Diana Leoport

Born: October 2, 1997

Diana Leoport is a Mexican jazz vocalist, songwriter, and performance artist with over a decade of training and experience on the national and international jazz scene. Her artistry blends a refined jazz language with contemporary influences, poetic storytelling, and an emotional stage presence that has captivated audiences in Mexico and abroad.

Leoport’s development as a jazz artist has been deeply shaped by formal training and intensive residencies with world-class musicians. In 2024, she was selected for the prestigious Antonio Sánchez Jazz Residency at the Centro Nacional de las Artes in Mexico City, where she trained with Sánchez, Thana Alexa, Fabián Almazán, Ben Wendel, Nir Felder, and Linda May Han Oh. She has also studied at Barcelona’s Liceu Conservatori, participating in masterclasses with Aaron Parks, Joel Ross, and Joey Calderazzo, and at Festival Jazzuv, learning from Miguel Zenón, Danilo Pérez, and Henry Cole. Her academic background includes studies at the Escuela Superior de Música (CDMX) and the Centro Morelense de las Artes (CEMA).

Jo Walker

Born: October 24

Jo Walker is a New York City based jazz singer. She's lead vocalist for the Mercer Street Quartet, a Manhattan-based band focused on the American Songbook. With veteran players Marc Daine on guitar, Sean Conly on bass and Chip Fabrizi on drums, Mercer Street has a cool and intimate sound that celebrates the great vocal jazz recordings of the 60s. She's currently in the studio at PPI Recording working on a jazz Christmas album produced and engineered by award-winning Chip Fabrizi.

Jo grew up in a family that loved jazz - her father blasted Benny Goodman, Cootie Williams and Julie London from vinyl on an old console stereo

Kathryn Ballard Shut

Born: November 9

KATHRYN BALLARD SHUT (pronounced /shoot/) is an accomplished jazz pianist and vocalist, living and working in the Denver, Colorado live music scene, and grew up surrounded by both music lovers and working musicians. Classically trained on the piano beginning at age 8, reeds at age 10, and incorporating jazz theory by age 14, Kathryn has served as both pianist and woodwind "doubler" in big bands (clarinet/flute/saxes) and small combos (piano and vocals), including several jazz orchestras within The Colorado Jazz Workshop under the leadership of Hugh Ragin. She is also the daughter of the late Kansas Music Hall of Fame honoree, jazz and soul legend Tim Ballard. 

Deborah Silver

When a legend and icon like Quincy Jones raves about an artist by saying “her strong and sultry vocals are seductive and soul-soothing. Her talent and beauty are equally extraordinary. Whatever she sings she owns, making every note matter! One listen and you know…she is the real deal,” you can be sure music fans everywhere will take notice and wonder just who that artist is.  In this case that would be Mississippi-born, two-time #1 Billboard chart-topping vocalist Deborah Silver.

Deborah Silver has had a string of hit duets with celebrated artists including Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers, Jack Jones, Freddy Cole, Ann Hampton Callaway, and Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel. Her upcoming releases include duets with superstars Tony Orlando, Ronnie Millsap, Pam Tillis, Steve Tyrell and Jazz icon Diane Schuur. She is currently at work recording a full album with The Count Basie Orchestra.

Clint Holmes

Born: May 9, 1946

Clint Holmes’ story unfolded as if written by fate, yet each turn was so unexpected and remarkably successful, it exceeded even his wildest imagination.

Clint’s father was an African-American jazz singer and his mother was a classically-trained British opera singer. Clint jokes, “My mom taught me how to sing correctly, and my dad taught me how to enjoy it.” Despite being raised in a musical household from birth, Clint believes his musical journey really began when his father took him to an afternoon jazz jam session when he was just 12 years old. Clint later wrote about that life-changing experience in the song “At the Rendezvous,” which featured Joey DeFrancesco on organ.

Vanessa Finney

Born: May 22

Vanessa Finney grew up in southern California, where she worked as a radio DJ and attended UCLA. Now based in southern Oregon, she hosts two podcasts at Jefferson Public Radio: the pro-aging segment "My Better Half" and "The Creative Way," an artist profile series.

She performs at venues throughout Oregon's wine country and just released her first album, "Bésame Mucho," with arranger Mark Hamersly.

Clara Campbell

Born: January 26, 2000

Clara Campbell, 2025 Ella Fitzgerald Competition Winner, has established herself in the heart of the United States’ capital, Washington D.C. Originally from Bountiful, Utah, Clara’s musical journey began at an early age fueled by an innate curiosity for sound and a deep-seated passion for music. 

Clara holds a Bachelor of Music with an emphasis on Commercial Music at Snow College’s Horne School of Music, where she had the privilege of studying under esteemed mentors such as Carl Allen, Chase Baird, Jennifer Madsen, and Philip Kuehn. 

In 2022, Clara joined the prestigious Airmen of Note, the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Air Force, as their featured vocalist. Since joining the band, Clara has embarked on tours across the globe, performing at renowned venues and festivals such as the Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival, the Rochester Jazz Festival, and The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Throughout her career, Clara has graced stages alongside jazz luminaries including Pasquale Grasso, Catherine Russell, Jon Faddis, Rodney Whitaker and Gordon Goodwin. 

Halie Loren

Born: October 23

Halie Loren is an international, award-winning jazz singer/songwriter. She brings a fresh and original perspective to time-honored musical paths, channeling her innate understanding of connectedness across musical boundaries to forge bonds with diverse audiences in North America, Asia, and Europe. Her multi-genre and multi-lingual musical blend across her ten albums to-date has earned several national and international awards in multiple genres as well as significant critical and chart success along the way, with her albums consistently reaching #1 on the Billboard Japan, iTunes (Canada and Japan) and Amazon jazz charts.

Jeffrey Gimble

Born: March 6, 1962

Raised in Texas blues country, in a house full of music, the son of Houston saxophonist and bandleader, Maynard Gimble, he began to reveal his budding talent at the age of four. But, despite his early connection with jazz – frequently going to gigs with his father — it was the musical theatre that dominated the early part of his long career. His resume as an actor includes performances in stage shows such as Hair, Forbidden Broadway and The Tempest, as well as the cult film, Crimson Force.

“For most of my life jazz was something I really liked, and I listened to it... but it was never something that I really explored until I moved to L.A. a few years ago.”

Ale Nunez

Ale Avery Nunez is a Jazz Vocalist, Songwriter, and bandleader based in Toronto, Canada. Rooted in jazz and soul, she brings a musical sophistication to every performance, with a tone that is uniquely her own and a true dedication to her artistry. Her influences range from Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Nat King Cole, and Etta Jones to Aretha Franklin, Norah Jones and Feist. Although a recent graduate of the Bachelor of Music degree at Humber College in Toronto, Ale has gone on to establish herself as an in-demand vocalist and musician, making her mark in music scenes near and far. You can often see her perform at venues such as The Rex, and the Jazz Bistro