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A bold performer, soulful composer and passionate educator, Trumpeter Marques Carrol is dedicated to preserving the authentic culture of Jazz and spreading his holistic love of music around the world. Marques Carroll has been drawing national attention since 1996, having worked and shared the stage with today’s most celebrated artists and ensembles including Carmen Bradford, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Etienne Charles, Christian McBride, Jon Faddis, Meshell Ndegeocello, Randy Weston, Jimmy Heath, Jeff Hamilton, Randy Brecker, Nicholas Payton, Tom Harrell, Bob Brookmeyer, Bobby Watson, the Count Basie Orchestra, The Temptations, Chicago Jazz Ensemble, The O’Jays, The Four Tops, May Wilson and Aretha Franklin. Born into a musical family in St. Louis, Marques fell in love with the trumpet when he was only 8 years old. His grandfather worked with Jazz legend Clark Terry, who became an influence on Marques and his musical growth. Marques also developed a lifelong friendship with Wynton Marsalis who has become one of his greatest supporters. Absorbing the blues of Louis Armstrong and the laid back sounds of Miles Davis, while also studying the music of Haydyn, Hindemith, Bach and Beethoven, Marques boasts a versatile upbringing in the brass performance and pedagogical tradition. Marques studied at DePaul University where he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Jazz Studies Performance. A storyteller at heart, Marques uses his experience and mastery of multi-genre vocabulary to break down barriers between genres writing evocative music that speaks directly to the soul. Rooted in the tradition of Black American Music (BAM), Marques is consciously and decorously challenging norms of genres such as Blues, Funk, Soul, Neo-Soul, and Hip-Hop, expanding and pushing into new places of expression and mastery.

In August 1979, the ensemble was the opening band on the first night of the First Annual Chicago Jazz Festival. 46 years later, the CJO stands as not only the oldest professional big band in Chicago, but also the second oldest professional civic jazz orchestra in the United States (second only to the Columbus Jazz Orchestra).

Dakarai Barclay is a trumpet player and educator based in Chicago, Illinois. With each performance,  Dakarai seeks to pay homage to the origins of Black American music, in all its forms, and those whose legacies we are indebted to. Outside of leading his own projects, Dakarai has played with musicians such as Willerm Delisfort, Winard Harper, Marlene Rosenberg, Jarrard Harris, Ernest Dawkins, Emma Blau and many more.

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