Delfeayo Marsalis

Born: July 28, 1965

Delfeayo Marsalis is one of the top trombonists, composers and producers in jazz today. Known for his “technical excellence, inventive mind and frequent touches of humor…”(Leonard Feather, Los Angeles Times), he is “…one of the best, most imaginative and musical of the trombonists of his generation.” (Philip Elwood, San Francisco Examiner.) In January 2011, Delfeayo and the Marsalis family (father Ellis and brothers Branford, Wynton and Jason) earned the nation’s highest jazz honor" a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award.

Born in New Orleans on July 28, 1965, Marsalis was destined to a life in music. “I remember my dad (Ellis Marsalis) playing piano at the house, and me laying underneath the piano as a child, listening to him play. After briefly trying bass and drums, in sixth grade I gravitated towards the trombone, which was an extension of my personality. Early on my influences and inspirations included J.J. Johnson, Curtis Fuller, Al Grey, Tyree Glenn and Tommy Dorsey.” Marsalis attended the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts high school, was classically trained at the Eastern Music Festival and Tanglewood Institute, and majored in both performance and audio production at the Berklee College of Music.

Kate DeL

KATE DEL is a highly versatile and accomplished vocalist and recording artist based in the North East Ohio area, where she has built a distinguished career in the music industry. A cornerstone of her local music scene, Kate performs regularly with Backbeat, a premier wedding and event band, and has earned acclaim for her exceptional talent and diverse musical expertise. Her journey as a professional musician is deeply rooted in a rich family heritage of musicianship.

Kate’s musical education began at the age of eight, and from an early stage, her passion for music became evident. Her formative years were shaped by her involvement in a Grammy Award-winning high school music program, which ignited her desire to pursue music professionally. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the Dana School of Music at Youngstown State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Findlay. At Youngstown State, she studied classical voice performance, music education, and minored in French horn, further broadening her musical proficiency.

Song Yi Jeon

Born: August 28, 1984

Hailing from South Korea, Song Yi Jeon is a singer and composer who deftly combines modern jazz harmony and odd time signatures with singable melodies that instantly catch the ear of the listener.

She studied classical composition at the University of Music and Fine Art in Graz, Austria, and Jazz vocals at the Music Academy in Basel, Switzerland and Berklee College of Music in Boston, in the US where she developed her unique sound. Through her background in classical composition, she uses her understanding of harmonic structure to create incomparable improvisations.

In 2013, as the inaugural Quincy Jones CJ&E fellow, she studied at the Berklee College of Music where she was also awarded the Billboard Endowed Award.

Orlando Madrid

Born: March 27, 1991

A native of Las Cruces, New Mexico, Orlando Madrid is quickly gaining recognition for his soulful, innovative and unique voice on the alto saxophone. His talents as a gifted saxophonist, composer, and educator have made him an in-demand musician who has performed at jazz clubs, jazz festivals, schools and concert halls all over the country and in Asia.  

Orlando has performed regularly in the Las Cruces, El Paso,  Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Rochester and New York City areas with nationally touring artists and local jazz musicians. During his study in New Mexico, he performed with the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra (AJO), Entourage Jazz, popular local Bohemian Folk band Cactus Tractor, Bobby Shew, and Doug Lawrence. He also has had the privilege of sharing the stage with Ingrid Jensen, Marshall Gilkes, Dick Oatts, Jeff Coffin, Tony Lujan, George Stone, Jules Broussard, Eric Alexander, Clay Jenkins, Wynton Marsalis, Ted Nash, Rich Perry,  Jerry Lopez & The Santa Fe Horns, Charles Pillow Big Band, The Temptations, and The Frank SInatra Orchestra. Orlando was selected as Lead Alto for the 2015 Mid-Atlantic Contemporary Collegiate Honor Jazz Orchestra, which performed at Dizzy’s Coca-Cola Club and the Maryland Jazz Festival under the direction of grammy nominated and saxophonist/composer, Ted Nash. 

Maria Grapsa

Piano song, improvisation & modern jazz writing are the means that Maria portrays her musical journey. As a classically trained, explorative jazz musician, she empowers her sextet to flow free form through original compositions; steam hard in tenor jazz and intricate, emotionally-charged cinematic ballads. Maria’s Greek roots and folk, middle-East, Latin influences, meet jazz in a unique way. 

Jacob William

Jacob William is a multifaceted musician, bassist, composer, improviser, and educator whose work spans free jazz, contemporary improvisation, and experimental music. For over a decade, he has led and performed in ensembles dedicated to exploring spontaneous creativity and pushing the boundaries of improvised music. In 2023, Jacob released two major recordings: Degrees of Simultaneity with Para Quintet, featuring Laurence Cook, Jim Hobbs, Forbes Graham, and Steve Lantner, and Through Osmosis and Other Means with TOaOM Trio, alongside Jim Hobbs and Luther Gray.

Renowned for his deep, intuitive approach to the bass, Jacob has been praised for the way he seamlessly anchors and propels an ensemble. Veteran jazz drummer Joe Hunt describes him as “a true breath of fresh air… a special spirit… one of my favorite musicians.” He highlights Jacob’s “formidable bass skills” and calls him “rare and wonderful… inspiring and motivational… one of the most exciting [musicians] I’d ever experienced.”

Born in Chennai and raised in Bangalore, India, Jacob’s upbringing was steeped in cultural diversity and artistic inspiration. Growing up in a family committed to the arts, athletics, and academics, his early musical experiences included choir singing and informal explorations of hybrid musical styles. In his teenage years, he began playing bass guitar and quickly gained recognition, performing at concerts and festivals throughout India with forward-thinking jazz musicians. He attended Christ College, where he studied Finance and Economics, before moving to the United States in 1991 on a music scholarship to further his studies and pursue new creative opportunities.

Jacob holds a Master of Arts in Music from Wesleyan University, where he studied under Anthony Braxton, Neely Bruce, and Alvin Lucier, while training in South Indian Carnatic music with T. Viswanathan and percussion with Ramanad Raghavan and David Nelson. He also studied in the Contemporary Improvisation program at the New England Conservatory under Ran Blake and received advanced training on the bass with Cecil McBee and John Lockwood. Jacob earned his Bachelor of Music from Berklee College of Music, specializing in Jazz Bass Performance under Bruce Gertz, Whit Browne, and Rich Appleman, and participated in masterclasses by Kenny Werner and Bob Brookmeyer.

Throughout his career, Jacob has collaborated with a wide and distinguished array of musicians, including Maynard Ferguson, Louiz Banks, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Ranjit Barot, Omar Sosa, Abraham K. Adzenyah, Len ‘Boogsie’ Sharpe, Badal Roy, Charlie Mariano, T.A.S. Mani, R. A. Ramamani, royal hartigan, and Gustavo Ovalles. His extensive work in the jazz and improvisational scenes has brought him together with Ken Vandermark, Joe Morris, Nate Wooley, Laurence Cook, Luther Gray, Jim Hobbs, Forbes Graham, Steve Lantner, Tony Malaby, Francisco Mela, Allan Chase, Neil Leonard, Dave Bryant, Curt Newton, George Garzone, Jorrit Dijkstra, Jeff Galindo, Pandelis Karayorgis, Chris Bowman, Tom Hall, Croix Galipault, Joe Hunt, Amit Heri, Jerry Sabatini, Andria Nicodemou, Eric Hofbauer, Eric Rosenthal, Jon Damian, Garrison Fewell, Jason Robinson, Bill Lowe, Charlie Kohlhase, Noah Kaplan, Bob Gullotti, Eric Zinman, Syd Smart, Glynis Lomon, Joe Moffett, and Junko Fujiwara.

Jacob’s performances span continents, with appearances in Asia, Europe, and the United States, including Indian National Television and Radio DRS in Zurich. He has contributed to over 20 recordings, with releases on labels such as Warner, Intuition, Magnasound, Not Two, and Ayler Records.

The Retrospective Quintet

THE RETROSPECTIVE QUINTET

The Downbeat Magazine Award-winning ensemble that has taken the jazz world by storm! This group is the epitome of collaboration, featuring a diverse line-up of musical storytellers from all corners of the globe, including Italy, Venezuela, and New Zealand.

Their vision is to explore each other's musical roots and traditions, which is evident in the way they contribute compositions that cover a wide range of influences

The Beatnik Preachers

Active since: August 14, 1962

Musically Exquisite, Lyrically Explicit - Artistically Evocative, Socially Provocative -  the Beatnik Preachers meld a blistering style of jazz with original beat-poetry to form a unique ensemble that provides a palette for both the ears and the mind.

Anthony Norris (trumpet and spoken word) joined by Rob Burke (sax) gather the funky drumming of  Miles Henry and the groove of bassist Nick Haywood to drive a quintet allowing the sublime piano of Joel Louis to evoke and provoke both melody and harmony. Norris and Burke are melodically divine yet technically elaborate, thereby adding a unique interplay of risk and trust within the ensemble that is joyous and raucous. Firmly in the spirit of jazz whilst celebrating the human condition and investigating issues that currently face each and every one of us.