Alex Nguyen

Trumpeter Alex Nguyen is a native of Savannah, Georgia. His lifelong fascination with music dates back to his early childhood, when his Godmother, a church organist, began giving him piano lessons. The pursuit continued when Alex took up the trumpet and then discovered jazz in high school. Now at the age of 21, Nguyen resides in Jacksonville, Florida where he is pursuing a degree at the University of North Florida jazz studies program, led by legendary jazz master Bunky Green.

Most recently, Nguyen was the winner of International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition and the second place winner of the National Trumpet Competition. He has also been among a handful of promising musicians invited to participate in residencies with Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead in Washington, D.C. and the Steans Institute for Young Artists in Chicago. These prestigious programs offered Alex the chance to study with a veritable "who's who" of seminal jazz artists and educators, such as James Moody, Curtis Fuller, Dr. David Baker, Rufus Reid, Nathan Davis, and Kenny Barron.

Alex performs regularly with his own groups and makes appearances with formidable voices on the jazz scene. At UNF, Nguyen currently holds the jazz trumpet chair in the award-winning Jazz Ensemble I. With the JEI, he has shared the stage with artists such as Slide Hampton, Dave Brubeck, Kenny Garrett, Claudio Roditi, Benny Green, Russell Malone, and Poncho Sanchez.

Alex has performed at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, the Ravinia Festival, the Savannah Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Savannah Onstage International Arts Festival, and various venues in Europe and Asia.
  

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  Barry Greene

Barry Greene began playing guitar in 1971,at the age of ten years old. Strongly influenced by Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, George Benson and Pat Martino, Barry has developed into a world-class guitarist, arranger and composer. He has recorded or performed with such artists as Tim Hagens, Danny Gottlieb, Gene Bertoncinni, Scott Wendholt, Kenny Drew Jr., Adam Nussbaum, Warren Berndhardt, Russell Malone, Ron Affif, and Colin Bailey. Barry has four CD’s out as a leader. “Sojourner”, “At Home”, “Urban Jazz” and "In the Meantime"

Just Jazz Guitar Magazine says,"his improvisations were creative with impeccable technique..". 20th Century Guitar wrote, "it has all the urgency of the best of Pat Martino's work..." and allaboutjazz.com had to say," ...an excellent player, a superior musician with power to spare..".

Barry has several books published with Mel Bay Publications. He continues to endorse Thomastik-Infeld strings, Clarus amplifiers, Raezors Edge speaker cabinets, and Buscarino Guitars. He has performed at the Long Island Guitar Show held in New York, for the past five years, and has been an instructor at the prestigious National Guitar Workshop held each summer in Connecticut for eight consecutive years.

Barry is an Associate Professor of Jazz Guitar at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, where he has been since 1995. He teaches two guitar ensembles, as well as applied guitar, arranging and improvisation.
 

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  Vincent Gardner

Vincent R. Gardner (Trombone) has performed, toured, and/or recorded with The Duke Ellington Orchestra, Bobby McFerrin, The Count Basie Orchestra, Frank Foster, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, Chaka Kahn, A Tribe Called Quest, Nancy Wilson, McCoy Tyner, Nicholas Payton, Illinois Jacquet, Wynton Marsalis, Tommy Flanagan, Marcus Roberts, Matchbox 20, Jimmy Heath, Lauryn Hill and others. He has been a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra since 2000.

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Thomas Marriott

"Thomas Marriott is one of the most promising young trumpet players in the region. He combines lighting quick articulation with walloping bop chops, energy, and knowledge of the tradition."
- Earshot Jazz Magazine

Trumpeter Thomas Marriott is one of the most exciting musicians to emerge on the national jazz scene in more than a decade. Solo efforts on his recent albums and performances with luminaries such as Rosemary Clooney, The Chico O’Farrell Orchestra, Ritchie Cole, Joe Locke & Kenny Kirkland, have gained him numerous awards and recognition throughout the music world. In 1999 he won the prestigious Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Competition sponsored by the International Trumpet Guild and the Herb Albert Foundation.

Thomas Marriott, a Seattle native, first gained attention with the 1997 release of his first album “Open Season.” The Album won Seattle jazz radio KPLU’s top pick for that year. Earshot Jazz Magazine readers voted Thomas the Best Emerging Artist of 1998, an award The Marriott Brothers Quintet received in 1997. The Marriott Brothers Quintet, co-lead by Thomas & his brother David, released their second album, “The High Country,” to critical acclaim in 1999 and the band was voted Best Northwest Acoustic Band of that same year.

In 2000, Thomas joined the Maynard Ferguson Big Band, and relocated to New York City. After completing three world tours with Ferguson, Thomas worked in and around New York with musicians as diverse as Bob Berg, The Tito Puente Orchestra, Eric Reed, Brian Lynch, Bebo Valdez, Eddie Palmieri and many others. He was commissioned to compose three original works for the Ground Floor Dance Collaborative and actively led his own bands as well.

Now making Seattle his home once again, Thomas is a member of many ensembles including the Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra, and released his first solo album “Individuation” on the Origin Records label in 2005. It was named among the top 10 jazz albums of 2005 by WBEZ radio, Chicago. Thomas' new album "Both Sides of The Fence", released in February of 2007 spent three months on the national JazzWeek chart and peaked in the top ten at number 9. Thomas Marriott is a C.G.Conn sponsored artist & clinician and serves on the board of directors for Earshot Jazz & the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

Jazz Conceptions Orchestra

Trumpeter Alex Nguyen leads this group of fine musicians. Many have received recognition in their own respective areas of music thru awards, public acclaim and individual praise. We call them the "young lions" of  jazz. No doubt that we will be seeing them leading us into the future of jazz music.  

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Silver Lining

Silver Lining was formed in 2004 by guitarist Jackson Evans, singer/bassist Maggie Evans and drummer Marc Cordray. Inspired by their varied musical experiences, the trio has created a refreshing, new sound that is somewhere between traditional and contemporary jazz, Brazilian jazz, and blues. Silver Lining’s live performances exhibit both tight arrangements and spontaneous, intuitive interactions between the band members. Their play list is a combination of originals and reinterpreted standards, and their performance focuses on the overall sound of the band, rather than showcasing a specific instrument. The trio performs regularly throughout Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. They released their debut album The Nature of Luck in December of 2006

Jackson Evans is a versatile guitarist with a performance resume that includes jazz combos, big bands, pit orchestras, rock, funk, blues, and solo guitar. A surprising blend of these styles emerges in his playing. Jackson holds a Bachelor’s of Music with an emphasis in guitar performance from Utah State University where he studied with Mike Christiansen. He has solicited private lessons from many great jazz guitarists including Barry Greene, Steve Masakowski and Chris Rosenberg. He has also attended clinics given by Mike Stern, Jack Peterson, and the Los Angelos Guitar Quartet. In addition to playing, Jackson is also a published songwriter and lyricist.

Marc Cordray owns the thickest vitae of the trio. He holds a baccalaureate degree from Berklee School of Music and completed his graduate studies at New England Conservatory where he studied with jazz greats Bob Moses and Dave Holland. In recent years he has been the drummer in residence at the Savannah Theater where he performed in long runs of "Lost in the 50's" and "Jukebox Journey." In July, 2006 Marc took a brief hiatus from Silver Lining to perform as the musical director for a 5 week run of "Jukebox Journey" in Omaha, Nebraska. Marc has served as the backbeat for innumerable jazz, rock, blues, funk, and R&B groups and has performed as a percussionist in orchestral and popular settings. Marc’s very complimentary style centers on versatility.

Formally trained as a classical pianist, Maggie Evans discovered bass guitar as a teenager and soon began performing with a variety of jazz and rock groups. Since then, she has been the bassist in numerous jazz combos, rock/cover bands and blues bands throughout the United States. Maggie is not only the bassist for Silver Lining, but also lead vocalist. Both her vocals and bass playing echo a variety of musical experiences including swing, blues, bossa nova, classic rock and funk. In addition to her work as a musician, Maggie is a classically trained artist. She holds the BFA in Illustration from Utah State University and an MFA in Painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

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Audrey Shakir

Audrey was born into a musical family in Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother was a great pianist, organist and vocal coach, and her father loved to sing, whose idol was Billy Eckstine. Her parents loved all sorts of music, and she heard everything from the "classics" to big band to small combos in the house. Even her aunts and uncles directed and played for church choirs. Audrey has also passed down her musical talents to her son, Walter Blanding, Jr. Walter plays saxophone in the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, directed by Wynton Marsalis. She started just as a pianist. In fact, she can't remember not being able to play a piano. It was mandatory in her house that, when you knew how to read on any level, the next step was piano lessons. She became a professional musician in 1974 playing in a group that played Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, etc. Eventually, Audrey started leaning towards Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea. While leaning instrumentally she began trying to sing it, too. Her major influences in jazz singing first were Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Joe Williams and John Hendricks.

While playing in the NYC scene, she became a regular at the Village Gate and performed regularly with Harris. She performed at Town Hall, the Apollo Theater and Tavern on the Green. She left New York City in late May, 1989 and arrived in Atlanta in the early morning hours of June 1. Since then
Audrey has been performing in the Atlanta area, including several Atlanta Jazz Festival performances. She was also nominated for the 1992 Coca-Cola Music Award for “Best Blues Artist” and has been featured in several articles about the Atlanta arts scene.

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Scott Giddons

Born in Jacksonville Florida, he began playing at the age of five astounding those around him with his ability to play anything he heard. Scott continued his piano studies at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts while also studying privately with Mary Lou Krosnick at Jacksonville University. It was during this time that he developed an interest in jazz music and decided to pursue it fully. After graduating from Douglas Anderson he studied at the University of North Florida where in both 1999 and 2000 he was recognized in the Downbeat Poll for Best Jazz Group (UNF Combo).

Scott has performed at numerous festivals around the world including the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, The Cocoa Beach Jazz Festival, The Clearwater Jazz Festival, Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival, The Mobile Jazz Festival and many others. He has been seen performing in jazz clubs in Sydney, Paris, New York and many more up and down the eastern seaboard, including our very own Hilton Head. Most recently he has been heard occupying the piano chair with the Christian Tamburr Quartet and the Bob Reynolds quartet. Scott is currently pursuing his graduate work at Boston University, is the Music Director at New Life Christian Fellowship, resides in Orange Park with his wife Cathy, and maintains a busy performance schedule.

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Howard Paul

Howard Paul grew up in Atlantic City, N.J, and has been playing guitar since the age of four. He was drawn to jazz at 10 years old, eventually working both small and big bands, and performing in clubs, hotels, showrooms and eventually casinos. At seventeen, he joined the Judy Cahill Trio, backing or played opposite artists including Chris Conner, Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Ayres, Freddie Cole and Carmen McCrae. He taught music privately and as an adjunct faculty member at Atlantic Community College in Mays Landing, New Jersey from 1978 to 1981. Since moving to Savannah, Georgia in 1991 he has led his own trio and quartet, worked continuously with bassist/jazz legend Ben Tucker, recorded as a studio musician for Manion Music, and performed with the Savannah Symphony Pops Orchestra and the Coastal Jazz All Stars.

He is a recurring performer at Savannah Jazz Festival and Savannah Music Festival, and St. Simons Island Jazz in the Park. He is the house guitarist and a band leader at The Jazz Corner in Hilton Head, SC, where his band has performed nearly every Monday night since 2003, as well as a dozen weekends a year. His recent recordings with the Sweet Jazz label “Live at the Jazz Corner” series feature artist Ali Ryerson, Ben Tucker, Bobby Ryder, Bill Atwell, and Christian Tamburr. Howard has been a contributing writer to Just Jazz Guitar Magazine, and has co-produced the Benedetto Players in Concert series since 1998. He has performed throughout the United States in guitar duos/clinics with guitarist including Bucky Pizzarelli, Jimmy Bruno, Howard Alden, Jack Wilkins, Joe Beck, Frank Vignola, Craig Wagner and Jerry Sims. Small group performances include club dates with flutist Ali Ryerson, singer Diane Hubka, vibraphonist/drummer Chuck Redd, bassist Phil Flannigan, and piano legend/Grammy winner Bob James. In addition to his music career, Howard serves as President/CEO of Benedetto Guitars Inc.

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Mace Hibbard

Born and raised in Waco, Texas, Mace Hibbard continues in the tradition of
Cannonball Adderley, Charlie Parker, and Stan Getz, while drawing inspiration from the more contemporary players such as Kenny Garrett, Chris Potter, and Branford Marsalis.

After 10 years of being one of the most sought after woodwind players in Austin,
Mace relocated to Atlanta, Georgia in the summer of 2003 where he is continuing
his reputation as an accomplished performer and composer. In 2007, Mace
released his second recording, When Last We Met. Mace has performed throughout the United States and Europe, sharing the stage with Wynton Marsalis, The Derek Trucks Band, The Yonrico Scott Band, Wessell Anderson, Marcus Printup, Michael Brecker, Phil Woods, Bobby Shew, Arturo Sandoval, James Moody, the Austin Symphony, Bjorkestra, the Four Tops, the Temptations and the O’Jays.

Coming from a musical family, early music lessons included piano and voice until settling on the saxophone at age ten. Mace’s firm grasp of the history of jazz and
its standard repertoire comes from the gigs he played with his father - Dave Hibbard, a great trumpet player who has been a staple in the Texas jazz scene for years - throughout his teen years. From there, he attended the University of Texas in
Austin, where he earned a Bachelors degree in Musical Performance and a Masters degree in Jazz Studies. While in Austin, Mace developed as a composer and
formed Odd Man Out, who released their self-titled debut on Viewpoint Records in 2000.

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Negroni Trio

Jose Negroni, a brilliant pianist and composer of remarkable creativity, is one of the jazz world's most prominent musicians. His group Negroni's Trio, is composed of Nomar Negroni, José’s son, a gifted powerful drummer (a product of Berklee College of Music) and guest bass players, which have included John Benitez, Marco Panascia, Rafael Valencia & John Estes. Negroni’s Trio master players make up a truly wonderful combination, fusing straight ahead jazz, classical lyricism and Afro-Latin beats.

Negroni, a native of Puerto Rico and disciple of salsa legend Papo Luca, was a teaching professor at the Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico for over sixteen years, where he had the opportunity to perform with salsa greats such as La Sonora Ponceña and the Apollo Sound. While establishing a successful career as one of the island’s most sought-after musical directors, producers and arrangers, he toured as director and pianist for Latin sensations. Their first album, “Naturaleza/Nature (2003) on Universal Music Latino, blends elements of progressive jazz, pop and Latin music and pays tribute to the spirit of his native island. Since its release, “Naturaleza” has achieved chart position on jazz and new age radio throughout the United States.

His follow up album, “Piano / Drums /Bass” (Universal Music Latino) was nominated for BEST LATIN JAZZ ALBUM category for a LATIN GRAMMY (2005) and achieved charting position in the top 20 (Jazz Week Charts USA). This album combines a fusion of classical, Afro-Caribbean, grooving bass lines, piano vamps and blazing percussion solos. With Airplay in over 370 Radio Stations worldwide Negroni’s Trio has received remarkable international acclaim since it’s release in the US. In 2005, the album has been released in Japan, Spain, Argentina, England, Greece, Uruguay, and Indonesia & Mexico.  Negroni’s Trio audiences have been captivated by the classical lyricism, innovative & fresh piano improvisations and downright groove on both standard and original material. They currently hold an extensive calendar of international festival and local events that repeatedly electrify a wide array of new audiences and following.

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Lalo & Jack West

New York based vibraphonist Lalo and Bay Area 8-string acoustic guitarist Jack West have several things in common: their jazz-influenced music is fresh, energetic, and fueled by imagination; they break new ground with their inventive approach to unusual instruments; and they both grew up in Savannah, GA. Yet West and Lalo only knew of each other by rumor until they were both selected to showcase at South by Southwest in March 2004.

“I heard Jack play and I couldn’t believe it. His music was so much fun, and his rhythmic and harmonic approach was incredibly similar to what I aim for in my music!” says Lalo. Maybe it’s something in the water in Savannah, GA: The two musicians had arrived at a similar style by taking entirely different paths on opposite sides of the country. They first brought their innovations together for a West Coast tour in March 2005, next performed at the legendary 55 Bar in NYC, and since then have continued to tour throughout the U.S. The overwhelmingly positive response to their music guarantees that fans on both coasts will be seeing more of this duo in the near future.

West has developed a highly personal sound using unusual tunings and a dazzling combination of bluesy slide work, finger-picking, and unorthodox percussive techniques. He has performed his music with a “who’s who” of SF Bay Area jazz musicians, including drummer Scott Amendola (Charlie Hunter, etc), cellist Mark Summer (Turtle Island String Quartet), bassist Jon Evans (Tori Amos), saxophonist George Brooks (Zakir Hussein's Rhythm Experience), violinist Jenny Scheinman, and many others. His recordings have received national recognition for their exceptional quality as independently produced CDs. As We Know It was chosen over thousands of entries as winner of the Acoustic Guitar Magazine Self-Released CD Award for its "superb quality and originality." West has been selected as a finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition Jazz category for his piece "This Life May Be Monitored" from his 2001 CD, Big Ideas. His most recent release Around About Now garnered rave reviews from major publications.

Lalo has created a new world of vibraphone-based music with fresh energy a modern edge. “Lalo has injected some rock vitality into the vibraphone,” proclaimed host Liane Hansen during a feature interview on NPR Weekend Edition Sunday. “Lalo’s music exists as a playground made of sound,” read a Jazz Times magazine feature on the vibraphonist. Her newest CD, Half Moon, was released January 2006 and is currently receiving national airplay. "Half Moon reveals an impressive growth spurt... there is a willingness throughout this disc to think outside the box, yet the leader's compositions are still filled with a strong sense of lyricism and melody...an altogether winning album,” wrote Tad Hendrickson of JazzWeek.

In addition to traveling worldwide as the leader of several bands, Lalo has recorded with legendary jazz pianist Kenny Werner for BMG Japan, performed with Cyro Baptista’s ten-piece percussion ensemble, and regularly plays in several established New York City bands. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Lalo’s recent appearances include the Blue Note, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, and numerous U.S. colleges and universities.

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Christian Tamburr

Christian is a multi-instrumentalist, accomplished on the piano and trapset as well as world and orchestral percussion. However, his true talent is exhibited on his instrument of choice, the vibraphone. Confirmed in May of 2001 when in their annual poll of collegiate musicians,Downbeat Magazine awarded him "Outstanding Solo Jazz Performance". Christian is currently the leader of the critically acclaimed Christian Tamburr Quartet, a four-piece acoustic jazz group, as well as a member of the Grammy Award winning group The Dazz Band. Christian has performed as a guest artist with Dave Brubeck, as a solo percussionist with Michael Feinstein, and opened for Harry Connick, Jr. Over the past 3 years tours have taken Christian throughout North America, Europe, and an eight-day showcase on the SS Independence, traveling throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Some of the more notable venues include "The World's Greatest Bar on Earth" at World Trade Center, NY, Merv Griffin's "Coconut Club" in the Beverly Hilton, Beverly Hills, CA, The Brown Derby in Hollywood, CA, the Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, as well as numerous performances at Twins Jazz lounge Washington D.C., The Gem Theater, Kansas City, and The Bluenote L.V.


"Fans of the vibraphone are probably familiar with the names Lionel Hampton, Milt Jackson, Victor Feldman and Gary Burton. In the near future they will most likely add the name Christian Tamburr to their list of favorite vibraphonists."
- Jeff Eason
   Watauga Mountain Times
   Blowing Rock NC


"Like Stefon Harris, Tamburr has helped to inject young blood into the art of vibes and marimba performance. Assisted by bassist Elisa Pruett, drummer Justin Varnes and pianist Oscar Perez, Tamburr parades his talents as an improviser of note with cascading arpeggios and near-perfect articulation."
- John Stevenson, ejazznews.com

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Brenda Earle

Brenda Earle is a woman on a mission. She is a quadruple threat - a singer/pianist/arranger/composer, who is taking the international jazz community by storm. Her highly anticipated fourth Independent CD “happening” features an intoxicating blend of originals and de-rangements of classic songs. It features the extraordinary saxophone work of NYC-based tenorman Joel Frahm, with arrangements for jazz quartet and string quartet.

Brenda was born and raised in a small town in Ontario, Canada, called Sarnia. She studied jazz piano at York University in Toronto. Brenda was awarded an Ontario Arts Council grant to study in New York City, where she received her Master’s in Music from the Manhattan School of Music. There she studied voice with Luciana Souza, piano with Garry Dial and improvisation/composition with Dave Liebman.. In 1998, she attended the Banff Centre for the Arts, studying and performing with such jazz luminaries as David Liebman, Kenny Wheeler, Hugh Fraser and Kenny Werner.

In 2003 and 2005 she was invited to participate in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead Program which culminated in performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. The Washington Post wrote “Among the first to stand out was pianist-singer Brenda Earle, whose talent gracefully bridges jazz and pop.” She was selected for the 2003 Jazz Ahead All-Star group, which performed at the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival in Wilmington, Delaware, opening for Herbie Hancock.

In January 2004, Brenda won the International Sisters in Jazz Competition, a prize that recognized her as one of the world’s top emerging women jazz musicians. This competition culminated in performances at the IAJE conference where she and the other four winners opened for Nicholas Payton and the Village Vanguard Orchestra. This group headlined the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival. The Washington Post reported on “Earle’s blues-tinted touch and colorful thematic allusions” on the piano and that she “demonstrated her finesse as a vocalist.”

Brenda has been featured in numerous magazines and periodicals, including the Washington Post, the Toronto Star, the Sarnia Observer, Spill Magazine and jazzreview.com. She spent eight weeks in the “Top Sellers” top ten on jazzpromo.com, and her highly acclaimed CD “All She Needs” receives radio play in Australia, Indonesia, Europe and in the US and Canada. She has performed with Dick Oatts, Joel Frahm, Joe Martin, Hugh Fraser, Bobby Sanabria, Sunny Wilkinson and Pat LaBarbera.

She currently resides in New York City, where she is actively promoting her new CD “happening”.

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Fred Wesley

Wesley became a force in jazz in 1978 when he joined the Count Basie Orchestra. He released his first jazz CD as a leader, To Someone, in 1988. It was followed by New Friends in 1990, Comme Ci Comme Ca in 1991, and his latest two releases as a leader, the live CD, Swing and Be Funky and Amalgamation in 1994.

Wesley's 35-year career includes playing with and arranging for a wide variety of other artist such as Ray Charles, Ike and Tina Turner, Usher, Lionel Hampton, Randy Crawford, Vanessa Williams, The SOS Band, Cameo and rappers De La Soul, to name a few. Scores of other artists have sampled his work.

Wesley toured with his colleagues from the James Brown Band, Pee Wee Ellis and Maceo Parker as the JB Horns in the early nineties. With the departure of Ellis the band became The Maceo Parker Band. Wesley was featured trombonist with Maceo until 1996 when he formed his own band.

The Fred Wesley group recorded and toured for about two years until Wesley decided to put touring on the side and pursue a writing career. He is currently doing articles for general publication and liner notes for CDs etc. He has completed his first book entitled, "HIT ME FRED ( Recollections of a Sideman)", soon to be published.

Fred Wesley has also recently released a new cd. This new effort, It Don’t Mean A Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing benefits the Commission Project (TCP), a nonprofit that supports various music education projects around the US.

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Teddy Adams

Trombonist, arranger, composer, and lecturer are talents that describe Teddy Adams. Born in Savannah, Georgia on August 20, 1941, Teddy began playing in elementary school and started playing professional jobs as early as high school. From 1956-1960, Teddy performed with the James Drayton Organ Combo, Bobby Dilworth and the Blazers, the Clay White Band, the Walter Langston Orchestra, Val Davis and the Blue Notes, Claude Roberts and the Jazz Messengers, and the Metronomes. In 1959, he was honored as being the most promising musician/ trombonist in Savannah by the AFM, Local 704 Musicians Union.

A four year music scholarship to Florida A&M University was postponed to pursue a music career, however, other forces steered Teddy to the U. S. Air Force where he fine tuned his music craft for several years in various Air Force bands throughout the U.S. and Asia. After being stationed in Washington D.C. and playing with musicians such as Bobby Timmons, Jimmy Hopps and Wilbur Ware, Teddy spent eleven years in Asia with his major concentration taking place in Tokyo, Japan with a two year stint in Bangkok, Thailand. While being stationed and living in Tokyo, Teddy attended a music conservatory started by Japan's premier musician, Sadao Watanabe. Also while in Japan, Teddy performed with Rufus Reid, Blue Mitchell, Art Blakey, and Abbey Lincoln.

After returning to the U.S. in 1976, he teamed up with Bassist, Ben Tucker and co-led a mainstream jazz group called the Telfair Jazz Society. Since then Teddy has performed with other greats that include: Cab Calloway, Irene Reid, James Moody, Clark Terry, Jeanie Bryson, Johnny Lytle, Joey DeFrancesco, Ernie Andrews, Wynard Harper, Ben Riley, Doug Carn, Dave Steinmeyer, Pete Minger, Delbert Felix, to name a few. Teddy is presently teaching, lecturing and leading his own group. He also is on the Board of Directors for the Coastal Jazz Association, co-leads the Savannah Jazz Orchestra, and is one of the first inductees in the Savannah/ Coastal Jazz Association Hall of Fame.

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Annie Sellick

Perhaps Annie Sellick’s best quality as a singer is her ability to make people happy. An unusually engaging performer, she has won a large, devoted following and earned rave reviews, winning numerous “Best Jazz Artist” awards in the Nashville media. Her third CD, recorded live in L.A. and released in 2005 is as free-spirited and full of attitude as she is.

Annie Sellick’s jazz journey began auspiciously when she sat in with guitarist Roland Gresham’s group at a club near the college she attended. After her performance, the crowd rose to their feet cheering, and it was clear she had found her calling. “It shocked me, the response and I think it shocked Roland too. Maybe that’s why the band kept me”. After working with the trio for four years, she moved back to her hometown of Nashville and honed her skills at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. After just a few years in her hometown, she won a devoted following, became a mainstay at the major jazz venues, was profiled in every major Nashville paper, and gave a celebrated sold-out performance backed by the Nashville Symphony.
Her career in Jazz has taken her through three recordings on her own label (one with renowned jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco), stardom in Nashville and regular appearances in Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and Montreal. She currently resides in her hometown since living and studying in New York.


“No Greater Thrill” (2003)
Featuring world-renowned jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco, this album is irrefutable evidence that Sellick has entered the big leagues. Sellick’s love for the power and energy of jazz organ, and the groove and swing of DeFrancesco are manifested on this collection of standard songs and one Sellick original. The group is rounded out by Nashville guitarist Pat Bergeson and drummer Jim White.

“A Little Piece of Heaven - An Evening With Annie Sellick” (2005)
Possibly this live album recorded at the Vic in Santa Monica captures Sellick’s voice and soul more truly than ever before. She is backed by pianist Gerald Clayton and his trio with guest guitarist Bruce Forman. Sellick collaborated with Shelly Berg on many of the arrangements. A string of positive reviews followed this performance and placed her among the ranks of the top jazz vocalists around.

 

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Joshua Bowlus

Joshua Bowlus began playing piano at age 5 and was trained classically until the age of 15, when he was introduced to jazz. He has played jazz since then, and has performed with his own trio (among other groups) at different venues throughout the Southeast. He has won numerous awards and honors for his musical talent at such festivals as the Monterey Jazz Festival and North Texas Jazz Festival. He has also won the Louis Armstrong Award and was a scholarship recipient from the Northeast Florida Jazz Association in 2004.

Josh has performed at numerous jazz festivals including the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, Lakeside Jazz Festival ( Port Orange , FL ), New Smyrna Beach Jazz Festival, Savannah Jazz Festival, and North Texas Jazz Festival. He recently graduated from the University of North Florida , where he performed with the world-renowned UNF Jazz Ensemble One from 2004 to 2006. Through playing in the UNF Jazz Ensemble One, Josh has had the opportunity to play with many of the great jazz players of today, including Slide Hampton, Ed Calle, Poncho Sanchez, Benny Green, and Kenny Garrett. Also while participating in the UNF J.E.1, Josh played on a two week concert tour of China .

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Seth Carper

Seth Carper, a multi-instrumentalist that plays alto, tenor, soprano, and baritone saxes, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, many other wind instruments, is a dynamic jazz musician and improviser. Though he plays all of the above instruments, it is obviously the sax on which he shines. Graduating summa cum laude with a B.M. in Music Education from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, Seth now resides in Charlotte, NC where he leads his group, The Seth Carper Quartet, as well as playing with many local and regional groups.

Having shared the stage with such jazz greats as Maynard Ferguson, Ernie Watts, Vincent Herring, Antonio Hart, Chris Murrell, Allen Vizutti, Eddie Daniels, and Duffy Jackson, Seth plays with a youthful exuberance yet with the control and ease of a seasoned veteran. Genre doesn't hold this young lion back either. Seth has performed with many popular & classical artists, including Grammy winning groups The Temptations & The Four Tops, Lou Christie, The Drifters, Black and Blue, The Piedmont Wind Symphony as well as The Reduced Opera Co. of London during a world tour performance on the six star ship, The Seabourn Legend.

Seth has performed in clubs all over the United States as well as in Fasching Jazz Club in Stockholm, Sweden and Street Life Jazz Club in St. Petersburg, Russia. Seth is a regular member of the Brian Sullivan Trio, the Christian Tamburr Quartet, Vector Erector, the Schnefel Five, Flow, leader of the Seth Carper Quartet, and adjunct faculty at Pfeiffer University and Davidson College, where he teaches saxophone, jazz improvisation, and co-leads the Pfeiffer Jazz Ensemble.

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Johnny O'Neal

Johnny’s enormous musical gifts were immediately apparent to jazz icon Ray Brown and led to his 1983 debut album Coming Out. Stints with Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, and Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers soon followed.  Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Pass, Nancy Wilson, Anita O’Day, Lionel Hampton, Kenny Burrell, Sonny Stitt, Benny Golson, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, and Clark Terry among others, have tapped Johnny for appearances. Performances on the festival circuits in Europe, Australia, Japan and a recent tour of South Africa have gained Johnny an international following.

Johnny admits to loving to shout the blues but calls himself a piano player first.  There have been three notable events in Johnny’s career that continue to inspire him: an appearance at Carnegie Hall early in his career when he was the opening solo pianist for Oscar Peterson, his recent induction into the Jazz Hall of Fame and playing the role of Art Tatum in the award-winning feature film “Ray”.

“Johnny is outstanding in his ability to interpret a wide range of material with ease and sensitivity,” according to Parkwood Records’ Hugh Leal. This versatility was showcased on his debut recording for Justin Time Records, On the Montreal Scene, which soulfully interweaves gospel, blues and mainstream jazz. Jim Little, who writes regularly for the Montreal Weekly Hour, proffered, “O’Neal offers up a serving of the blues and gospel ingredients that help make him such a tasty player.”

Johnny explains, "I’m a tune guy. I know 1,500 songs. My father was a pianist and singer who emphasized that learning lyrics creates dynamics and a better interpretation of melody. I rehearse so that the bassist, drummer, and I can get familiar with each others styles, not to set the songs we’ll play. Jazz is the highest level of performance because it’s instant composition. I like to be spontaneous and respond to cues from the audience."

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Freddie Cole

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Oscar Perez

His latest endeavor entitled NUEVO COMIENZO employs an instrumental quintet of extraordinary New York based artists. The CD features guest artists Wycliffe Gordon and guitarist Peter Bernstein. The sound draws from latin and jazz music to explore innovative arrangements.

Ever since he was seven years old, Oscar Perez has been expressing himself on a piano. Being raised on his father’s Cuban folk music, piano lessons and playing in the church band was just a given. A young Oscar made the commitment to make music his life before even getting to ninth grade. As a native of the borough of Queens in New York City, he was exposed to many kinds of music. This was enhanced by his enrollment to the “FAME-d” LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. But it would turn out to be jazz that would take him on his musical and personal journey.

His training has been as diverse as his musical tastes. During his high school years, he studied with two very prominent classical pianists, Robert Harris (Juilliard Faculty) and Edgar Roberts (New York University Faculty). He later matriculated at the highly respected Jazz Performance Bachelor’s program at the University of North Florida. Under the American Music Scholarship, he studied with jazz pianists Harry Pickens and Kevin Bales. It was here that he started to compose for small group and big band.

His hunger to revisit the beauty and energy of Latin music sent him off to the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA to study with Danilo Perez. After many weekend gigs in New York City, he saw his formal education come full circle when he finished his Master’s Degree at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College in New York under the guidance of Sir Roland Hanna. Here his love of jazz was married with the piano literature of the classical composers. Also, during this time, he continued studying composition and arranging with Phillip Michael Mossman, who gave him many writing and arranging opportunities.

His early twenties saw him sharing the stage with jazz legends Bunky Green, George Russell, Curtis Fuller, and George Garzone. Since moving back to New York, he has spent recent years traveling and playing in the musical groups of trombonist Wycliffe Gordon, saxophonist Virginia Mayhew, trombonist Steve Turre, vocalist Cathy Elliott and vibraphonist Christian Tamburr with whom he has a new recording entitled “Move”.

In addition to employment as a jazz pianist, he toured with vocalist Phoebe Snow performing in venues such as The Theatre at Madison Square Garden and Webster Hall. Television appearances include a taping of The Rosanne Show with special guest Michael McDonald. He has also toured the country with singer/songwriter Coby Brown and appears on the groups debut CD entitled “Homesick”. Recently, he has been appointed music director for St Edward’s Church in Harlem, N.Y. His longstanding commitment to church music has been embodied in the gospel music he explores as the accompanist for the Bamford/ Nightingale Gospel Choir.

Latest travels have included many cities along the eastern seaboard. Great Midwestern U.S. cities such as Chicago, Des Moines, and Minneapolis have also been part of his itinerary. Foreign tours include Colombia, South America; Costa Rica; the AgraJazz Festival on the Azores Islands of Portugal and a recent Jazz Cruise to the Bahamas and the Dominic Republic. He spent a month leading a quintet throughout Russia including Moscow and most of Siberia.

His close association with the Colden Center, the Juilliard School and Jazz at Lincoln Center has provided him many teaching and performance opportunities with some of the world’s most innovative musicians such as Victor Goines and Wess Anderson. He is the winner of the 2006 ASCAP/IAJE Commission in honor of Billy Strayhorn. The work is to be premiered by Oscar’s group at the 2007 International Association of Jazz Education Convention.

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Bob Reynolds

Saxophonist Bob Reynolds’ 2006 release, Can't Wait For Perfect, was voted “Best Debut” in the Village Voice’s 2006 Jazz Poll, and called “Some of the freshest, most compelling, and most soulful music I have heard recently” by saxophone star Joshua Redman.

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Michael Bellar

Bellar is a native of North Carolina and stands by his slow, southern roots. He holds a degree in classical piano performance from the NC School of the Arts (NCSA) and a master’s degree in jazz performance from Queens College in Flushing, NY, where he studied under the iron fists of the great Sir. Roland Hanna and Jimmy Heath. Michael has performed music on six continents. Along with creating music and touring with his group, the AS-IS Ensemble, Michael has also toured and or recorded with  Art Garfunkel, Howie Day, Wheatus, Teddy Geiger (music director), Jump Little Children, Billy Mann, Italian pop superstar Giorgia, world music vocalist Phillip Hamilton, and torch-song heroes Rosebud. In the spring of 2003, Michael began his first season as resident composer of Terpsicorps Theater of Dance; a contemporary/multi-media dance and performance company based in western N.C.

Michael is the founder, composer and pianist of the AS-IS Ensemble, which along with previously being the house band at the world-famous Blue Note jazz club in New York City has performed at such venues as Avery Fischer Hall at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center and the Bell Atlantic and JVC Jazz Festivals in NYC. In a review of their first ever concert held in New York, they were touted "GENERATION NEXT," by Billboard Magazine. Michael and the group were named the UNSIGNED ARTIST OF THE MONTH in the 3/06 edition of KEYBOARD magazine and were the focus of a special feature produced about them by the BBC Radio network in London, England.

His recordings include: "Like It Is" (Left Three Lanes) and REACT! (Athena Jazz). He has recorded as a sideman on many projects including Wheatus (Montauk Mantis), Jump Little Children (EZ Chief), Jennifer Brown (BMG Swedish Grammy winner), Giorgia (Live DVD for BMG Europe), Brooks Williams (Signature Sounds), Tina Moore (RCA Capital) and Dulcie Taylor (Black Iris). In 1995, Michael was chosen as a semi-finalist at the East Coast Jazz Festival’s Young Artists Competition and awarded a special prize for composition at the 1996 Ragusa-Ibla International Piano Festival in Sicily, Italy, which led to the recording of REACT! His national TV appearances include Late Night with David Letterman, the Ellen Degeneres Show, TRL, Good Morning America, Regis and Kathy Lee and the CBS Morning Show. In the winter of 2002, Michael toured as the pianist/vocalist for the Kennedy Center of Washington D.C. national tour of Harlem, a stage adaptation of a work by author, Walter Dean Myers.

As a composer for other idioms, Michael has written 15 scores for the dance world including working with such distinguished companies as Terpsicorps Theater of Dance, Chimera Physical Theater, Michael Yasenak's Human Dance Company, Sun Ho Kim, Nancy Lanier, NC Dance Theater, Sean Sullivan and the American Dance Asylum. In the realm of theater, Michael has written scores for "Bukowski - the Musical" and "The Gospel Truth Family Hour." In the summer of 2005 Michael composed and performed his latest score, based on Edgar Allen Poe's the "Masque of the Red Death," with Terpsicorps and is currently adapting a number of his works for string trio.

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Roy Meriwether

Born in Dayton, Ohio, Roy Meriwether started playing piano at age three and had composed two pieces before he was four. Shortly thereafter, he began playing in his fathers church, accompanying the family choir, and performing with gospel singers throughout the Midwest.  Roy turned professional with his own group at age 18 and has devoted himself to both composing and performing ever since. Reviewers are frequently impressed by his power. Critic Arnold Shaw once described him as a 'two-fisted pianist who in this day of right handed wizards has the sound of a champion, with thunder in his left hand and lightning in his right.'

As recently reported in the Scottsdale, Arizona Daily Progress: "Mr. Meriwether performs both standards and original compositions with a creativity that is nothing short of genius. Meriwether himself is the epitome of a giving' musician, at his best with a responsive, listening audience. He does not require it, but appreciates it and rewards it with dynamite delivered with the power his hands produce. In 1973, the National Endowment for the Arts bestowed on Roy, a Jazz Composition Fellowship Grant for the purpose of writing a musical work tracing the history of the black experience in America. The scope and breadth of the project resulted in the 21-piece suite, BLACK SNOW, written and premiered for the United States Bicentennial Celebration, April, 1976, with the Howard Roberts Chorale and the Dayton Contemporary Dance Guild.  Living in New York City since 1976, Roy continually elicits standing ovations from his audiences. He is frequently called upon to compose specific works for special events such as the November, 1989 NAUBA Salute to Women Conference in the Bahamas where he performed his piece, "A Tribute To You, My Lady." He has received numerous awards including Jamaica Queens New York Jazz Community Award, the New York Manhattan Association of Cabaret Award (MAC Award) and was nominated for a Grammy. In March of 1999, Mr. Meriwether received a Lifetime Achievement to Music Award.

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Theo Croker

Trumpeter Alex Nguyen is a native of Savannah, Georgia. His lifelong fascination with music dates back to his early childhood, when his Godmother, a church organist, began giving him piano lessons. The pursuit continued when Alex took up the trumpet and then discovered jazz in high school. Now at the age of 21, Nguyen resides in Jacksonville, Florida where he is pursuing a degree at the University of North Florida jazz studies program, led by legendary jazz master Bunky Green.

Most recently, Nguyen was the winner of International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition and the second place winner of the National Trumpet Competition. He has also been among a handful of promising musicians invited to participate in residencies with Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead in Washington, D.C. and the Steans Institute for Young Artists in Chicago. These prestigious programs offered Alex the chance to study with a veritable "who's who" of seminal jazz artists and educators, such as James Moody, Curtis Fuller, Dr. David Baker, Rufus Reid, Nathan Davis, and Kenny Barron.

Alex performs regularly with his own groups and makes appearances with formidable voices on the jazz scene. At UNF, Nguyen currently holds the jazz trumpet chair in the award-winning Jazz Ensemble I. With the JEI, he has shared the stage with artists such as Slide Hampton, Dave Brubeck, Kenny Garrett, Claudio Roditi, Benny Green, Russell Malone, and Poncho Sanchez.

Alex has performed at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival, the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, the Ravinia Festival, the Savannah Jazz Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Savannah Onstage International Arts Festival, and various venues in Europe and Asia.
  

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VINX

Who is Vinx? Most people know him as...One man. One voice. One drum. As you will discover, Vinx is much more. Vinx's music transcends languages and borders. This is evident from his international touring schedule and cult-like popularity. Vinx has taken the wisdom of his mother to heart. She often told him that "You can't sing of life unless you live."

www.VINX.com