Zahili Gonzalez Zamora

Born: December 16, 1979

Zahili Gonzalez Zamora, a brilliant Cuban-born, Afro Cuban jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, bandleader, arranger and educator, is releasing a landmark new album on October 24, 2025.

Entitled Overcoming, the album explores her extensive inner journeys through the challenges of her very personal apprehensions that might have held her back from stardom—until now—and finally releasing this album—as a vision of her true self.  The five songs on Overcoming—composed by Zahili and arranged by Zahili and bassist Gerson Lazo—take on deep introspections. “Rumination,” “Blissful Sorrow,” “Despair,” “Duality Embrace,” and finally, “Negra” take listeners inside the heart-searching pieces of her very personal odyssey, creating a beautiful and beguiling landscape into the deepest metamorphosis of her inner soul.

Paul Vornhagen

Born: August 18, 1950

Paul performs on saxophones, flute, piccolo, clarinet and vocals with styles reminiscent of Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Herbie Mann, Hubert Laws and Chet Baker (vocals). Based in Ann Arbor, he has released numerous recordings as a bandleader for several labels including Schoolkids, BOPO, PKO, Inner Light and Global Pulse.  His Quartet performs throughout Michigan and northern Ohio on a monthly basis as well as touring in California and the Chicago area.  His latest Quartet recording was released on February 3, 2025 on Global Pulse Records entitled Paul Vornhagen-Live at the Blue LLama to NPR and Internet Programs.  

Mike Prigodich

Born: March 16, 1970

Mike Prigodich: Pianist, Composer, and Band Leader

Mike Prigodich is a trailblazing jazz fusion pianist, composer, and bandleader whose music defies genre boundaries and embraces complexity with unflinching clarity. Based in Oregon, Prigodich draws inspiration from artists like Chick Corea, Dave Grusin, Yellowjackets, and others, but his sound is unmistakably his own—melding jazz with Latin, rock, and global influences to create emotionally rich, rhythmically daring compositions.

Prigodich made his mark with the release of his acclaimed 2011 debut album, A Stitch in Time, featuring an all-star lineup including Damian Erskine, Reinhardt Melz, and John Nastos. Funded through a successful Kickstarter campaign following a life-altering cancer diagnosis in 2008, the album was both a personal and artistic milestone. His story—of transformation through adversity—has become part of the music’s emotional DNA.

Yves Nadeau

YVES NADEAU - Guitarist/Composer www.yvesnadeau.com

Yves Nadeau got a bachelor’s degree in musical interpretation from theUniversité de Montréal in 1991, and has been dividing his time between hiscareer as a professional musician and teaching music at College Marie-Victorin.

Yves has been on the professional music scene since 1986 alternately as astudio musician, arranger, composer, producer, and bandleader. He hasworked on different projects with musicians like LARRY CORYELL, TERRYCLARKE, Alain Caron, Michel Donato, James Gelfand, Paul Brochu, Jean-PierreZanella, André Leroux, Frédéric Alarie, Muhammad Abdul Al-Khabyyr, andFrançois Cousineau. Yves has also been appearing at JAZZ FESTIVALS allacross Canada, in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg,Montreal, Rimouski, Quebec City… either as leader of his own group or asaccompanist for artists such as Oliver Jones, Carol Welsman, Paolo Ramos,Rémi Bolduc… to name but a few. On the popular music scene, he has playedwith world renown French and Canadian stars Patricia Kaas, Natasha St-Pier,Michel Rivard, Nanette Workman, Isabelle Boulay, and Bruno Pelletier. Yveshas participated in a great number of recordings (radio, television, andalbums), and has traveled to many countries on international tours (France,the Netherlands, Egypt, Israel, Senegal, Kenya, Haiti, and the US).

Jstop Latin Soul

Active since: 2018

Jstop Latin Soul formed in 2018 when trombonist Joel Stopka and bassist/guitarist Brian Mesko united to pursue their passion for Afro-Cuban music and jazz. The duo assembled a collective of the area's finest seasoned musicians, all of whom have performed with a "who's who" of jazz, blues, Latin, and R&B legends and recording artists.

?

Vladimir Espinosa and David Sandoval, two dynamic Latin percussion technicians, lead the driving rhythm section alongside drummer DeWayne Peters and pianist 'Montuno Tom' Floyd. The late Ken Hitchcock, a renowned New York recording artist and saxophone virtuoso (1956–2022), contributed masterful tenor sax and flute performances, which are featured on the group’s first CD. Multi-instrumentalist Willis Greenstreet adds depth to the ensemble with his gritty guitar and sax solos. Recording artist and engineer, Bobby Read, from Bruce Hornsby and The Noisemakers fame, joined the band in 2022 and brought an exceptional new level of artistry to the group.

Joel Stopka

Born: October 3, 1969

Joel Stopka (Trombone) discovered his passion for Afro-Cuban music while studying at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. Performing with local favorites, Orquesta Antonetti & Las Figuras Del Merengue, Joel was exposed to a many different styles of latin music & was very fortunate learn from such a talented group of musicians. 

   In 1991, Joel moved to Chicago & was prominent in the music scene writing, producing & performing with local groups & touring artist such as: Orquesta 809 (Isla), Orquesta Sabor, Los Mantas, DLG (Dark Latin Groove), Poi Dog Pondering, Frankie Ruiz, Lalo Rodriguez, Raphael de Jesus, Cheo Feliciano, Charlie Cruz, Huey Dunbar, Cano Estremera, Michael Stuart and Jimmy Bosch.

Bobby Rozario

Jazz / Rock / Fusion guitar virtuoso of Indian and Brazilian-Portuguese descent, based in New York City, Bobby Rozario is a third-generation musician mentored by his parents in genres of World music, and grew up learning music playing a variety of eclectic and World Jazz Rock and Blues. His blazing, idiosyncratic style interprets melodic lines of Ragas and blends them into captivating lines injected with Afro-Latin and Jazz / Rock / Fusion vocabulary.

Recently, Bobby completed production on his second solo album released by Origin Records named “Spellbound”, which features a diverse range of world-class Grammy winning musicians, including drum icons such as Dennis Chambers and Robby Ameen, and bass wizards Gary Grainger and James Genus, Melvin Gibbs along with Puerto-Rican Jazz pianist Edsel Gomez, Jazz organist Radam Schwartz and keyboardist Neil Alexander.

Alexandra Ivanova

Curiosity about the 'Other'

Born to Bulgarian parents in Austria, Alexandra Ivanova grew up curious to meet and understand the 'Other' - in herself, in society or in culture. In her compositions, Alexandra creates conversations between jazz, Oriental and Afro-Cuban music and odd polyrhythms. Her arrangements reflect her experience living on three continents and speaking six languages fluently. Alexandra Ivanova is an unconventional musician who invites the listener to look at the world from different points of view: from the East, the West or from somewhere in between.

Rafael Zaldivar

Born: October 29, 1982

When JUNO Nominee Rafael Zaldivar sits down at the piano, he brings a wealth of inspiration to the keys: his compositions display his percussion expertise, his many years of collaborating with top jazz musicians, and his cultural heritage. Born in Camag��ey, Cuba, Zaldivar is carrying on a rich family legacy of musicianship. After taking up percussion and piano at a young age, Zaldivar pursued his studies at the Higher Institute of Arts in Havana. By 1998, Zaldivar meets the great Herbie Hancock and Kenny Barron in Havana. Once Zaldivar came to Canada at the age of 22, he completed a B.A

Brian Andres

Born: November 7, 1968

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio into a family of professional musicians it is no surprise that Brian found himself drawn to the origin of all music: Rhythm. His father is a woodwinds specialist and his mother a vocalist and pianist. The house was filled with the sounds of his father’s constant practicing and his mother’s piano and voice students. After nearly being put up for adoption due to his constant banging on inanimate objects, his parents decided to embrace their obstreperous sons undeniable talent by purchasing him a drum set and themselves earplugs. While living in the Midwest, Brian’s diverse range of styles led him to performances with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Little Anthony and the Imperials, as well as Tony Award winner and Broadway star, Faith Prince