A respected insider within both the hardcore straight ahead and Latin Jazz communities, 2007 Grammy Award Winner Brian Lynch is as comfortable negotiating the complexities of clave with Afro-Caribbean pioneer Eddie Palmieri as he is swinging through advanced harmony with bebop maestro Phil Woods. A honored graduate of two of the jazz world’s most distinguished academies, Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and the Horace Silver Quintet, he has been a valued collaborator with jazz artists such as Benny Golson, Toshiko Akiyoshi, and Charles McPherson; Latin music icons as diverse as Hector LaVoe and Lila Downs; and pop luminaries such as Prince.
As a bandleader and recording artist he has released a series of critically acclaimed CDs featuring his distinctive composing and arranging, and toured the world with various ensembles reflecting the wide sweep of his music. He currently is on the faculty at New York University as well as conducting clinics and workshops at prestigious institutions of learning the world over. His talents have been recognized by top placings in the DownBeat Critics and Readers Polls; highly rated reviews for his work in DownBeat, Jazziz and JazzTimes; 2005 and 2007 Grammy award nominations as well as a 2007 Grammy Award, and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, and Meet The Composer.
Terell Stafford is a jazz trumpet player and current Director of Jazz Studies at Temple University. Originally a classical trumpet player, Stafford soon branched out to jazz with the University of Maryland jazz band. His career in jazz soon picked up and has played with McCoy Tyner, Christian McBride, John Clayton, Steve Turre, Dave Valentin, and Russell Malone and on stages such as Carnegie Hall and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He recently released a CD entitled New Beginnings featuring a number of other new up-and-coming musicians such as bassist Derrick Hodge.
A premier jazz, pop and funk drummer, Ndugu Chancler’s rhythmic aggressiveness and vitality distinguishes anything he plays. His playing can be heard on many hit records, ranging from jazz to blues to pop, including Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”. Chancler has also worked with Stanley Clarke, Jean-Luc Ponty, Donna Summer, George Duke, Patrice Rushen, Carlos Santana, Hubert Laws, The Crusaders, Frank Sinatra, Weather Report, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock and John Lee Hooker. His most recent release is “3 Brave Souls” with Darryl Jones and John Beasley.
After a decade long apprenticeship in Chicago’s vibrant music scene, Alison Ruble has emerged in recent years as one of the city’s premier and in demand jazz vocalists. Having honed her skills with steady work at a number of Chicago’s high profile jazz rooms, including The Green Mill; Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase, and Andy’s Jazz Club, Alison has etched out a distinct style that has drawn increasing attention from critics and audiences alike. In addition to extensive club work, she has appeared in a variety of theatre and festival settings, including Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Chicago Jazz Festival.
Jason Marsalis is the youngest of a great jazz family. He has not only inherited the virtuosity and compositional skills associated with the Marsalis family, but has also developed a distinctive, polyrhythmic drumming style. He is both a drummer and a vibraphonist in both the leader role and as a sideman. Jason’s first album as a leader on the vibes entitled Music Update earned 4.5 out of 5 stars in Downbeat magazine, and Ben Ratliff from The New York Times described the Jason’s album as “an excellent musician trying out something risky without embarrassment.” He continues to work as a sideman with Marcus Roberts, Ellis and Delfeayo Marsalis, John Ellis, Dr. Michael White, and Shannon Powell among others. Along with his father and brothers, Jason is group recipient of the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Award.
Willard Jenkins is an independent arts consultant & producer, and writer under his 
Michael Wolff began his music career performing in Cal Tjader’s band. He went onto become the musical director for jazz singer Nancy Wilson who introduced him to Arsenio Hall, and the latter of which he served as the bandleader for The Arsenio Hall Show.
Dena has accumulated an impressive list of performance credits. From the legendary clubs around the world like the Blue Note, Smoke and the Jazz Standard in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Pitt Inn and Body and Soul in Tokyo, The Jazz Showcase in Chicago, Marian’s in Bern, The Jazz Center in Istanbul, and Alexander Platz in Rome, to major Jazz Festivals that include The Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel, The Monterey Jazz Festival, The San Francisco Jazz Festival, Ancona (Italy), Estoril (Portugal), The North Sea and The Hague Jazz Festivals in Holland, The Floating Jazz Festival – Jazz Cruise (2005, 2007, 2008), The Kansas City Jazz and Blues Festival, Jazz Baltica Festival in Germany, VinterJazz Festival in Denmark. Dena always delivers “…vivid and often exciting demonstrations of how innovative her musical concepts are…” (Philip Elwood, San Francisco Examiner). Dena has brought that vitality and innovation to performances alongside the likes of Ray Brown, Clark Terry, Marian McPartland, Benny Golson, John Scofield, Deborah Brown, Jimmy Cobb, Ken Peplowski, Phil Woods, David ‘Fathead’ Newman, Rufus Reid, Mark Murphy, Slide Hampton, Marvin Stamm and many, many others.