Ronald Rodriguez Herrera

Born: June 16, 1997

Ronald Rodriguez is an internationally acclaimed classical and jazz pianist, recently appointed as Assistant Professor of Piano at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. A native of Cartagena, Colombia, he started playing the piano at the age of eight. At the age of eleven, Ronald began performing with local jazz groups in Cartagena and was a member of the Cartagena Caribe Big Band. Currently, he has emerged as a top-choice professional player in the competitive New Orleans and Baton Rouge music scenes, primarily due to his ability to adapt to various musical styles effortlessly. He has gained vast experience by performing in renowned music festivals, such as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Music Festival in 2022 and 2025, alongside Alexey Marti. He has also performed with Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra, as well as the Delfeayo Marsalis Quintet. As a classical musician, he has performed with various ensembles, including the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, and has served as a collaborative pianist for other instrumentalists and choirs. His most recent projects include the recording of two albums, Mosaico Quinteto and Desde La Raiz in New Orleans, including original works and arrangements.

John Taylor: Tramonto

by Neil Duggan
September 5, 2025

British pianist John Taylor (1942-2015) possessed a remarkable talent for eluding the global recognition his skills warranted. A former house pianist at London's Ronnie Scott's club, Taylor probably achieved his widest acclaim through Azimuth, the group he formed with vocalist Norma Winstone (his wife) and trumpeter Kenny Wheeler. His trio recordings with drummer Peter Erskine and ...

Byron M Thomas

Born: February 2, 1980

Ed Puddick

Born: May 16, 1980

Jazz composer, arranger and lecturer at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

Joe Lovano: Cleveland's Ultimate Jazz Titan

by Matthew Alec
December 20, 2022

Friday, June 24th, 2022, saxophonist Joe Lovano's group Sound Prints (alongside trumpeter and co-leader Dave Douglas) delivered a tour de force performance to spellbound audience members at the historic Mimi Ohio Theatre in Playhouse Square as a part of Cleveland's annual Tri-C JazzFest. Seasoned group interplay between drummer Rudy Royston, bassist Matt Penman, and pianist Leo ...

Sharam Gill

Formerly, the creative force behind the group, Panjaea. Has played in America and the UK and at the London Olympics, Athletes Village. Now fronts the band, Cox McQueen.

KELVIN SMITH

Born: July 12, 1951

Learned to play classical music before discovering traditional jazz. Have played jazz for 40 years now. Played with various bands - trios to 6 piece. Been member of - Dave Rance Rocking Chair Jazz Band 3 Spires Jazz Band Chris Carmell Vintage Jazz Band Richard Bailey All Stars Ford Jones Dixieland Jazz Band Play mainly around Midlands area of UK.

Tom Haines

Born: November 28, 1979

Tom Haines is a UK-based composer and musician specialising in original Jazz composition, bespoke composition and sound design for Dance & Media, and music performance (drums, cajon, keyboards, melodica). A multi-award-winning Jazz Composer / Arranger, Tom won the 4th Annual European Big Band Composer Competition with his work 'Elegantly Ella' (2017), the 28th Barga Jazz Composition Award for his work 'Yitzoid' (2015), the inaugural ��Eddie Harvey Jazz Arranging Award�� (2014) for his work ��Mystery Dog (Mr E Dog)��, whilst ��Whistleblower�� landed him the prestigious accolades of the ��Duvel Jazz Award�� as well as the ��Bose Audience Prize�� at the Brussels Jazz Orchestra International Composition Contest (2013). His debut album 'Tom Haines - The Birmingham Jazz Orchestra - Live' is released on 2nd June 2017. Tom has also had works performed by Fukuda-Gumi (Japan), The El Camino College Jazz Orchestra (USA), The Pagsberg Big Band & The Vocals (Denmark), Barga Jazz Orchestra (Italy), the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (UK), Brussels Jazz Orchestra (Belgium), Walsall Jazz Orchestra (UK).

Jay Riley

Born: March 21

I've spent my whole life playing other people's music and I always annoyed people because I never played it exactly as it was on the record. It's taken me 37 years to realise that I'm a Jazz musician and it is perfectly acceptable to do this! I love Jazz and it definitely ticks boxes for challenging me musically but I also love beautiful melodies and grooves that go on and on just because they sound 'great'! I also feel that music should be heartfelt and that its worth the risk of leaving yourself vulnerable. I was brought up to have an Englishman's stiff upper lip and it didn't do me any good

Jacky Naylor

Born: February 9, 1994

Jacky Naylor is a jazz pianist, composer and educator based in London. He leads his own trio Meraki, alongside Nick Jurd and Jonathan Silk, who are releasing their debut album in September 2020 on Ubuntu Music. In addition, he leads his Sextet, formed in 2019 for a commission from Lancaster Jazz Festival titled ��Industrial��. A dynamic composer, Naylor��s debut release was ��Rough Boundaries�� - a suite of original big band music written about five contrasting cities - which he recorded with Birmingham Jazz Orchestra in 2016. Whilst growing up in the Yorkshire Dales, the worlds of jazz and professional music were remote