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Grammy Award winning drummer Kyle Swan has been working on mastering his craft for over 20 years. He has demonstrated true dedication to enhancing his artistry in every way. He attained his Undergraduate and Graduate degrees from University of Miami’s Frost School of Music from the years 2013-2018. He studied Criminology and Jazz Studies in his undergraduate degree and became the TA for the Jazz Drum Department during his graduate studies. He has participated in many music festivals across the world which include the Montreal Jazz Festival (Canada, 2016), The Jazz Cruise(2017, 2023, 2024), University of Wyoming Jazz Festival (2024), Port Au Prince Jazz Festival(Haiti, 2018), Dromos Jazz Festival(Italy 2018) Guatemala Jazz Festival(Guatemala 2019), Menorca Jazz Festival(Spain 2019), Leavenworth Jazz Festival (Washington 2023), and many others. He has had the honor of performing/recording/touring with many esteemed artists such as, @Grammy Award winning artists Kurt Elling, Brian Lynch, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Paquito D’Rivera. He has also had the privilege of playing/recording with other phenomenal artists such as Charles McPherson, Sean Jones, Orrin Evans, Peter Bernstein, Rodney Whitaker, Cyrille Aimee, Bobby Broom, Martin Bejerano, Ira Sullivan, Alex Brown, etc. Kyle can be heard on recordings including @Grammy Winning “Omni American Book Club.” And others such as “7X7BY7,” “Tell the Truth,” “Kemet (The Black Land),” “Gola Akoustik,” “Hallways,” and others. Kyle has also taught/performed/adjudicated at various jazz camps/festivals including Indiana All State Jazz Bands (2025), Tonica International Jazz Festival (Guadalajara, 2016), Festival de Jazz de Antequera (Spain, 2022), and Leavenworth Jazz Festival, (Seattle, 2023). As he currently resides in Chicago, Il., you can find him performing at jazz clubs and teaching master classes and privately around the city, country, and abroad. As a student of the Black American Artform that is Jazz, Kyle has devoted quality time to his musical evolution, instruction, and mastery

Winard Harper I drums Ted Chubb I trumpet Anthony Ware I saxophone Charlie Sigler I guitar Anthony Perez I bass Nicholas Masters I piano Winard Harper was born in Baltimore in 1962, a child prodigy. Although his parents were not musicians they were full of encouragment as they noticed him beating on cans when he was three or four years old.  At five years old Winard would sometimes sit in and play his drums in older brother Danny's rock n roll band after the family moved to Washington D.C. When Winards younger brother Philip took to playing the trumpet, the two of them would busk in the streets of George Town, jam with a few bands, and help out with Danny's various bands. Listening to Clifford Brown and Max Roach playing "Jordu" had fascinated Winard so greatly it showed him his direction ~ jazz. Subsequently, his father took him to all the local jazz scenes to listen and meet the best in the world of jazz. This is how Winard met up with pianist Reuben Brown, who brought into play a great deal of influence on Winard, since the two worked together for more than a year in a trio with Steve Novel. Also by 1981 Winard had put together the forerunner of of his future band (The Harper Brothers Band) ~ this band was the 'D.C. Jazz Quintet.' Reuben Brown played piano, the bass player was Pepe Gonzalez and James King on bass, his younger brother Philip on trumpet and Winard on drums. In 1983, Winard received a scholarship for the  University of Hartford, Soon though New York was calling.   Harper's first major gig was with Dexter Gordon in 1982, and shortly thereafter with Johnny Griffin. It wasn't long before his drumming skills captured the attention of Betty Carter. He spent four years as drummer with Ms. Carter's band, also working as a sideman to such jazz legends as Ray Bryant, Abdullah Ibrahim, Pharoah Sanders and Clifford Jordan, yet still keeping his own band working on his days off . This was the early days of The Harper Brothers. "With Betty I learned consistency and persistence" Harper recalls. "Working with her prepared me to become a bandleader; I learned a lot about the business from her". By 1988 Winard's hard work and dedication to jazz paid dividends with a Harper Brother record deal from PolyGram. ​ At 27 Winard was already playing like a veteran, a virtuoso on the cymbals as well as the drums. "The Harper Brothers" was one of the hottest groups of the post-bop era of the late '80s, early '90s.  If you were lucky enough to see The Harper Brothers live, you might have thought you'd been transported back in time, when bebop wizards were the toast of the town.  In the early 1990's Winard changed direction. Further inspired by the musician- and leadership of Dr. Billy Taylor and Billy Higgins, he went on to record a number of albums featuring collaboratorations with an ever surprising range of jazz greats, while building a strong sextet. Of Billy Higgins he says: Higgins played with such joy, the joy and the passion and his love of playing really made an impact on me. I could see similarities between myself and him, and then we became such great friends. He saw jazz as spiritual and social work and walked the talk. A lot of the concept of my band was inspired by Billy. A lot of the African influences and different instruments I use in the band, Billy was always exploring as well.Constantly in reverence of his predecessors while remaining innovative in his own right, Harper has been among the celebrated drummers in jazz for many years. He is a virtuoso on the drum set and the balafon, the West African equivalent of the marimba, he is a sought after collaborator at home and abroad, a band leader of his quartet, his quintet and his exciting band the Jeli Posse, a regular with the legendary New York clubs, an educator of future jazz professionals, an educator through his kids programs, an events organizer - successfully running the weekly Fish Fry Jazz Jam and the Sunday "Meet the Artist" Series at Moore's Lounge in Jersey City. Bringing Jazz to the community from which it originated, relating the story of The Great American Art Form, the only music that is 100% "made in America", spreading the joy that Jazz brings is the quest to which Winard Harper is dedicating himself.

Winard Harper I drums Ted Chubb I trumpet Anthony Ware I saxophone Charlie Sigler I guitar Anthony Perez I bass Nicholas Masters I piano Winard Harper was born in Baltimore in 1962, a child prodigy. Although his parents were not musicians they were full of encouragment as they noticed him beating on cans when he was three or four years old.  At five years old Winard would sometimes sit in and play his drums in older brother Danny's rock n roll band after the family moved to Washington D.C. When Winards younger brother Philip took to playing the trumpet, the two of them would busk in the streets of George Town, jam with a few bands, and help out with Danny's various bands. Listening to Clifford Brown and Max Roach playing "Jordu" had fascinated Winard so greatly it showed him his direction ~ jazz. Subsequently, his father took him to all the local jazz scenes to listen and meet the best in the world of jazz. This is how Winard met up with pianist Reuben Brown, who brought into play a great deal of influence on Winard, since the two worked together for more than a year in a trio with Steve Novel. Also by 1981 Winard had put together the forerunner of of his future band (The Harper Brothers Band) ~ this band was the 'D.C. Jazz Quintet.' Reuben Brown played piano, the bass player was Pepe Gonzalez and James King on bass, his younger brother Philip on trumpet and Winard on drums. In 1983, Winard received a scholarship for the  University of Hartford, Soon though New York was calling.   Harper's first major gig was with Dexter Gordon in 1982, and shortly thereafter with Johnny Griffin. It wasn't long before his drumming skills captured the attention of Betty Carter. He spent four years as drummer with Ms. Carter's band, also working as a sideman to such jazz legends as Ray Bryant, Abdullah Ibrahim, Pharoah Sanders and Clifford Jordan, yet still keeping his own band working on his days off . This was the early days of The Harper Brothers. "With Betty I learned consistency and persistence" Harper recalls. "Working with her prepared me to become a bandleader; I learned a lot about the business from her". By 1988 Winard's hard work and dedication to jazz paid dividends with a Harper Brother record deal from PolyGram. ​ At 27 Winard was already playing like a veteran, a virtuoso on the cymbals as well as the drums. "The Harper Brothers" was one of the hottest groups of the post-bop era of the late '80s, early '90s.  If you were lucky enough to see The Harper Brothers live, you might have thought you'd been transported back in time, when bebop wizards were the toast of the town.  In the early 1990's Winard changed direction. Further inspired by the musician- and leadership of Dr. Billy Taylor and Billy Higgins, he went on to record a number of albums featuring collaboratorations with an ever surprising range of jazz greats, while building a strong sextet. Of Billy Higgins he says: Higgins played with such joy, the joy and the passion and his love of playing really made an impact on me. I could see similarities between myself and him, and then we became such great friends. He saw jazz as spiritual and social work and walked the talk. A lot of the concept of my band was inspired by Billy. A lot of the African influences and different instruments I use in the band, Billy was always exploring as well.Constantly in reverence of his predecessors while remaining innovative in his own right, Harper has been among the celebrated drummers in jazz for many years. He is a virtuoso on the drum set and the balafon, the West African equivalent of the marimba, he is a sought after collaborator at home and abroad, a band leader of his quartet, his quintet and his exciting band the Jeli Posse, a regular with the legendary New York clubs, an educator of future jazz professionals, an educator through his kids programs, an events organizer - successfully running the weekly Fish Fry Jazz Jam and the Sunday "Meet the Artist" Series at Moore's Lounge in Jersey City. Bringing Jazz to the community from which it originated, relating the story of The Great American Art Form, the only music that is 100% "made in America", spreading the joy that Jazz brings is the quest to which Winard Harper is dedicating himself.

Winard Harper I drums Ted Chubb I trumpet Anthony Ware I saxophone Charlie Sigler I guitar Anthony Perez I bass Nicholas Masters I piano Winard Harper was born in Baltimore in 1962, a child prodigy. Although his parents were not musicians they were full of encouragment as they noticed him beating on cans when he was three or four years old.  At five years old Winard would sometimes sit in and play his drums in older brother Danny's rock n roll band after the family moved to Washington D.C. When Winards younger brother Philip took to playing the trumpet, the two of them would busk in the streets of George Town, jam with a few bands, and help out with Danny's various bands. Listening to Clifford Brown and Max Roach playing "Jordu" had fascinated Winard so greatly it showed him his direction ~ jazz. Subsequently, his father took him to all the local jazz scenes to listen and meet the best in the world of jazz. This is how Winard met up with pianist Reuben Brown, who brought into play a great deal of influence on Winard, since the two worked together for more than a year in a trio with Steve Novel. Also by 1981 Winard had put together the forerunner of of his future band (The Harper Brothers Band) ~ this band was the 'D.C. Jazz Quintet.' Reuben Brown played piano, the bass player was Pepe Gonzalez and James King on bass, his younger brother Philip on trumpet and Winard on drums. In 1983, Winard received a scholarship for the  University of Hartford, Soon though New York was calling.   Harper's first major gig was with Dexter Gordon in 1982, and shortly thereafter with Johnny Griffin. It wasn't long before his drumming skills captured the attention of Betty Carter. He spent four years as drummer with Ms. Carter's band, also working as a sideman to such jazz legends as Ray Bryant, Abdullah Ibrahim, Pharoah Sanders and Clifford Jordan, yet still keeping his own band working on his days off . This was the early days of The Harper Brothers. "With Betty I learned consistency and persistence" Harper recalls. "Working with her prepared me to become a bandleader; I learned a lot about the business from her". By 1988 Winard's hard work and dedication to jazz paid dividends with a Harper Brother record deal from PolyGram. ​ At 27 Winard was already playing like a veteran, a virtuoso on the cymbals as well as the drums. "The Harper Brothers" was one of the hottest groups of the post-bop era of the late '80s, early '90s.  If you were lucky enough to see The Harper Brothers live, you might have thought you'd been transported back in time, when bebop wizards were the toast of the town.  In the early 1990's Winard changed direction. Further inspired by the musician- and leadership of Dr. Billy Taylor and Billy Higgins, he went on to record a number of albums featuring collaboratorations with an ever surprising range of jazz greats, while building a strong sextet. Of Billy Higgins he says: Higgins played with such joy, the joy and the passion and his love of playing really made an impact on me. I could see similarities between myself and him, and then we became such great friends. He saw jazz as spiritual and social work and walked the talk. A lot of the concept of my band was inspired by Billy. A lot of the African influences and different instruments I use in the band, Billy was always exploring as well.Constantly in reverence of his predecessors while remaining innovative in his own right, Harper has been among the celebrated drummers in jazz for many years. He is a virtuoso on the drum set and the balafon, the West African equivalent of the marimba, he is a sought after collaborator at home and abroad, a band leader of his quartet, his quintet and his exciting band the Jeli Posse, a regular with the legendary New York clubs, an educator of future jazz professionals, an educator through his kids programs, an events organizer - successfully running the weekly Fish Fry Jazz Jam and the Sunday "Meet the Artist" Series at Moore's Lounge in Jersey City. Bringing Jazz to the community from which it originated, relating the story of The Great American Art Form, the only music that is 100% "made in America", spreading the joy that Jazz brings is the quest to which Winard Harper is dedicating himself.

Winard Harper I drums Ted Chubb I trumpet Anthony Ware I saxophone Charlie Sigler I guitar Anthony Perez I bass Nicholas Masters I piano Winard Harper was born in Baltimore in 1962, a child prodigy. Although his parents were not musicians they were full of encouragment as they noticed him beating on cans when he was three or four years old.  At five years old Winard would sometimes sit in and play his drums in older brother Danny's rock n roll band after the family moved to Washington D.C. When Winards younger brother Philip took to playing the trumpet, the two of them would busk in the streets of George Town, jam with a few bands, and help out with Danny's various bands. Listening to Clifford Brown and Max Roach playing "Jordu" had fascinated Winard so greatly it showed him his direction ~ jazz. Subsequently, his father took him to all the local jazz scenes to listen and meet the best in the world of jazz. This is how Winard met up with pianist Reuben Brown, who brought into play a great deal of influence on Winard, since the two worked together for more than a year in a trio with Steve Novel. Also by 1981 Winard had put together the forerunner of of his future band (The Harper Brothers Band) ~ this band was the 'D.C. Jazz Quintet.' Reuben Brown played piano, the bass player was Pepe Gonzalez and James King on bass, his younger brother Philip on trumpet and Winard on drums. In 1983, Winard received a scholarship for the  University of Hartford, Soon though New York was calling.   Harper's first major gig was with Dexter Gordon in 1982, and shortly thereafter with Johnny Griffin. It wasn't long before his drumming skills captured the attention of Betty Carter. He spent four years as drummer with Ms. Carter's band, also working as a sideman to such jazz legends as Ray Bryant, Abdullah Ibrahim, Pharoah Sanders and Clifford Jordan, yet still keeping his own band working on his days off . This was the early days of The Harper Brothers. "With Betty I learned consistency and persistence" Harper recalls. "Working with her prepared me to become a bandleader; I learned a lot about the business from her". By 1988 Winard's hard work and dedication to jazz paid dividends with a Harper Brother record deal from PolyGram. ​ At 27 Winard was already playing like a veteran, a virtuoso on the cymbals as well as the drums. "The Harper Brothers" was one of the hottest groups of the post-bop era of the late '80s, early '90s.  If you were lucky enough to see The Harper Brothers live, you might have thought you'd been transported back in time, when bebop wizards were the toast of the town.  In the early 1990's Winard changed direction. Further inspired by the musician- and leadership of Dr. Billy Taylor and Billy Higgins, he went on to record a number of albums featuring collaboratorations with an ever surprising range of jazz greats, while building a strong sextet. Of Billy Higgins he says: Higgins played with such joy, the joy and the passion and his love of playing really made an impact on me. I could see similarities between myself and him, and then we became such great friends. He saw jazz as spiritual and social work and walked the talk. A lot of the concept of my band was inspired by Billy. A lot of the African influences and different instruments I use in the band, Billy was always exploring as well.Constantly in reverence of his predecessors while remaining innovative in his own right, Harper has been among the celebrated drummers in jazz for many years. He is a virtuoso on the drum set and the balafon, the West African equivalent of the marimba, he is a sought after collaborator at home and abroad, a band leader of his quartet, his quintet and his exciting band the Jeli Posse, a regular with the legendary New York clubs, an educator of future jazz professionals, an educator through his kids programs, an events organizer - successfully running the weekly Fish Fry Jazz Jam and the Sunday "Meet the Artist" Series at Moore's Lounge in Jersey City. Bringing Jazz to the community from which it originated, relating the story of The Great American Art Form, the only music that is 100% "made in America", spreading the joy that Jazz brings is the quest to which Winard Harper is dedicating himself.

Petra's Recession Seven: Petra van Nuis - vocals Art Davis - trumpet Eric Schneider - reeds Russ Phillips - trombone Andy Brown - guitar Dan DeLorenzo - bass Bob Rummage - drums At the start of the Great Recession in September 2008, Petra's Recession Seven, an authentic Chicago-style jazz band was born at Chicago's legendary Green Mill. The seven piece ensemble is led by Petra van Nuis, a vocalist praised by the Chicago Tribune for her "interpretive savvy...light-and-silvery vocals and, better still, saucy manner of delivery that emphasizes the art of the double entendre." Petra's Recession Seven features a front line of all-star internationally known Chicago veteran horn players. Trombonist Russ Phillips grew up "in the wings" listening to his dad, Russ Phillips Sr. play trombone in Louis Armstrong's All-Stars. Russ Jr. decided to follow in his dad's footsteps, and in addition to Chicago performances is a popular fixture on mainstream jazz festivals and cruises. Reedist Eric Schneider began his early career as a member of the bands of Count Basie and Earl Fatha Hines. Since then, Eric has played with many legends including Benny Goodman, Tony Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie and Ella Fitzgerald and continues to be one of the busiest working musicians in Chicago. Trumpeter Art Davis is charter member of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra and a highly respected jazz educator. Early in his career, Art toured with Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and Rosemary Clooney and continues to be the top call trumpeter for musicians touring through Chicago. The swinging rhythm section of bassist Dan Delorenzo and drummer Bob Rummage is led by guitarist Andy Brown, recognized in Downbeat Magazine's annual critics poll as a “rising star.” In their hometown of Chicago, Petra's Recession Seven is a big hit at the Jazz Showcase, the Green Mill, Andy's Jazz Club, Winter's Jazz Club and Fitzgerald's. Festival performances include the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Cedar Basin Jazz Festival, the Juvae Jazz Festival and the American Music Festival. Regionally, the Recession Seven has played jazz societies including the Madison Jazz Society, the Starr-Gennett Foundation, the Illiana Jazz Club, the "Masters of Swing" series at Cincinnati's Xavier University, the Lafayette Jazz Club and the Indianapolis Jazz Club. The American Rag, in a review of the band's 2011 on location recording "Live In Chicago" praises “a killer of a band that grabs your attention and doesn't give it back until they are finished playing." www.petrasings.com

Julius Tucker - piano Jeff Swanson - guitar Evan Salvacion Levine - bass Clif Wallace - drums Connor Bernhard - trumpets and compositions/arrangements Connor Bernhard has been enamored with music and its creation since birth. Born in 1992, he was exposed to jazz by his father from day one, but officially started studying guitar at age 7, trumpet at age 10. In his early years, he studied with the inimitable Fareed Haque and Art Davis and learned the tradition of Swing and Big Band music from Ronald Carter at Northern Illinois University. In 2013, Bernhard made his move to Chicago to start a full-time professional career in music while also working full time as a merchant mariner on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan to support himself financially while he worked to make his name. In 2017, Bernhard was selected by the Luminarts Foundation as a finalist in its annual Chicago jazz competition and awarded a grant to fund his debut album, Altitude (2020). Recently, Bernhard has been busy playing, composing, and arranging for a variety of ensembles including several of his own. He has performed with artists such as Ernie Watts, Randy Brecker, Victor Lewis, The New Lionel Hampton Band Featuring Jason Marsalis, The Chicago Jazz Philharmonic, Neal Francis, Eryn Allen Kane, Jorge Luis Pacheco, The Chicago Jazz Orchestra, New Nostalgia, and too many more to list. With these artists and others, he has played venues such as The Chicago Jazz Festival, The Detroit Jazz Festival, The Salt Shed, Summercamp Music Festival, The Green Mill, Andy’s Jazz Club, The Jazz Showcase, Lincoln Hall, Park West, Martyrs, and more. Besides performing live music, Bernhard is currently working on multiple recording releases that are in various stages of completion at the time of this publishing including his new band The Chicago Experiment, which he mainly plays guitar in.

Alexander McLeanBorn on Chicago’s west side, DEE ALEXANDER is one of Chicago’s most gifted and respected female vocalist/songwriters. Her talents span every music genre, from Gospel to R&B and Blues to Neo-Soul, yet her true heart and soul are experienced through her performance of Jazz. Whether in a soft, sultry ballad or a scat-filled romp, she delivers with a passion for music that comes across in every note, and a grace that is truly her own. Alexander boasts long and fruitful associations with Chicago’s jazz elite, including Ramsey Lewis, Orbert Davis, Nicole Mitchell, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). She leads her own Dee Alexander Quartet, as well as the Evolution Ensemble, whose music ranges from original compositions to renditions of James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. Her Jazz Institute of Chicago-commissioned tribute to Nina Simone and Dinah Washington, Sirens of Song, marked the beginning of worldwide recognition, and her performance on the Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion stage launched a period of extensive touring in Europe. Alexander has received the Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz award and the 3Arts Award for Music. Her CD, Wild is the Wind, was named the album of the summer in France; earned her top votes in Downbeat’s Readers’ and Critics’ polls; received 5 stars in Downbeat; and was chosen as one of the magazine’s top ten recordings in the first decade of the new millennium. She has garnered accolades in African, Australian, European, and North American press. She is currently a host on the WFMT Jazz Radio Network.  JOHN McLEAN’S career has included work as a guitarist, composer, arranger, producer, bandleader, and educator. Since completing his studies at the Berklee College of Music and the University of Miami, he has toured throughout the world and appeared on over fifty recordings. He has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Kurt Elling, Mose Allison, Randy Brecker, Branford Marsalis, Anat Cohen, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Richie Cole, Ken Nordine, Joe Locke, Regina Carter, Louis Bellson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Terry Callier, Renee Fleming, John Patitucci, Adam Nussbaum, Ernie Watts, Dave Douglas, Patricia Barber, Kendrick Scott, Arthur Blythe, Eddie Gomez, and many others. Over the course of his thirty years of touring both as a leader and sideman, he has performed in virtually every major city in North America as well as London, Paris, Moscow, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, Sao Paolo, Jakarta, Dublin, Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, Berlin, Oslo, Reykjavik, Oslo, Stockholm, Istanbul, Bucharest, Helsinki, Seoul, Lisbon, Vienna, Budapest, Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, and Zurich. He has conducted clinics throughout the United States and Canada, as well as Europe and Asia. He currently resides in the Chicago area and teaches at North Central College.

Alexander McLeanBorn on Chicago’s west side, DEE ALEXANDER is one of Chicago’s most gifted and respected female vocalist/songwriters. Her talents span every music genre, from Gospel to R&B and Blues to Neo-Soul, yet her true heart and soul are experienced through her performance of Jazz. Whether in a soft, sultry ballad or a scat-filled romp, she delivers with a passion for music that comes across in every note, and a grace that is truly her own. Alexander boasts long and fruitful associations with Chicago’s jazz elite, including Ramsey Lewis, Orbert Davis, Nicole Mitchell, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). She leads her own Dee Alexander Quartet, as well as the Evolution Ensemble, whose music ranges from original compositions to renditions of James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. Her Jazz Institute of Chicago-commissioned tribute to Nina Simone and Dinah Washington, Sirens of Song, marked the beginning of worldwide recognition, and her performance on the Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion stage launched a period of extensive touring in Europe. Alexander has received the Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz award and the 3Arts Award for Music. Her CD, Wild is the Wind, was named the album of the summer in France; earned her top votes in Downbeat’s Readers’ and Critics’ polls; received 5 stars in Downbeat; and was chosen as one of the magazine’s top ten recordings in the first decade of the new millennium. She has garnered accolades in African, Australian, European, and North American press. She is currently a host on the WFMT Jazz Radio Network.  JOHN McLEAN’S career has included work as a guitarist, composer, arranger, producer, bandleader, and educator. Since completing his studies at the Berklee College of Music and the University of Miami, he has toured throughout the world and appeared on over fifty recordings. He has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Kurt Elling, Mose Allison, Randy Brecker, Branford Marsalis, Anat Cohen, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Richie Cole, Ken Nordine, Joe Locke, Regina Carter, Louis Bellson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Terry Callier, Renee Fleming, John Patitucci, Adam Nussbaum, Ernie Watts, Dave Douglas, Patricia Barber, Kendrick Scott, Arthur Blythe, Eddie Gomez, and many others. Over the course of his thirty years of touring both as a leader and sideman, he has performed in virtually every major city in North America as well as London, Paris, Moscow, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, Sao Paolo, Jakarta, Dublin, Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, Berlin, Oslo, Reykjavik, Oslo, Stockholm, Istanbul, Bucharest, Helsinki, Seoul, Lisbon, Vienna, Budapest, Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, and Zurich. He has conducted clinics throughout the United States and Canada, as well as Europe and Asia. He currently resides in the Chicago area and teaches at North Central College.

Alexander McLeanBorn on Chicago’s west side, DEE ALEXANDER is one of Chicago’s most gifted and respected female vocalist/songwriters. Her talents span every music genre, from Gospel to R&B and Blues to Neo-Soul, yet her true heart and soul are experienced through her performance of Jazz. Whether in a soft, sultry ballad or a scat-filled romp, she delivers with a passion for music that comes across in every note, and a grace that is truly her own. Alexander boasts long and fruitful associations with Chicago’s jazz elite, including Ramsey Lewis, Orbert Davis, Nicole Mitchell, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). She leads her own Dee Alexander Quartet, as well as the Evolution Ensemble, whose music ranges from original compositions to renditions of James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. Her Jazz Institute of Chicago-commissioned tribute to Nina Simone and Dinah Washington, Sirens of Song, marked the beginning of worldwide recognition, and her performance on the Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion stage launched a period of extensive touring in Europe. Alexander has received the Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz award and the 3Arts Award for Music. Her CD, Wild is the Wind, was named the album of the summer in France; earned her top votes in Downbeat’s Readers’ and Critics’ polls; received 5 stars in Downbeat; and was chosen as one of the magazine’s top ten recordings in the first decade of the new millennium. She has garnered accolades in African, Australian, European, and North American press. She is currently a host on the WFMT Jazz Radio Network.  JOHN McLEAN’S career has included work as a guitarist, composer, arranger, producer, bandleader, and educator. Since completing his studies at the Berklee College of Music and the University of Miami, he has toured throughout the world and appeared on over fifty recordings. He has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Kurt Elling, Mose Allison, Randy Brecker, Branford Marsalis, Anat Cohen, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Richie Cole, Ken Nordine, Joe Locke, Regina Carter, Louis Bellson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Terry Callier, Renee Fleming, John Patitucci, Adam Nussbaum, Ernie Watts, Dave Douglas, Patricia Barber, Kendrick Scott, Arthur Blythe, Eddie Gomez, and many others. Over the course of his thirty years of touring both as a leader and sideman, he has performed in virtually every major city in North America as well as London, Paris, Moscow, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, Sao Paolo, Jakarta, Dublin, Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, Berlin, Oslo, Reykjavik, Oslo, Stockholm, Istanbul, Bucharest, Helsinki, Seoul, Lisbon, Vienna, Budapest, Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, and Zurich. He has conducted clinics throughout the United States and Canada, as well as Europe and Asia. He currently resides in the Chicago area and teaches at North Central College.

Alexander McLeanBorn on Chicago’s west side, DEE ALEXANDER is one of Chicago’s most gifted and respected female vocalist/songwriters. Her talents span every music genre, from Gospel to R&B and Blues to Neo-Soul, yet her true heart and soul are experienced through her performance of Jazz. Whether in a soft, sultry ballad or a scat-filled romp, she delivers with a passion for music that comes across in every note, and a grace that is truly her own. Alexander boasts long and fruitful associations with Chicago’s jazz elite, including Ramsey Lewis, Orbert Davis, Nicole Mitchell, Chicago Jazz Orchestra, and the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). She leads her own Dee Alexander Quartet, as well as the Evolution Ensemble, whose music ranges from original compositions to renditions of James Brown and Jimi Hendrix. Her Jazz Institute of Chicago-commissioned tribute to Nina Simone and Dinah Washington, Sirens of Song, marked the beginning of worldwide recognition, and her performance on the Millennium Park Pritzker Pavilion stage launched a period of extensive touring in Europe. Alexander has received the Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz award and the 3Arts Award for Music. Her CD, Wild is the Wind, was named the album of the summer in France; earned her top votes in Downbeat’s Readers’ and Critics’ polls; received 5 stars in Downbeat; and was chosen as one of the magazine’s top ten recordings in the first decade of the new millennium. She has garnered accolades in African, Australian, European, and North American press. She is currently a host on the WFMT Jazz Radio Network.  JOHN McLEAN’S career has included work as a guitarist, composer, arranger, producer, bandleader, and educator. Since completing his studies at the Berklee College of Music and the University of Miami, he has toured throughout the world and appeared on over fifty recordings. He has performed and/or recorded with such artists as Kurt Elling, Mose Allison, Randy Brecker, Branford Marsalis, Anat Cohen, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Richie Cole, Ken Nordine, Joe Locke, Regina Carter, Louis Bellson, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Terry Callier, Renee Fleming, John Patitucci, Adam Nussbaum, Ernie Watts, Dave Douglas, Patricia Barber, Kendrick Scott, Arthur Blythe, Eddie Gomez, and many others. Over the course of his thirty years of touring both as a leader and sideman, he has performed in virtually every major city in North America as well as London, Paris, Moscow, Johannesburg, Tokyo, Beijing, Sydney, Sao Paolo, Jakarta, Dublin, Rome, Madrid, Warsaw, Berlin, Oslo, Reykjavik, Oslo, Stockholm, Istanbul, Bucharest, Helsinki, Seoul, Lisbon, Vienna, Budapest, Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, and Zurich. He has conducted clinics throughout the United States and Canada, as well as Europe and Asia. He currently resides in the Chicago area and teaches at North Central College.

Kevin King is a Woodwindist and Composer from the south side of Chicago, Illinois. King honed his skills on the Chicago music scene under the tutelage of Chicago Legends Willie Pickens, Orbert Davis, and Diane Ellis. King is an improviser on all woodwind instruments including, Oboe, Bassoon, Flute, Clarinet, and Saxophone. The Regime Currently includes Nick Litman on Bass, and Shravan Raghuram on Drumset. King has played all over the country with countless artists including Arturo Sandoval, Lauryn Hill, The Fugees, Wyclef Jean, The Temptations, Marcus Strickland, Marquis Hill, Joel Ross, Arturo Sandoval, Willie Pickens, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Buddy Guy, Adam Neely, etc. The Kevin King Regime is a culmination of King’s vision of creating a “Heavy Band with improvisation”. “ The Kevin King Regime is influenced by every sound known and unknown to man creating a sound unlike anything heard before. The original compositions I write are in many ways a symbol of the values I live by. An urgency to improve the world we live in with the art of sound creation, experimentation, and exploration. The music is a reflection of the world itself.”

Cameron Pfiffner/ Saxophones and Flute Pat Mallinger / Saxophones  Pete Benson / Organ Neil Hemphill/  Drums  Founded around 1990, Sabertooth is led by two saxophonists:  Cameron Pfiffner & Pat Mallinger. The band started out with the unique pairing of its two lead reedmen at an old musicians hang called Jazz Bulls in Lincoln Park West neighborhood of Chicago. From that night’s collaboration the idea of Sabertooth began to take shape with a driving force behind the widely varied stylings best summed up as, “just groove it”. Sabertooth has often ventured beyond soul-jazz and hard bop and moved into post-bop and modal territory with John Coltrane’s modal recordings of the early to mid-’60s influencing the groups sound. Sabertooth is both a post-bop group and a soul-jazz/hard bop group with a highly diverse repertoire that includes many original compositions and jazz classics by Duke Ellington, Horace Silver, Wayne Shorter, Lester Young, John Coltrane, as well as covers by the Beatles, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Bob Marley. Special invited guests who have performed with Sabertooth have included Harry Conick Jr., Kurt Elling, Joe Lovano, Roy Hargrove, Wynton Marsalis Band, Jack McDuff, Joey DeFrancesco, Umphrey’s Mcgee Band, and many others. Sabertooth has also performed for numerous jazz festivals, concerts and private engagements.

Dan Kaufman - piano Yasushi Nakamura - bass Brian Richburg - drums New Orleans born saxophonist Donald Harrison is a musician/composer who master musicians consider a master of every era of jazz, soul, funk, and a composer of orchestral classical music. He is also a genius, according to geniuses like Eddie Palmieri and Mike Clark. In the HBO drama Treme, Emmy winning director David Simon created two characters to portray how Harrison innovated new styles of music. Harrison has appeared as an actor/musician in 9 episodes of Treme, Oscar-winning director Johnathon Demme’s film Rachel Getting Married, Spike Lee’s When The Levee’s Broke documentary, and Marvel’s Luke Cage. This talented artist is the recognized Big Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans culture and was made a Chief in 2019 by Queen Diambi Kabatusuila in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. Harrison honed his experience playing with Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Eddie Palmieri, Dr. John, Lena Horne, McCoy Tyner, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Miles Davis, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Chuck Loeb, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Digable Planets, Guru’s Jazzmatazz, The Headhunters, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and The Notorious BIG. He has performed with over 200 jazz masters and created three influential styles of jazz. At the age of nineteen, Harrison created a modern jazz take on the New Orleans second-line tradition and introduced his composition New York Second-Line to the jazz world in 1979. By the mid-’80s, he created Nouveau Swing, a distinctive sound that blended the swing beat of modern jazz with hip-hop, funk, and soul music. In the ’90s, Harrison recorded hits in the smooth jazz genre. He began exploring music through the lens of quantum physics in 2000. With quantum jazz, Harrison heard how to move music from a two-dimensional state into a four-dimensional state. Harrison has been a mentor to artist as diverse as The Notorious Big, Jonathon Batiste, Christian Scott, Trombone Shorty, and Esperanza Spaulding. In 2020 look for Harrison performing Charlie Parker with strings in tribute to his centennial. He is composing orchestral classical music for upcoming premiers and adding hip-hop/jazz to his multi-genre recordings and performances.

Dan Kaufman - piano Yasushi Nakamura - bass Brian Richburg - drums New Orleans born saxophonist Donald Harrison is a musician/composer who master musicians consider a master of every era of jazz, soul, funk, and a composer of orchestral classical music. He is also a genius, according to geniuses like Eddie Palmieri and Mike Clark. In the HBO drama Treme, Emmy winning director David Simon created two characters to portray how Harrison innovated new styles of music. Harrison has appeared as an actor/musician in 9 episodes of Treme, Oscar-winning director Johnathon Demme’s film Rachel Getting Married, Spike Lee’s When The Levee’s Broke documentary, and Marvel’s Luke Cage. This talented artist is the recognized Big Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans culture and was made a Chief in 2019 by Queen Diambi Kabatusuila in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. Harrison honed his experience playing with Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Eddie Palmieri, Dr. John, Lena Horne, McCoy Tyner, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Miles Davis, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Chuck Loeb, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Digable Planets, Guru’s Jazzmatazz, The Headhunters, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and The Notorious BIG. He has performed with over 200 jazz masters and created three influential styles of jazz. At the age of nineteen, Harrison created a modern jazz take on the New Orleans second-line tradition and introduced his composition New York Second-Line to the jazz world in 1979. By the mid-’80s, he created Nouveau Swing, a distinctive sound that blended the swing beat of modern jazz with hip-hop, funk, and soul music. In the ’90s, Harrison recorded hits in the smooth jazz genre. He began exploring music through the lens of quantum physics in 2000. With quantum jazz, Harrison heard how to move music from a two-dimensional state into a four-dimensional state. Harrison has been a mentor to artist as diverse as The Notorious Big, Jonathon Batiste, Christian Scott, Trombone Shorty, and Esperanza Spaulding. In 2020 look for Harrison performing Charlie Parker with strings in tribute to his centennial. He is composing orchestral classical music for upcoming premiers and adding hip-hop/jazz to his multi-genre recordings and performances.

Dan Kaufman - piano Yasushi Nakamura - bass Brian Richburg - drums New Orleans born saxophonist Donald Harrison is a musician/composer who master musicians consider a master of every era of jazz, soul, funk, and a composer of orchestral classical music. He is also a genius, according to geniuses like Eddie Palmieri and Mike Clark. In the HBO drama Treme, Emmy winning director David Simon created two characters to portray how Harrison innovated new styles of music. Harrison has appeared as an actor/musician in 9 episodes of Treme, Oscar-winning director Johnathon Demme’s film Rachel Getting Married, Spike Lee’s When The Levee’s Broke documentary, and Marvel’s Luke Cage. This talented artist is the recognized Big Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans culture and was made a Chief in 2019 by Queen Diambi Kabatusuila in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. Harrison honed his experience playing with Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Eddie Palmieri, Dr. John, Lena Horne, McCoy Tyner, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Miles Davis, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Chuck Loeb, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Digable Planets, Guru’s Jazzmatazz, The Headhunters, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and The Notorious BIG. He has performed with over 200 jazz masters and created three influential styles of jazz. At the age of nineteen, Harrison created a modern jazz take on the New Orleans second-line tradition and introduced his composition New York Second-Line to the jazz world in 1979. By the mid-’80s, he created Nouveau Swing, a distinctive sound that blended the swing beat of modern jazz with hip-hop, funk, and soul music. In the ’90s, Harrison recorded hits in the smooth jazz genre. He began exploring music through the lens of quantum physics in 2000. With quantum jazz, Harrison heard how to move music from a two-dimensional state into a four-dimensional state. Harrison has been a mentor to artist as diverse as The Notorious Big, Jonathon Batiste, Christian Scott, Trombone Shorty, and Esperanza Spaulding. In 2020 look for Harrison performing Charlie Parker with strings in tribute to his centennial. He is composing orchestral classical music for upcoming premiers and adding hip-hop/jazz to his multi-genre recordings and performances.

Dan Kaufman - piano Yasushi Nakamura - bass Brian Richburg - drums New Orleans born saxophonist Donald Harrison is a musician/composer who master musicians consider a master of every era of jazz, soul, funk, and a composer of orchestral classical music. He is also a genius, according to geniuses like Eddie Palmieri and Mike Clark. In the HBO drama Treme, Emmy winning director David Simon created two characters to portray how Harrison innovated new styles of music. Harrison has appeared as an actor/musician in 9 episodes of Treme, Oscar-winning director Johnathon Demme’s film Rachel Getting Married, Spike Lee’s When The Levee’s Broke documentary, and Marvel’s Luke Cage. This talented artist is the recognized Big Chief of Congo Square in Afro-New Orleans culture and was made a Chief in 2019 by Queen Diambi Kabatusuila in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa. Harrison honed his experience playing with Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Eddie Palmieri, Dr. John, Lena Horne, McCoy Tyner, Dr. Eddie Henderson, Miles Davis, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Chuck Loeb, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Digable Planets, Guru’s Jazzmatazz, The Headhunters, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and The Notorious BIG. He has performed with over 200 jazz masters and created three influential styles of jazz. At the age of nineteen, Harrison created a modern jazz take on the New Orleans second-line tradition and introduced his composition New York Second-Line to the jazz world in 1979. By the mid-’80s, he created Nouveau Swing, a distinctive sound that blended the swing beat of modern jazz with hip-hop, funk, and soul music. In the ’90s, Harrison recorded hits in the smooth jazz genre. He began exploring music through the lens of quantum physics in 2000. With quantum jazz, Harrison heard how to move music from a two-dimensional state into a four-dimensional state. Harrison has been a mentor to artist as diverse as The Notorious Big, Jonathon Batiste, Christian Scott, Trombone Shorty, and Esperanza Spaulding. In 2020 look for Harrison performing Charlie Parker with strings in tribute to his centennial. He is composing orchestral classical music for upcoming premiers and adding hip-hop/jazz to his multi-genre recordings and performances.

Steve Million - piano Dave Scott - trumpet Chet Doxas - tenor sax Peter Brendler - bass Tim Davis - drums

Bethany Pickens is an award winning pianist and composer. Born in Chicago, she began her musical training under the watchful tutelage of her father Willie Pickens, world-class Jazz pianist. She also was impacted deeply by the 9 years she spent as a member of the Chicago Children's Choir during her formative years. Since graduating from the American Conservatory of Music, Bethany has had the opportunity to perform, record, and conduct clinics with such artist as Clark Terry, Louis Bellson, Bobby Watson, Von Freeman, Steve Turre, Ray Brown, Ed Thigpen, Willie Pickens, Susan Anton, Lizz Wright and Grammy award winners Dee Dee Bridgewater, Roy Hargrove and Branford Marsalis, Rascal Flats, Josh Groban, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle and Usher.Ms. Pickens is an Illinois State Board Certified Instrumental Music Teacher. She has taught PreK-12 for the Chicago Public School System for over 20 years. She currently is the Piano Instructor at Kenwood Academy High School, her Alma Mater!Additionally, Bethany has worked as an Artist-in-Residence with the Jazz Institute of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools All-City Elementary Jazz Ensemble, and an Instructor with the Ravinia Jazz Scholars Program. She has also served as an Adjudicator for The CPS City-Wide Jazz Festival.Bethany and her Father have Performed Duo Concerts at Chicago Symphony Center, Ravinia, The Steinway Society, and the International Jazz Educators Convention and most recently NPR's Jazz Piano Christmas Series at John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts in Washington DC, 2016."Steeped in tradition, committed to creativity" is how Bethany describes her Performances, "a musical menu—something for everyone."

Guitar great Bobby Broom knows exactly when he first fell in love with the jazz organ. The magic moment came at age 10 when he put on one of the albums his father had brought home, Charles Earland’s Black Talk! Young Bobby didn’t know or care much about jazz yet. “I was just into music,” he says. But after playing the “Mighty Burner’s” now-classic 1969 album, he was sold. “Something about that record captivated me from the start, the feeling, it was just like that”, says Broom. “It had ‘The Age of Aquarius’ and ‘More Today Than Yesterday,’ songs I knew from the radio. It made me happy. It made me want to dance. And it made me want to listen. I played that album every day, multiple times a day. It completely enthralled me.”When Earland moved to Chicago in the late ’80s for a successful comeback, there was no doubt in Broom’s mind who his guitarist had to be. “I thought, this is my gig, obviously, this is my gig,” says the guitarist, laughing. “There’s no way he moves to Chicago and I’m here and I’m not going to play with him! It was the thing doing its thing!” As documented on Earland albums including Front Burner and Third Degree Burn, the dream gig became a reality, and Broom went on to play and/or record with other Hammond B-3 masters including Jimmy McGriff, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Melvin Rhyne and, once, the king of them all, Jimmy Smith. But he has made his strongest mark in this vein with his own organ groups—first the Deep Blue Organ Trio, a Chicago collective featuring Chris Foreman that lasted 25 years, and its ongoing successor, the Bobby Broom Organi-Sation, featuring B-3 whiz Ben Paterson. On the Organi-Sation’s terrific new live album, Jamalot, Broom flashes back as ever to Earland’s treatment of pop hits to reach a wider audience. Half of the album, recorded during his trio’s 2014 tour with Steely Dan, consists of tunes that the legendary pop band’s followers would be familiar with, including Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” the Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun,” the Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road,” and Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla”—all of which he had previously recorded. The other songs on Jamalot, recorded in 2019 at Joe and Wayne Segal’s Jazz Showcase in Chicago, address earlier eras of the popular song movement via “Tennessee Waltz,” Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz,” Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low,” and Tadd Dameron’s “Tadd’s Delight.” Different audiences with different expectations but connected by a love of classic melodies. Broom, who had previously opened for Steely Dan with the Deep Blue Organ Trio, initially turned down the invitation to tour with them again. Following the dissolution of the DBOT, he was between organ groups and was uncomfortable with “wrangling” a Hammond player he didn’t know musically or personally. Told of his decision, one of his regular drummers, Makaya McCraven, now a mega-force incontemporary music, got in his ear. “He said, ‘What?What? What are you doing? You can’t not do this, man, ”Broom says with a laugh. Who turns down an opportunity to go on the road withlegends? With McCraven’s help, Broom spun through their lists looking for a worthy candidate. When Paterson’s name came up, it stuck. Broom had never worked with the Philadelphia native,but he had heard him a few times (Paterson was a longtime regular in Chicago tenor great VonFreeman’s band) and liked what he heard. As he had done in drafting key boardist Justin Dillard for his2022 album, Keyed Up, the guitarist went with his hunch. The timing was perfect. Paterson, who had moved to New York, was returning to the Windy City for a gig and would be able to rehearse with the new trio. McCraven and Kobie Watkins, a long time musical partner of Broom’s, would alternate on drums (depending on the needs of their pregnant wives). “Ben was a perfect fit for me, exactly what I was looking for in a new organ trio, which was freedom, ”says Broom. “He has a background in jazz organ tradition, but his sensibility also leans toward pop music, popular song, from past eras, the Great American Songbook as well as rhythm and blues and soul music. His melodic sense is really personal. As much as I love the blues, I don’t want to just hear someone play bluesand that’s it. Ben plays melodies.” “Performing with Bobby is always an exciting proposition, ”says Paterson.“He always puts his whole self fully behind every tune and every note. He never dials it in or simply plays something. Sitting between Bobby’s lead and Kobie or Makaya’s incredible groove, at the heart of the band, is one of my absolute favorite places to be.” Bobby Broom was born in Harlem, New York, on January 18, 1961, and raised on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He had what he calls “intimate relationships” with the tunes that came on his radio. “When my favorite songs came on, they were like friends knocking on my door,” he says. He aspired to one day play some of those great songs, but not until he was ready. He began studying the guitar at age 12,concentrating on jazz under the aegis of Harlem-based guitar instructor Jimmy Carter. A 16-year-old prodigy at the High School of Music and Art(now known as the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts),Broom played in the jazz ensemble and was awarded for Outstanding Jazz Improvisation during his senior year. Chaperoned by Weldon Irvine (an early mentor of his, composer for Freddie Hubbard and Horace Silver, bandleader for Nina Simone, and lyricist of “To Be Young, Gifted and Black”),the 16-year-old Broom found himself in an East Side NYC jazz club for the purpose of being taught to sit in. That lesson became a reality for Broom when Al Haig, pianist for Charlie Parker, invited him to join in for a couple of tunes. Impressed by the youngster’s playing, Haig offered him the chance to play with him at Gregory’s on the Upper East Side whenever he wanted. Broom ended up playing two or three times a week there, and also got to play, with great awe, with another notable Bird keyboardist, Walter Bishop, Jr. His albums with the Deep Blue Organ Trio, featuring organist Chris Foreman, included the Stevie Wonder salute, Wonderful! The Organi-Sation made its recorded debut in 2018 with Soul Fingers, which included Curtis Mayfield’s “Get Ready” and the Beatles’ “Come Together.” Of all his achievements, Broom is prouder of none more than his appointment as a tenured Associate Professor of Jazz Guitar and Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University. Awarded a B.A. in music from Columbia College and an M.A. in jazz pedagogy from Northwestern University, he has long been involved in music education, previously teaching at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, DePaul University, Roosevelt University, and the American Conservatory of Music. He also has instructed music students in public high schools throughout Chicago as part of a jazz mentoring program sponsored by the Ravinia Festival Organization and has been an instructor and mentor with the Herbie Hancock Institute.   “I had to let the dust settle on these Steely Dan tour recordings but after ten years, the power and excitement of them, and the connectedness of this group, is something that I want to share with my audience,” says Broom. “I’m eager for them to compare and contrast the concert and club stage performances for similarities and differences, feel the depth of the grooves, dance, hum along, and essentially come on the road with us for the hour of this music.”•

Guitar great Bobby Broom knows exactly when he first fell in love with the jazz organ. The magic moment came at age 10 when he put on one of the albums his father had brought home, Charles Earland’s Black Talk! Young Bobby didn’t know or care much about jazz yet. “I was just into music,” he says. But after playing the “Mighty Burner’s” now-classic 1969 album, he was sold. “Something about that record captivated me from the start, the feeling, it was just like that”, says Broom. “It had ‘The Age of Aquarius’ and ‘More Today Than Yesterday,’ songs I knew from the radio. It made me happy. It made me want to dance. And it made me want to listen. I played that album every day, multiple times a day. It completely enthralled me.”When Earland moved to Chicago in the late ’80s for a successful comeback, there was no doubt in Broom’s mind who his guitarist had to be. “I thought, this is my gig, obviously, this is my gig,” says the guitarist, laughing. “There’s no way he moves to Chicago and I’m here and I’m not going to play with him! It was the thing doing its thing!” As documented on Earland albums including Front Burner and Third Degree Burn, the dream gig became a reality, and Broom went on to play and/or record with other Hammond B-3 masters including Jimmy McGriff, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Melvin Rhyne and, once, the king of them all, Jimmy Smith. But he has made his strongest mark in this vein with his own organ groups—first the Deep Blue Organ Trio, a Chicago collective featuring Chris Foreman that lasted 25 years, and its ongoing successor, the Bobby Broom Organi-Sation, featuring B-3 whiz Ben Paterson. On the Organi-Sation’s terrific new live album, Jamalot, Broom flashes back as ever to Earland’s treatment of pop hits to reach a wider audience. Half of the album, recorded during his trio’s 2014 tour with Steely Dan, consists of tunes that the legendary pop band’s followers would be familiar with, including Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” the Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun,” the Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road,” and Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla”—all of which he had previously recorded. The other songs on Jamalot, recorded in 2019 at Joe and Wayne Segal’s Jazz Showcase in Chicago, address earlier eras of the popular song movement via “Tennessee Waltz,” Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz,” Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low,” and Tadd Dameron’s “Tadd’s Delight.” Different audiences with different expectations but connected by a love of classic melodies. Broom, who had previously opened for Steely Dan with the Deep Blue Organ Trio, initially turned down the invitation to tour with them again. Following the dissolution of the DBOT, he was between organ groups and was uncomfortable with “wrangling” a Hammond player he didn’t know musically or personally. Told of his decision, one of his regular drummers, Makaya McCraven, now a mega-force incontemporary music, got in his ear. “He said, ‘What?What? What are you doing? You can’t not do this, man, ”Broom says with a laugh. Who turns down an opportunity to go on the road withlegends? With McCraven’s help, Broom spun through their lists looking for a worthy candidate. When Paterson’s name came up, it stuck. Broom had never worked with the Philadelphia native,but he had heard him a few times (Paterson was a longtime regular in Chicago tenor great VonFreeman’s band) and liked what he heard. As he had done in drafting key boardist Justin Dillard for his2022 album, Keyed Up, the guitarist went with his hunch. The timing was perfect. Paterson, who had moved to New York, was returning to the Windy City for a gig and would be able to rehearse with the new trio. McCraven and Kobie Watkins, a long time musical partner of Broom’s, would alternate on drums (depending on the needs of their pregnant wives). “Ben was a perfect fit for me, exactly what I was looking for in a new organ trio, which was freedom, ”says Broom. “He has a background in jazz organ tradition, but his sensibility also leans toward pop music, popular song, from past eras, the Great American Songbook as well as rhythm and blues and soul music. His melodic sense is really personal. As much as I love the blues, I don’t want to just hear someone play bluesand that’s it. Ben plays melodies.” “Performing with Bobby is always an exciting proposition, ”says Paterson.“He always puts his whole self fully behind every tune and every note. He never dials it in or simply plays something. Sitting between Bobby’s lead and Kobie or Makaya’s incredible groove, at the heart of the band, is one of my absolute favorite places to be.” Bobby Broom was born in Harlem, New York, on January 18, 1961, and raised on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He had what he calls “intimate relationships” with the tunes that came on his radio. “When my favorite songs came on, they were like friends knocking on my door,” he says. He aspired to one day play some of those great songs, but not until he was ready. He began studying the guitar at age 12,concentrating on jazz under the aegis of Harlem-based guitar instructor Jimmy Carter. A 16-year-old prodigy at the High School of Music and Art(now known as the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts),Broom played in the jazz ensemble and was awarded for Outstanding Jazz Improvisation during his senior year. Chaperoned by Weldon Irvine (an early mentor of his, composer for Freddie Hubbard and Horace Silver, bandleader for Nina Simone, and lyricist of “To Be Young, Gifted and Black”),the 16-year-old Broom found himself in an East Side NYC jazz club for the purpose of being taught to sit in. That lesson became a reality for Broom when Al Haig, pianist for Charlie Parker, invited him to join in for a couple of tunes. Impressed by the youngster’s playing, Haig offered him the chance to play with him at Gregory’s on the Upper East Side whenever he wanted. Broom ended up playing two or three times a week there, and also got to play, with great awe, with another notable Bird keyboardist, Walter Bishop, Jr. His albums with the Deep Blue Organ Trio, featuring organist Chris Foreman, included the Stevie Wonder salute, Wonderful! The Organi-Sation made its recorded debut in 2018 with Soul Fingers, which included Curtis Mayfield’s “Get Ready” and the Beatles’ “Come Together.” Of all his achievements, Broom is prouder of none more than his appointment as a tenured Associate Professor of Jazz Guitar and Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University. Awarded a B.A. in music from Columbia College and an M.A. in jazz pedagogy from Northwestern University, he has long been involved in music education, previously teaching at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, DePaul University, Roosevelt University, and the American Conservatory of Music. He also has instructed music students in public high schools throughout Chicago as part of a jazz mentoring program sponsored by the Ravinia Festival Organization and has been an instructor and mentor with the Herbie Hancock Institute.   “I had to let the dust settle on these Steely Dan tour recordings but after ten years, the power and excitement of them, and the connectedness of this group, is something that I want to share with my audience,” says Broom. “I’m eager for them to compare and contrast the concert and club stage performances for similarities and differences, feel the depth of the grooves, dance, hum along, and essentially come on the road with us for the hour of this music.”•

Guitar great Bobby Broom knows exactly when he first fell in love with the jazz organ. The magic moment came at age 10 when he put on one of the albums his father had brought home, Charles Earland’s Black Talk! Young Bobby didn’t know or care much about jazz yet. “I was just into music,” he says. But after playing the “Mighty Burner’s” now-classic 1969 album, he was sold. “Something about that record captivated me from the start, the feeling, it was just like that”, says Broom. “It had ‘The Age of Aquarius’ and ‘More Today Than Yesterday,’ songs I knew from the radio. It made me happy. It made me want to dance. And it made me want to listen. I played that album every day, multiple times a day. It completely enthralled me.”When Earland moved to Chicago in the late ’80s for a successful comeback, there was no doubt in Broom’s mind who his guitarist had to be. “I thought, this is my gig, obviously, this is my gig,” says the guitarist, laughing. “There’s no way he moves to Chicago and I’m here and I’m not going to play with him! It was the thing doing its thing!” As documented on Earland albums including Front Burner and Third Degree Burn, the dream gig became a reality, and Broom went on to play and/or record with other Hammond B-3 masters including Jimmy McGriff, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Melvin Rhyne and, once, the king of them all, Jimmy Smith. But he has made his strongest mark in this vein with his own organ groups—first the Deep Blue Organ Trio, a Chicago collective featuring Chris Foreman that lasted 25 years, and its ongoing successor, the Bobby Broom Organi-Sation, featuring B-3 whiz Ben Paterson. On the Organi-Sation’s terrific new live album, Jamalot, Broom flashes back as ever to Earland’s treatment of pop hits to reach a wider audience. Half of the album, recorded during his trio’s 2014 tour with Steely Dan, consists of tunes that the legendary pop band’s followers would be familiar with, including Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” the Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun,” the Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road,” and Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla”—all of which he had previously recorded. The other songs on Jamalot, recorded in 2019 at Joe and Wayne Segal’s Jazz Showcase in Chicago, address earlier eras of the popular song movement via “Tennessee Waltz,” Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz,” Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low,” and Tadd Dameron’s “Tadd’s Delight.” Different audiences with different expectations but connected by a love of classic melodies. Broom, who had previously opened for Steely Dan with the Deep Blue Organ Trio, initially turned down the invitation to tour with them again. Following the dissolution of the DBOT, he was between organ groups and was uncomfortable with “wrangling” a Hammond player he didn’t know musically or personally. Told of his decision, one of his regular drummers, Makaya McCraven, now a mega-force incontemporary music, got in his ear. “He said, ‘What?What? What are you doing? You can’t not do this, man, ”Broom says with a laugh. Who turns down an opportunity to go on the road withlegends? With McCraven’s help, Broom spun through their lists looking for a worthy candidate. When Paterson’s name came up, it stuck. Broom had never worked with the Philadelphia native,but he had heard him a few times (Paterson was a longtime regular in Chicago tenor great VonFreeman’s band) and liked what he heard. As he had done in drafting key boardist Justin Dillard for his2022 album, Keyed Up, the guitarist went with his hunch. The timing was perfect. Paterson, who had moved to New York, was returning to the Windy City for a gig and would be able to rehearse with the new trio. McCraven and Kobie Watkins, a long time musical partner of Broom’s, would alternate on drums (depending on the needs of their pregnant wives). “Ben was a perfect fit for me, exactly what I was looking for in a new organ trio, which was freedom, ”says Broom. “He has a background in jazz organ tradition, but his sensibility also leans toward pop music, popular song, from past eras, the Great American Songbook as well as rhythm and blues and soul music. His melodic sense is really personal. As much as I love the blues, I don’t want to just hear someone play bluesand that’s it. Ben plays melodies.” “Performing with Bobby is always an exciting proposition, ”says Paterson.“He always puts his whole self fully behind every tune and every note. He never dials it in or simply plays something. Sitting between Bobby’s lead and Kobie or Makaya’s incredible groove, at the heart of the band, is one of my absolute favorite places to be.” Bobby Broom was born in Harlem, New York, on January 18, 1961, and raised on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He had what he calls “intimate relationships” with the tunes that came on his radio. “When my favorite songs came on, they were like friends knocking on my door,” he says. He aspired to one day play some of those great songs, but not until he was ready. He began studying the guitar at age 12,concentrating on jazz under the aegis of Harlem-based guitar instructor Jimmy Carter. A 16-year-old prodigy at the High School of Music and Art(now known as the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts),Broom played in the jazz ensemble and was awarded for Outstanding Jazz Improvisation during his senior year. Chaperoned by Weldon Irvine (an early mentor of his, composer for Freddie Hubbard and Horace Silver, bandleader for Nina Simone, and lyricist of “To Be Young, Gifted and Black”),the 16-year-old Broom found himself in an East Side NYC jazz club for the purpose of being taught to sit in. That lesson became a reality for Broom when Al Haig, pianist for Charlie Parker, invited him to join in for a couple of tunes. Impressed by the youngster’s playing, Haig offered him the chance to play with him at Gregory’s on the Upper East Side whenever he wanted. Broom ended up playing two or three times a week there, and also got to play, with great awe, with another notable Bird keyboardist, Walter Bishop, Jr. His albums with the Deep Blue Organ Trio, featuring organist Chris Foreman, included the Stevie Wonder salute, Wonderful! The Organi-Sation made its recorded debut in 2018 with Soul Fingers, which included Curtis Mayfield’s “Get Ready” and the Beatles’ “Come Together.” Of all his achievements, Broom is prouder of none more than his appointment as a tenured Associate Professor of Jazz Guitar and Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University. Awarded a B.A. in music from Columbia College and an M.A. in jazz pedagogy from Northwestern University, he has long been involved in music education, previously teaching at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, DePaul University, Roosevelt University, and the American Conservatory of Music. He also has instructed music students in public high schools throughout Chicago as part of a jazz mentoring program sponsored by the Ravinia Festival Organization and has been an instructor and mentor with the Herbie Hancock Institute.   “I had to let the dust settle on these Steely Dan tour recordings but after ten years, the power and excitement of them, and the connectedness of this group, is something that I want to share with my audience,” says Broom. “I’m eager for them to compare and contrast the concert and club stage performances for similarities and differences, feel the depth of the grooves, dance, hum along, and essentially come on the road with us for the hour of this music.”•

Guitar great Bobby Broom knows exactly when he first fell in love with the jazz organ. The magic moment came at age 10 when he put on one of the albums his father had brought home, Charles Earland’s Black Talk! Young Bobby didn’t know or care much about jazz yet. “I was just into music,” he says. But after playing the “Mighty Burner’s” now-classic 1969 album, he was sold. “Something about that record captivated me from the start, the feeling, it was just like that”, says Broom. “It had ‘The Age of Aquarius’ and ‘More Today Than Yesterday,’ songs I knew from the radio. It made me happy. It made me want to dance. And it made me want to listen. I played that album every day, multiple times a day. It completely enthralled me.”When Earland moved to Chicago in the late ’80s for a successful comeback, there was no doubt in Broom’s mind who his guitarist had to be. “I thought, this is my gig, obviously, this is my gig,” says the guitarist, laughing. “There’s no way he moves to Chicago and I’m here and I’m not going to play with him! It was the thing doing its thing!” As documented on Earland albums including Front Burner and Third Degree Burn, the dream gig became a reality, and Broom went on to play and/or record with other Hammond B-3 masters including Jimmy McGriff, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Melvin Rhyne and, once, the king of them all, Jimmy Smith. But he has made his strongest mark in this vein with his own organ groups—first the Deep Blue Organ Trio, a Chicago collective featuring Chris Foreman that lasted 25 years, and its ongoing successor, the Bobby Broom Organi-Sation, featuring B-3 whiz Ben Paterson. On the Organi-Sation’s terrific new live album, Jamalot, Broom flashes back as ever to Earland’s treatment of pop hits to reach a wider audience. Half of the album, recorded during his trio’s 2014 tour with Steely Dan, consists of tunes that the legendary pop band’s followers would be familiar with, including Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition,” the Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun,” the Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road,” and Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla”—all of which he had previously recorded. The other songs on Jamalot, recorded in 2019 at Joe and Wayne Segal’s Jazz Showcase in Chicago, address earlier eras of the popular song movement via “Tennessee Waltz,” Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz,” Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low,” and Tadd Dameron’s “Tadd’s Delight.” Different audiences with different expectations but connected by a love of classic melodies. Broom, who had previously opened for Steely Dan with the Deep Blue Organ Trio, initially turned down the invitation to tour with them again. Following the dissolution of the DBOT, he was between organ groups and was uncomfortable with “wrangling” a Hammond player he didn’t know musically or personally. Told of his decision, one of his regular drummers, Makaya McCraven, now a mega-force incontemporary music, got in his ear. “He said, ‘What?What? What are you doing? You can’t not do this, man, ”Broom says with a laugh. Who turns down an opportunity to go on the road withlegends? With McCraven’s help, Broom spun through their lists looking for a worthy candidate. When Paterson’s name came up, it stuck. Broom had never worked with the Philadelphia native,but he had heard him a few times (Paterson was a longtime regular in Chicago tenor great VonFreeman’s band) and liked what he heard. As he had done in drafting key boardist Justin Dillard for his2022 album, Keyed Up, the guitarist went with his hunch. The timing was perfect. Paterson, who had moved to New York, was returning to the Windy City for a gig and would be able to rehearse with the new trio. McCraven and Kobie Watkins, a long time musical partner of Broom’s, would alternate on drums (depending on the needs of their pregnant wives). “Ben was a perfect fit for me, exactly what I was looking for in a new organ trio, which was freedom, ”says Broom. “He has a background in jazz organ tradition, but his sensibility also leans toward pop music, popular song, from past eras, the Great American Songbook as well as rhythm and blues and soul music. His melodic sense is really personal. As much as I love the blues, I don’t want to just hear someone play bluesand that’s it. Ben plays melodies.” “Performing with Bobby is always an exciting proposition, ”says Paterson.“He always puts his whole self fully behind every tune and every note. He never dials it in or simply plays something. Sitting between Bobby’s lead and Kobie or Makaya’s incredible groove, at the heart of the band, is one of my absolute favorite places to be.” Bobby Broom was born in Harlem, New York, on January 18, 1961, and raised on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He had what he calls “intimate relationships” with the tunes that came on his radio. “When my favorite songs came on, they were like friends knocking on my door,” he says. He aspired to one day play some of those great songs, but not until he was ready. He began studying the guitar at age 12,concentrating on jazz under the aegis of Harlem-based guitar instructor Jimmy Carter. A 16-year-old prodigy at the High School of Music and Art(now known as the LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts),Broom played in the jazz ensemble and was awarded for Outstanding Jazz Improvisation during his senior year. Chaperoned by Weldon Irvine (an early mentor of his, composer for Freddie Hubbard and Horace Silver, bandleader for Nina Simone, and lyricist of “To Be Young, Gifted and Black”),the 16-year-old Broom found himself in an East Side NYC jazz club for the purpose of being taught to sit in. That lesson became a reality for Broom when Al Haig, pianist for Charlie Parker, invited him to join in for a couple of tunes. Impressed by the youngster’s playing, Haig offered him the chance to play with him at Gregory’s on the Upper East Side whenever he wanted. Broom ended up playing two or three times a week there, and also got to play, with great awe, with another notable Bird keyboardist, Walter Bishop, Jr. His albums with the Deep Blue Organ Trio, featuring organist Chris Foreman, included the Stevie Wonder salute, Wonderful! The Organi-Sation made its recorded debut in 2018 with Soul Fingers, which included Curtis Mayfield’s “Get Ready” and the Beatles’ “Come Together.” Of all his achievements, Broom is prouder of none more than his appointment as a tenured Associate Professor of Jazz Guitar and Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University. Awarded a B.A. in music from Columbia College and an M.A. in jazz pedagogy from Northwestern University, he has long been involved in music education, previously teaching at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music, DePaul University, Roosevelt University, and the American Conservatory of Music. He also has instructed music students in public high schools throughout Chicago as part of a jazz mentoring program sponsored by the Ravinia Festival Organization and has been an instructor and mentor with the Herbie Hancock Institute.   “I had to let the dust settle on these Steely Dan tour recordings but after ten years, the power and excitement of them, and the connectedness of this group, is something that I want to share with my audience,” says Broom. “I’m eager for them to compare and contrast the concert and club stage performances for similarities and differences, feel the depth of the grooves, dance, hum along, and essentially come on the road with us for the hour of this music.”•

Gabriel Wade - Trumpet Jared Schultz - Alto and Tenor Saxophone Isaiah Jones Jr. - Piano  Nat Lin - Bass Sid Smith IV - Drums Born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Gabriel Wade is a trumpeter, pianist, and educator who has been surrounded by music all his life. He has had the opportunity to play with the Count Basie Orchestra, Cab Calloway Orchestra, Clif Wallace Big Band, Evon J. Sams Quintet/Sextet/Nonet, Reginald Lewis Quintet, and the Marlene Rosenberg Quartet. As a sideman, he has performed at notable venues and festivals such as Andy's Jazz Club, the Elmhurst Jazz Festival, the Chicago Jazz Festival, and the Jazz Showcase.  As a bandleader, he has performed at various locations in the central and southeastern Arkansas area, as well as in the northern Illinois area and at Fulton Street Collective and Angelo's Wine Bar in Chicago, Illinois. Recently, he qualified as a semifinalist in the Jazz Improvisation Division for the International Trumpet Guild's 2024 Ryan Anthony Memorial Trumpet Competition and earned first place in the 2024 Tom Williams Jazz Division of the National Trumpet Competition.

Dawkins has created commissioned works for MacArthur Foundation, Live the Spirit Residency, the Joyce Foundation, Old Town School of Folk Music, the Black Metropolis Research Consortium, Sant'Anna Arresi Jazz Festival, Sons d’Hiver Festival, Banliues Bleues Festival, Meet The Composers, the Jazz Institute of Chicago, and the King Arts Complex of Columbus Ohio. Dawkins is an active member of the local arts community and is past Chairman of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. He has worked with a myriad of music greats including: Kahil El Zabar, Hamid Drake, Harrison Bankhead, Dee Alexander, Nicole Mitchell. Corey Wilkes, Orbert Davis, Ari Brown, Ramsey Lewis, Muhal Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie, Roscoe Mitchell, Willie Pickens, Malachi Favors, Henry Threadgill, Amina Claudine Myers, Anthony Braxton, George Lewis, Zim Ngqawana, Feya Faku, Jack McDuff, Don Moye, Jerry Butler, Marquis Hill, Makaya McCraven, Ben Lamar, Isiah Collier, Alexis Lombre and The Dells. DISCOGRAPHY 2025 Paul Robeson Man of the People. Live the Spirit Residency and Dawk Publishing 2023 Fredrick Douglass Live the Spirit Residency and Dawk Publishing 2022 Young Masters This Time/ Next Time Live the Spirit Residency and Dawk Publishing 2021 Englewood Soweto Exchange Live the Spirit Residency and Dawk Publishing 2020 Young Masters In all Directions Live the Spirit Residency and Dawk Publishing 2018 Great Black Music Ensemble, Live @ The Currency Exchange Cafe, AACM records 2017 Transient Takes , Ernest Dawkins New Horizons Ensemble featuring; Vijay Iyer Live the Spirit Residency and Dawk Publishing 2016 The Young Masters Coming of Age, Live the Spirit Residency and Dawk Publishing 2014 Ernest Dawkins Live the Spirit Residency Big Band, Memory in The Center An Afro Opera Live the Spirit Residency and Dawk Publishing

Bob Lark is recognized regionally, nationally and internationally as a contemporary jazz educator and performer of integrity. His approach to pedagogy and rehearsal techniques has been noted by participation in professional conferences; publication of articles; compact disc recordings as both a performer and ensemble director; and the direction of numerous student honors ensembles. Down Beat magazine recognized Bob’s work in 2010 with their Jazz Education Achievement Award. In speaking of Lark, jazz icon Clark Terry stated, “He’s a very good trumpet player, a very good musician. He’s paid his dues.” Recordings on the Jazzed Media label include those by The Bob Lark/Phil Woods Quintet, Bob Lark and his Alumni Big Band, and Bob Lark and Friends, with Phil Woods, Rufus Reid, and Jim McNeely. Bob’s playing and writing are also featured on the CD recordings Until You and First Steps on the Hallway label. He is an exclusive Yamaha Performing Artist. Bob is an active clinician, soloist and guest conductor.He has served as host for the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Solo Competition, is the past-president of the Illinois Unit of the International Association for Jazz Education, and has chaired the International Trumpet Guild jazz improvisation competition.For thirty-one years, Dr. Lark served as Professor of Music and Director of Jazz studies at DePaul University, in Chicago. Currently, Bob is the Director of Jazz Studies at Valparaiso University in Indiana.He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in performance from the University of North Texas, having earlier earned a Master’s degree from that school, and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from The Ohio State University.

Joe Farnsworth - drums Sarah Hanahan - saxophone Peter Washington - bass Emmet Cohen - piano (Thursday and Friday) Richard Johnson - piano (Saturday and Sunday) Joe Farnsworth has spent his life on the bandstand with the Kings of music, Pharoah Sanders, McCoy Tyner, Cedar Walton, and George Coleman. He is now sharing what spirit and wisdom the greats gave him with the great young Sarah Hanahan. Sarah is one the greatest young stars on the alto saxophone playing with the spirit of Jackie McLean and Pharaoh Sanders. Nobody sounds like she does. This group lead by the veteran great Joe Farnsworth will play straight from a Pure Heart, with Pure Power! It’s most definitely #timetoswing