Marion Rampal

Marion Rampal, born in Marseille in 1980, is a French jazz singer, composer, and songwriter whose art crosses borders between genres and traditions. While her own compositions carry nuances of folk, blues and chanson, she has expressed herself in the jazz tradition touring with Archie Shepp, and also revisited classical repertoire. 

Raised in a musical family where lullabies echoed Michel Legrand and her grandfather played Nat King Cole at the piano, she discovered early on the intimate link between song and emotion. As a teenager she sang with her high school choir, toured in France and Europe, and began writing her own songs in English, inspired by artists such as Patti Smith, Jim Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley, and Leonard Cohen.

Julie Christensen

Born: January 21

Versatility has never been a problem or a pose for singer JulieChristensen, whose voicefound a home in the L.A. post-punk band Divine Horsemenand, for years, as a spotlightedsinger with Leonard Cohen. With Something Familiar, her thirdCD, she adds another genrefeather to the cap: jazz. Singing standards, and in her ownsignature style, is actuallynothing new for the vocalist. In her sundry travels,geographically and musically, she hasdipped into the Great American Songbook for years, from hernative Iowa to years spent inAustin and Los Angeles, and onto her current life, based inOjai, California. SomethingFamiliar is more than a standards festival. The album title itselfis taken from a fascinatingJimmy Webb-penned rarity, “Just Like Marilyn,” There is alsothe original “Hard to Love,”and a gritty-bluesy workout, “Today I Sing the Blues.” Withher keyboardist and longtimecreative cohort Karen Hammack, Christensen tracked inBrooklyn with noted jazzdrummers Jeff Ballard and Kenny Wollesen, alongsidebassists Mary Ann McSweeney andDon Falzone. Back on the west coast, trumpeter Jeff Elliottand pedal steel guitarist-of-note Greg Liesz added their spices to the mix. The end resultis a fresh twist on oldmusical values, something familiar yet also otherwise.

Benoit LeBlanc

Christopher Dominique

Born: October 22, 1979

On the borders of Pop and Cool Jazz is where you find Mighty Terror, The Solo Debut from pianist Christopher Dominique.

It´Jazz for everybody. It doesn’t exclude, It is composed to bring all listeners pleasure and joy.

The personnel consist of pianist Christopher Dominique, international guitar legend Georg “ Jojje “ Wadenius ( Blood Sweat and Tears, the SNL band…) , Swedish Trumpet star Peter Asplund, Tenor-saxophonist Inge Petterson – Lindbäck, Trombonist Ola Åkerman, Björn Edqvist on Trumpet and the superb rhythm section with Rasmus Kihlberg on drums and Johnny Åman on double bass.

Holli Scott

Teodora Brody

Born: September 30, 1967

Born in Romania, and now based in Switzerland, Teodora Brody initially trained in classical jazz and rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s singing with legendary jazz pianist Johnny R?ducanu.

Acclaimed for her extraordinary vocal power and creative vision, Teodora pioneered the fusion of jazz with Doina – Romania’s improvisatory folk singing tradition – and is widely credited with introducing international audiences to this extraordinary, deeply emotive music.

Always searching for new musical territories to explore, Teodora has performed alongside musicians including Stanley Jordan, Theodosii Spassov, Lars Danielsson, Johnny R?ducanu, Les Paul, Curtis Fuller, Eric Legnini, Phillippe Duchemin, Guido Manusardi, Benny Rietveld, Daniele di Bonaventura, Ion Baciu and Al Copley. On the world stage, Teodora has regularly appeared at prestigious European jazz festivals including Montreux, Lugano and Marciac, and across the Atlantic she has performed at the US Library of Congress and the Corcoran Gallery of Art, and at legendary clubs including Iridium New York and Blues Alley in Washington D.C.

Myles Cochran

Myles Cochran is an American composer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer. Born and raised in Kentucky, Myles then played in and led bands and worked as a producer and engineer in New York City.  He now splits his time between east London and Devon in the UK.  His recent releases have received airplay across Britain, including from luminaries such as Gideon Coe on BBC6 Music and Elizabeth Alker on BBC Radio 3. Aside from praise across the board for his solo work, Myles has also found recent acclaim for his work with Irish singer Bróna McVittie, with whom he worked for several years as co-producer and steel guitarist. 

E.G. Phillips

E.G. Phillips is a San Francisco based songwriter who creates lyric driven songs with his own special blend of whimsy and cinematic imagery which he uses to give a wry take on dealing with the longings of the heart and the madness of existence. In possession of a degree in Geography, he comes from a country called the Midwest and his favorites include Bob Dylan and The Kinks as well as Duke Ellington...and that crowd. When it comes to his stage presence, there's a touch of satirist Tom Lehrer in the mix. As for the inspiration for his lyrics, he readily admits an unusually outsized influence by long running British sci-fi show "Doctor Who." E.G

The Witherbees

The Witherbees, a sweetheart folk-jazz group, explores, composes, performs, and deconstructs songs. Composed of vocalist/violist/songwriter Jacqui Armbruster and guitarist Mike Lorenz, the Witherbees are the outcome of their collective and collaborative process as performers, composers, arrangers, and producers. Trying to discern or identify influences and inspirations leads to many open doors and windows that the collaborative duo freely and willingly explore, brought into its fullest expression and form when the music is performed with their quartet. Out of their homebase in Bethlehem, PA, they invite the listener on a roundtrip of cozy mystery and blurred edges. Although they met first as teacher and student, Lorenz and Armbruster share a musical connection and friendship that is dynamic, special, and rare

Zhivko Vasilev

Born: April 26, 1991

Zhivko Vasilev is one of the most popular Bulgarian kaval players. He is well known for his experiments with the kaval and the constant seeking for unexplored paths in music. Thanks to his experimental spirit he is constantly driven to combine traditional kaval sound with different western styles such as jazz, funk, latin, latin jazz, pop, electronic music and many more. The result of this incredible symbiosis is an exotic and unique style that he constantly improves. He hails from the Southern city of Smolyan, Bulgaria in the heart of the Rhodopi mountains. He inherited his love of music from his father and began his early training on the kaval at the NUI Dobri Hristov music school in Varna, Bulgaria