Riyoko Takagi

Born: September 20, 1984

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Riyoko Takagi (��ľ �����, Takagi Riyoko) is a Japanese Jazz pianist and composer who isn't bound by a single genre or style and has crossed classical, pop, house, and anime genre boundaries and styles in her compositions, arrangements, and performances. She's renowned for her musicality, deep harmonic understanding, live performances full of energy with fluent improvisations that often involve audience, and delicate touch on the keys. Together with her talent and charming character she continues to proliferate Jazz and attract many fans from all over the world.

Biography

David Dower

David Dower is a pianist & composer. Check out the "David Dower Trio" on bandcamp or streaming services to hear some of the trio's original work (including recordings done in Bulgaria with Bulgarian guest artists, including a traditional choir)

Specialising in original jazz and contemporary music, David has performed widely throughout the UK, Bulgaria, Ireland, France, Malaysia, and Australia.

David has performed with the likes of Robin Banerjee (UK), Tina May (UK), Trudy Kerr (UK), The Victorian Police Band (AUS), Kim May (AUS), Vesela Morova (Bulgaria), Zhivko Vasilev (Bulgaria) and recorded with Graeme Blevins (UK).  David has also supported Fred Wesley (USA), Kate Ceberano (AUS), Jack Jones (AUS) and The Choirboys (AUS). Through Monash University’s Artist-in-Residence program, David has been fortunate to share the stage with American jazz musicians George Garzone, Jim Black, and John Abercrombie, and Brazilian percussionist Roberta Valente.

Christopher Wilson

Christopher Lucas Wilson is a hard swingin' pianist originally from metropolitan Detroit, transplanted for a decade to Los Angeles, and now living in Chicago. As a child, Christopher was first introduced to music on a Grinnell Brothers piano in his parents’ living room by a now unknown piano teacher. Although this teacher’s name remains a mystery, Christopher remains indebted for his role in instilling a lifelong passion for music. 

The enlightening and freeing sound of swing is what first attracted Christopher to jazz. His interest in this feeling is what led him to begin exploring Detroit’s rich musical history which was and is replete with musical legends. He first studied with the late greats Bess Bonnier and Marcus Belgrave. Later, he would join the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's Civic Jazz Program where he first met esteemed bassist and educator Rodney Whitaker. By the time Christopher graduated from high school, he was entrenched in swing and bebop and would go on to further his studies within the jazz program at Michigan State University. While at Michigan State, he had the pleasure of studying and performing with Rodney Whitaker, Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson, Derrick Gardner, Vincent Chandler, Randy Gilespie, Diego Rivera, and Rick Roe. After graduating Christopher immediately began performing with his trio in Detroit, including a weekly jam session at the heralded Baker’s Keyboard Lounge. A short year later, Christopher relocated to sunny swingin’ Los Angeles where he fell in love with Southern California and spent nearly a decade there as a result. During that time he played regularly with his trio and released two albums, "Feelin' Better" and “Leaving Los Angeles." Christopher moved to Chicago in 2019 and is honored and excited to be part of another incredible city rich with musical history. His most recent release, "Solemn Moments" was released in January 2023 and features accomplished musicians and friends Jesse Kramer and Noah Jackson.

Megumi Yonezawa

Megumi Yonezawa is from Hokkaido, Japan. She began studying classical piano at the age of six. She graduated from Berklee College of Music with a degree in both Performance and Jazz Composition. During her time at Berklee, she pursued dual majors in performance and jazz composition. Megumi is a recipient of numerous prestigious awards such as the Jazz Performance Award, Clare Fisher Award and Techniques Endowed Scholarship. After her graduation from Berklee, Megumi received a scholarship from Japan as a trainee of the Hokkaido Cultural Foundation’s Overseas Artist Training. With her scholarship, she had the opportunity to further her research of Jazz in the United States. Megumi also had been an Artist in Residence at Wildacres in North Carolina. 

Svetlana Marinchenko

Svetlana Marinchenko is originally from Russia, Moscow. She  started to play music when she was 17, after hearing Coltrain's Love Supreme. After 3 years of experience in music, she managed to get enrolled in the Musorgsky Colledge of Music. Svetlana studied with the famous Russian jazz pianist Andrey Kondakov. During the first year of study, Svetlana discovered herself as a composer  and organized her own combo, Svetamuzika. Svetamuzika has participated in many international jazz festivals, such as "Close Encounters" Helsinki, Rajation Jazz Festival Helsinki and "Petrojazz" Sankt-Peterburg. They also played concerts in renowned jazz clubs in Russia and Finland, such as Igor Butman Club, Kozlov Club, JFC, Jazz Philharmonic. In 2015 Svetamuzika released their first album Present Simple on the Lable Art-Beat. The recording was attended by well-known and modern musicians from Russia and Germany, such as Anton Davidyants, Martin Miller, Peter Ivshin. After successful release in Moscow and Sankt-Peterburg, Svetamuzika went on a big tour of Russia.

Djangada

Born: January 1, 1979

ast emerging as the new Brazilian sound from the UK, Djangada's funky reworking of Brazilian classics has captivated audiences all over. Their dynamic trio interplay comes from years of performing together and is a thrill to witness live; a blend of traditional Brazilian music with a jazz aesthetic that is lively and accessible, but with a deep sense of craft and musicality.

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The name Djangada comes from the word jangada, a fishing boat found in the north-east of Brazil, the home of Afro-Brazilian rhythms. It is from here that Djangada draws their inspiration, transforming the classic songs of Bahia's Dorival Caymmi and Gilberto Gil into punchy instrumental grooves

Gentiane MG

Born: February 26, 1992

Pianist and composer Gentiane MG has established herself as an important voice as a Canadian jazz composer. She made a powerful impression on Montreal’s jazz scene with her two albums for piano trio, Eternal Cycle (2017) and Wonderland (2019). MG is releasing her third album with this ensemble, Walls Made of Glass, on September 23, 2022. MG’s trio has received several awards, including the OPUS Award for Discovery of the Year (2020), the CBC/Radio-Canada Jazz Award (2018) and the François-Marcaurelle de la GMMQ Award (2017). Eternal Cycle was highlighted by CBC Music as one of 10 outstanding Canadian jazz albums of 2017. MG has played in Canada, Mexico, China, Ivory Coast, and Germany  alongside musicians such as Christine Jensen, Andre White, Yannick Rieu, Jim Doxas, , Jean-Michel Pilc and Ira Coleman, and released a duo album entitled Convergence with saxophonist Frank Lozano.

Spyros Manesis

Born: July 21, 1978

Jazz pianist Spyros Manesis is born in Athens, Greece on 1978. His studies include degrees on classical and jazz piano at Athenaeum Conservatory (Athens, Greece, with M. Aivazova, G. Kontrafouris, S. Syrros) and Bachelor and a Master's degree on jazz piano from prestigious Conservatory of Amsterdam (K. Boehlee, H. Vroomans, K. Goessens, R. v. Bavel and H.Fraanje) and a Musicology degree from the University of Athens. On 2008 he made his first album as a co-leader with project TRIOISM (ANKh JAZZ). On 2011 he released ��Undelivered�� (JACC Records) with almost exclusively original compositions and arrangements for piano trio with Joao Hasselberg on double bass and Kaspars Kurdeko on drums

Dr. Andrew Nevala

Born: May 9, 1972

Director of Jazz Studies at Jacksonville State University, Dr. Andy Nevala currently directs the Downbeat Award Winning Jazz Ensemble I (2015, 2023), Jazz Ensemble IV, Combo I, Combo II, the Latin Ensemble, oversees the Jazz Combo program, produces the annual Jazz Festival (in it's 13th year), and teaches Jazz piano lessons. As Director of Jazz Studies, he has overseen the JSU Jazz program more than double in size during his time at JSU, with performances in the community, at regional and international festivals, and Middle and High Schools in the Southeast region. Andy has been recognized by Downbeat magazine on 10 different occasions, winning individual Downbeat Music Awards for composition (2002), arranging (2003), and performing/directing (2000, 2001, 2002, 2015, 2023)

Tin Men and the Telephone

Tin Men and the Telephone (TM&T) will not stand for banality. Their shows �C that challenge the gut as much as the brain - undermine the monotony and irritation of everyday life by recycling anything from the bleeping of nuisance devices, to the screeching of overzealous football commentators. Rather than relying upon the jazz standard as plaything, they find melody in the flirtations of a TV porn-star or the moos of an unwitting cow, pushing the boundaries of improvisation and the communicative power of music itself. The Tin Men trio is a dynamic affair, drawing on the harmonic depth of contemporary classical music and modern jazz as much as the visceral rhythms of hip-hop and Balkan music