Lineup

Marcus Miller’s illustrious career spans over four decades, during which he has left an indelible imprint on jazz. Collaborating with some of the greatest names in jazz, such as Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, George Benson, Joe Sample, Natalie Cole, David Sanborn, Grover Washington Jr and Bob James, it is Miller’s pivotal role as the architect of Miles Davis’ groundbreaking album Tutu that set new standards for contemporary jazz and cements Miller’s place in jazz music history.

Additionally, Miller’s solo career boasts ten GRAMMY-nominated albums and a win for Best Contemporary Jazz Album for his 2001 release M2, further affirming his reputation as a masterful musician.

Acclaimed singer-songwriter Gregory Porter was raised in Bakersfield, California and cites the Bakersfield Southern Gospel sound, as well as his mother’s Nat King Cole record collection, as fundamental influences on his own sound.

Gregory began singing in jazz clubs in San Diego while attending San Diego State University on a football scholarship. Eventually, Porter moved to New York City to pursue music full-time, and his career began to ascend with the release of his first two albums — Water (2010) and Be Good (2012) — both of which received GRAMMY® nominations. In 2013, he released his breakout Blue Note debut Liquid Spiritwhich grew into a global phenomenon, selling more than a million albums and earning Porter his first GRAMMY Award with NPR declaring him “America’s Next Great Jazz Singer.” His 2016 follow-up Take Me To The Alley won Porter his second GRAMMY® Award and firmly established him as his generation’s most soulful jazz artist.

In 2017, Porter released the heartfelt tribute album Nat King Cole & Me and, in 2020, returned to his original songwriting on the uplifting ALL RISE, both of which received GRAMMY® nominations. His 2021 release Still Rising collected new songs, covers, duets and a selection of his most-loved hits. In 2023, Porter released his first-ever holiday album Christmas Wish.

Gregory has become one of the most successful jazz vocalists of his generation. He recently received the 2025 Edison Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award. Most recently, he wrote the song “Good Goodbye” for the Netflix film Goodbye June (directed by Kate Winslet) further expanding his creative reach into the world of cinema. With a voice that has been described as “liquid gold,” Gregory Porter has captivated audiences around the world with his soulful baritone and deeply emotional performances. His unique blend of jazz, soul, and gospel has earned him critical acclaim and huge global success.

Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician, composer, bandleader, educator and a leading advocate of American culture. He is the world’s first jazz artist to perform and compose across the full jazz spectrum from its New Orleans roots to bebop to modern jazz. By creating and performing an expansive range of brilliant new music for quartets to big bands, chamber music ensembles to symphony orchestras, tap dance to ballet, Wynton has expanded the vocabulary for jazz and created a vital body of work that places him among the world’s finest musicians and composers.

Wynton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 18, 1961, to Ellis and Dolores Marsalis, the second of six sons. At an early age he exhibited a superior aptitude for music and a desire to participate in American culture. At age eight Wynton performed traditional New Orleans music in the Fairview Baptist Church band led by legendary banjoist Danny Barker, and at 14 he performed with the New Orleans Philharmonic. During high school Wynton performed with the New Orleans Symphony Brass Quintet, New Orleans Community Concert Band, New Orleans Youth Orchestra, New Orleans Symphony, various jazz bands and with the popular local funk band, the Creators.

At age 17 Wynton became the youngest musician ever to be admitted to Tanglewood’s Berkshire Music Center. Despite his youth, he was awarded the school’s prestigious Harvey Shapiro Award for outstanding brass student. Wynton moved to New York City to attend Juilliard in 1979. When he began to pick up gigs around town, the grapevine began to buzz. In 1980 Wynton seized the opportunity to join the Jazz Messengers to study under master drummer and bandleader Art Blakey.

It was from Blakey that Wynton acquired his concept for bandleading and for bringing intensity to each and every performance. In the years to follow Wynton performed with Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Sweets Edison, Clark Terry, Sonny Rollins, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams and countless other jazz legends. Wynton assembled his own band in 1981 and hit the road, performing over 120 concerts every year for 15 consecutive years. With the power of his superior musicianship, the infectious sound of his swinging bands and an exhaustive series of performances and music workshops, Marsalis rekindled widespread interest in jazz throughout the world. Wynton embraced the jazz lineage to garner recognition for the older generation of overlooked jazz musicians and prompted the re-issue of jazz catalog by record companies worldwide. He also inspired a renaissance that attracted a new generation of fine young talent to jazz. A look at the more distinguished jazz musicians of today reveals numerous students of Marsalis’ workshops: James Carter, Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Harry Connick Jr., Nicholas Payton, Eric Reed and Eric Lewis, to name a few.

Wynton’s love of the music of Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and others drove him to pursue a career in classical music as well. He recorded the Haydn, Hummel and Leopold Mozart trumpet concertos at age 20. His debut recording received glorious reviews and won the Grammy Award® for “Best Classical Soloist with an Orchestra.”

Marsalis went on to record 10 additional classical records, all to critical acclaim. Wynton performed with leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Pops, The Cleveland Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and London’s Royal Philharmonic, working with an eminent group of conductors including: Leppard, Dutoit, Maazel, Slatkin, Salonen and Tilson Thomas. Famed classical trumpeter Maurice André praised Wynton as “potentially the greatest trumpeter of all time.”

To date Wynton has produced over 70 records which have sold over seven million copies worldwide including three Gold Records. His recordings consistently incorporate a heavy emphasis on the blues, an inclusive approach to all forms of jazz from New Orleans to modern jazz, persistent use of swing as the primary rhythm, an embrace of the American popular song, individual and collective improvisation, and a panoramic vision of compositional styles from dittys to dynamic call and response patterns (both within the rhythm section and between the rhythm section and horn players). Always swinging, Marsalis blows his trumpet with a clear tone and a unique, virtuosic style derived from an encyclopedic range of trumpet techniques.

Wynton Marsalis is a prolific and inventive composer. The dance community embraced Wynton’s inventiveness by awarding him with commissions to create new music for Garth Fagan (Citi Movement Griot New York), Peter Martins at the New York City Ballet (Jazz: Six Syncopated Movements and Them Twos), Twyla Tharp with the American Ballet Theatre (Jump Start), Judith Jamison at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (Sweet Release and Here…Now), and Savion Glover (Petite Suite and Spaces). Marsalis collaborated with the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society in 1995 to compose the string quartet At The insightful radio shows were the first full exposition of jazz music in American broadcast history. Wynton’s radio and television series were awarded the most prestigious distinction in broadcast journalism, the George Foster Peabody Award. Marsalis has also written five books: Sweet Swing Blues on the Road, Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life, To a Young Musician: Letters from the Road, Jazz ABZ (an A to Z collection of poems celebrating jazz greats), and his most recent release Moving to Higher Ground: How Jazz Can Change Your Life.

Ledisi, a GRAMMY® Award-winning artist hailed as one of the most captivating vocalists of her generation, is a force to be reckoned with in the music industry. Over the course of her career, Ledisi has continually pushed boundaries and redefined the soul and R&B genres with her electrifying performances and powerful storytelling.

Born in New Orleans and raised in Oakland, Ledisi’s journey to stardom is a testament to her unwavering passion and dedication to her craft. From her early beginnings performing in local clubs to gracing the world’s most prestigious stages, including a sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall, Ledisi has captivated audiences with her soul-stirring voice and magnetic stage presence.

Ledisi’s remarkable talent has earned her critical acclaim and numerous accolades throughout her career. With 15 GRAMMY® nominations, including a win for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Anything for You,” her impact on the music industry is undeniable. Her chart-topping singles, including “ I Need To Know,” “Pieces of Me” and “Alright,” have solidified her status as a trailblazer in contemporary soul music.

Ledisi’s commitment to artistic excellence extends beyond the music industry. As an actress, author, and advocate, Ledisi has used her platform to uplift and inspire others. Her notable film roles in Leatherheads and Spinning Gold, along with her acclaimed portrayals of Mahalia Jackson in Remember Me and Selma, have showcased her versatility and talent.

In addition to her artistic endeavors,  Ledisi has advocated many times on Capitol Hill for the rights of writers and performers. In 2023, Ledisi was inducted into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., served as past president of the LA Chapter, and is currently a Trustee of the Recording Academy. Ledisi has also been bestowed the honor of garnering an honorary Doctorate Degree from Berklee School of Music at their 2024 Commencement, which further solidifies her influence and impact in the entertainment industry.

Cyrille Aimée grew up in a multilingual household full of music where dancing was an everyday activity, soundtracked by the Afro-Caribbean sounds of her mother’s native Dominican Republic. The family home was in Samois-sur-Seine, the location of the Django Reinhardt Festival, and the teenage Cyrille would climb out of her bedroom window at night to mingle with the players, igniting a passion for jazz.

Moving to New York City, her talents quickly gained her a reputation among her peers as a matchless interpreter of song. She performed and recorded with Roy Hargrove and stole the show in front of the notoriously hard-to-please crowd at the Harlem Apollo. Steven Sondheim invited her to star in a tribute at New York’s City Centre, backed by Wynton Marsalis. Her 2019 album Move On featured versions of Sondheim’s songs which received praise from Sondheim himself, and her version of “Marry Me a Little” was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY® Award.

At the height of her New York success, new horizons beckoned. Visiting New Orleans, she fell in love with the energy and diversity of the city and made it her home. Linking back to New York to connect up all the dots, she teamed up with producer/multi-instrumentalist Jake Sherman, and together they have created her latest album, A Fleur de Peau. to be released on a new label, the London-based imprint Whirlwind Recordings.

Combining the depth and sophistication of jazz, the immediacy of pop, the irrepressible dance rhythms of the Caribbean, it’s more intimate and more accessible than anything Cyrille has done before.

Sullivan Fortner was born and raised in New Orleans and started playing the piano at the age of four. His mother was the choir director of a Baptist church and he began playing the organ there at the age of seven. After studying at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Sullivan went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music.

For more than a decade, Sullivan Fortner has been stretching deep-rooted talents as a pianist, composer, band leader and uncompromising individualist. The GRAMMY® Award-winning artist received international praise as both key player and producer for his collaborative work on The Window, alongside Cecile McLorin Salvant with whom he frequently tours and records. As a solo leader, he has released four recordings to critical acclaim: Moments Preserved, Aria, Tea for Two and Solo Game.

In addition to his associations with such diverse voices as Wynton Marsalis, Paul Simon, Diane Reeves, Etienne Charles and John Scofield, Sullivan’s frequent and longtime collaborators have included Ambrose Akinmusire, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Stefon Harris, Tivon Pennicott, Peter Bernstein, Nicholas Payton, Billy Hart, Gary Bartz, Christian Scott, Atunde Adjuah, Fred Hersch and the late Roy Hargrove. Recent collaborations include GRAMMY-nominated releases Dear Love (Empress Legacy) and Generations from leaders Jazzmeia Horn and The Baylor Project, respectively. Sullivan’s accolades include the 2015 Cole Porter Fellowship awarded by the American Pianists Association, Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship, the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists and the prestigious Shifting Foundation Grant for artistic career development.

Music and spirituality have always been intertwined in trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and activist Sean Jones. Growing up in the church choir in his hometown of Warren, Ohio, the Bach-endorsed Jones is a musical chameleon and comfortable in any musical setting no matter the role or genre. He has released eight albums with Mack Avenue Records, the latest being 2017’s Sean Jones: Live From Jazz At The Bistro.

Jones is an internationally recognized educator, currently holding the Richard and Elizabeth Case Chair of Jazz at Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Conservatory and is Artistic Director of Carnegie Hall’s NYO Jazz ensemble. Previously, Jones was Chair of the Brass Department at Berklee College of Music and served as President of the Jazz Educators Network.

Jones was lead trumpet for Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the SFJAZZ Collective, and is now with the Baltimore Jazz Collective. He is featured on three GRAMMY® Award-nominated albums by Dianne Reeves, Nancy Wilson, and Gerald Wilson.

Musical ambassador and interpreter of the music, Wycliffe Gordon is one of the world’s most renowned and award-winning jazz trombonists touring today. Wycliffe is a former member of the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Named “Trombonist of the Year” by Jazz Journalists Association for an unprecedented 15th time, DownBeat Critics Poll has named Wycliffe “Best Trombone” six times, and he has been the recipient of the Louie Award, the International Trombone Award and the “Satchmo” Award, amongst many others. Wycliffe tours as a soloist and regularly with his quintet headlining at legendary jazz venues and festivals. He’s released more than 20 albums as a leader and eight more as a co-leader. He’s performed with an impressive list of artists including David Sanborn, Dianne Reeves, Anat Cohen, Arturo Sandoval, Doc Severinsen, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Tommy Flanagan, Shirley Horn, Joe Henderson and Branford Marsalis. A respected educator and mentor, Wycliffe is the director of Jazz Studies at Augusta University in Georgia and he presents master classes, clinics, workshops, children’s concerts and lectures to students from elementary schools to universities all over the world. He’s been an artist-in-residence or taught at prestigious educational institutions such as the Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Michigan State University, Peabody Conservatory, Temple University and Arizona State University. Wycliffe has sailed on more Jazz Cruises programs than any other musician. He has performed in every configuration imaginable and is the guardian of The Jazz Cruise Gospel Hour, one of the most cherished and beloved elements of The Jazz Cruise.

Upon arriving in the United States in 1994, Colombian-born Edmar Castañeda has made a name for himself as the preeminent jazz harp virtuoso. Castañeda brings forth a brilliance that beautifully merges the jazz tradition with a diverse set of styles and genres while bringing unbridled attention to a somewhat unfamiliar instrument: the harp. Singlehandedly, Castañeda has cemented the harp’s place in jazz with innovative technique and heartfelt creativity from a wealth of formidable collaborations with music titans such as Sting, Wynton Marsalis, Bela Fleck, Ricki Lee Jones, Marcus Miller and Paquito D’Rivera.

In the same breath as the Yo-Yo Ma’s of the world, Castañeda fearlessly stuns audiences, musicians, and critics alike with his incredible talents as a player and composer. NPR’s “Fresh Air” touts, “…his technique is the real astonishment. Castañeda juggles lead, rhythm and bass lines, using a variety of hard and soft string attacks to keep those voices distinct — all without giving up the groove…His amazing technique…raises the bar for every harpist.” The New York Times notes, “…Castaneda… engage[s] modern jazz in ways that honor…cultural origins, and [he has] the capacity to astonish by virtue of [his] fingerstyle technique.”

A native of New Orleans, Herlin Riley started on the drums when he was three. He played trumpet through high school, but he went back to drums in college. After graduating, he spent three years as a member of a band led by Ahmad Jamal. In the ensuing years, he worked often with Wynton Marsalis as a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and of Marsalis’s small groups and appears on more than two dozen of the trumpeter’s albums. Riley played a large part in developing the drum parts for Wynton Marsalis’s Pulitzer Prize-winning album, Blood on the Fields. He has also worked with George Benson, Harry Connick, Jr., and Marcus Roberts. As a leader, Herlin has released four albums: Watch What You’re Doing; Cream of the Crescent; New Direction; and Perpetual Optimism.

He’s also co-led a group with fellow Crescent City drummers Jason Marsalis and Shannon Powell, the New Orleans Groovemasters, that celebrates the music of New Orleans—past, present and future—with a fiery sound that evokes second lines of that city, as well as funk, R&B and jazz.

Kurt Rosenwinkel is a highly acclaimed and influential jazz guitarist composer, and bandleader. Hailed as one of the most important jazz musicians of his generation, Rosenwinkel has spent decades pushing the boundaries of the jazz genre and developing a signature sound that has captivated audiences worldwide.

With a career spanning over 30 years, Kurt Rosenwinkel has released a series of groundbreaking albums, collaborated with jazz legends and continues to inspire the next generation of jazz musicians. His innovative approach to composition and improvisation has made him a household name among jazz enthusiasts.

Born in French-speaking Switzerland and based in New York, harmonica player, composer and GRAMMY winner Grégoire Maret is known for his virtuoso technique and emotional interpretations.

Over the past decade, Grégoire Maret has emerged as a unique new voice for his instrument in the broad spectrum of the modern jazz world. In doing so, he has done nothing less than redefine the role of the harmonica in a multitude of musical styles. The list of musical heavyweights with whom Maret regularly collaborates is impressive: Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Cassandra Wilson and Marcus Miller are just the most prominent of his artistic partners.

As a guest in the studio and on stage, Maret has enriched the music of other greats such as Prince, Sting, Elton John, Jimmy Scott, Dianne Reeves, Toots Thielemans, Tito Puente, Kurt Elling, Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Pete Seeger, David Sanborn and George Benson with his uniquely colorful playing.

Two-time GRAMMY® Award-winning NYC-based pianist and composer Taylor Eigsti started playing the piano when he was four years old. Growing up in Menlo Park, CA, Eigsti was quickly labeled a prodigy, and has since released 9 albums as a bandleader, in addition to appearing on over 80 albums as a sideman.

In February 2025, Eigsti won his second GRAMMY® Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for his ninth and most recent album “Plot Armor” (2024, GroundUP Music), following a 2022 win for his eighth album “Tree Falls” (2021, GSI Records) in the same category.

Eigsti has garnered a total of 4 individual GRAMMY® nominations over the years for his work as a recording artist and composer, including Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo, in addition to being featured on several other GRAMMY® nominated albums by Gretchen Parlato and Julian Lage, and co-wrote a featured composition with Don Cheadle for the GRAMMY® – winning soundtrack to the motion picture “Miles Ahead” (2017). Recently, Eigsti was the winner of Downbeat Magazine’s 72nd Annual Critic’s Poll for Rising Star “Pianist of the Year” for 2024.

Eigsti has performed, toured, or recorded with such luminaries as Dave Brubeck, Sting, Chick Corea, Joshua Redman, Joshua Bell, Snarky Puppy, Esperanza Spalding, John Mayer, Vanessa Williams, James Moody, Turtle Island Quartet, Chris Potter, Nicholas Payton, McCoy Tyner, Christian McBride, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Vince Mendoza, Julian Lage, Ambrose Akinmusire, Tarriona “Tank” Ball, Lalah Hathaway, Joe Lovano, Hank Jones, and Frederica Von Stade, in addition to frequent touring collaborations with Ms. Lisa Fischer, Terence Blanchard, Chris Botti, Kendrick Scott, Ben Wendel, Erin Bode, Eric Harland, and Gretchen Parlato, amongst numerous others.

On Nueva Timba, the new Blue Note album from the Cuban-born pianist Harold Lopez-Nussa,, the jazz vanguard meets multiple eras of Cuba’s musical history with results that are at once accessible, life-affirming and strikingly accomplished. Featuring a core of unmatched talent — Harold’s brother, Ruy Adrian López-Nussa, on drums; Luques Curtis on bass; and the harmonica virtuoso Grégoire Maret — it feels like a definitive vision for the future of Latin jazz.

On “Bonito y Sabroso,” López-Nussa condenses the power of Benny Moré’s big band into a small-group arrangement, then adds modern, psychedelic hues through electronics and the beat-making of José Angel Blanco, a.k.a. El Negro WADPRO. Other highlights include “Niña Con Violin,” written by López-Nussa’s uncle, the acclaimed pianist Ernán López-Nussa, with gorgeous melodic bass work from Curtis. An arrangement of Ernesto Lecuona’s “Gitanerias” offers a master class in accenting classical virtuosity with a contemporary rhythmic thrust. The López-Nussa original “Cerca y Lejos” boasts welcome shades of early fusion-era Chick Corea.

For all its overwhelming mastery, however, this album is foremost a journey — a deeply personal narrative rooted in profound, often painful life changes.

Nueva Timba tells the very real story of a man displaced: a young father finding his way in a new country while missing his homeland with heartrending intensity; all the while, he’s nursing other emotional wounds including the passing of his mother, and the compounding torment brings him to a state of despair. Slowly but surely, sunshine begins to poke through the clouds, and he discovers a path forward. Something like happiness returns to the horizon. Consider NUEVA TIMBA musical tears of joy.

Seven-time GRAMMY® nominated pianist-composer and Blue Note Artist Gerald Clayton searches for honest expression in every note. An alumnus of Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, USC’s Thornton School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, Clayton won second place in the Monk Institute of Jazz Piano Competition in 2006. For the following decade, he toured globally both as a band leader and special guest sideman to critical and commercial acclaim.

In 2016, Duke University commissioned Clayton’s evening-length composition Piedmont Blues which featured a mixed media performance of critical acclaim. Clayton received a commission from Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2019 to compose a musical pendant for artist Charles White’s “5 Great American Negroes” mural spotlighting race and racial tensions with the project White Cities: A Musical Tribute to Charles White. In 2020, Clayton scored Sam Pollard’s award-winning documentary film MLK/FBI.

Throughout his career, Clayton has also collaborated with such distinctive artists as Bill Frisell, Roy Hargrove, Dianne Reeves, John Scofield, and legendary band leader Charles Lloyd among many others. He currently serves as Director of Next Generation Jazz Orchestra and has served as Musical Director for Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour and the more recent Blue Note 85th Anniversary Tour. In April 2025, Blue Note records is set to release “Ones & Twos” Clayton’s highly anticipated album featuring Elena Pinderhughes, Joel Ross, Marquis Hill, Kendrick Scott and Kassa Overall.

Music Director Eric Marienthal has won two GRAMMY® Awards and has been nominated eight times as a member of the Chick Corea Elektric Band, Jeff Lorber Fusion and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band. Having performed in over 80 countries and played on hundreds of recordings, films and TV shows, Eric also has recorded 15 solo recordings including his latest entitled Double Dealin’ with his friend Randy Brecker. Eric’s recordings have produced several top 10 radio singles including three tunes that reached #1 on its respective chart.

Eric is the recipient of the Berklee College of Music Distinguished Alumnus Award for outstanding achievements in contemporary music. Eric was also named one of the top 3 alto saxophonists in Jazziz Magazine’s Readers Poll along with Phil Woods and David Sanborn. For the past 22 years Eric has organized an annual charity concert for the High Hopes Head Injury Program in Tustin, CA. These concerts have raised awareness for this great organization and have raised over 2 million dollars.

For the past few years, Eric has applied his vast knowledge and experience in the world of jazz to being the Music Director for all of Signature Jazz Cruises’ sailings. In that challenging role, Eric is charged with curating the performances, schedules and support for hundreds of the top musicians in the world. His ability to perform this task with skill and professionalism has made the quality of the programming on those sailings among the very best in the world.

After 30 years in comedy and over 30 jazz cruises, Alonzo Bodden has been able to marry his two passions: comedy and jazz. “There is nothing like the cool and creativity of the jazz world, I love it,” says Alonzo. His big break was “New Faces of Comedy” at the Just for Laughs Festival (Canada). He credits winning Season 3 of NBC’s Last Comic Standing as his introduction to America. With four comedy specials, sitcoms, The Tonight Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and The Nightly Show to his credit, he has done it all. His comedy CD, Man Overboard, was recorded on a sailing of The Smooth Jazz Cruise. His latest comedy special, Stupid Don’t Get Tired, is available on YouTube.

”The highest compliment I get is when I’m riffing onstage during a cruise and one of these brilliant musicians says ‘that’s jazz.’ What could be cooler than that?”

Julian “J3PO” Pollack is a Los Angeles-based pianist/keyboardist and producer described by Timeout New York as a musician who “deftly balances virtuosity with tenderness.” Julian is known for his innovative use of keyboards and synthesizers in jazz, fusion, hip-hop and electronic styles of music. He has toured extensively with the legendary Marcus Miller, as well as Chris Botti, and has performed and/or recorded with Herbie Hancock, Santana, David Sanborn, Talib Kweli, Cindy Blackman, Joe Lovano, Mike Stern, Ledisi, David Foster, Lisa Fischer, Eric Harland, Marcus Gilmore, Casey Benjamin, Michael League, Bob Reynolds, Kamasi Washington, Jonathan Butler, Tierney Sutton and many others.

In 2020, he completed his first feature film score for the movie The Sound of the Wind. When he was 18 years old, having just moved to New York City from his native California hometown of Berkeley, he was featured on Piano Jazz, hosted by Marianne McPartland—the syndicated NPR show. He attended New York University, obtaining a master’s degree in jazz performance and composition. In his early twenties he recorded two piano trio albums: Infinite Playground (2010 – Junebeat Records) and Waves of Albion (2013 – Berthold Records). He also wrote music for orchestra: Piano Concerto (2012) and Night Flower (2013). Shortly thereafter, he began hanging out in the Lower East Side’s music scene of the early 2010s where he went on to meet his peers in the jazz-fusion/hip-hop/electronic genres that would influence the sound he is known for today. He joined the unique experimental hip-hop/progressive-soul ensemble The Lesson GK, which hosted a sold-out weekly event at Arlene’s Grocery for almost a decade, consisting of all improvised music.

In 2019 Julian released Small Plates under his moniker J3PO. The album is a collection of 12 compositions that range from simple lo-fi beats to complex jazztronica future house tracks. Inspired by analog synths and sample-based music, the album fuses Julian’s love for today’s contemporary production styles with a nod to the jazz tradition and the spontaneity of live music and improvisation. In 2021, Julian released his follow-up album MAINS (2021 – Ropeadope) to much critical acclaim, and in 2023 he released a beat-tape called Sweet Treats.

Drummer, multi-instrumentalist, composer, music lover and producer, Anwar Marshall’s ears and skill have been cultivated through exposure, experience, practice and the academy. His roots in Black music were planted in Philadelphia, where he was born. Always eager to create, Anwar began playing drums at an early age. With a culture as vibrant as Philadelphia’s, there’s a multitude of musical directions to travel. As it were, Anwar branches from the tree of great musicians and producers from Philadelphia’s iconic Soul, Jazz and R&B sounds. His work as a sideman has earned him 2 GRAMMY nominations as well as the opportunity to travel across the world. Never not improving and exploring, Anwar released his first body of work as a leader, Cold in 2022.

Russell Gunn born and raised in East St. Louis Il. USA Is an American-African, Pan–African contemporary composer, producer, and trumpeter. He has produced two GRAMMY® nominated recordings, Ethnomusicology Vol. 1 and Vol.2 on the Atlantic Records and Justin Time labels. His initial musical interest was the American-African Gospel music of his paternal Grandmothers church and later Hip Hop/Rap Music of the 1980’s before being introduced to jazz at age 14.

In 1989 while still in high school in East St. Louis, IL. Gunn was named the best all around trumpet player in the country in a field that included college and professional trumpet players by Music Fest USA sponsored by Downbeat magazine. Even though Gunn had scholarship offers to many major universitys including Berklee School of Music, Russell decided to attend the Historically Black University, Jackson State University in Mississippi, where he was a music major and marched in the award winning marching band the “Sonic Boom of The South.”

Gunn moved to New York from the St. Louis area in 1993 where he became a member of the Wynton Marsalis big band now known as Jazz At Lincoln Center and was in the trumpet section with Marcus Printup and Roger Ingram on the Pulitzer Prize winning Jazz Oratorio composed by Wynton “Blood On The Fields” Gunn is the founder, composer, and director of the contemporary big band, ‘The Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra,’ which has three releases to date, Get It How You Live, Pyramids and The Sirius Mystery on the Ropeadope Label.

Gunn was commissioned by The Apollo Theater of New York to compose “The Blues and It’s People,” a commemoration of Amiri Baraka’s seminal text “Blues People” and was performed in February of 2023 and The Apollo Theater and in May of 2023 at Symphony Hall in Atlanta, Ga. His first recording as a sideman was in 1993 with the great Alto saxophonist and native of St. Louis, The founder of the World Saxophone Quartet, Oliver Lake. With a “Tribute to Eric Dolphy.”

As a trumpet player Russell has performed and toured with a whoʼs who in contemporary music including Oliver Lake, Branford Marsalisʼ Buckshot LeFonque, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Maxwell, DʼAngelo, Jimmy Heath, Roy Hargrove big band, Lou Reed, Cee Lo Green, Ne-Yo, Marcus Miller, Benny Golson, Young Jeezy, Les Nubian, and Harry Connick Jr. among others.

For years, Tivon Pennicott has been transporting audiences to a higher level of consciousness. On his latest album release, Roots to Branches, Pennicott lets the Spirit lead, acknowledging the foundation and strength of his Jamaican heritage, accompanied by his vocals, delivered with unmitigated gall. This album showcases Pennicott’s versatility and renewed authenticity, featuring his vocal debut on tracks like “Tell Me Again” (Dox Records, 2022), “Celery Juice” (Dox Records, 2024) and “Fermented Grapes” (Dox Records, 2024). The album also highlights his fiery performances on “Tour Life” (Dox Records, 2023) and the title track “Roots to Branches” (Dox Records, 2024). With a blend of jazz and fusion, Pennicott’s latest release demonstrates his artistic growth and depth.

A Georgia native residing in New York City, the highly sought saxophone player, composer and vocalist is a key contributor to three GRAMMY Award winning albums, appearing on Esperanza Spalding’s disruptive recording Radio Music Society (Heads Up International, 2012), and Gregory Porter’s Liquid Spirit (Blue Note, 2013) and Take Me to the Alley (Blue Note, 2017). On screen, Pennicott appeared regularly on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as a member of the Stay Human Band with Jon Batiste before recording on his records Chronology of a dream: Live At The Village Vanguard (Verve, 2019) & Anatomy of Angels (Verve, 2019) Live At The Village Vanguard. His evolving sound is the result of a soulful, sophisticated foundation for groove he honed in the church, and a penchant for unbound harmonic exploration.

Pennicott has toured and collaborated with such visionaries as Roy Hargrove and his RH Factor project and Kenny Burrell with his Jazz Heritage All Stars. After having recorded with Kenny Burrell for his 2010 release Be Yourself on High Note Records, Pennicott continues to enjoy a decade- long association with the prolific guitarist and his group. Meanwhile, touring the world with Gregory Porter, Pennicott has performed at iconic venues, including The Royal Albert Hall in London, the Berliner Philharmonie in Germany and Carnegie Hall in New York, to name a few.

Pennicott earned his Bachelor of Arts in Music from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. There he was able to garner strong intentions with receptive impulses which allow Pennicott to serve every situation—from Ari Hoenig’s rhythmic labyrinths to the most soulful gatherings of Gregory Porter.

While he has played an elemental role in advancing and transforming sounds of many innovative artists, Pennicott’s work as a leader is only beginning. In 2014, Pennicott released his debut recording Lover of Nature on New Phrase Records, a project that features equally curious musical minds: Mike Battaglia, Spencer Murphy and Kenneth Salters. And with communion and healing in mind, Pennicott’s sophomore record Spirit Garden (self released 2020) featured a 26 piece string orchestra alongside several combinations of a chord-less quartet. This was an audacious endeavor, delightfully composing, orchestrating, and performing on his own musical canvas- certainly a consistent theme of nature and joy all throughout Pennicott’s music.

Ondrej Pivec was born in 1984 in Brno (south Moravia). His first musical studies were in classical piano, at the basic music school. He attended the school for seven years before moving to Prague in 1999. At that time, friend recommended that he should take part in the summer jazz workshop, which is organized by the Czech Jazz Society. It was here that he was introduced to jazz music and in that context, many great Czech and Polish musicians were his mentors.

He was so amazed by this musical discovery, that he took part in two more jazz workshops and formed his first jazz quintet. It was called “Mantis” and they performed occasionally in Prague and around the Czech republic. The first real engagement came in 2002. By that time Ondrej had joined the jazz trio of the prominent Czech jazz guitarist Roman Pokorný. He had also switched from piano to the Hammond organ and learned to play the bass with the left hand. Through working with this trio he slowly gained the experience of being a professional sideman.

In 2003, after his graduation he also joined Roman’s blues project – Blues Box Heroes and gradually became a more experienced professional player. Ondrej then started performing with a Polish-Cuban singer, Yvonne Sanchez, in her project called “Brazilian Groove”. In 2004 he played over 130 gigs with these three bands, performing not only in Prague and across the Czech Republic but also internationally. Engagements included Semper Oper, Bluenote – Dresden, a Romanian tour with Yvonne, a tour in Turkey with a band supporting Billy Cobham’s Culture Mix, FIAP Jean Monnet Paris, Jazz Club St. Germain Paris, Kunstfabrik Schlott, Berlin and many more.

At this time Ondrej met an Italian organ virtuoso Alberto Marsico and whilst in London he also had the chance to meet legendary British organist Mike Carr. Both these distinguished players offered him some coaching. In 2005, Ondrej left Roman Pokorny’s two bands and he set off in his own direction. He started his own band called “ORGANIC quartet”, and most of the members are fellow students from the Jazz College, where he has studied since 2004. Ondrej was awarded first place in the “soloist of the year” category, in the talent competition held within the 2005 Philips International Jazz Festival. The ORGANIC quartet was also elected “band of the year” at the same festival. Ondrej Pivec nowadays occasionally works with the renowned German guitar player – Christian Rover.

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Jahmal Nichols, bassist, composer, arranger and producer was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He is from a rare breed of bassists/musicians that is able to fluently go from electric bass to acoustic bass on any genre of music. His goal ultimately is to bring the world a new sound and voice on the bass and provide great musicianship to any artist that he works for as a sideman.

He comes from a very musical family and was introduced to the bass at the age of 13 after years of watching his father play bass at church and for numerous of local artists on the R&B scene. Jahmal started his own musical journey at Central Visual & Performing Arts High School and North Carolina Central University, where he majored in music. It was there at Central Visual & Performing Arts he was introduced to the upright bass and later to the electric bass. From this point on Jahmal intensely worked on perfecting his craft.

With 20 years of experience, Jahmal has shared the stage with artists from all over the world including Gregory Porter, Fontella Bass, Jon Faddis, Sean Jones, Terrell Stafford, Houston Person, Eric Roberson, Matt Wilson, Anat Cohen, Frank Foster, Julie Dexter, Anthony David, and many many more….

Jahmal has released album titled “2 Worlds 1 Mind” where he shows his ability to switch from electric and upright bass and also the various tones he gets from the bass.

Educator, entrepreneur, producer, master drummer, two-time Grammy Award-winning musician, Emanual Harrold continues to raise the bar with collaborations and touring with the likes of Damon Alburn, Gregory Porter, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, De La Soul and Roy Hargrove.

When you think of four words, Emanuel Harrold name comes to mind: Fashion, community, music and love. Emanuel’s music legacy stands three generations. If you enjoy artists such as Gregory Porter, Robert Glasper, Max Roach, Miles Davis, Gospel, Classical, Jazz, Electro and any music that moves you, Harrold likes it too.

Born into the artistry of music by way of St. Louis, MO, USA, Harrold is a multiple GRAMMY®-nominated and winning musician. Emanuel’s father being a pastor whilst growing up, the appetite for singing and playing instruments grew. There were many musical outlets, those being his grandfather’s Memorial Lancers Drum and Bugle Corps, church gatherings and family reunions. Harrold did not seriously pursue his current instrument until after high school. In St. Louis, Emanuel was involved with Off-Broadway musicals with The Black Repertory Theater, traditional jazz and local gospel scenes. Harrold is a self-taught musician and inspired by many great people on his musical journey to date. He has performed or recorded in no specific order with: Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Robert Glasper, Ronnie Mathews, Keyon Harrold, Damon Auburn, John Hicks, James Spaulding, Shedrick Mitchell, Marcus Strickland, Stevie Wonder, Kidz in The Hall, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Ben La Uncle Soul, Gregory Porter, Ambrose Akinmusire, Revive The Live Big Band, Jonathan Batiste, Keyon Harrold, Laura Mvula, and too many other great amazing musicians to name in this short bio.

Luques Curtis was born 1983 in Hartford, CT. After having formal training on piano and percussion, he found himself wanting to play the bass. Luques studied at the Greater Hartford Academy of Performing Arts, The Artist Collective (with the great Jackie McLean), and Guakia with Dave Santoro, Volcan Orham, Nat Reeves, Paul Brown, and others. While attending high school, he was also very fortunate to study the Afro-Caribbean genre with bass greats Andy Gonzalez and Joe Santiago. With his talent and hard work he earned a full scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College Of Music in Boston. There he studied with John Lockwood and Ron Mahdi. While in Boston he was also able to work with great musicians such as Gary Burton, Ralph Peterson, Donald Harrison, Christian Scott, and Francisco Mela.

Now living in the New York area, Mr. Curtis has been performing worldwide with Eddie Palmieri, Stefon Harris, Ralph Peterson, Christian Scott, Sean Jones, Orrin Evans, Christian Sands, and others. He is the recent recipient of the 2016 Down Beat Rising Star Bassist on the Critics Poll and also received the Ralph Bunche Fellowship to complete his Masters Degree at the Mason Gross School of the Arts. Along side his brother Zaccai, they have five releases under “Curtis Brothers” with the most recent being Algorithm. Luques Curtis won the GRAMMY for Best Latin Jazz Recording in 2025 for “Cubop Lives.” He was also part of Brian Lynch’s GRAMMY winning CD Simpatico and his Grammy nominated “Madera Latino” as well as Christian Scott’s Grammy nominated CD Rewind That. Luques also produced GRAMMY nominated “Entre Colegas” by Andy Gonzalez. You can hear him on Eddie Palmieri’s “Sabiduria” and “Mi Luz Mayor”; Gary Burton “Next Generations”; Dave Valentin “Come Fly With Me”; Sean Jones’ “Im*Pro*Vise”,”Roots”,”Kaleidoscope”,and “The Search Within”; Orrin Evans’ CD “Faith In Action.” As a sideman, Luques Curtis has participated in over 100 recordings.

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New York based and Australian born Adrian Cunningham is an award winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, vocalist, and world traveler. With fluent command of the saxophones, clarinet, and flute, he is one of the finest multi-instrumentalists in jazz today.

In a career spanning two decades and counting, the “down under sax star” (Wall St Journal) has performed alongside luminaries such as Jon Batiste, Chris Potter and Wynton Marsalis, and has appeared as soloist in some of the world’s great stages including New York’s Carnegie Hall, Blue Note (New York and Toyko), Stravinsky Auditorium (Montreux Jazz Festival) and the Sydney Opera House.

Adrian is the recipient of the Hot House Saxophone Award (NYC), and his band Professor Cunningham and His Old School, is the winner of international band competition World Jam, (Madrid) and Best Band award at Harlem Festival (Vilnius, Lithuania).

Adrian’s discography as a leader are too numerous to be listed, however his most acclaimed recordings within the last decade include Jazz Speak (w/Jeff Hamilton, John Clayton, Ted Rosenthal) and Play Lerner and Loewe (w/Fred Hersh trio, Randy Brecker), both of which broke the top 20 in the national jazz charts.

Adrian is a regular member of trombonist Wycliffe Gordon’s quintet, featured at the London Jazz festival with a recording in Abbey Road studios alongside Wess Anderson, Reginald Veal and Herlin Riley. The quintet’s performances span the globe: London Jazz Festival, Johannesburg Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, Bern Jazz Festival (Switzerland), Newport Jazz Festival; and regular performances in New York at the prestigious Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola (Lincoln Center).

In 2013 Cunningham formed a tradtional/New Orleans style outfit called Professor Cunningham and His Old School has fast become one of the top bands in the international Swing scene, having performed at Blue Note Jazz Festival (NYC), Melbourne International Jazz Festival (Australia), Sopot Molo Jazz Festival (Poland), Snowball (Stockholm), SLOX (California), Blue Note Jazz Fest (NYC), CPH:LX (Copenhagen) and Melbourne International Jazz Festival.

From 2014-2017, Adrian was the leader of the saxophone section of the grammy-winning Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, a NYC based 1920’s swing orchestra; responsible for the soundtracks for Boardwalk Empire and movies including the Aviator.

Ehud Asherie, “a master of swing and stride” (The New Yorker), is a jazz pianist who integrates the venerable New York piano tradition into his inventive style. Born in Israel in 1979, Asherie lived in Italy for six years before his family moved to New York. Though he began playing piano as a child, his passion for jazz came later—with a Thelonious Monk cassette tape—and his first visit to Smalls Jazz club in Greenwich Village. Largely self-taught, or rather, “old-schooled,” Asherie learned the ropes at Smalls, spending the wee small hours of his early teens becoming a fixture of the late-night jam sessions.Mentored by the late Frank Hewitt, Asherie began to develop “his virtuosity and his ear for clean, crisp lines“ (The Star-Ledger).

From Smalls to the Rainbow Room, from Lincoln Center to The Village Vanguard, Asherie has since worked with a broad range of musicians including: Eric Alexander, Roy Ayers, Peter Bernstein, Jesse Davis, Bobby Durham, Vince Giordano, Wycliffe Gordon, Scott Hamilton, Ryan Kisor, Jane Monheit, Catherine Russell, Ken Peplowski and Clark Terry.

Beyond his dedication to jazz music, Ehud Asherie has also developed a passion for traditional Brazilian music. His appreciation and profound knowledge of the music, language and culture are the foundation of Asherie’s project entitled Bina & Ehud, a duo formed in 2003, with Brazilian guitarist, Bina Coquet. Asherie has toured clubs and festivals around the world, including South America, Europe and Asia. Asherie’s playing can be heard on countless recordings, including the 2010 Grammy Award winning soundtrack of HBO’s ‘Boardwalk Empire’. He recently released his twelfth album as leader entitled Shuffle Along (Blue Heron Records), a solo piano performance.

Yasushi Nakamura is praised for imaginative, quicksilver bass lines that deepen the groove. His blend of guitar-like precision and gut-level blues has sparked collaborations with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Hank Jones, Dave Douglas, Steve Miller, etc. With his charismatic stage presence and artful, hard swinging melodic touch, Nakamura is a first-call performer capturing new audiences and fans around the world.

Born in Tokyo, Nakamura moved to the United States at age 9, and considers both places home. He began with clarinet and tenor saxophone, but his older brother’s study of guitar and drums drove him to pick up the bass. His love of rock and funk aside, the music of Charlie Parker, Ray Brown, Miles Davis were a potent influence on him. Nakamura received a BA in Jazz Performance from Berklee School of Music in 2000, and was awarded a full scholarship to The Juilliard School for his Artist Diploma in 2006. He credits Myron Walden as an early champion, and keeps close ties to Juilliard mentors Victor Goines, Wycliffe Gordon, and Carl Allen, Ben Wolfe all of whom maintain him in their bands.

Nakamura’s career is flourishing, with consistent engagements at premier jazz festivals including Tokyo, North Sea, Monterey, Ravinia, and venues such as Birdland, Village Vanguard, the Blue Note, the Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. In 2014, he was honored to play the “NEA Jazz Masters Concert: Celebrating Jamey Abersold, Anthony Braxton, Richard Davis, and Keith Jarrett,” sharing the stage with Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman. A wide array of projects permits him to explore musical styles and collaborations. In 2016, he recorded with one of his long-time inspirations, Toshiko Akiyoshi, for her recent release, Porgy and Bess. His performance with Akiyoshi’s Jazz Orchestra was also broadcast as a documentary film. Recent works include “For the Love of Duke” with New York City Ballet choreographed by Susan Stroman, and “Ellington at Christmas: Nutcracker Suite” with Savion Glover, Lizz Wright, the Abyssinian Baptist Choir, and David Berger conducting. In 2010, he toured the Middle East with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Kings of the Crescent City” project, and he toured Asia in 2008 with the Juilliard All-Stars. As an educator, Nakamura has led master classes and summer intensive courses at the The Juilliard School, New School, Koyo Conservatory, Osaka Geidai, and Savannah Swing Central.

In 2016, Nakamura released his first album A Lifetime Treasure and in 2017 he released 2nd album Hometown from Atelier Sawano featuring Lawrence Fields, Bigyuki, and Clarence Penn which received album of the year 2017 in JazzLife magazine.

Alvin R. Atkinson, Jr. (drums) grew up singing and playing music alongside his parents who were the directors of the gospel choir at their church. A drum student at age 8, he was content to play gospel music until by chance he heard a Stan Getz and Elvin Jones recording and by his own admission was “hooked on jazz.” The Marsalis brothers encouraged him to play jazz and now he balances a very demanding career as a performer and an educator.

Recent highlights include: 2006 selected to participate in The Rhythm Road: American Music Abroad Program (sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center) featuring Alvin Atkinson and The Sound Merchants; 2005 Vail Colorado Jazz Festival, Drummers Wall of Fame in Vail, CO, Jazz Winnipeg Festival and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Live Jazz Concert Series; 2004 Jazz Ambassador-tour of Africa and South America sponsored by the Kennedy Center and the U.S. State Department; 2002 performed at the White House for President George W. Bush, house drummer for the 2002-2003 season of the Emeril Live television show on the Food Network Channel, Harlem National Tour with the Kennedy Center, a movie score with Freddie Cole entitled A Tale of Two Pizzas; and performed with Wycliffe Gordon on the 1925 Paul Robeson film Body and Soul commissioned by Jazz at Lincoln Center.Alvin tours throughout the US and abroad with his group, The Sound Merchants and with other artists like Tom Browne, Mo’ Jamaica Funk, 1996-2001 and GRAMMY®-nominated Nnenna Freelon, Soul Call tour, 2001. He created sound effects for the theatrical production of Red Badge of Courage at the Kennedy Center, 2002.

In 2005, he participated in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s workshop with Paquito D’Rivera and their Jazz in Schools tour.Alvin served as the Visiting Professor of Drum-set Studies at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada teaching Jazz ensemble, vocal rhythm seminar and private lessons during the 2004-2005 school year. Prior to that, he served as Professor of Drum-set Studies for University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Alvin currently teaches Jazz Language and Rhythm Studies at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Middle School Jazz Academy, and he teaches private lessons and serves on the audition committee and the sophomore jury committee at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City.

William Ledbetter is an aspiring musician who is deeply rooted in the blues. He has been playing music since the young age of 3. He began piano lessons while living in Washington D.C. These lessons were hindered by military relocation as his father served in the U.S. Army. In 2004, William and his family settled in Hampton, VA. When William entered middle School, he learned how to play the trumpet. He experimented with multiple instruments but soon found that the guitar was the instrument for him.

After a few years of playing the guitar and having studied with many great guitarist during his high school years, William made a name for himself in Hampton Roads area. He has been featured multiple times in the newspaper and has appeared on TV Broadcast on plenty occasions. He has travelled to Los Angeles, CA, Memphis, TN, and Chicago, IL, to name a few. He has had the opportunity to record on blues legend Eddie Shaw’s 2012 album entitled Still Riding High. During his senior year in high school, William was granted the opportunity to open up the 47th Annual Hampton Jazz Festival with his Mentor Jackie Scott and her Blues band.

Originally intending to study engineering, William attended North Carolina A&T State University in the fall of 2014. While at A&T, William joined the Jazz ensemble under the direction of Mondre Moffett. Moffett needed an upright bass player for his ensemble and noticed how William would try playing the bass on his spare time. The following rehearsal as William entered the Jazz Ensemble room, Moffett told him to play bass from then on out. William had never played bass and at that time knew very little about the instrument, but over time he began to fall in love with it. He loved it so much that he concluded to purchasing his own bass. In the beginning of April 2016, William bought his first upright bass from Bob’s Bass Violin Shop located in Greensboro, NC. After 2 years at A&T, William with the guidance by Moffett and the approval of his parents decided to Transfer to UNCG to Study Jazz. During the summer, he was accepted into the Miles Davis School of Jazz and began his studies in the fall semester of 2016. William currently studies under Steve Haines, director of the Miles Davis program and Jazz Bass principle instructor, and has made quick advances in his technique and performance. William continues to show his gratitude towards Moffett as he not only still plays for the A&T Jazz Ensemble, but Moffett’s Quintet.

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Whether leading his own dynamic bands, supplying the soul for ensembles across the musical spectrum, embodying the spirit of modern jazz and spiritual sounds or inspiring the next generation of musicians, GRAMMY®-nominated saxophonist, composer, arranger and educator Tim Green is a wide-ranging artist of deep passion and unflagging individuality.

He has become a saxophonist of choice for many of jazz’s most revered pianists, a testament to his brilliant feel and his instinct for blending that singular personality into the sound of a band. Green has been featured on stage and recordings with such keyboard masters as his mentor Mulgrew Miller, Eric Reed, Patrice Rushen, Larry Willis, Orrin Evans, Allyn Johnson and Alex Brown, and as part of Cyrus Chestnut’s band Affirmation.

Based in his native Baltimore, Green has garnered international acclaim while establishing himself as a pillar of his hometown scene. In 2018 he joined the faculty of the esteemed Peabody Conservatory, where he plays a vital role in the innovative Jazz Studies program led by world-renowned trumpeter and educator Sean Jones. In this work he passes on the torch handed to him by bandstand mentors like Kenny Garrett and Mulgrew Miller and through his own studies; Green received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and earned his Masters in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California’s Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

At the same time Green has continued to hone his distinctive, soulful sound on stages across the globe and at the helm of his own ensembles, which feature some of the most vital musicians in contemporary jazz as well as close collaborators from the Baltimore and Washington DC nexus. 2024 saw the long-awaited release of his new album, his first as a leader in more than ten years, with a stellar line-up including pianists Orrin Evans and Allyn Johnson, guitarist Ethan Bailey-Gould, bassists Kris Funn, Romeir Mendez and Adam Johnson, and drummers Corey Fonville, Quincy Phillips and Billy Williams.

He has been enlisted by such notable music directors as Adam Blackstone, Alan Chang and Rickey Minor to join their elite ensembles at jazz festivals or iconic venues and for awards ceremonies and television shows. With American Idol’s Rickey Minor, he appeared at Radio City Music Hall to celebrate icon record producer and label head Clive Davis. Green has also performed at the BET Honors, VH1 Hip Hop Honors, BET White House Obama Farewell Special, the Tonight Show featuring Jimmy Fallon, the Michael Bublé Christmas Special, and BET’s Sunday Best.

While Green has journeyed far and wide since his days under the tutelage of Mulgrew Miller, he continues to embody the high praise lavished upon him by the late piano master, who commended him for keeping “a song in his heart.”

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Imbued with groove and spirit from birth, Reuben Rogers combined the calypso and reggae rhythms of his native Virgin Islands with the gospel sounds of the church and the freedom and improvisation of jazz to create the unique chemistry that would make him one of the most distinctive and in-demand bassists in modern jazz. Rogers’ versatile mastery of both the acoustic and electric bass has led to opportunities alongside some of the music’s most renowned artists, including Charles Lloyd, Wynton Marsalis, Joshua Redman, Tomasz Stanko, Marcus Roberts, Nicholas Payton, Mulgrew Miller, Jackie McLean and Dianne Reeves, among countless others.

Over the last two decades, he’s been featured on more than 100 recordings (including his sole release as a leader, the 2006 all-star session The Things I Am) and countless international tours. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Rogers gives back with numerous workshops, clinics and master classes around the world.

Michael “Patches” Stewart was born and raised in New Orleans, where he began to play trumpet at an early age. After moving to Los Angeles, he toured with The Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones and jazz giant Al Jarreau, who introduced Patches to audiences worldwide. Patches has released four solo albums and has toured with artists such as David Sanborn, George Duke, Rickie Lee Jones, Whitney Houston, Marcus Miller, Babyface, Diana Ross and Earth, Wind and Fire.

Trusted on the bandstand, in concert halls, the studio, and the pit orchestras of Broadway, Tyrone Allen II has proved not only to be one of the most consistently in-demand sidemen on the NYC scene, but a generational talent worldwide. Since 2018, his name has appeared in publications like the New York Times, JazzTimes, WBGO, and was featured (and pictured) in the 2024 DownBeat Critics Poll for “Rising Star Jazz Group” as one third of the Sullivan Fortner Trio. In 2025, Tyrone made his debut appearance in the Rising Star Bassist category of the same poll.

In addition to performing, recording and touring worldwide with creative music luminaries like Terri Lynne Carrington, George Garzone, Jazzmeia Horn, Gerald Clayton, Nicole Glover, JD Allen, and Wendy Eisenberg, Tyrone is currently the bass chair of the 10 time Tony Award winning Broadway show Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

In 2024, the debut of his solo project under the moniker “TY.000” (Ty-thousand) was released to critical acclaim. This as well as his band TAiiQ (the Tyrone Allen II Quartet) have been performing more and more since its inception in 2021. He hit a milestone as the 2024 Tribe for Jazz Artist in Residence in Columbus, OH, where he performed as TY.000, with TAiiQ, as well as a sideman with Miki Yamanaka and Kazemde George.

His next release will be his debut LP entitled UPWARD. The release features an augmented version of TAiiQ, with production credits by Tyrone and Abe Nouri of Bille Eilish. The album will be released in Spring 2026.

Kayvon Gordon was born and raised in Detroit. At a young age, he was taken under the mentorship of legendary trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. Later, he went on to study at the University of Michigan. Gordon has performed In Europe, Africa, South Asia, The United Arab Emirates, and North America. He has also had the honor of sharing the stage with Robert Hurst, Rodney Whitaker, Johnny O’Neal, Ravi Coltrane, and JD Allen, to name a few. Currently based in New York, Kayvon Gordon seeks to contribute to the forward thinking aesthetic of his contemporaries while honoring the rich musical legacy of Detroit. 

For nearly four decades, The Rebirth Brass Band has redefined what it means to bring the vibrant spirit of New Orleans music to the world. Founded in 1983 by brothers Phil and Keith Frazier along with their friend Kermit Ruffins, the band quickly became a sensation, blending the traditional brass sounds of the Big Easy with modern funk, jazz, soul, and hip-hop influences. What began as a group of high school musicians performing on the streets of New Orleans has now evolved into a world-renowned musical force. From their earliest gigs at the now-legendary Maple Leaf Bar to Grammy Award-winning recordings, The Rebirth Brass Band continues to push the boundaries of brass music. In 2012, the band received the GRAMMY Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album for Rebirth of New Orleans, solidifying their place as both guardians of tradition and pioneers of innovation. Their sound is a seamless blend of second-line rhythms and energetic brass arrangements that resonate with audiences young and old. Whether performing at Mardi Gras parades, festivals like Jazz Fest, or on international stages, The Rebirth Brass Band brings an unmatched energy that compels every listener to dance. The band’s influence extends beyond their music. They’ve been featured in HBO’s hit series Treme, highlighting their critical role in the cultural fabric of New Orleans. Despite international fame, The Rebirth Brass Band remains deeply rooted in their hometown, continuing to perform weekly at the Maple Leaf Bar, a testament to their commitment to the local community and their musical origins. With a lineup that has evolved over the years, including collaborations with legendary musicians, The Rebirth Brass Band maintains its signature infectious energy. Their music honors the heritage of New Orleans while fearlessly embracing new sounds, making them a bridge between past and present in the world of brass band music. Members:

• Stafford (Freaky Pete) Agee
• Glenn Hall
• Vincent Broussard
• Eric Gordon
• Keith (Bassdrumshorty) Frazier
• Jenard Andrews
• Clifton Smith
• Caleb Windsay