Rez Abbasi, Helio Alves, Jay Anderson, David Berkman, Brian Blade, Johnathan Blake, Adam Cruz, Duduka DaFonseca, Billy Drummond, Dave Holland, Pete McCann, Michael Rodriguez, Alex Sipiagin, Bill Stewart, Gary Versace, Johannes Weidenmueller, Scott Wendholt and Kenny Werner. His latest album, The Talisman (Steeplechase-2024), was described by jazz critic Ken Dryden as “a masterful album that is not only fueled by its lush harmony, but by its infectious rhythmic undercurrent.” Thomas Conrad of Stereophile said "Pietro has emerged as a leader of importance" in his review of Hypersphere (ArtistShare-2020). Other releases receiving critical acclaim include New Road: Iowa Memoirs (ArtistShare-2017), Embrace: Impressions of Brazil (A Records-2004), and Standard Wonder: The Music of Stevie Wonder (A-Records), which was voted one of the top 10 jazz CD’s of 2001 by Bob Blumenthal of the Boston Globe and Bill Milkowski of Jazz Times. Dave also co-led an international quartet "The New York-Tokyo Connection" (NYTC) with pianist Jonathan Katz. 

Dave was selected as a semi-finalist for the first two Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz International Saxophone Competitions (1991 & 1996) and was a finalist in the 1995 JAZZIZ Magazine "Woodwinds on Fire" talent search. In 1996 he was the recipient of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 2005 and 2007 he received grants from Chamber Music America’s New Works Programs to compose and perform his new extended work “The Chakra Suite” (2008-Challenge) which was voted one of the top CD's of 2008 by All About Jazz .

Pietro received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from North Texas State University where he toured and recorded four albums with the school's One O'Clock Lab Band. He holds a Master of Arts degree in jazz composition from New York University where he studied with renowned jazz composer Jim McNeely. Dave is sponsored by D'Addario Woodwinds and the Conn-Selmer Instrument Company.

Among the most proficient and accomplished bassists in the field of contemporary jazz, Orlando le Fleming's virtuoso technique, boundless creativity and powerful beat are those of a musician who has found himself, humbly, occupying a space in the uppermost stratum of American improvised music. 

Orlando's facility as an improviser and capacity as a team player were first honed not on the bandstand, nor in the practice room, but on the cricket pitch. Originally from the UK, Orlando seemed destined for an athletic career, and was briefly a professional cricketer, until he was granted a place at London’s Royal Academy of music, and his lifelong passion for music won out. 

Le Fleming's 2003 move to New York City was a timely one. Soon after arriving stateside, Orlando joined Jane Monheit's band, consequently sharing the bass duties on her 2004 release Taking a Chance on Love with Ron Carter and Christian McBride; the year following, he recorded with jazz legend Jimmy Cobb on his Marsalis Music Honors release. In the years since, leaders as diverse as Branford Marsalis, Joey Calderazzo, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Bill Charlap, Billy Cobham, Seamus Blake, Jeff “Tain” Watts, and David Sanchez have relied on Le Fleming's firm beat and eloquent counterpoint to propel their rhythm sections forward. 

While he succeeds as a sideman, it is as a leader that Orlando le Fleming truly shines. From Brooklyn With Love is a living document of Orlando's original compositions, as performed by his 2010 quartet. Recorded in concert at storied Park Slope hangout Freddy's, it features saxophonist Will Vinson, guitarist Lage Lund, and drummer Antonio Sanchez. Riding the high acclaim of this initial release, Lund, Vinson, and Le Fleming would go on to form the drum-less OWL Trio, whose eponymous 2013 debut was hailed by critics and listeners alike. Downbeat declared “Everything about this album,which should contend for debut of the year honors,is a resounding success. The music swings effortlessly, every utterance is gorgeous and the recording is intimate and beautiful." 

More recently, Orlando has become recognized as a keen doubler: 2016 brought a wide array of opportunities as an electric bassist, from accompanying Tony-winning vocalist Leslie Odom, Jr, to navigating the shifting metrics of Wayne Krantz's legendary 55 Bar residency. His latest endeavor, Romantic Funk, presents a pastiche of classic fusion sounds and ideas, updated by Le Fleming's signature palette of polyrhythm and abstract exploration. 2020 saw the release of Romantic Funk’s second album - The Unfamiliar, and also a new OWL Trio record featuring the virtuoso vocalist, Kurt Elling. In 2022 Orlando was part of a collaborative standards album featuring jazz legends Mark Turner and Jeff “Tain” Watts and in 2024 he will release his third Romantic Funk album, featuring a guest appearance from Coldplay’s Chris Martin.

Andy Bianco, a jazz artist, composer, educator, and advocate hailing from New York City, boasts an impressive career that spans performances with renowned artists such as Angie Stone, Deborah Cox, Kandace Springs, Ray Chew, Elle Varner, and Bob Moses. His musical journey has graced esteemed venues worldwide, including ABC Television's Good Morning America, Billboard Live Osaka/Tokyo, The Howard Theater, Blues Alley, and The Blue Note, among others.

As the guitarist for Grammy-winning R&B artist Elle Varner, Andy has toured extensively across the USA and Japan, leaving an indelible mark on stages like the Essence Festivals in New Orleans, the BET Awards, and the Richmond Jazz Festival. His prowess as a performer extends to prestigious jazz hotspots, including Chris' Jazz Cafe, Smoke Jazz Club, and The Zinc Bar.

A three-time finalist in the USA Songwriting Competitions, Andy has garnered domestic and international critical acclaim for his three official jazz album releases. Downbeat Magazine, Elsewhere New Zealand, Bop-N-Jazz, and The New York City Jazz Record are among the publications praising his work. His latest album, "NYC Stories," received accolades for its dynamic jazz compositions and triumphant narrative.

In addition to captivating audiences with his music, Andy's advocacy for music and education is evident in his creation of the Phillip Bianco Memorial Music Scholarship. In honor of his late father, this scholarship, awarded annually through the Keynotes Foundation Scholarship Competition in Pittsburgh, supports young adult music students.

Andy's impact extends beyond the stage; his music has been licensed for use in Hollywood films and prime-time network television. He has completed a 6-month tour of New Zealand and Japan as the guitarist for the critically acclaimed stage production "Empire." As a private instructor with New York Jazz Workshop and a teaching artist with Wingspan Arts and Midori & Friends in NYC, Andy shares his passion for music with aspiring talents.

Highlighted by press reviews praising his "deliciously dynamic jazz" and the triumph-over-adversity theme in "NYC Stories," Andy continues to craft stories through his music. His guitar work has been described as having a "fantastic sound & boundless imagination & fire" by jazz guitar masters Peter Bernstein and Ben Monder.

Endorsed by ESP Guitars, Godin Guitars, Reunion Blues Cases, and Dean Markley Strings, Andy Bianco stands as a compelling force in the world of jazz, leaving an indelible mark on stages, classrooms, and scholarship programs alike.

International bandleader, performing and recording artist Rich Mollin has been a part of the music industry since 1980. He has been a leader of modern musical groups including show bands, Rock, Jazz, R&B, Blues, Funk, and Free Improvisation ensembles. Sideman and Bandleader on Norwegian Cruise lines, Costa lines, Holland America, and Carnival lines, Rich worked on stage with hundreds of headline acts. As Bandleader for Michael Carney Music in Manhattan, Rich led a Jazz trio 6 nights a week for 9 years with many of New York's finest pianists and drummers. His trio performed for dignitaries, heads of state, and jazz fans in venues throughout the east coast. He currently heads one of the largest bass studios in the SUNY system teaching String Bass and Electric Bass. He also began the jazz improvisation studies class and performs regularly in the area now in a variety of genres with The Catskill Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Theatre, Mask and Hammer Productions and innumerable jazz settings and recording as house Bassist with Sonart recording studios in Woodstock, NY. As well as other projects.

Rick Peckham is internationally active as a jazz guitarist and educator. He has presented performances and clinics on six continents and specializes in a unique blend of styles, including jazz, rock, blues, fusion and country finger style performance.

Currently a full-time professor in Berklee’s Guitar Department, Peckham has been a faculty member since 1986, and served as Assistant Chair of the Guitar Department, with 1100 guitar students and 60 guitar faculty, from 1992-2013.

The internationally released album Left End, with drummer Jim Black and bassist Tony Scherr was named one of the best releases of 2005 by DownBeat Magazine. He organized the college’s honorary doctoral tributes to Roy Haynes, Joe Zawinul, Jack DeJohnette and John Scofield, featuring then-Berklee students Kurt Rosenwinkel, Matthew Garrison, Antonio Hart, Abe Laboriel Jr., Melvin Butler and Seamus Blake. Several then-Berklee students he has coached include Lionel Loueke, Lage Lund, Frank Möbus, Jeff Parker, David Rawlings, Brooks Robertson, Matt Stevens and Nir Felder. His Berklee Jerry Reed/Chet Atkins Guitar Ensemble performed to high acclaim at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Convention in Nashville in 2014.

Some of his published works are two 12-week online berkleemusic.com courses: Berklee Guitar Chords 101 (2007 UCEA award for best online class) and Berklee Guitar Chords 201, the DVD Modal Voicing Techniques, and Hal Leonard books Berklee Jazz Guitar Dictionary and Berklee Rock Chord Dictionary. His updated edition of Modal Voicings for Guitar is soon to be released by Hal Leonard.

Michael Topping is an up-and-coming bassist based in New Jersey, making waves in the jazz scene with his incredible versatility and artistry on both electric and upright bass. A graduate of William Paterson University’s renowned jazz program, Michael studied under master bassist Steve La Spina, honing his craft and developing a unique voice. Known for his long, lyrical solos that captivate audiences, Michael has already performed at prestigious venues like The Django in New York City. With a deep respect for jazz tradition and a modern, innovative approach, Michael continues to establish himself as a sought-after performer in the vibrant jazz community.

Born in Norman Oklahoma in 1985, Champian is recognized as the “most gifted pure Jazz singer of her generation” (Mark Stryker, the Detroit Free Press). A Jazz pianist and vocalist for more than 20 years, she has released 18 albums as a leader and has performed in more than 25 countries, both in concert and on TV. She has been recognized with numerous awards, including Album of the Year in the NYC Jazz Record (2018, 2020, 2023) and Pianist and Vocalist of the Year (2019) by Hot House Magazine. She regularly appears in both the Jazz Journalist Awards and Downbeats Rising Star Critics Poll.

Champian began her career at the age of 10, performing for Jazz legend and family friend Clark Terry’s 75th Birthday Party. Since then she has appeared on stage with Jazz royalty such as Lou Donaldson, Frank Wess, Scott Hamilton, Nicholas Payton, the WDR Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Hamilton, John Clayton, Buster Williams, Jimmy Cobb and Louis Hayes, who performed with Champian in a tribute to Horace Silver for her senior recital upon graduation from SUNY Purchase in 2006. After moving to New York in 2003, she began performing at Birdland, the Jazz Corner of the World, where she has regularly appeared for over 20 years. In 2023 Champian & Birdland celebrated this longtime friendship with the release of “Meet Me at Birdland'', an album which was hailed as the Best Vocal Album of the year by the NYC Jazz Record. 

A saxophonist with a warm and impactful sound rooted in jazz tradition. A label owner tirelessly documenting the vital sounds of both prominent and unsung jazz heroes. One of Canada’s and North America’s most important jazz impresarios.

Cory Weeds is all of these things, and much more. He’s the hardest working man in jazz business.

an expressive saxophonist, passionate club owner and impresario, astute record label owner, and producer with musically satisfying instincts.

Chris Wong, from Thirty Jazz Lives in Vancouver

Weeds was the founder and owner of Cory Weeds’ Cellar Jazz Club in Vancouver, which he successfully ran for more than 13 years. Weeds built the Cellar to become a beloved venue DownBeat Magazine acknowledged as one of North America’s best Jazz clubs, where masters such as George Coleman, Louis Hayes, Sheila Jordan, David “Fathead” Newman, Dr. Lonnie Smith, and leading jazz musicians from Vancouver, across Canada, and the U.S. performed before the last choruses were played there in February 2014.

But he wasn’t just the club owner. As a saxophonist who studied at the University of North Texas and Capilano University, Weeds spent many nights on the hallowed Cellar bandstand as a leader and sideman. He swung hard and held his own when performing with icons like Joey DeFrancesco, Christian McBride, and Harold Mabern. Weeds has recorded more than 20 albums as a leader, including his latest release Home Cookin’. His recordings have received numerous accolades worldwide, including reaching #1 on the JazzWeek charts and receiving excellent reviews from jazz journalists.

While the Cellar is now a sweet memory, the Cellar Live record label Weeds established in 2001 is alive and very well. Rebranded in 2018 as the Cellar Music Group — which includes the Cellar Live (recorded live), Cellar Music (recorded in studio), and Reel to Real Recordings (archival) imprints — has released more than 350 recordings. Many of the releases have spent extensive time on the JazzWeek charts, been reviewed in acclaimed print publications, and been featured on NPR’s Fresh Air. Weeds has also served as producer on more than 200 recordings. In 2017 Weeds celebrated a win at the Juno Awards when Metalwood won for Jazz Album Of The Year: Group for Twenty, released on Cellar Live.  

2023 was a watershed year for Weeds and the Cellar Music Group. In March of that year, Weeds and the label were awarded a Grammy Award for the eponymous Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra release in the Best Large Ensemble Jazz category. DownBeat Magazine also recognized Weeds as the #2 Rising Star Producer and Cellar Music was #8 in Record Label Of The Year. 

On the presentation front, Weeds has booked Frankie’s Jazz Club in downtown Vancouver since 2016. Weeds has continued to build Frankie’s reputation for being one of Canada’s finest jazz clubs, presenting great American players like Roy McCurdy, Bill Charlap and David Hazeltine and Vancouver stalwarts such as Brad Turner and Jodi Proznick. Then there’s Jazz at the Bolt. In 2024, Weeds presented a strong lineup for the fourth annual two-day festival at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. In addition to Frankie’s and Jazz at the Bolt, Weeds presents music all over British Columbia, Canada, and the U.S. 

Weeds has an enduring affinity with New York City. He’s brought so many of the jazz mecca’s top players to Vancouver, and has performed, toured, and recorded with many of them. Tapping into his insider knowledge of the NYC scene, Weeds has led the annual New York With Weeds tour 11 times and counting. Every year, he leads 20–30 jazz lovers to clubs off the beaten track, private recording sessions at sacred places like the Van Gelder Studio, and to many more exclusive happenings. During the 2024 tour, one of the featured events was a duo performance with Bill Charlap and Weeds.

Bob Pilkington is a trombonist, composer, arranger, and educator.

Much of Bob’s career has been devoted to original music projects, both his own and those of others. His own projects include the Landscape Orchestra, Excursions, the Continuum Jazz Brass Band, Orquesta Tropical 2000, Fractal, Federator No.1, and Fusion Nouveau. He has been a resident composer and orchestra member of the Jazz Composers Alliance since 1989. He has also performed with original music ensembles including Antigravity, Fly By Night, Mark Harvey’s Aardvark Jazz Orchestra, Fred Ho’s Green Monster Big Band, the Darrell Katz Jazz Orchestra, the Ken Schaphorst Big Band, the Chandler Travis Philharmonic, and others. He wrote in varying degrees for most of them as well.

At Berklee College of Music, Bob regularly participates in concerts as a performer/writer, including two annual department concerts featuring compositions by himself and other faculty. He’s also performed with and/or written for a number of groups covering styles such as avant garde jazz, traditional jazz, big band jazz, fusion, rock, pop, klezmer, salsa, afro-pop, commercial music, and classical. He appears on over forty released CDs, records, and tapes from many of the mentioned groups as well as others. He most recently released album is titled “Lords of Time,” featuring fusion based composition by himself with his group Fusion Nouveau.

Bob is a professor in the Jazz Composition Department at Berklee College of Music where he has been teaching since 1982. At Berklee, he has been recognized with the Ted Pease Excellence in Teaching Award and the President’s Award in Information Technology for his work advancing Computer Aided Instruction in Music. His students can be heard in all areas of the music industry and have won many awards.

Bob currently lives in the Boston area with his wife, Kaoruko, and two cats, Nefi and Cleo.

Whether you’ve heard guitarist Dave Stryker leading his own group (with 35 CD’s as a leader to date), or as a featured sideman with Stanley Turrentine, Jack McDuff, and many others, you know why the Village Voice calls him “one of the most distinctive guitarists to come along in recent years.”

Hot House magazine awarded him Best Guitarist – Fans Decision for 2017. He was recently voted once again as one of the top Jazz Guitarists in the 2022 Downbeat Critics and Readers Polls for the 15th time.

“I have followed Dave Stryker‘s playing since his early days in Omaha through his long stay with Stanley Turrentine… and he just gets better and better with one of the most joyous feels around.”

Dave’s last 5 CD’s have all gone to #1 on the JazzWeek Radio chart. Prime, his most recent, features his longtime working trio of Jared Gold and McClenty Hunter fresh off a tour opening for Steely Dan.

As We Are features John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Julian Shore and a string quartet led by violinist Sara Caswell. It received one of the Top Album of the Year honors in the Downbeat Readers Poll and Jazz Times magazine.

Eight Track III stayed at #1 on JazzWeek Radio chart for 6 straight weeks. Messin’ with Mister T, is a celebration of the man he worked with for over a decade — Stanley Turrentine, “Mister T” — with ten of the greatest tenor sax players on the scene today. It went to #1 on JazzWeek Radio and stayed in the Top 50 for 20 weeks and has received great reviews including 4 1/2 stars in Downbeat magazine.

“Guitarist / composer Dave Stryker possesses golden tone, urgent style, and the kind of heated technique that can blow the roof off any gig. Stryker cut his teeth with organist Jack McDuff and tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, and that grits-n-gravy goodness seemed to mark his music: an urban tale spinner, a sharp stylist able to improve any bandstand, a storyteller in sound of the highest degree.”

Dave Stryker grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and moved to New York City in 1980. After establishing himself in the local music scene, he joined organist Jack McDuff’s group for two years 1984-85. When McDuff wasn’t on the road (literally traveling by van all over the country) they worked a steady four-night a week gig at Dude’s Lounge in Harlem. His first break, this turned out to be an invaluable experience, paying his dues night after night with the soulful jazz organist.

It was at Dude’s Lounge that Stryker met tenor saxophonist Stanley Turrentine, who would occasionally sit in. After leaving McDuff, Turrentine asked Stryker to join his quintet. From 1986-1995 he played with the legendary saxophonist at all the major festivals, concert halls, and clubs throughout the world. He is featured on two Turrentine CD’s (Stanley recorded Stryker’s tune “Sidesteppin”).

With Turrentine, Stryker was able to play with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Freddie Hubbard. The ten years playing alongside the tenor legend helped Stryker realize the importance of having his own sound. Dave continued to work with Stanley and was with him during his final week at the Blue Note in NYC, when he passed in Sept. 2000. Stryker has also performed with James Moody, Jimmy Smith, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Jimmy Heath, Kevin Mahogany, Eliane Elias, Joe Lovano, Steve Slagle and many others.

Early on Stryker realized that as much as he loved playing standards and the jazz repertoire he had to have something of his own to give to the music. He feels that his writing combined with his playing is what shapes his musical expression. He has recorded and published over 150 of his own compositions and has released The Dave Stryker Songbook with most of his original music. Also 18 of the compositions (from the first five SteepleChase CD’s) are compiled in the book: The Music of Dave Stryker (SteepleChase Music).

Some of the other artists who have recorded Dave’s music are: Stanley Turrentine, Kevin Mahogany, Victor Lewis, and Steve Slagle. Dave continues to perform with The Dave Stryker Organ Trio, Dave Stryker Eight Track Band, and his Blue to the Bone Band. Dave Stryker’s Trio opened for Steely Dan’s 2022 Summer tour “Earth After Hours”.

Recent gigs have included Birdland, the Blue Note, Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Monterey Jazz Festival, The Newport Jazz Festival, The Keystone Korner in Baltimore MD, The Jazz Bakery in LA, and tours of Europe, Canada and Japan.

Dave co-led The Stryker/Slagle Band for 30 years with saxophonist Steve Slagle. He has appeared on over 75 CD’s as a sideman. Past sideman work has included vocalist Kevin Mahogany’s group, with Dave writing and arranging music for Kevin’s Telarc release Pride and Joy and Another Time, Another Place on Warner Bros and tours of Europe, Japan, Brazil, Poland and Carnegie Hall.

As a producer, Stryker compiled the CD The Guitar Artistry of Billy Rogers which is the only existing record of the brilliant jazz playing of the late underground legend who was his friend, former teacher and member of the Crusaders. Dave has also produced A Tribute to Grant Green on Evidence Music and has produced many other artists.

Dave is Adjunct Professor of Jazz Guitar at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University. Dave recently launched his online teaching school at www.artistworks.com. His book Dave Stryker’s Jazz Guitar Improvisation Method Vol III is available on his Bandcamp site.

There's no description more apt for Sheryl Bailey than "A sizzling guitar goddess", coined by Elliot Simon of All About Jazz. He's not alone with his superlatives-Adam Levy of Guitar Player Magazine calls Sheryl "One of the most compelling tones of her generation", and Frank Forte of Just Jazz Guitar ranks her "among the best bop guitar players with a fresh approach and something new."

Sheryl's playing is unquestionably "sizzling". She has groomed incredible chops and impeccable taste with which she applies them. It's said (by Lee Metcalf, The Villager) that she can "go from zero to blazing in two beats", but she is continually praised for never sacrificing melody and lyricism for technique. "She balances superior technical skills with a strong lyrical sense and swinging touch..." continues Metcalf, and Joe Taylor of Soundstage says "Bailey combines an astonishing command of the fingerboard with a seemingly endless flow of melodic invention.As for the guitar, she's hardly had it out of her hands since the age of 13. That was when her mother finally relented to Sheryl's begging for a Harmony Strat from the J.C. Penney catalogue. Though Sheryl was a rock-star wannabe, the influence of her pianist mother got her obsessed with learning harmony, and her first teacher in Pittsburgh, John Maione, introduced her to the guitar tradition-Wes, Jimmy Raney, George Van Eps, Joe Pass and others. She eventually attended Berklee College of Music. Her years of dedication and focus won her 3rd place in the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Guitar competition in 1995, and she was chosen as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department in 2000 for a South American tour. She is now said to be "One of the top players in an emerging generation of jazz guitarists" (John Heidt,Vintage Guitar).

Her own trio, The Sheryl Bailey 3, is a modernized version of the organ trio-"the ultimate organ trio" according to JazzInside Magazine. In addition to their 15-year plus residency at NYC's 55 Bar, they have toured China, Canada, Europe and the US. She also tours the world as a member of David Krakauer's "Ancestral Groove". A partial list of others with whom she has performed and recorded with includes Richard Bona, George Garzone, Lincoln Goines, Kim Plainfield, Bill O'Connell, Mike LeDonne, Irene Cara, Lea Delaria, Jack Wilkins, Howard Alden, Shingo Okudaira, Ingrid Jensen, Dwayne Burno, Tommy Campbell, Simon Woolf, Alex Garnett and Ken Peplowski.

To date, Sheryl has 9 CDs out under her name, and a live DVD, The Sheryl Bailey 3 Live in NYC (Mel Bay). Each successive release has drawn more accolades. Of Live at the Fat Cat, Joe Taylor says, "...this disc proves again that Sheryl Bailey is one of the most gifted and exciting jazz guitarists on the scene", and that she is a "jazz composer of the first order". In 2010 MCG Jazz released A New Promise, her tribute to Emily Remler, produced by Grammy-award winner, Marty Ashby, featuring Sheryl as the solo artist with Three Rivers Jazz Orchestra. In Downbeat Magazine Phillip Booth commented, "She is one of the new greats of her chosen instrument". Her 2014 release on the Cellar Live label, A Meeting Of Minds features The Sheryl Bailey 3. A feature on the disc in Guitar Player Magazine states: "They are so in sync they seem to finish each other's ideas". In 2015, she and bassist Harvie S debuted their acoustic duo, Plucky Strum on Whaling City Sound. JazzTimes Magazine remarked of Bailey’s approach: "her fluidity of style is impressive, her agility uncommon".

Sheryl is a Professor at Berklee College of Music, and at the Collective in New York. In keeping with Sheryl's philosophy of "giving back", her 2011 quartet release, "For All Those Living" donates 20% of sales to the Ronald McDonald House of NYC. She has been an Artist in Residence at countless other programs, including NYU, Bates College, the Stanford Jazz Workshop, Towson University, the LA Music Academy and GIT. In 2009, Mel Bay published her book Moveable Shapes: Concepts for Re-Harmonizing II-V-I's. She has also developed a complete curriculum in jazz improvisation for interactive cyber study via Truefire's Guitar Sherpa program, The Bebop Dojo. In addition she has top selling courses available from Mike's Masterclasses, Jazz Guitar Society, JamPlay, and Truefire.

Kevin Brown is a bass player in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut Metropolitan Area.  He also is a university teacher and professional audiobook narrator.

Recent performances and recordings include sessions at Abbey Road Studios in London with the Rock Opera Orchestra.  He has played hundreds of theatrical, pops, jazz, and classical concerts at venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to the Metropolitan Museum; from the Cutting Room in Manhattan to the Bedford in London; from 42nd Street’s Signature Theater to the prestigious Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey.  He has backed entertainment acts including Joan Rivers, Bob Newhart, Marvin Hamlisch, Regis Philbin, Rich Little, and the Drifters.

He has played with the Staten Island Symphony, Metro Lyric Opera, Orchestra of St. Peter-by-the-Sea, New Jersey Pops, New Jersey Ballet, and , Monkeyworks Music Ensemble.

He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies and Master of Music degree in Double Bass from the University of North Texas.  He is an adjunct professor on the music faculty at Montclair State University; teaches music theory at Wharton institute for the Performing Arts in Berkeley Heights, NJ; lectures on popular music at Fairleigh Dickinson University; and is available for private bass lessons.

Ron McClure was born in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. He started on piano at age five, and later played accordion and bass. McClure studied privately with Joseph Iadone and, later, with Hall Overton and Don Sebesky. McClure attended the Hartt School of Music, graduating in 1963.

Later life and career

McClure worked in the Buddy Rich Sextet in 1963. He then joined Maynard Ferguson's big band and, afterwards, Herbie Mann in 1964; and then assumed the bass chair in the Wynton Kelly Trio vacated by Paul Chambers in 1965 (playing behind guitarist Wes Montgomery)

From 1966 to 1969, he was a member of Charles Lloyd's "classic quartet" with pianist Keith Jarrett and drummer Jack DeJohnette, which was voted "Group of the Year" in 1967 by Downbeat magazine.

In 1970, with pianist-composer Mike Nock, drummer Eddie Marshall and violinist Michael White, he co-founded the jazz-rock group, the Fourth Way. He also participated in Carla Bley's album, Escalator over the Hill, and worked with saxophonist Joe Henderson.

In 1974, McClure joined Blood, Sweat & Tears, staying until 1975 and performing on three albums: Mirror Image, New City and In Concert

In the 1980s, he joined Quest, led by saxophonist Dave Liebman, which also included drummer Billy Hart and pianist Richie Beirach.[4] He also recorded a duo album with pianist Michel Petrucciani. McClure's major engagements in the 1990s through the early 2000s were with Lee Konitz, and then with the reassembled Quest.

His solo output include the contributions of John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Vic Juris, Paul Bley, Michael Eckroth, Richie Beirach, and Randy Brecker.

"Oscar's technical agility, advanced harmonic and melodic knowledge, and grounding in funk and R&B--as well as his dedication to Latin traditions--give him the ultimate flexibility when it comes time to lay down a groove." - Bass Player Magazine

Hailing from Peru, Oscar studied at the Conservatory of Music in Lima while working extensively as a first-call session musician and live performer for many international artists and local bands. He moved to the U.S. in 1979, where he continued his studies with pianist/educator Mike Marra, and Jazz great Jerry Bergonzi. Since then, Oscar has become one of the most in-demand performers the on the East Coast. His mastery of different music styles from Jazz and Fusion to Latin, Brazilian, and South American music, has allowed him to travel the world performing with a virtual who's who in the Latin and Jazz worlds respectively. Throughout his illustrious career, Oscar has accrued four Grammy Awards with a total of six nominations.

Oscar has also been a Professor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston since 1988. He's been largely responsible for the school's development of Latin education, instituting several courses on Latin and world bass styles. Oscar has represented Berklee at the International Association of Jazz Educators conferences and has held clinics in music communites all over the world, including Peru, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Germany, Italy, Brazil, Spain. Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Germany Switzerland, Canada, Uruguay. He also teaches Latin Jazz Ensembles and Jazz Improvisation in the Latin Jazz Idiom at the New England Conservatory of Music. During his tenure at Berklee, Oscar has produced concerts for numerous guest artists including Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Eva Ayllon, Larry Harlow, Jorge Drexler, Ivan Lins, Issac Delgado, Rosa Passos, and Luis Enrique, among many others.

Oscar is the co-author of the “Latin Bass Book” published by Sher Music, a complete work on how to play bass lines in the Afro Cuban, Brazilian, Caribbean, and South American music styles. He has also written the Afro Cuban Slap Book published by Berklee Press/Hal Leonard. He is currently working on a a new book for Bass, Drums and Piano “New Trends in Latin Jazz” an intensive study of Latin American rhythms from Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and Uruguay and their applications in Latin Jazz.

Oscar is a contributing writer for the Magazine “Musico Pro” for the monthly articles “Latin Bass Masters,” and “Bass Concepts.”

 Christopher Brown is an acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, and educator who seeks to be a voice within the advocacy of Jazz music and American culture. And through the expansive range of groups that he has assembled and/or performed with—which span from duos to Jazz big bands to military marching bands and orchestras—his musical and personal experiences have led him towards an interest in synthesizing the principles of Jazz with the day-to-day practicalities of life. However, given that businesses shape the global market economy that everyone lives and participates in, is why he has found it useful to integrate business philosophies with that of music to help develop himself and his band. Which as he likes to say, “we’re all in the same business…the people-trusting-people business. No people, no business.”   

The Early Years

       Born and raised in Portland, OR, Christopher began his life in music at age five with piano lessons before adopting the saxophone and drums by age 12. And throughout the rest of his time in middle school and high school, he’d go on to garner numerous local, state, and national awards. The first of his three most noteworthy accomplishments during this period began with the recruitment of a bassist and a saxophonist one fall afternoon for the purposes of creating a quick recording to submit to Down Beat Magazine. The recording was later mentioned in Down Beat the following spring as being the top high school small group for 1995. The second accomplishment came when he was afforded the opportunity to perform with Wynton Marsalis at the Alladin Theater in Portland, Oregon. And lastly, he was cast as an extra in the 1993 movie “Mr. Holland’s Opus,” starring Richard Dreyfuss 

Military

       After his completion from high school, Christopher’s enlistment into the U.S. Marine Corps as a drummer for four years, afforded him the opportunity to strengthen his networking skills, beginning with his association with Ellis and Jason Marsalis while stationed in New Orleans. But after one short year in New Orleans, the Corps sent him to Parris Island, SC where at the recommendation of Ellis he began working periodically with bassist Delbert Felix, formerly of the Branford Marsalis Quartet. And from that association he caught the attention of the legendary jazz bassist Ben Tucker, with whom he worked on and off with for three years. And finally, right before his discharge from active duty, he was afforded the opportunity to perform with Jazz legends Buddy Defranco and Terry Gibbs at the Jazz Corner in Hilton Head, SC.

       Following his discharge in 1999, he’d take a two-year break in service before re-enlisting in the 63rd NJ Army National Guard band, where he’d eventually conclude his 20 years of military service with the 234th Army National Guard Band in Clackamas, OR. 

Education

      Upon Christopher’s release from active duty in 1999, he moved up north from South Carolina to eventually settle in New Brunswick, NJ for the following 13 years. And it would be during this phase of his life where the true foundation of his understanding of music would begin to cement via Rutgers University and the streets of NYC. But it would ultimately prove to be the relationships that he developed among the faculty within the Jazz program at Mason Gross School of the Arts that would serve as the most important launching pad for so many of his past and present successes. Following his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Jazz Studies/Performance from Rutgers in 2004 and 2006 respectively, he’d go on to teach both the introduction to Jazz historiography and Jazz theory course for four years before returning home to Portland, OR in 2012. And lastly, he has had the pleasure of teaching as an artist in-residence within Wells Fargo’s “NJPAC Jazz For Teens” program (NJ), Mt. Hood Jazz Camp (OR), Mel Brown Jazz Camp (OR), Litchfield Jazz Camp (CT), Rutgers Summer Jazz Institute (NJ), Montclair Jazz Camp (NJ), and the International Summer Music Camp (Brno, Czech Republic).

Awards 

       Aside from having won the top high school small group award in 1995 through Down Beat Magazine, he was selected in 2002 to represent the U.S. in a Rutgers University sponsored performance in Fukui, Japan, in addition to being awarded the Pee Wee Russell scholarship from the NJ Jazz Society in the same year. Following that, he was also selected twice as the drummer for the intercollegiate all-star big band's performance at the NJ Music Educators Association annual convention (2003/2005). Also, his recording with Rutgers' Scarlet Knight Jazz Bones (led by Conrad Herwig), helped them take home the 2011 International Trombone Association's “Kai Winding Jazz Trombone Ensemble Competition” award. And lastly, he was given the 2007 Artist of the Year award (following Esperanza Spaulding) through Portland State University’s “Leroy Vinnegar Jazz Institute.”

Other Accomplishments

       In addition to his main passion as a drummer, he has also kept up his proficiency on the alto saxophone over the years, which consequently resulted in him having performed live with the great Ralph Peterson Jr. Quintet (2002) on channel six in NJ for one of their segments called “New Jersey Talking,” as well as having headlined as a saxophonist for both the 2007 PDX Jazz Festival (OR) and the 2010 Cathedral Park Jazz Festival (OR). And lastly, he served as the principle saxophonist in the 63rd NJ Army National Guard Band from 2001-2012.

       Altogether, since Christopher’s enlistment in the Marines, and subsequent move to the North East, he has had the pleasure of performing and or recording with many of the world’s top recording artists, such as: Beyonce, Esperanza Spualding, Liv Warfield, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Delfeayo Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Ray Charles, Jimmy Heath, Ralph Bowen, Ralph Peterson Jr., Conrad Herwig, Steve Turre, Paquito D’Rivera, Claudio Roditi, Charles Fambrough, Benny Golson, Bobby Watson, Craig Handy, Orrin Evans, Terry Gibbs, Buddy Defranco, Vincent Herring, Javon Jackson, Stanley Cowell, Wess Anderson, Antonio Hart, Paul Bollenback, David Sanborn, Geoff Keezer, Onaje Allen Gumbs, James Genus, Don Alias, Don Braden, Victor Goines, John Benitez, Anthony Wonsey, Jim Rotondi, Valerie Ponomarev, Delbert Felix, Ben Tucker, Virgil Jones, Vic Juris, Boris Koslov, John Stubblefield, Darren Barrett, Jon Gordon, Roseanna Vitro, Lonnie Plaxico, John Cowherd, Kenny Davis, Carla Cook, David Leibman, Ronnie Mathews, Sean Jones, Marquis Hill, Arturo O’Farrill, Randy Brecker, Chuck Israels, George Colligan, Chad Lefkowitz-Brown, John Pattitucci, Kamasi Washington, and Mel Brown.      

        Aside from Christopher’s first big musical break coming in the form of a month long European tour with Roy Hargrove’s Quintet in the summer of 2006, he has also spent some more time in front of the camera between commercials for Master Card and the History Channel, re-enactment scenes on the Maury Povich show, Beyonce’s “Count Down” video, and the big budget film “American Gangster,” starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. 

The Composer/Bandleader

       Since Christopher’s move back home to Portland in 2012, a large part of his focus has been on the continual exercising of his leadership acumen within the area of band leading. And given that this is a lot like running a business or organization, he has been able to use his band as a metric for musical and organizational excellence for other bands, organizations, and businesses to emulate. Therefore, like any leader who has to be rooted in themselves and their vision, Christopher has been intentionally using his band and the music they play as an instrument for challenging existing beliefs around “normalcy,” as applied to personal and organizational growth within schools, public performances, and private seminars. And what better way to have this all too important conversation than through the lens of music. 

Barry Greene began playing guitar in 1971, at the age of 10 years old. Strongly influenced by Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, George Benson and Pat Martino, Barry has developed into a world-class guitarist, arranger and composer. He has recorded or performed with such artists as Paul Bollenback, Chad Lefkowitz Brown, Seamus Blake, Danny Gottlieb, Gene Bertoncinni, Kenny Drew Jr., Adam Nussbaum, Reuben Rogers, Ron Affif, Mark Ferber, Peter Mazza, John Davis, Ulysses Owens, Jerome Jennings and Colin Bailey. Barry has eight CD’s out as a leader. Resurgence, Sojourner, At Home, Urban Jazz, In the Meantime and three other releases, Barry Greene Trio, The Other Side and Urban Jazz II.

Barry has several books published with Mel Bay Publications and has authored 3 iBooks. He proudly endorses Thomastik-Infeld strings, Benedetto Amps, and Benedetto Guitars. Barry has been invited to perform at the Long Island Guitar Show held in New York several times, as well as having performed at other notable NYC venues. He has also performed in Europe several times including concerts in Germany, and France.

Barry is currently a Professor of Jazz Guitar at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, where he has been since 1995. He teaches a guitar ensemble, applied guitar, and several audio technology courses. His series of video jazz guitar lessons has gained worldwide recognition and is used by hundreds of jazz guitarists.

"I’ve been enjoying the guitar as an instrument and it’s amazing artists all of my life. To me Barry Greene is just about one of the best; not only as a player, but also as a writer and a teacher. I agree with others who regard him as a world class musician.”  — Pat Martino

“Great tone, control and musical judgment, my favorite type of player.” — Russell Malone
“his improvisations were creative with impeccable technique... ” — 20th Century Guitar Magazine

“Barry Greene is a fantastic guitar player. He swings his ass off. Beautiful sound...beautiful ideas. I met Barry recently at the University of North Florida when I was doing clinics and a performance there. He teaches at that school. All the students rave about him so obviously not only is he a great player but a great teacher too.” — Mike Stern

“Artist/Educator Barry Greene defies – no, decimates – the adage that those who can’t, teach. Monster chops, soulful feel, full/rich classic jazz tone, and virtuosic harmonic techniques establish him as a top tier guitarist.” — Howard Paul - Benedetto Guitars

Tom Knific has performed with many of the great jazz and classical artists of our time on tour and on record. They include Michel Legrand, Gene Bertoncini, Billy Hart, Randy Brecker, Dave Brubeck, Fred Hersch, Edward Simon, and others. He and Eric Marienthal co-led the Dream Band with Toots Thielemans, Kenny Werner and Harvey Mason in the first live interactive concert multi-cast over the Internet. As a classical artist, he has recorded with Pepe Romero, Andre Watts, Philippe Entremont, and the Merling Trio. He as appeared as a soloist with orchestras throughout the U.S. and has performed as principal bassist with orchestras and chamber orchestras in the U.S. and Europe. He has appeared at chamber music festivals throughout North America and Europe and is a founding member, bassist and composer for the contemporary music group, OPUS 21. Knific is professor emeritus of double bass and director of jazz studies at Western Michigan University, and is a visiting professor at The China Conservatory, Beijing. He has also taught at the Interlochen Arts Academy, Michigan State University, Cleveland Institute of Music, and has presented over 200 hundred master classes worldwide. He received the 2016 Musical America Top Professional and Innovators award and received the 2004 Down Beat magazine Achievement in Jazz Education award. Knific has written dozens of works in a variety of idioms and is published by Editions Delatour, Paris, and ISB Publications, Dallas. He is heard on over 30 CDs including four solo projects. Knific is past president of The International Society of Bassists.

At first glance one might not guess that this is a man hailed by greats; Ramsey Lewis describes his music as "happy music with tasty meat on the bones," Les McCann states "Joe's on a 'blow your mind' level," and Ahmad Jamal calls him "a very special artist." Journalist Nat Hentoff championed three of Alterman’s albums, as well as his writing (Joe wrote liner notes to three Wynton Marsalis/JLCO albums), calling one of Joe’s columns “one of the very best pieces on the essence of jazz, the spirit of jazz, that I’ve ever read, and I’m not exaggerating.”

Joe Alterman began at NYU with a BA and Masters in Jazz Piano from NYU and has since performed at many world renowned venues including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Birdland and Blue Note  alongside Houston Person, Les McCann, Dick Gregory, Ramsey Lewis, and his own trio, among others. Downbeat describes his sound as “rooted in the blues, and with a touch reminiscent of the great pianists of the 1950s—Red Garland, Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans.” It is clear Joe hits all of the necessary points for Jazz critics and fans alike.

Guitarist Charlie Sigler has been active member of the music community since his high school years studying and performing in the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area. A recent graduate of William Paterson University with a B.A. in Jazz Performance, Charlie has performed with many greats of the music including Winard Harper, Harold Mabern, Eric Alexander, Myron Walden, Akiko Tsurga, Pat Bianci, Jared Gold, Vince Ector, Bruce Williams, Radam Schwartz, Kyle Koehler and Dave Stryker among others. He has performed at clubs and festivals throughout the region including the Montclair Jazz Festival, Litchfield Jazz Festival, Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, AFRAM and the Berks Jazz Festival. Currently residing in Bloomfield, NJ, Charlie maintains a busy schedule of performances, recording and teaching.

Yvonnick Prené is a professional jazz musician, bandleader, composer, and educator based in the greater New York City area. He is one of the most unique and innovative harmonicists on the scene today.

Prené has recorded 5 acclaimed albums as a leader, including  Listen! (2023) on Sunnyside Records featuring Kevin Hays, Bill Stewart, Dayna Stephens, Jeremy Pelt and Clovis Nicholas.  His latest recording, "Jobim's World" with pianist Geoffrey Keezer, earned rave reviews (2024). 

Prené has performed and/or recorded with New York luminaries such as Peter Bernstein, Rick Margitza, Joe Farnsworth, Steve Cardenas, Pasquale Grasso, Jon Cowherd, Rich Perry, Brian Charette, Jared Gold, Rick Germanson, Jeb Patton, Jerome Sabbagh, among others. 

He has performed around the world, notably at Jersey City Jazz Fest, Exit  Zero Cape May Jazz Fest,  Winter Jazz Fest (NYC), Bern Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Festival Emoi du Jazz (Ivory Coast), Lamentin Jazz Festival (Martinique), SPAH Harmonica Fest (Tulsa), Hyde Park Jazz Festival (Chicago),  and Jazz Sur Seine Festival (Paris). 

Prené performs more than 100 concerts per year, having performed at major jazz clubs in New York City as sideman or leader — including the Blue Note, the Django, Zinc Bar, The Iridium, Dizzy’s Club, Birdland, The Jazz Gallery and Smalls. 

The harmonicist is a revered educator and the founder of the New Harmonica School and My Harmonica Studio. and to date, Yvonnick has taught more than 500 students. Additionally, Prené has written 10 methods about jazz improvisation, jazz etudes and blues harmonica. He also taught at Jazz House Kids, New York Jazz Workshop and Brooklyn Music School.

Additionally, Prené is an ambassador for Hohner; the legendary harmonica brand has chosen Prené to be the face of their brand-new, flagship 12-hole chromatic harmonica called Xpression.

Yvonnick grew up in Massy, a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris. He has earned a Bachelor of Music (2007) and a Masters of Music degree from Sorbonne University (2011) and a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Performance from the New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music (2012).

He has had the opportunity to study with Lee Konitz, Charli Persip, Charles Tolliver, and Reggie Workman, among other leading lights of the music

• “A veteran pianist who also spent considerable time in the trenches and is now a respected musician’s musician.” The New Yorker, Steve Futterman

• “Jim Ridl is absolutely stellar on piano, hallmarking his own abilities to both accompany, to solo with brilliance and to improvise on a theme.” Jazz wordPress, Dee Dee McNeil on Paul Jost’s recording “While We were Gone”

Jim Ridl, a New York City-based jazz pianist, composer and teacher, performs and records worldwide with a variety of jazz artists, including The Joe Locke Quartet, The Paul Jost Quartet, The Dave Liebman Big Band, and the Mingus Big Band. He is well-known as a “musician’s musician.” His 7-year residency at the renowned NYC jazz club, The 55Bar, featured the Jim Ridl Quartet and Trio performing his original music. In 2021, Jim began a residency at The Soapbox Gallery in Brooklyn, online and in person, which has become a creative platform for original jazz. Jim is on the faculty at New York Jazz Workshop and The City College of New York, and has maintained a private studio for over 30 years, now both online and in person.

Jim has 9 recordings of his own, including two released in 2022: Ask for the Ancient Path (May 2022, featuring Scott Robinson, Martin Wind and Tim Horner), and Standards Live (August 2022, the Jim Ridl Trio with Tim Lekan and Bob Shomo). Jim’s previously recordings: Door in a Field Volume 2 “Songs of the Green River,” Blue Corn Enchilada Dreams , Your Cheatin’ Heart and Other Works; Door In a Field v.1; Jim Ridl Trio/Live; Blues Liberations (solo piano); and Five Minutes to Madness and Joy.

Jim’s tenure with jazz guitar legend Pat Martino included performances around the world in quartet and duet, and produced 4 outstanding recordings: Nexus, Interchange, Night Wings and The Maker.

Additionally, Jim has performed and/or recorded with Steve Wilson, Randy Brecker, Marc Johnson, Bill Stewart, Denis DiBlasio, Jay Anderson, Tim Armacost, Kenny Davis, Cliff Almond, Wayne Krantz, Joel Rosenblatt, JD Walter, Donald Edwards, Chris Tarry, Scott Reeves, Gabriela Anders, Rudy Royston,  Ximo Tebar, Darryl Hall, Zach Brock, Tim Horner, Ralph Bowen, Dean Johnson, John Benitez, Diane Monroe, Donny McCaslin, Mark Walker, Terrell Stafford, Vic Juris, Francois Moutin, …

Jim has toured with the US State Department American Music Abroad program, performing and offering workshops in Asia-Pacific, Russia, South Korea, China, the Philippines, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Slovania and Malta. Jim has conducted master classes and subbed for colleagues at New York University, City College of New York, Temple University and William Paterson University, was the Art Tatum Memorial Scholarship Artist at the University of Toledo, and Visiting Jazz Artist at Princeton University, where he also directed several ensembles.

Jim was raised on a farm and ranch in North Dakota, and discovered his love for piano and jazz at an early age. He attended the University of Colorado at Denver, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Scoring and Arranging, and was awarded its Student Achievement Award for composing “Ocean Sojourn,” an orchestral tone poem which he performed with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, James Setapen, conducting. He is listed in the Who’s Who of American Colleges and Universities. In Denver, Jim began his professional career performing and touring with local and nationally-recognized musicians, including the Grammy-nominated vocal jazz group, Rare Silk.

Evan Levine is an Upright/Electric Bassist, Composer, Guitarist and Educator that currently lives in Chicago, IL. Originally from New Jersey, Evan’s musical career started in high school as a part of the award winning Scotch Plains/Fanwood Moonglowers and a member of the Somerset Jazz Consortium. Evan received his Bachelors degree in Jazz Bass Performance from Oberlin Conservatory in 2014 and his Masters Degree in Music Improvisation from the University of Michigan in 2015. After graduating, he was a prominent figure in the Miami Jazz scene before moving to Chicago in 2017.

Evan has performed with Michelle Coltrane, Nicole Yarling, Tal Cohen, Jamey Haddad, Benny Green, Carl Allen, Kendrick Scott, Patrick Donley, Tommy Carroll, David Leon, Alex Brown, Sean Jelenik, Bonzo Squad, Benny Golson, Ellen Rowe, Nicole New, Lex Korten, Matt Gold, Andrew Green and many others. As part of the Oberlin Jazz Outreach program in 2014, Evan was part of a trio that toured across Italy in Florence, Sienna and Alba. Evan’s first album, Unsolvable Problems, was released in 2016 and featured Lex Korten on Piano and Kayvon Gordon on Drums. It featured almost all compositions by Evan and toured throughout the East Coast and Midwest. More recently, Evan has played at the South Bend Jazz Festival in 2017 with Michelle Coltrane and Hendri Lamiri’s groups.

Evan is currently a part of Emily Kuhn’s project, Helios. Helios will be featured as a part of Chicago’s, Night out in the Parks program and will perform at public parks across Chicago in June. Evan is also a member of Echoes, which will be touring in Carson City, San Francisco and Los Angeles in August. Echoes will also be releasing their sophomore album this summer.

Evan has a new trio project featuring Matt Gold (Sun Speak) and Andrew Green (Twin Talk). This album, entitled Mestizo, features Evan’s compositions and will be available in Fall 2018 on the Label Shifting Paradigms . 

Born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Arnold took accordion lessons and discovered guitar when he saw the Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. He attended the University of South Dakota but switched to the Berklee College of Music in 1976. He took private lessons from Jerry Bergonzi and Charlie Banacos.

Arnold moved to New York City in 1988 where he became an active member of the jazz community, producing many recordings as a sideman and leader. He is one of the few electric guitarists in the world to use the computer program SuperCollider in both his compositions and improvisations. Arnold is a founding member of Spooky Actions, a jazz group which explores improvisation using classical music repertoire.

He has played with Stuart Hamm, Peter Erskine, Joe Pass, Joe Lovano, Lenny Pickett, Randy Brecker, Stanley Clarke, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Absolute Ensemble under the baton of Kristjan Järvi.

Arnold's recording credits include over twenty albums and DVDs (on Muse-eek Records, Mel Bay Recordings, Truefire and other labels), ranging from standard jazz repertoire to free improvisation to reinterpretations of classical music.

Teaching and writing
He is the director of Guitar Studies at New York University and Princeton University as well as the creator of the New York University Summer Guitar Intensive. He has taught at the New England Conservatory, Dartmouth College, Berklee,[1] New School University, and City College of New York.

Arnold's theoretical works have explored the use of pitch class set theory within an improvisational setting. He has also written more than 300 music instruction books covering guitar pedagogy, ear training, and time studies.

Drummer and percussionist, Ben Zweig, plays around the world in places such as Japan, China, the Netherlands, Germany, Israel, Chile, Cameroon, across North America, and locally at venues in his native NYC. He keeps an active performance schedule and tours frequently throughout the United States and Canada.

Born in 1992 in NYC, Zweig frequented the local scene of seasoned jazz musicians who eventually became close mentors. He has had the opportunity to share the stage with some of these masters – Randy Weston, Johnny O’Neal, Jerry Dodgion, Harold Mabern, Larry Ridley, David Williams, Roy Hargrove, Deborah Davis, Grant Stewart, Joe Cohn, and Steve Nelson. Downbeat magazine has described his playing as “especially crisp and articulate” and all about jazz, “Zweig steals it with his brush work.” Ben strives for his playing to reflect a passion for performing simple, heartfelt music.

Beginning his musical journey on drum set at age 5, he later picked up trumpet and steel drums. These early voices ultimately shaped his expression on the drums, drawing from the musical traditions of American jazz, West and Central African, Brazilian, Caribbean, and European classical music. In 2018, Zweig traveled to southeast Cameroon to work with Global Music Exchange and learn from master musicians of the Baka Gbiné pygmies. Then in 2021, a pilgrimage to learn from Brazilian percussionists across the country’s coast furthered his diasporic exploration. His fascination with rhythmic dance music from around the world led to the formation of the drum featured band, big beet. Grammy winning producer Don Sickler commented, “[Zweig] is able to combine history with the current musical environment, making it sound fresh.”

Ben’s teaching is the culmination of public schooling and private conservatory, NYC late night sessions, jazz youth programs, steel orchestras, marching bands, classical orchestras, and mentorship from musical stalwarts Joe Farnsworth, Billy Hart, Kenny Washington, Rodney Green, Justin DiCioccio, Christopher Brown, John Riley, Rogerio Boccato, and Ken Piascik. His pivotal fortune to study music in a variety of environments has fueled his love and dedication towards his own teaching practice, always with the goal of increasing students’ interest in deeper rooted music and reaching higher levels of group connection in their playing. Ben received his B.M. and a M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music. He has taught private lessons for over 15 years, currently at the Q Studiolab in Queens, NY as well as many university jazz and drum clinics across the US and Canada.

Charlie Apicella was voted onto the 84th and 86th DownBeat Readers Poll for Guitar.

He studied composition and improvisation with musical titans Yusef Lateef and Pat Martino and was trained as a historian by Archie Shepp and Dr. Billy Taylor. As a young guitarist he met his idol BB King, who offered him advice and shared some stories.

He has performed concerts and recorded with jazz legends Dave Holland, Sonny Fortune, John Blake, Jr., and Avery Sharpe as well as contemporary masters Joe Magnarelli, Vic Juris, Dave Stryker, Don Braden, and Jon Herington of Steely Dan.

In 2022 he formed The Griots Speak with bassist William Parker, saxophonist Daniel Carter, and percussionist Juma Sultan who is known for his work with Jimi Hendrix.

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Charlie Apicella is the founder and program director of Blues Alive: ancestral voices of the blues

He is Vice President of Education for the North Jersey Blues Society

He is an Eastman Guitars Featured Artist a

Guild Guitars Sponsored Artist and a

ZT Amplifiers Official Artist

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He has been a TrueFire educator since 2018 

and has published two masterclass lessons for DownBeat magazine

Frank Russo joyfully paints colorful soundscapes with his highly skilled, passionate, musical drumming. He's an in demand performer, recording artist and educator who currently resides in Maryland and teaches at Towson University. He is also an artist/educator for Bosphorus Cymbals, MD Drums and The Vic Firth Education Team. Raised in the NYC area, Frank was steeped in the rich musical heritage of the jazz legends at an early age and carriers on the legacy of a musical family.

An incredibly adaptable musician, a partial list of his performances testifies to his diverse talent. He has performed with Mundell Lowe, Dr Lonnie Smith, Hal Crook, Craig Handy, Keter Betts, Ethel Ennis, Greg Gisbert, Chuck Redd, Bill McHenry, John O'Gallagher, Dave Ballou, John D'earth, Denis DiBlasio, Ron McCurdy, The Coasters, Frankie Lane and many more. Highlights of his performances include the Detroit Jazz Festival, Ottawa Jazz Festival, Stan Getz Jazz Festival, East Coast Jazz Festival, The Kennedy Center and many others. Tours have included several trips to Asia, Europe, Canada, Mexico and Bermuda. Frank completed a distinguished career with the prestigious Naval Academy Band where he performed in and led several dynamic ensembles. He was stationed in Annapolis, San Diego, Great Lakes, Monterey and Norfolk during his career.

Frank is a Summit Records Recording Artist whose recordings have gained national recognition and praise from Downbeat, Jazztimes and Modern Drummer along with others. He is featured on "Point of Grace" with PF Flyer, "No Turning Back" with Fred Hughes, "Gabrielle's Hand" with Bob Boguslaw and The acclaimed Shook Russo Quartets "Featuring Greg Gisbert" all on Summit Records. As a sought after studio ace he has played on countless sessions, crossing all genres, including PBS Documentaries, "Quiet Now" with John Toomey, "In My Mind's Eye" with Max Murray & Doug Bickel, Kenny Carr's "Turn the Page" featuring brilliant saxophonist Donny McCaslin, "Uncertain Paths" with Rob Levit and many more.

Frank is also a member of the Bob Butta Trio, The Fred Hughes Band, Rob Levit Trio, Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet, Bob Boguslaw's The Way, Mozart to Motown with Stefan Scaggiari, PF Flyer and The Shook Russo Quartet. His most recent release on Summit Records "A Thousand Eyes" is with the superb saxophonist Pete BarenBregge.

Frank is proud to exclusively perform on maple drums designed by Keith Larsen (Maryland Drum Company), Bosphorus Cymbals and Vic Firth Products.

Born and raised in Texas, Nate Hook is a musician, educator, and composer currently living in Philadelphia.  He has degrees from William Paterson University, the Peabody institute, and Eastern University.  Notable teachers he studied under from that time include Harold Mabern and Gary Thomas.

Before moving to Philadelphia, Nate lived in NYC and Baltimore where he actively participated in the jazz scene playing at venues like Smalls, Smoke, the Zinc Bar, etc.  As a working musician, he never limited himself to jazz, but also played in everything from symphony orchestras, to theatrical productions, to afrobeat bands.

Currently, Nate plays jazz under his own name mostly around Philly.  He also manages the jazz/avant garde/electronic project ‘Progressive Overload’ with collaborators Paolo Cantarella and Dan Finn.

Nate also plays bagpipes, as did John Coltrane — a little-known fact about each.

Noel Sagerman is a jazz jam drummer from New Jersey and is proficient in all sorts of live music genres and settings from late-night jazz to early morning religious services. Noel Sagerman has been playing drums since elementary school in West Orange, NJ and started playing professionally at the University of Vermont. He then spent a year playing in Japan. Later, he returned to NJ and furthered his studies with teachers Bobby Thomas, Billy Higgins, and Tim Horner. 

Some of the artists he has worked with include Irene Reid, Pharoah Sanders, "Big" John Patton, David "Fathead" Newman, Oliver Lake, Bruce Williams, Dave Stryker, Pat Tandy, Freddie Hendrix, Brandon McCune, and Pete Rodriguez, along with gospel singer/pianist Joshua Nelson on tour, and at Hopewell Baptist Church. 

A proponent of a “no holds barred” approach to modern creative improvised music, Will Strickler is an in-demand bassist performing throughout the United States.  

Will has toured the country as both a bandleader and sideman at notable venues such as Midtown Music Festival, Cliff Bells, Rockwood Music Hall, Bop Stop, BluJazz+, and many more. 

He has performed with highly acclaimed artists such as the grammy winning pop singer Daya, finalist on NBC’s “The Voice” Chris Jamison, Doc Robinson, Jess Baldwin, Lily Bloom, Zakk Jones, Sam Blakeslee, Dan Wilson and many more.

Cleveland-based drummer Anthony Taddeo has a passion for creating music that is accessible, engaging, and connects people from all walks of life. Whether as a sideman supporting musicians such as Frank Wess, Ron McClure, Bobby Selvaggio and Camila Meza or as a composer for film, he is interested in what ignites the audience’s relationship to a performance. An integral member of Cleveland’s jazz/improvised scene, he leads projects including Alla Boara, ALbaTrio, TMT Trio, and his solo project featured on “Self-Portraits” (2018). As a recording artist, he is featured on over 30 albums. Taddeo received an MFA in Composition from Youngstown State University and a BFA in Music Performance from New School for Jazz & Contemporary Music, where he studied with Jimmy Cobb, Reggie Workman and Amir Ziv. An enthusiastic educator, Taddeo is co-director of JazzFest Academy Saturday Morning Program and percussion instructor at Tri-C Jazz Fest Camp and Jazz Prep Program. He is currently endorsed by Byrne Cymbals and Out of the Drawer Percussion as a performing artist.

Randy Johnston makes learning jazz guitar fun. He takes an approach to teaching jazz in it's simplest form. Each class will improve your abilities and get you ready to perform. Randy Johnston is one of the most widely recorded and prolific guitarists of his generation. He has released 12 albums as a leader for the Muse, Highnote, J Curve, Mel Bay, and Random Act labels and has appeared on dozens of recordings with other top recording artists. In addition to his recording career, Randy has toured and played with some of the most acclaimed names in jazz, including Lionel Hampton, Houston Person and Etta Jones, Lonnie Smith, and has played for 17 years as a regular member of the Lou Donaldson Quartet. He has traveled the world concertizing, both as a bandleader and side musician, performing at the top clubs and festivals all over the United States, Europe, Japan, Thailand, and South America.

Gordon Kuba is a versatile jazz drummer based in the NJ/NY area, known for his dynamic performances and deep groove. A graduate of the Montclair Jazz Program, Gordon has developed a unique sound that seamlessly blends traditional jazz with modern fusion elements. He leads First Mountain, his original fusion band, showcasing his versatility and creative vision. Over the years, Gordon has had the pleasure of performing with notable artists such as Charlie Apicella & Iron City, guitarist Dave Stryker, and Hal Gaper, building a reputation as a dedicated and talented musician in the jazz scene.

Jeff Mann is quickly becoming a respected presence in the drumming community. He has been playing for 20 years, but since joining the NYC world-prog shredders Consider the Source six years ago—a trio known for their virtuosic playing and unique “sci-fi Middle Eastern fusion” sound—he has had more of a spotlight for his abilities. A study in contrasts, Mann’s approach ranges from powerful, propulsive attacks laden with chops, to deft light hands that bring out the compositional nuance of the band’s rich, intricate arrangements. Add to this mix of technique and phrasing his ability to maneuver between Eastern and Western traditions, fusing culture rhythmically with a tonal palette that includes numerous traditional drums and hand percussion instruments, side by side with modern electronics. All the while, and maybe most important of all, he swings: he brings a groove to what can be dense, heavy sonic passages allowing odd-time signatures to flow by naturally, and he makes it seem easy. A remarkable soloist, Mann seems at times to compose on the fly, jumping from the song into a new space that is all his own, adding melodic textures to the rhythms and beats, then back into the arrangement. Like most fine players, however, what sets him apart is his ability to support and enhance the playing of his band mates—two extraordinary string players who would challenge any drummer. As one London blog put it, in a review of the band’s recent release, the epic double album World War Trio, Parts II & III (Techne Records, 2015), “The band is the sum of its brilliant parts, with guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Gabriel Marin flanked by multi-bass player John Ferrara and drummer / percussionist Jeff Mann. Mann combines subtlety and power in his phrasing to shape several challenging pieces brilliantly (getreadytorock.me.uk).” After catching the band live, another writer draws this comparison. “Imagine the ‘90s Bulls. Now, imagine them with LeBron on the team too. You can debate either way which of Marin and Ferrara are Michael and LeBron….Mann is unarguably Pippen, valiantly rocking (NYSMusic).” With a rigorous touring schedule averaging 125 shows per year, Consider The Source performs throughout North America, and has toured the Middle East and Europe three times. Demand from fans led the trio to create the “Source Academy”—an online lesson forum that Mann’s 10+ years of experience teaching lessons prepared him for.

Jonathan Colman is a Philadelphia-based bassist, performer, improvisor, composer, and educator. His penchant for groove-based improvisation and effects pedals finds a home in the power trio Muscle Tough, whose octave-switching madness blurs the lines between guitar and bass. As a sought-after session musician he is known for his stylistic sensitivity, progressive jamming tactics, and ability to see the big picture in the studio. Colman has a BA in Jazz Performance from Duquesne University. He has been touring and teaching regularly since graduating in 2008. Catch him performing with Muscle Tough! He recently partnered with Pickup Music to release their first-ever "Bass for Guitarists" learning pathway – designed to accelerate adapting to the low end.

Grammy award winning saxophonist and multi instrumentalist Jason Arce has been performing professionally for over 20 years. He has performed with a wide array of artists from Joe Jonas, Weezer, CeCe Winans, Adele, Blood Orange, Cory Henry among many others. He has also performed at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Primavera Sound, Pitchfork, and Governor’s Ball. Television appearances include Dick Clark’s Rocking New Years Eve, The Tonight Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Jason received his BA from VCU in 2007 and his Masters Degree from NYU in 2010. He is a proud endorser of Cannonball Saxophoness, BARI saxophone mouthpieces, BG France, and Gonzalez Reeds

Gregory Sgrulloni, professionally known as ThisIsTorch, is an American music producer, artist and drummer based in Los Angeles, California. Working in styles ranging from electronic and hip-hip to pop/Top 40 to symphonic or cinematic trailer music, ThisIsTorch has worked with artists, writers and producers the likes of Grammy winning songwriter Makeba Riddick (Beyonce and Rihanna), Grammy winning multi-platinum producer and mixing engineer Ken Lewis (Kanye West, Drake, Alicia Keys, BTS), Keli Nicole Price (Beyonce), Kpop hit songwriter Justine Ok (백지연), Courtney Paige Nelson (Americas Next Top Model), Brockett Parsons (Lady Gaga), Darude (DJ/producer of 'Sandstorm'), Henry 'Cirkut' Walter (Katy Perry, Dua Lipa, Britney Spears) and more. He is also known for his dynamic live performances and signature drumming style with live electronic acts, Sistine Criminals (featuring Grammy winning sax player, Aaron Burnett) and Conspirator (featuring members of The Disco Biscuits). As a touring musician, he has performed extensively throughout the U.S. as well as internationally. Throughout his career, he has shared the stage with artists such as Carnage, Prodigy (of Mobb Deep), Hannibal Buress, DJ Jazzy Jay, Method Man, Esperanza Spalding, KJ Sawka (Pendulum), Johnny Rabb (Collective Soul), Adam Deitch (Lettuce, 50 Cent, Lauryn Hill) and many more. Stylistically, his drumming is influenced largely by electronic music genres such as Jungle/DnB, Trap and House as well as some of their respective subgenres; most notably Drill, IDM, Tech House, Chicago Juke and more. His sound and style of drumming could be described as ‘Squarepusher meets Billy Cobham meets Metro Boomin’. In 2014, ThisIsTorch was ranked among “Adam Deitch's Top 10 Most Exciting Drummers on the Scene" on L4LM.com. ThisIsTorch is also the author behind the ground breaking innovative drum method book entitled, "Trap Style Drumming for the Acoustic & Hybrid Drum Set". Credited as the first ever drum method book for the wildly popular style of Trap, it was published and distributed by Hudson Music/Hal Leonard starting in summer of 2018. Having been reviewed by some of the industries top world class drummers (Jojo Mayer, Johnny Rabb, Jeff “TAIN” Watts, Adam Deitch and more), “Trap Style Drumming” went on to earn a nomination for 'Best Educational Product' in the 2019 Modern Drummer Readers Poll.

Scott has been a Professor at Berklee College of Music, for over 12 years. When Scott isnʼt busy teaching, he is maintaining a multi-faceted career as a session musician, composer, writer and clinician earning a reputation as a uniquely talented hired gun guitarist. Aside from spending time as a busy Boston local sideman and touring artist, Scott performs live and records with players like Jerry Marotta, Tony Levin, Mark Egan, Ira Coleman, Nile Rodgers, Steve Gadd, Abe Laboriel, The Temptations, Bernard Purdie, Chuck Rainey, Peter Eldridge, and Guthrie Govan, to name a few. Scott is also a Professor of guitar at renowned Berklee College of Music in Boston where he teaches private students and professional guitar labs. His touring schedule includes live performances, master classes, and various clinics. Tarulli has performed in various cities and countries - LA, Paris, Umbria(Italy), London, Nashville, New York and all around the East Coast. Scott has released three albums under his own name: “Transitions”(2002) and “September in Boston: Live”(2004) and "Anytime, Anywhere" (2012) and has a lengthy discography as a sideman.

What started out as an inquisitive, playful orchestration on pots and pans, at the age of three, grew into a passion. Jarrett’s first love has always been jazz. This allure commenced at the age of 11 when he began studying at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s (NJPAC) Wachovia Jazz for Teens program in 2001. During his 7 years at NJPAC, he had the fortunate opportunity to study with jazz greats -- Ralph Peterson, Cecil Brooks III, Dion Parson, Mark Gross, Valery Panomarev, Joris Teepe and Mike LeDonne.

After his studies at NJPAC, he continued to pursue his passion for music at Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts, where he received his B.A. (2012) and M.M. (2017) in Jazz Performance. While there he was able to study with world-class musicians -- Victor Lewis, Ralph Bowen and Conrad Herwig to name a few. He has also performed with several notable musicians including bassists Rufus Reid, Kenny Davis, vocalist Carla Cook, trumpeter Valery Panomarev’s: Our Father Who Art Blakey Big Band, Eddie Allen’s groups PUSH, Eddie Allen Quintet and 3hree for Louis: Tribute to Louis Armstrong, Lance Bryant:SHOUT Big Band as well as Jazz Saxophonist Chico Freeman.

Jarrett has played at numerous major music venues in New York City including Dizzy’s Club Cocoa-Cola, The Iridium, The Blue Note, The Zinc Bar, and Carnegie Hall. He maintains constant engagements at various concert halls, clubs, and private and public events.

When not performing, Jarrett loves teaching and is on staff at  NJPAC and His & Her Music as an instructor, has private students, and conducts master classes for young children.       

He was also the Jazz Band Manager for the New York Youth Symphony Jazz Band, a 17-member swing ensemble whose single mission is to preserve the big band jazz music of the 30s and 40s as well as playing compositions of todays modern composers.

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Jarrett is an artful musician that is only at the genesis of his career. The best is yet to come.

Located in NJ/NYC, Bassist Ben Rubens has rapidly developed a reputation for being a supportive and well-rounded rhythm section musician. Performances include: The Kennedy Center, The Apollo Theater, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Blue Note Milano, Blue Note Beijing, Brussels Jazz Festival, Gaume Jazz Festival, Rochester International Jazz Festival, The Nice Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival and the Red Sea Jazz Festival. He is a featured performer on a number of CDs, including the Smoke Sessions Recording “In The Moment,” by the Johnny O’Neal Trio Ft. late trumpet master Roy Hargrove and “Songs in the Key of Wonder” by James Austin Jr. He also recorded original composition with late great jazz master, Jerry Dodgion. Rubens has performed three years in a row with the trio supporting NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan at Roni Ben-Hur’s RBH Jazz Camp in Burlington, VT. Mr. Rubens is also experienced in musical theater, performing in numerous regional productions as well as the June 6th, 2022 performance of “Plays For The Plague Year” by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks with musical direction by Ric Molina (“Wicked”). He has performed in Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, China, Russia, Israel, and Mexico. Ben has been so lucky to have been studying the bass with legendary jazz master Harvie S since 2009(!) and also to have hung and learned from Bob Cranshaw during 2013-2014

Norman Damschroder joined the University of Toledo faculty in 1997. He serves as senior lecturer of jazz history and as an instructor of double bass. He holds a Bachelor of Music (Jazz Emphasis) degree from the University of Toledo and a Master of Music Performance degree from Bowling Green State University. His major teachers have been Mark Bernat, Tom Knific, Derek Weller, and Jeff Halsey.

As an active freelance bassist in the Toledo area, Damschroder has performed with jazz artists Rosemary Clooney, Stanley Cowell, Ernie Krivda, Tim Ries, Jon Hendricks; pop artists Michael Feinstein, Maureen McGovern, Sandy Patty, and others.

As a classically trained bassist, he has appeared in over 100 concerts with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and is currently a member of the Toledo Symphony Jazz Trio which performs regularly in concert and clinic programs throughout Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.

His duties at University of Toledo include teaching Applied Double Bass, Jazz History, Low String Methods, Jazz Improvisation, and Jazz Combos. In addition to his duties at UT, Damschroder serves on the faculty of the University of Findlay and has served on the faculties of Bowling Green State University and Bluffton College. 

Lawrence Haber is a professional electric and upright bass player performing and recording primarily throughout the New York Metropolitan area and the Jersey Shore. Lawrence has performed with many renowned bands and original artists throughout his 20 year career including Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee David Bryan (Bon Jovi), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Bob Steeler (Hot Tuna), JSOUL (NBC’s The Voice), and Saturday Nite Fever/The Fever (legendary Jersey Shore band). He has shared the stage with vocalist Brent Carter (Average White Band, Tower Of Power), prominent music educator Dr. Nina Kraus (PhD Northwestern University), the members of popular touring Pink Floyd tribute band The Machine, vocalist Tommy Bowes (Blood, Sweat & Tears), Swang Stewart (The Family Stone) and Grammy Nominee James Hunter.

Lawrence has recorded extensively for the award-winning international children’s music program Music Together, where he also works as a Licensing Manager supporting their In-School curriculum.

He has performed at many famous venues including House of Blues Atlantic City, The Copacabana New York, The Stone Pony, and Shanghai Jazz.

Lawrence has been featured in Bass Player Magazine, No Treble, Bass Musician Magazine and Know Your Bass Player. He is a GHS Strings Endorsing Artist, an Emerging Artist for Bartolini Pickups & Electronics, a Master Strap Artist, and a Genzler Amplification Endorsing Artist.

Lawrence has a passion for music education and has studied privately with some of the world’s most prolific bass instructors including Gerald Veasley (Grover Washington, Jr.), John JD Deservio (Black Label Society), Joe Macaro (Ben Vereen), and Evan Marien (Allan Holdsworth).

Currently, Lawrence holds down the bass chair for Lawrence Haber Collective, The Mike Dalton Band, Skinny Amigo, and Rockin’ The Yacht.

Lawrence is also an active artist writing and recording original music for a variety of projects. In 2015 he released Anxiety Log, his debut solo album.

He is also an accomplished bandleader and music director for several projects.

Lawrence Haber is available for live gigs, recording sessions, and music instruction including clinics.

Inquiries: lawrencehabermusic@gmail.com

Hailed as a "musical prodigy turned evil genius" (spinner) bassist Michael Feinberg has quickly "become one of the premier young artists on the New York scene" (Jazz Inside Magazine). 

Interview with jazz pianist and composer, Anthony Pocetti.