Darren Heinrich

Born: September 18, 1967

Darren Heinrich is an award-winning professional musician with over 30 years experience as a performer and composer, both domestically and internationally. His artistic residencies as a jazz organist include Rare Groove Mondays at Foundry 616, Ultimo, and Soul Jazz Sessions at Playbar, Surry Hills. He gigs regularly with his own trio, and freelances on organ and piano with a wide variety of artists, both locally and abroad.?Darren has studied in person with Hammond organ masters Dr. Lonnie Smith and Tony Monaco, and completed the world's first PhD research in Jazz Organ Improvisation at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he currently lectures in Ensemble and Improvisation. Recent performances and recordings include:

Curtis Nowosad

Born: April 2, 1988

Curtis Nowosad is a JUNO-nominated, NYC-based jazz drummer, composer, bandleader and educator. Having made his home in Harlem for the last decade, the native of Winnipeg, MB, Canada has established himself as an integral part of the NYC and international jazz scene, both as a bandleader and a sideperson. 

Curtis has played in the bands of many top jazz artists of multiple generations, including Steve Nelson, Jazzmeia Horn, Philip Harper, Brianna Thomas, Craig Harris, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Marc Cary, Jocelyn Gould, Frank Lacy, Jacques Schwarz-Bart, Bruce Barth, David Berkman, Andrew Renfroe and Braxton Cook, with whom he has toured extensively in Europe and North America. He has also played with four NEA Jazz Masters: Candido Camero, Dave Liebman, Jimmy Owens and Ron Carter, and recorded with a fifth, Kenny Barron. He has led bands at many notable clubs and festivals, including The Blue Note, The Jazz Standard, Smalls, Dizzy’s and every major jazz festival in Canada and several in the US.

Judd Nielsen

Born and raised in the heart of New York City, Judd's musical journey was ignited by his parents' deep affection for the rich tapestry of Jazz, Soul, and the vibrant melodies of New Orleans. His early immersion in a diverse musical landscape led him to embrace the keyboard and piano, shaping his distinctive soulful style. Inspired by the legendary Dr. Lonnie Smith, whom he encountered at the iconic Smoke jazz club during his high school years, Judd embarked on a quest to master the Hammond organ, finding mentorship under luminaries like Seleno Clarke and the esteemed Smith himself.

Elaine Dame

Born: September 21, 1962

ARTIST'S BIO

"Dame has risen to the top ranks of Chicago jazz singers, with a musicality that allows her to improvise things most singers shouldn't even try. She possesses everything one could want in a true jazz vocalist: centered intonation, an enviable command of rhythm, and a translucent but powerful instrument.”~ Neil Tesser, Grammy award-winning critic and Author, The Playboy Guide to Jazz

Elaine Dame, jazz vocalist and recording artist, is a "Vocal dynamo...[and] continues to be a gem in the city's vocal jazz scene" according to Time Out Chicago. Since 1997, Dame has headlined venerable venues in Chicago, the Midwest and the nation, collaborating with some of the finest jazz instrumentalists. She has enjoyed residencies at such notable music rooms as the Rainbow Room, Michael Feinstein's 54 Below and the Metropolitan Room in New York City - and in Chicago, Elaine headlined the 2015 Chicago Jazz Festival and appears regularly at Winter's Jazz Club and The Jazz Showcase, to name but a few.

Soul Jazz

By Vincent Herring

Label: Smoke Sessions Records
Released: 2024
Track listing: Filthy McNasty; Too Blue; Mean Greens; The Chicken; Driftin'; Slow Drag; Strasbourg/St. Denis; Naima.

Jeff Perry / Sonic Dream

Born: March 19, 1964

Minneapolis-based guitarist Jeff Perry has a "personal voice that encompasses the intelligence of jazz with the emotion of the blues and the romanticism of Brazilian music" (Twin Cities Blues News). His Sonic Dream trio has been called "fabulous...one of the Twin Cities' best" by the Dakota Jazz Club know for their "hip retooling" (MN Star Tribune) of pop songs. Perry’s musical travels have found him playing at top Jazz Clubs, Gospel churches, concert halls, music festivals, for the likes of US Senators, Fortune 500 CEOs, and Chicago Mayors. His blend of jazz, soul, reggae and rock creates a cool sound that connects with people from all walks of life.

Jim Hopson

Richard Ashby

Volker Meitz

Berlin based pianist / keyboarder Volker Meitz is involved in several projects from Jazz to experimental or popular music. Due to his eclectic approach, Volker has always been hard to pigeon-hole to any one specific genre - but he actually likes it that way. Having started out composing chiptunes in the 8-bit computer scene, he went on to produce electronic club music incorporating jazz musicians in the 1990's, played in one of the first drum'n'bass live bands in Europe, was musical director of Sonar Kollektiv Orchester and recorded freely improvised, yet heavily processed music with Projekt Schwedt.
Today, his projects include SpaceKrautDubJazz band THE SHREDZ (w/ Eric Schaefer, John Dennis Renken, John Eckhardt), Free Imrov quartet KEMD (w/ Silke Eberhard, Almut Kühne, Yorgos Dimitriadis), SouljazzFusionStep combo GRAND COULOIR as well as duo and solo programs

Filthy McNasty

July 5, 2024

Album: Soul Jazz
By Vincent Herring
Label: Smoke Sessions Records
Released: 2024
Duration: 04:57