Englewood Cliffs, NJ

Born in Los Angeles, Billy Higgins played professionally in R&B bands such as those of Bo Diddley and Jimmy Witherspoon. In 1953 he joined high school friend Don Cherry's group "The Jazz Messiahs." Higgins and Cherry met Ornette Coleman and joined his rehearsal band. The band played for years before debuting their music in 1958. It was with Ornette Coleman that Higgins first came to New York, where he became one of the most sought after contemporary jazz drummers.

New York native Bobby Porcelli is one of Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz's most accomplished flautists and alto saxophonists. An exciting soloist influenced heavily by Charlie Parker and Sonny Still, Porcelli's alto has soared gracefully above the legendary percussive ensembles of Machito (1965-1966), Mongo Santmaria ('87-'90), and Tito Puente ('66-'00).

Bruce Acosta is an up and coming guitarist based in New York City. Born in Dubai, he grew up in Canada, Australia and Minnesota, picking up the guitar at age seven. As a high schooler, Acosta was selected for the Brubeck Summer Jazz Colony and the Minnesota All-State Jazz Band and recognized as a National YoungArts award winner.

Bassist Buster Williams is an iconic musician whose trademark sound and styling are present on over 300 recordings to date. Williams, known for his ability to simultaneously be insistent yet supportive, has been the bassist of choice for legends including Sarah Vaughan, Herbie Hancock, Mary Lou Williams, Hank Jones and even Ron Carter (in his two-bass "Piccolo" quartet). His prolific contributions in the recording studio range from dates with Nancy Wilson and Betty Carter to Art Blakey, Woody Shaw, Dexter Gordon and Miles Davis.

Butch Warren's discography speaks for itself, ranging from recordings with Herbie Hancock, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henderson and Donald Byrd, to name but a few. His began playing professionally at the age of 14 in his native Washington, D.C. with his father, Edward Warren. After becoming one of the most in-demand bassists in D.C., Warren moved to New York City in 1958 to where he quickly became recognized by Jackie McLean, Kenny Dorham and a long list of other contemporary musicians and producers.

Cecil McBee has been on the jazz scene for many years; he always plays marvelously in any style. Cecil is a true master of bass lines. His ballad accompaniment is exceptional, and studying and comparing his base lines on several recordings of his beautiful ballad Close To You Alone is a mind-opening experience.

Daryl Johns was born in the Bronx and began playing bass at age seven with encouragement from his father, drummer Steve Johns, and his mother, saxophonist Debbie Keefe. Johns has studied with Chip Jackson and Dave Santoro. He has attended the Jazz in July program, the Vermont Jazz Center, and the Litchfield Jazz Camp. Johns sits in regularly around the New York area with musicians including Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman, and Randy Brecker. He also performs throughout New York and New Jersey with a trio of his peers. Johns was featured on a Fox television segment called “12-Year-Old Jazz Prodigy."

Tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon was born in Los Angeles, CA. In his last year of high school, he received a call from alto saxophonist Marshall Royal asking him to join the Lionel Hampton big band. This led to Dexter's first recording, with the Hampton band, on December 21, 1941. In 1944, after a few weeks with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra and working and recording with Louis Armstrong's orchestra, Dexter joined Billy Eckstine and recorded with Eckstine's legendary band of soon-to-be jazz superstars that included Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons, Leo Parker, Art Blakey, Sarah Vaughan, arranger Tadd Dameron and others, on September 5, 1944.

Don Friedman was only four years old, living in San Francisco, when he started playing his parents' piano. A year later, he started lessons with a private teacher. His love for jazz music was born when he moved to L.A. and heard the likes of Les Brown and Lee Konitz for the first time.

Gene Ammons is the son of the great boogie-woogie pianist Albert Ammons. Born in Chicago, Gene studied music at Du Sable High School under Captain Walter Dyett. He left Chicago at 18 to tour with King Kolax. On September 5, 1944, at the age of 19, he made his first recording with Billy Eckstine and his Orchestra. The Eckstein band was truly legendary, with Dexter Gordon on tenor sax, Leo Parker on baritone, Dizzy Gillespie in the trumpet section, Art Blakey on drums, Tommy Potter on bass, Sarah Vaughan singing with the band, and Tadd Dameron as one of the arrangers. It was a hothouse of talent and creativity and an immense opportunity for the young Gene, whom Billy nicknamed “Jug” when the straw hats ordered for the band were too small for his head.

A lauded name on the jazz scene since the tender age of 17, Geoffrey Keezer is one of the best-loved pianists today. A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Geoff took up the piano at age three and quickly showed himself to be a prodigy. As an eighteen-year-old freshman at Berklee College of Music in 1989, he was invited to join Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, launching his talents into the spotlight. The year before, his mentor James Williams encouraged him to record his debut album, the well-received "Waiting In The Wings." His career continued to take off in the early 1990s with a performance at the Hollywood Bowl of Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue (conducted by John Mauceri).

George Benson is a prime example of a child prodigy who grew into a mature and highly influential artist. Starting his recording career at the age of nine as a singer under the name of “Little Georgie,” Benson soon became renowned for his guitar playing prowess under the leadership of Jack McDuff in the 60s.

Grachan Moncur has been one of the leading jazz trombonists throughout the past fifty years. He has played with jazz legends, including Ray Charles, Wayne Shorter, Blue Mitchell and Jackie McLean. Moncur was born in New York City, first learning the cello at the age of nine. Inspired by his father, bassist Grachan Moncur II, who played with the likes of the Savoy Sultans, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington, he turned to the trombone at the age of eleven. He began attending the Laurinburg Institute harnessing his skills and attending shows where he sat in with musicians like drummer Art Blakey and alto saxophonist Jackie McLean.

Groove, impeccable taste, a shimmering tone and a deep feeling for the blues define Grant Green’s musicianship. Whether playing in soulful organ groups, hard bop ensembles or leading a funk band, Green’s guitar sound is instantly recognizable. While Charlie Christian and Jimmy Raney are certainly influences of his on the guitar, Green claimed to listen primarily to horn players, particularly Charlie Parker.

In 1953, Hank Mobley started his jazz recording career with dates for Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach. He continued playing and recording with Dizzy Gillespie through most of 1954. November 13, 1954, marked the first recording session of a new co-operative quintet called "The Jazz Messengers." The founding members of "The Jazz Messengers" were Kenny Dorham (trumpet), Hank Mobley (tenor sax), Horace Silver (piano), Doug Watkins (bass) and Art Blakey (drums). Horace Silver had the record deal with Blue Note records at the time, so the first 10" issue of this session came out as the Horace Silver Quintet. On February 6, 1955, the group did another 10" session which was first was issued as the Horace Silver Quintet, Volume 2.

The inventive and iconic pianist Herbie Hancock has a career that spans multiple decades and many genres. Not unlike his mentor, Miles Davis, Herbie has inspired new horizons in jazz music through his own transformations as an artist. An early piano prodigy who performed a piano concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 11, Herbie began jazz piano in high school. His career began when he was discovered by Donald Byrd in 1960. Soon after, he was signed to Blue Note as a solo artist. In 1963, he released "Takin' Off," which included his famous composition Watermelon Man.

Janis Siegel is best known for her work in the prolific and successful jazz vocal group Manhattan Transfer, but has also had a strong solo career. During Janis’s tenure, Manhattan Transfer has earned 10 Grammy awards and in 2003 was inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. Janis won a Grammy herself for her arrangement for her 1980 arrangement of Birdland.

The son of saxophonist/composer Al Cohn, Joe is well known as man who can play anything on the guitar. If it's impossible, he'll do it anyway. Heralded by Pat Metheny as an "unbelievable improviser" "able to keep ideas going and flowing" and turn "sentences into paragraphs and paragraphs into stories", his apparent virtuosity is complemented by a sensitivity to the narrative qualities of music.

Jon Davis has performed with and contributed compositions to many of the top jazz musicians worldwide throughout his career, which has spanned over 35 years, and has recorded many albums as a leader. Jon took up piano and guitar as a young teenager; he was inspired to play jazz after hearing records of Red Garland and Miles Davis. He briefly studied with Lennie Tristano then attended New England Conservatory, where his teachers included Ran Blake, Jaki Byard, and Madam Chaloff. After six months, he left to begin gigging around Boston.

Acclaimed jazz vocalist, lyricist, and composer Judy Niemack is a leader in voice, improvisation, and pedagogy. She began her jazz studies with tenor saxophonist Warne Marsh as his first vocal student, which greatly influenced her scat style. Her debut album came in 1977, the same year she moved to New York. Since then, she has worked with a who’s who of jazz, like Fred Hersh, Kenny Werner, Kenny Barron, James Moody, Cedar Walton, Jim McNeely, Lee Konitz, Clark Terry, Joe Lovano, Billy Higgins, and her husband, Jeanfrancois Prins.

Hailing from Philadelphia, PA, Jymie Merritt grew up in good company, playing his first professional gigs with John Coltrane, Tadd Dameron, Benny Golson and Philly Joe Jones. Merritt is most known for his work with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers from 1957-1962. He also played with musicians such as blues guitarist B.B. King, trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker, Max Roach, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lee Morgan, and led his band "The Forerunners" for several decades in his hometown of Philadelphia.

Duke Ellington's favorite guitar player, Kenny Burrell has influenced musicians worldwide. His career spans from his first recording session with Dizzy Gillespie at the age of twenty to his current job as head of the jazz program at UCLA. Originally from Detroit, Burrell has played with many of the greats in both the jazz and pop fields, from John Coltrane to Tony Bennett.

Trumpeter/composer Kenny Dorham was very much on the jazz scene from the mid-1940s through most of the 1960s. He worked and recorded with all the major figures in the modern jazz movement, which includes the legendary Billy Eckstine big band, Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Bud Powell, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk and Max Roach as well as Kenny Clarke, Sonny Stitt, Fats Navarro, J.J. Johnson and many other giants of that period.

Kenny Drew was born in New York City. He studied classical piano but soon turned to jazz. His recording career started in 1950 at age 22, first with Howard McGhee for Blue Note, then Sonny Stitt for Prestige. These two 1950 recordings plus a surviving radio broadcast with Charlie Parker (December 8, 1950) put him in the company of jazz greats J.J Johnson, Max Roach and Art Blakey.

Kenny Drew, Jr., son of pianist/composer Kenny Drew, Sr., started music lessons at the age of four. He studied classical piano with his aunt Marjorie, but soon found he enjoyed playing jazz as well. He performed worldwide with a comprehensive variety of musicians, including Stanley Jordan, OTB, Stanley Turrentine, Slide Hampton, the Mingus Big Band, Steve Grossman, Yoshiaki Masuo, Sadao Watanabe, Smokey Robinson, Frank Morgan, Daniel Schnyder, Jack Walrath, Ronnie Cuber and many others.

As a titan of jazz-rock fusion, guitarist Larry Coryell was known for his blistering lines. However, as pianist Billy Taylor stated, "[Larry] plays all the styles: Latin, jazz-rock, straight-ahead jazz, European classical music. You name it, he's a master of it."

Born in Galveston, Texas in 1943, Coryell began playing the guitar in his teens and performing in various high school rock bands. After moving to New York to attend the Mannes School of Music, he replaced Gabor Szabo in Chico Hamilton’s quintet. Later, after breaking new musical ground with his fusion group the Free Spirits in the mid 1960s, Coryell went on to join vibraphonist Gary Burton. Since then, he performed and recorded with the likes of Charles Mingus, Ron Carter, John McLaughlin and Chick Corea.

Multidimensional artist Meredith d’Ambrosio is often heralded as a modern renaissance woman. Although she is best known as a jazz vocalist, Meredith is also a successful composer, pianist, lyricist, and painter. Critics describe her vocal style as soft-toned, pure, interpretive, and warm, in a tradition that follows Blossom Dearie and precedes Diana Krall. Raised in a musical family, Meredith studied painting and music from an early age. She was invited to open for John Coltrane in 1966 but turned him down. It was not until nearly a decade later that she made her recording debut with her husband, Eddie Higgins.

A forward-leaning yet strongly swinging modern pianist, Cochrane studied with the noted Boston-based piano teacher Madame Margaret Chaloff (mother of Serge Chaloff) and the inimitable Jaki Byard. In a fruitful career, he has performed and/or recorded with saxophonists Michael Brecker, Sonny Fortune, Oliver Lake, David Schnitter and Chico Freeman and trumpeters Clark Terry, Valery Ponomarev, Jack Walrath and Ted Curson; also bassist Eddie Gomez, as well as many others.

Nancy Valentine is a versatile jazz vocalist based in New York. She recently released her debut CD, “Lovesome,” which explores the music of Billy Strayhorn. She was exposed to jazz at an early age and initially took up the trumpet. Nancy additionally pursued acting and studied at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, but was inspired by the music of Chet Baker to return to music. She currently works with pianist John di Martino singing at local establishments in New York. Several of her superb vocal interpretations are on jazzleadsheets.com.

Bassist Paul Chambers was a leading rhythmic force in the 1950s and 1960s. He became one of the signature bassists in jazz history. Born in Pittsburgh but raised in Detroit, Chambers initially took up the baritone horn as a child. He followed suit with the tuba and didn't become interested in the string bass until 1949. Listening to Charlie Parker and Bud Powell and studying under a bassist of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Chambers began making headway in small bars of Hastings Street area and doing club jobs with Kenny Burrell, Thad Jones and Barry Harris. He did classical work in a group called the Detroit String Band, a rehearsal symphony orchestra.

Born Joseph Rudolph Jones (July 15, 1923, in Philadelphia, PA), he dubbed himself "Philly Joe" to avoid confusion with the legendary drummer Jo Jones (also known as "Papa Jo" Jones). Unlike many jazz artists who started their careers by going on the road in their late teens, Philly Joe, at 18, joined the U.S. Army (1941) and remained in the Army until 1947. Soon after leaving the service, he moved to New York and joined Joe Morris's rhythm and blues band. His first recording (at age 25) was with the Morris band (September 19, 1948).

Rachel Gould, born in Camden, New Jersey, has a deeply personal style and a rich, low voice that are instantly recognizable. A graduate of Boston University for cello and classical voice, Gould began singing professionally in the 1970s in the United States. However, it was not long before she left for Europe, living in Germany and Switzerland before settling in Holland in 1991. She has worked and performed with many jazz musicians of acclaim, including Woody Herman, Chet Baker, Benny Bailey and Lou Blackburn, to name a few. Her phrasing and vocal technique are known and admired worldwide by many vocalists and she is well-known as a vocal teacher, especially in Europe.

Rachel Bronstein is a budding vocalist, pianist, and composer based in Manhattan. Since moving to New York, she has studied vocal jazz and improvisation with Christine Correa, led the vocals for the Columbia University Latin American ensemble, workshopped new pieces with the jazz composers of Second Floor Music, and premiered an award-winning contemporary classical piece. She has appeared on several scores for short films. She premiered her improvised vocal/piano work The Narrows in spring 2013. She currently sings with the Columbia University Gospel Choir. Rachel was the vocal/web editor for jazzleadsheets.com and is now pursuing a career in web development.

Born in London, saxophonist Ralph Moore came to the US and attended Berklee College of Music, where he studied with saxophonist Andy McGhee. Three years later he received the Lenny Johnson Memorial Award for outstanding musicianship from the college. He moved to New York City in 1981 and within two months had joined the Horace Silver Quintet for an association that lasted four years and included tours of Europe and Japan.

Richard Allen was child actor on Broadway, working under the name Michael Allen. He starred in Peter Pan, The King & I, and many great Broadway shows. He also had a career in early television; first in the original, live production of Peter Pan, then commercials and soap operas, starring in the Guiding Light soap until his early 20s.

Richard Wyands is a remarkably gifted and precocious musician who is best known as a sideman. A native of Oakland, California, he started playing piano in local clubs in San Francisco when he was only sixteen years old, at which time he became a union member (with a sponsor, of course, due to his youth). Since the 1950s, he has played alongside some of the greatest and best-known American jazz musicians, such as Charles Mingus and Roy Haynes.

Ronnie Mathews was born in Brooklyn, NY. He studied at Brooklyn College, and also with pianist/composer/arranger Hall Overton starting in 1953, then continuing his music education at Manhattan School Of Music from 1955-1958. He played with Gloria Lynne (1958-1960) and started his small group jazz recording career with Charles Persip And The Jazz Statesmen for Bethlehem records on April 2, 1960. He also performed with Kenny Dorham in 1960 and 1961, as well as recording in 1961 on sessions with leaders Clifford Jordan (February 14), Roland Alexander (June 17), his own trio session for Savoy (June 19, unissued), Bill Hardman (October 18), and Junior Cook (December 4).

A remarkable composer and pianist whose special touch and articulation makes him instantly recognizable at the piano, Sonny (Conrad Yeatis Clark) was born in Herminie, PA, a small mining town 60 miles from Pittsburgh. He started piano at four, and at six was featured playing boogie-woogie on several amateur hour radio programs. He spent his teenage years in Pittsburgh, playing vibes and bass in high school as well as being featured on piano. He went to California in 1951 with his older brother, also a pianist, and worked in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, starting his recording career at age 22 in February, 1953, with Teddy Charles.

“Uncategorizable” vocalist and composer Theo Bleckmann is known for his unusual, often avant-garde work that encompasses jazz, contemporary classical, cabaret, and even performance art. The German born musician moved to New York in 1989. By 1992, he was collaborating with Kirk Nurock on a series of duets (“Theo & Kirk”). In 1998, he recorded with Sheila Jordan on her album “Jazz Child.” His longstanding collaboration with guitarist Ben Monder has produced six albums, perhaps some of his most popular work. He worked with Meredith Monk as a core ensemble member for fifteen years.

Influenced at an early age by her collection of Duke Ellington and Fats Waller records, May has become one of the finest jazz vocalists and lyricists the U.K. has produced. After heading her own Back Door Theatre Company in the early ‘80s, she established herself as a chanteuse in Paris, forming her first quartet in 1989. She has released seven albums under the U.K. record label 33Jazz, becoming a featured soloist in distinguished jazz events and venues including the Duke Ellington mass, London jazz club, and the Lionel Hampton Jazz Club in Paris. She frequently appears on BBC radio and television.

One of the first Russians to make a big name in the American jazz scene, Valery Ponomarev is a trumpet virtuoso whose hard bop style is enjoyed worldwide. Valery was first introduced to jazz during his youth while watching the television program "Voice of America." He was particularly entranced by trumpeter Clifford Brown and dedicated years of his life transcribing and studying great jazz trumpet solos. His hard worked paid off: not only was he able to record regularly in the USSR under the Melodiya label, but after he left the country in 1973, it didn't take long for him to be offered a spot in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. During his four years with the Messengers, Valery appeared on eleven albums and toured worldwide.

5-time Grammy Award Winner, Vince Cherico, is the drummer for featured artists in today's Jazz and World music venues. From 1995 - 2006 he was the drummer with Ray Barretto & The New World Spirit, later The Ray Barretto Sextet, and developed his reputation in Latin Jazz while touring the world, recording 6 CD's and 2 Grammy nominations for Contact & Time Was,Time Is. Modern Drummer describes Cherico as, "a drummer of fluidity, fire, and physical ease" who "plays with balanced dynamics and a commanding yet sensitive touch."