Jack Walrath is a highly respected and internationally known jazz artist.  Having frequently toured Europe, including with his own group, and featured on over fifty records, Walrath has gained increasing attention and respect through his contributions to outstanding recording sessions. Walrath began playing trumpet at nine, and studied at the Berklee College of Music in the mid and late '60s while performing professionally. He moved to the West Coast in 1969, where he co-led the bands Change with Gary Peacock and Revival with Glenn Ferris. Walrath Following a year long tour with Ray Charles, Walrath relocated to New York in the early 70's and worked with Latin bands.  From 1974 to 1979 Walrath played with Charles Mingus, an association that gave him increased recognition.  Walrath contributed arrangements and orchestrations to Mingus' final recordings. In the 1980's and 90's he led his own bands, toured Europe with Dannie Richmond and the British group Spirit Level, worked with Charlie Persip's Superband and Richard Abrams, and helped keep the music of Charles Mingus alive by playing with Mingus Dynasty. Walrath has recorded as a leader for Gatemouth, Stash, Steeple Chase, Red, Muse, Spotlite, Blue Note and Mapleshade.

French hornist and composer Tom Varner has distinguished himself as among the foremost jazz French horn players of his generation as well as a highly creative arranger breaking new ground in small-group jazz. Influenced on his instrument by the great Julius Watkins (with whom he studied privately), Varner received a degree from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Ran Blake, George Russell, and Jaki Byard, which helps explain his music’s eclectic character, which thrives on stylistic crossbreeding.  His compositions can partake of the serialism of Berg and Webern as well as Thelonious Monk’s angular bop structures, Ornette Coleman’s pantonal melodicism, and funky 12-bar blues.  Varner formed a group with saxophonist Ed Jackson while in Boston, and they have continued working together regularly since Varner moved to New York City in 1979.  Varner has performed at the Parallel Worlds (Vienna Koncerthaus), Vancouver, Moers, and Groningen Jazz Festivals and is a regular at the Knitting Factory and Fez in New York City with such guests as Lee Konitz, Bobby Previte, Ellery Eskelin, Mark Feldman, Mark Dresser, Lindsey Horner, Drew Gress, Dave Tronzo, and Tom Rainey.  As a sideman he has performed and recorded with, among others, Steve Lacy, Dave Liebman, George Gruntz, John Zorn, Bobby Watson, LaMonte Young, and Miles Davis with Quincy Jones at Montreux ‘91, appearing on over 40 albums.  He has received grants from the NEA and has won polls in Down Beat (‘83, ‘98) and Jazz Times (‘90, ‘93).

David Taylor has played a pioneering role in the development of the bass trombone, commissioning many works for the instrument.  Taylor first played with the American Symphony under Leopold Stokowski in 1967 and, at the same time, began playing in jazz and big bands in New York.  Following the American Symphony came concerts with the New York Philharmonic under Pierre Boulez and membership in the bands of Gil Evans, Chuck Israels, George Gruntz, Thad Jones/Mel Lewis and Bob Mintzer.  His bass trombone began to be heard on dozens of recordings with major jazz and popular artists including Duke Ellington, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, the Rolling Stones and Quincy Jones. In 1979, David Taylor embarked on a period of commissioning music for the bass trombone and in the years following gave premieres of significant works including compositions by Charles Wourinen, Alan Hovhaness, Frederic Rzewski, David Liebman and George Perle. In 1982, he was awarded the Most Valuable Player Award on bass trombone given by the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS)—the first award given to a bass trombonist by the New York Chapter. He was to win that award for five consecutive years, the maximum allowed time. In 1987, he was awarded the New York NARAS’ Most Valuable Player Virtuoso Award, an honor no other bass trombonist has received before or since. His first full solo recital was given, at the age of 40, at Carnegie Hall in 1984. Two more New York recitals followed, each with significant new premieres, as well as his first solo album, David Taylor-Bass Trombone. His best selling recording, the Pugh-Taylor Project, produced in conjunction with tenor trombonist Jim Pugh, continues to garner recognition for its originality, sound, and recording technique.

Tenor saxophonist Dave Riekenberg earned his B.A. in Music and his M.A. in Music Education from North Texas State University. After college, Riekenberg spent three and a half years working with Woody Herman as a member of his Thundering Herd. While touring with Woody Herman, he performed on concert stages and in jazz festivals all across the United States, in Canada and Europe.  Riekenberg was a featured soloist alongside such jazz greats as Dizzie Gillespie, Al Cohn, Gary Barton, Joe Williams, Anita O’Day, Nancy Wilson and Buddy DeFranco. After moving New York  he worked with various groups, including the Vanguard Orchestra, and two separate three years runs with Blood, Sweat and Tears. He has collaborated, recorded and/or concertized with Dave Liebman, Bertha Hope, Junior Cook, Walter Booker Jr., Larry Willis, and others, including Mel Lewis, Shorty Rogers, and Buddy Montgomery. Riekenberg is a member of the newly formed Dave Liebman Big Band. He regularly performs with many New York based jazz orchestras, including those led by Martha Schneider, Toshiko Akioshi, Chico O’Farrill, John Fedchock, and Bill Warfield. Recent concert work includes appearances as a soloist with: Concordia Orchestra at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall in New York City; The New Jazz Composers Octet; and Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, with Dick Hyman and Nicholas Payton. Dave recently recorded his first CD as a leader, Never Too Late, on NY Jam Records.  Recent recordings include Frank Tiberi,’s Tiberian Mode with Joe Lovano, George Garzon, Adam Nussbaum, Ray Drummond, James Williams and Andy LaVerne; First Steps Into Reality with the New Jazz Composers Octet; The Dog Walk with the Manhattan Saxophone Ensemble; Blood Lines, with David Clayton-Thomas, with Lew Soloff and Tim Ries; and Blue Plate Special with David Clayton-Thomas, with Doug Riley, Mike Stern, and Tim Ries. Dave is a member of the Lehigh Valley Jazz Repertory Orchestra, and has served as Instructor of Jazz Saxophone at Lehigh University since September 1998.

Multi-instrumentalist Bruce Williamson was active in the San Francisco jazz scene until moving to New York City in the mid-1980s.  In California he performed with Mark Levine, Pete & Sheila Escovedo, Bobby McFerrin, Benny Green and was a member of the experimental jazz group Rubisa Patrol with pianist Art Lande and trumpeter Mark Isham.  Shortly after moving to New York he joined organist Jack McDuff's band, giving him the opportunity to meet and play with Jimmy Smith, Stanley Turrentine and George Benson.  More recently, he has performed with his own groups in various New York City clubs and has been a featured soloist in Japan and Europe.  Over the years, Bruce has also performed with Gary Peacock, Fred Hersch, Dave Douglas, Tom Harrell, Jim Pepper, Paul McCandless, Toshiko Akiyoshi Orchestra and many other jazz notables.  His most recent CD "Big City Magic" on Timeless Records features trumpeter Randy Brecker and Bruce's compositions for jazz septet. In New York's theater world, he has performed in many of Julie Taymor's productions; "Juan Darien" at Lincoln Center (1996), "Lion King" at the New Amsterdam Theater (1998) and "The Green Bird" at the Cort Theater (2000). He also performs regularly with the Broadway production of "Chicago".  In film, Bruce has been a featured soloist in many of Elliot Goldenthal's filmscores; "Butcher Boy", "In Dreams" and "Titus". He was also featured with the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra in Goldenthal's 1997 ballet "Othello" (choreographed by Lar Lubovitch).  In 1991 and 1995 Bruce was awarded Jazz Composition grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. He can be heard as a sideman on more than two-dozen recordings playing saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute, piccolo, piano and synthesizer.  Bruce teaches at Bennington College, Vermont and Williams College, Massachussetts and has been a jazz clinician in both the U.S. and Europe.

Mark Taylor is one of a handful of talented young performers carrying on the improvisational tradition pioneered by the great (french) hornist, Julius Watkins.  A native of Chattanooga, TN, Mark has spent the last several years based in New York City and Los Angeles. His broad musical background includes performing, composing and arranging. Mark has performed and recorded with an array of modern giants including: Max Roach, McCoy Tyner, Abdullah Ibrahim, Muhal Richard Abrams, Lester Bowie, and Basie bandleader Grover Mitchell. As a featured soloist with Henry Threadgill's Very Very Circus he toured throughout the United States, Europe and in Asia. As a member of George Schuller's post-modern big band, Orange Then Blue, Mark participated in a State Department tour of Turkey, Cyprus and Syria. As leader of his own groups he has performed at the Tampere Jazz Happening in Tampere, Finland and at a number of clubs in New York City, including Birdland, the Zinc Bar and the Knitting Factory. He has also begun the Word of Mouth Project, which is a series of performances around the world in which Mark appears with different locally-based rhythm sections. As a composer, he has written for Max Roach, the Ebony Brass Quintet pianist Larry Willis and is a member of the So What Brass Quintet. He has also been commissioned to compose for theatre, dance, CD-ROM, and recently placed two songs in the Dollface Productions independent feature film "The Girl."

Neal Kirkwood, band leader and jazz composer has been active in founding and co-leading the Discovery orchestra, an innovative big band in New York City.  He is composer and leader of The Chromatic Persuaders, a quartet with several CD releases.  He is leader, composer and arranger for the Neal Kirkwood Octet, a jazz ensemble performing the music of Ellington, Monk and Mingus as well as original compositions.  In addition to the Manhattan New Music Project, his compositions have been recorded on Stash Records with drummer Mike Clark, and on Konnex with his own group, the Chromatic Persuaders.  He has performed regularly in San Francisco with alto be-bop- saxophonist Pony Poindexter, and has toured with singer Abbey Lincoln and Bobby McFerrin.  He is the recipient of seven Meet The Composer grants for his theater compositions, a two-time runner up for the Boston-based Jazz Composer's Alliance jazz composition competition and winner of an Aspen ASCAP award for his Woodwind Quartet.

As one of the most in demand bassists in New York City, Jeff Carney's resume reads like a who's who of the world's elite recording artists. As an accompanist, Jeff could be heard alongside jazz greats Stan Getz, Art Farmer, Dewey Redman, Bobby Hutcherson, John Abercrombie, Bobby McFerrin, Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Freddie Hubbard, Cedar Walton and Clifford Jordan, and with pop icons such as Sting, James Taylor, Billy Joel, Elton John, Barbra Streisand, Blue’s Traveler, Portishead, and Aerosmith (on the soundtrack for Armageddon). He is currently principal bassist with the New York Pops Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and has worked with the New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony. He could also be found in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast, and as a studio player on many jingles and film soundtracks including Lethal Weapon 3, Prelude to a Kiss, Interview with a Vampire and Pocahantas. Jeff is currently a faculty member at New York's New School of Music, and maintains an active clinic and workshop schedule around the world.

Grisha Alexiev has been playing the drums for thirty-one years.  He has played with many musicians in diverse styles such as:  Archie Bell, John Cage, Kenny Werner, Sam Rivers, Gunther Schuller, Dave Liebman, Randy Brecker and Jon Faddis, to name a few. Alexiev has appeared on over thirty recordings, including the Jazz Club, Soul Note, Konnex, uNIKA, Relix, Northeastern and Rounder labels.  As a composer he has written for a wide variety of ensembles, from solo to large ensemble as well as for the Footpath Dance company, Lehigh Valley Jazz Repertory Orchestra, and the Bill Warfield big band.  His piece Kauri was recently performed by the Discovery Orchestra in New York City.