Nitzan Gavrieli

Nitzan Gavrieli is a New York-based jazz pianist and composer who is a vital force on the city’s jazz scene. His music expands on the traditional jazz piano trio format, blending elements of classical music and Middle Eastern influences into a sound that is both distinctive and emotionally rich.

?In addition to leading his own trio, Nitzan is an in-demand sideman, arranger, and collaborator. He has recorded and performed with world-renowned artists such as Dennis Chambers, Mike Stern, Melissa Aldana, Francisco Mela, Mark Murphy, Chris Cheek, Steve Cardenas, Jamie Baum, and many others. His versatility and sensitivity at the piano have made him a valued contributor to dozens of albums and projects across genres.

Sugar Bomb

Active since: 2023

Sugar Bomb is an instrumental groove jazz trio formed in 2023 in Asheville, NC. ?Known for their dynamic range in taste and performance, they are often described as modern, playful, and refreshing. The trio consisting of Jacob Bruner (keyboards), Eli Kahn (bass/guitar), and Joe Enright (drums) draw from a wide range of influences spanning classical and jazz to fusion, hip hop, and electronic music. Often categorized as jazz for simplicity’s sake and perhaps highlighting their love for improvisation, Sugar Bomb creates a genre-defying kaleidoscope of musical expression through sensitive, yet high-energy performance and composition.

Peter Fulda

Born: August 7, 1968

Peter Fulda is a composer and pianist specializing in contemporary, creative jazz. He often realizes his musical visions in large-scale projects (30 full-length programmes, 15 CD albums, one opera to date). In addition to his work as a board member of Metropolmusik, he teaches composition and arrangement at the HfMDK Frankfurt am Main.

Ben Tweedt

Ben Tweedt is a pianist, composer, arranger, and music educator based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Born in Brunswick, Ohio and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Ben began his classical training on the piano from a young age. By the beginning of his Piano Performance bachelor's degree at the University of Nebraska-Omaha at the age of 17, he began to switch his focus to improvisation and composition while actively participating in the Omaha music scene.

In 2016, Ben moved to his current home city of Cincinnati, where he works full-time as a freelance musician, performing and teaching around the region spanning many genres and playing with a variety of artists. In addition to his own projects including a piano trio and a progressive jazz fusion quartet, Ben performs regularly with other notable musicians in the region including drummer/percussionist Walfredo Reyes Jr. and guitarist Dan Wilson. Ben was also the grand prize winner of the 2019 American Jazz Pianist Competition at the Yamaha Artist Center in New York.

Brian Ward

Born: September 30, 1969

Brian Ward is a keyboardist, recording artist, composer, arranger, and educator. Ward has performed with Talya Groves, Bobby Watson, Will Matthews, Leroy Vinnegar, Bobby Torres, Shirley Nanette, Dee Daniels, Curtis Salgado, Obo Addy, The Oregon Symphony, The Spokane Jazz Orchestra, and others. Brian helped create the "City of Roses" arrangement by Esperanza Spalding, which won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for Vocal Performance in 2013. Ward received the 2022 Andrew B. Cius Jr. Award for outstanding student composer at the University of Kansas School of Music. Brian currently lives in Kansas City, where he is active on the jazz scene, performing jazz and blues

Michael Collins

Michael Collins, pianist and award-winning composer, is a graduate of the Thornton School of Music at USC, where he studied with jazz masters Shelly Berg, Russ Ferrante, and Kim Richmond. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Michael studied in his own back yard with jazz legend Armand Boatman at the "Granada Conservatory" (Armand's living room on Granada Street). Michael's piano playing and arranging is modern yet deeply rooted in the jazz tradition. His big band composition "Sketch Artist" was awarded honorable mention in the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards, and his big band arrangement of "El Sur" was featured on "40 Acres and a Burro," a GRAMMY-nominee for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album

Pedro Neves

Born: 1978

Pedro Neves is a prolific Portuguese jazz pianist and composer, well-known for his acclaimed albums, as a leader of his piano trio or for his contribution to the work of many fellow musicians.

Nuno Catarino (Público journal and aformadojazz.pt), refers to Pedro Neves’s music as “some of the most beautiful and delicate jazz music made in Portugal”, reinforcing his natural predisposition to write songs with well-defined structures. With no boundaries whereas to genre or style, his compositions incorporate different grooves and soundscapes from his vast musical taste.

Affinity Trio

Active since: 2021

CLASSIC HARD-SWINGING JAZZ IN THE MIDWEST

Affinity Trio consists of Eric Jacobson on trumpet, Clay Schaub on bass, and Pamela York on piano. Individually, they have worked with some of the biggest names in the jazz world: Benny Golson, Phil Woods, Jeff Hamilton, John Clayton, Bruce Barth, Brian Lynch, Greg Tardy, Frank Morgan, etc. 

The trio has held a regular Monday night residency at the Mason Street Grill in Milwaukee, Wisconsin since 2021. Performing without a drummer, Affinity Trio creates an intimate ambience with a strong rhythmic groove. Their repertoire includes standards from the Great American Songbook, original music, and bebop. 

Matthew Fries

Born: September 24, 1968

Matthew Fries is a joyful voice on the piano with a unique and recognizable style that is authentically rooted in the tradition of the classic jazz pianists, while still looking forward to the future of the music and the instrument.

As a composer and leader he has performed his own music extensively, recording ten albums of mostly original compositions. His music has been described as playful and hopeful, introspective, full of joy and wonderment, and awash with tonal colors. But it is his deeply swinging piano style and collaborative spirit that have also made him an in-demand sideman for both instrumentalists and vocalists. He has toured worldwide, appears on scores of recordings, and his work has been described as “the best jazz accompaniment I’ve seen in a cabaret in years” (The New York Times), and “the crispest rhythm section imaginable” (The London Times).

Casey Golden

Born: January 18, 1988

Casey Golden is a forward-thinking musician based in Sydney. Described as ‘a brilliant improviser with a highly developed melodic sensibility’ (The Australian) and ‘a pianist of sheer class’ (Jazzwise), he’s been involved in a wide range of original music ranging from jazz/improvised projects to electronic, pop and film music.

Born in Sydney into a family of musicians, Golden is the grandson of internationally renowned jazz trumpeter Bob Barnard. He studied classical piano from a young age and was exposed to a wide variety of music through his mother’s vast record collection