Craig Harris
When Craig Harris exploded onto the jazz scene in 1976, he brought the entire history of the jazz trombone with him. From the growling gutbucket intensity of early New Orleans music through the refined, articulate improvisation of the modern era set forth by J.J. Johnson, into the confrontational expressionism of the ‘60s avant-garde, Craig handled the total vernacular the way a skilled orator utilizes the spoken word. He has performed with a veritable Who’s Who of progressive jazz’s most important figures and his own projects display both a unique sense of concept and a total command of the sweeping expanse of musical expression. Craig is co-composer of the score for the 2020 Oscar-winning film Judas and the Black Messiah
Jazzmeia Horn
In 2017, Horn also released her first album. Entitled A Social Call, it was ranked the number 1 album for 2017 on the JazzWeek website. The album tour brought her attention and fans around the globe. She won the Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Competition in 2015. Horn's repertoire includes jazz standards and covers of songs from other genres, including by artists such as Stevie Wonder. She has been compared to jazz vocalists such as Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan, and Nancy Wilson.
Bobby Sanabria & Ascensión
Multi Grammy Nominated drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, conductor, producer, educator, documentary film maker, and bandleader. He was the drummer for the acknowledged creator of Afro-Cuban jazz, Mario Bauzá touring and recording three CD’s with him, two of which were Grammy nominated, as well as an incredible variety of artists. From Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria (with whom he started his career) Paquito D’Rivera, Yomo Toro, Candido, Celia Cruz, Ray Barretto, Chico O’Farrill, Francisco Aguabella, Henry Threadgill to name a few. Presently Sanabria hosts the Latin Jazz Cruise on WBGO radio.
Javon Jackson
Jazz tenor saxophonist, Javon Jackson first became known as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1987 until Blakey's death in 1990. He went on to release 22 recordings as a bandleader and has toured and recorded with jazz legends including Elvin Jones, Freddie Hubbard, Charlie Haden, Betty Carter, Cedar Walton, Ron Carter, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Stanley Turrentine, and Ben E. King. Jackson is the Artistic Director for Jazz in the Valley and currently Director of the Jackie McLean Institute at the Hartt School of Music.
Lenny White
Grammy Award-winning drummer Lenny White is still best known for being part of Chick Corea's Return to Forever in the 1970s. White, who was self-taught on drums, started his career playing regularly with Jackie McLean and recorded Bitches Brew with Miles Davis. He has collaborated with Freddie Hubbard, Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Gato Barbieri, Gil Evans, Stanley Clarke, and Stan Getz, among others.
Lisa Fischer
Lisa Fischer the Grammy and Academy Award-winning (for the documentary 50 Feet from Stardom) is a powerhouse vocalist with the ability to t embrace every vocal possibility. She carries traces of the legendary muscians with whom she has collaborated over four decades, Ms. Fischer is a constellation in her own right, singing songs with “amazing power, energy, and projection,” as described by Keith Richards after 26 years of musicmaking with Ms. Fischer in the Rolling Stones.
Orrin Evans
Spanning a quarter-century as a professional jazz musician, pianist Orrin Evans has become the model of a fiercely independent artist who pushes the envelope in all directions. His musical vocabulary crosses a broad timeline of swinging, blues-infused hardcore jazz and spiritual jazz, avant garde jazz dialects, as well as the Euro-canon, and conveys his stories with the intuitive spontaneity of an ear player.
John Patitucci
Grammy Award-winning acoustic and electric bassist John Patitucci has been at the forefront of the jazz world for the last 30+ years. He has performed and/or recorded with jazz giants such as Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Stan Getz, Freddie Hubbard, Roy Haynes, Wynton Marsalis, Michael Brecker, Kenny Garrett, Victor Feldman, Nancy Wilson, and countless others.
Dr. Eddie Henderson
Jazz trumpeter Eddie Henderson received his first informal lesson on the trumpet at the age of 9 from Louis Armstrong. In 1957, Eddie met Miles Davis for the first time, who admired the strikingly beautiful tone and musicality of Henderson’s trumpet playing and encouraged him to pursue a career in music. Eddie has also performed with Dexter Gordon, Roy Haynes, Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson, Elvin Jones, Johnny Griffin, Slide Hampton, Benny Golson, Max Roach, and McCoy Tyner.