Pianist, composer and music director John Beasley takes pride in being a musical chameleon and has an amazing track record to show for his versatility. Beasley grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana  and by the time he was a teen was playing trumpet, oboe, drums, saxophone and flute. His interest in jazz was sparked after hearing a Bobby Timmons recording. Beasley was offered an oboe scholarship to Juilliard but by that point his career had taken off and he was soon touring with Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. Since then, his list of collaborators has grown long and varied, including Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, Queen Latifah, Chaka Khan and James Brown. Beasley also has performed on film scores for Erin Brokovich, Finding Nemo and The Godfather III. He has released numerous albums, including Positootly!, which received a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Instrumental Jazz Album. In 2013, Beasley formed MONK’estra, a 17-piece band that celebrates Thelonious Monk’s classic compositions with a contemporary twist incorporating Afro-Cuban rhythms, modern jazz, hip-hop and traditional big band instrumentation.

Dee Dee Bridgewater’s exuberance, creativity, undeniable confidence and joyous spirit have earned her a place as one of the world’s premier jazz vocalists. Her extraordinary career encompasses more than two dozen albums, three GRAMMY Awards, a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway production of The Wiz and recognition as a Doris Duke Artist, NEA Jazz Master, and Commander in France’s prestigious Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Bridgewater’s portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Day won her a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress. Dedicated to using her talents for the world’s most vulnerable, she has served as an Ambassador for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and her humanitarian work earned her the ASCAP Foundation Champion Award.

One of the most renowned German jazz musicians of his generation, Till Brönner is a GRAMMY-nominated trumpeter, vocalist, composer and arranger whose work spans straight-ahead jazz, electronica, hip-hop, rock and pop. He made his debut as a leader in 1994 with the award-winning Generations of Jazz, featuring bassist Ray Brown and drummer Jeff Hamilton. Since then, he has performed and recorded with Monty Alexander, Tony Bennett, Al Foster, Johnny Griffin, Chaka Khan, Madeleine Peyroux and Ernie Watts. His 2012 self-titled album is a stunning homage to his longtime inspiration Freddie Hubbard. Brönner’s latest release, Nightfall, finds him interpreting an eclectic mix of original compositions, jazz standards and even pop and classical tunes alongside renowned German bassist Dieter Ilg.

A Bu is an up-and-coming pianist whose youth belies his formidable talent. Born in Beijing, China, he began classical studies at age 4 and became enthralled by jazz after listening to a recording of Dominican jazz pianist Michel Camilo. A Bu is a winner of the Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition and has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, China’s JZ Festival and many others. As a performer, he has performed solo and with orchestras around the globe. As a composer, he is signed to Germany’s Schott Music Publishing Group. A Bu studied at The Juilliard School and the Mannes School of Music.

Saxophonist and bandleader Igor Butman is Russia’s premier jazz artist. Butman was born in St. Petersburg and began playing clarinet at age 11. He studied music at the Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music and received much of his jazz education from listening to nightly broadcasts of Voice of America. In 1983, Butman joined the Oleg Lundstrem Big Band and was soon invited to play with the acclaimed Russian jazz group Allegro. Butman moved to the United States in 1987 to attend the Berklee College of Music. Saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. took Butman under his wing, featuring him in live performances and on recordings like 1988’s Then & Now. In 1989, Butman moved to New York, where he worked with some of the top players on the scene. He released his debut solo album, Falling Out, in 1993, with bassist Eddie Gomez, pianist Lyle Mays and drummer Marvin Smith. Butman, who in 2011 was named a People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, eventually moved back to Russia to serve as a bridge between the Moscow and New York jazz scenes. Butman’s most recent release, Magic Land, features an all-star band that includes Chick Corea, Jack DeJohnette, John Patitucci, Randy Brecker and Stefon Harris.

Terri Lyne Carrington is a four-time GRAMMY Award-winning drummer, producer, recording artist, educator and activist. Born in Medford, Massachusetts, Carrington had her first major performance at 10 years old with trumpet legend Clark Terry and as a teenager, she performed and recorded with Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, Stan Getz and James Moody. Carrington went on to perform with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, playing with Joni Mitchell and Stevie Wonder on Hancock’s GRAMMY-winning Gershwin’s World. She made history with this album when she became the first woman to win a GRAMMY Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. Carrington is a professor at the Berklee College of Music, where she founded and directs the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice. She is a Doris Duke Artist, an NEA Jazz Master and has released 12 albums of her own including her latest, New Standards, Vol. 1, highlighting compositions by female composers.

Mino Cinélu was born in Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He was involved with music from childhood, and began playing in concert halls, including the Chapelle des Lombards, in the suburbs of Paris. Cinélu became interested in various styles of music from jazz, rock and salsa to Egyptian chants and Romani music. He would later expand his repertoire to include fado, flamenco, African music, Japanese music and Slavic music. By the time he had turned 16, Cinélu was a professional musician traveling between London and New York for performances and recording sessions. He has collaborated with a wide variety of artists, including Miles Davis, Sting, Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, Lou Reed, Vicente Amigo and Stevie Wonder. Years beyond his humble beginnings, this renowned composer, multi-instrumentalist, programmer and producer is still exploring and leaving his unmistakable impression on many kinds of music. Cinélu has released two solo albums and composed the score for the film “La Californie,” which was nominated for Best Score at the Cannes Film Festival.

Born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel, Avishai began performing in public in 1988 at age 10, playing his first solos with a big band and eventually touring with the Young Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra to perform under the likes of maestros Zubin Mehta, Kurt Masur and Kent Nagano. Having worked with Israeli folk and pop artists in his native country and appeared on television early on, Avishai arrived as an experienced professional musician when he took up a full scholarship at Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 1997, the young musician established an international reputation by placing third in the Thelonious Monk Jazz Trumpet Competition. The New York Times described him as “an assertive, accomplished trumpeter with a taste for modernism.” Dark Nights – Avishai’s seventh recording as a leader and the third album featuring his thrilling trio Triveni with double-bassist Omer Avital and drummer Nasheet Waits –  was released by Anzic Records in autumn 2014. The trumpeter also records and tours the world as part of the prestigious SF Jazz Collective, as he does with The 3 Cohens Sextet – the hit family band with his sister, clarinetist-saxophonist Anat, and brother, saxophonist Yuval.

Elias is known for her distinctive and immediately recognizable musical style which blends her Brazilian roots, her sensuous, alluring voice with her impressive instrumental jazz, classical and compositional skills. With 23 albums to date demonstrating her unique gifts as a pianist, singer, composer and arranger as well as melding her immense talents in jazz, pop, classical and Brazilian music, Eliane Elias is as Jazziz magazine has called her, “A citizen of the world” and “an artist beyond category.” Elias’ new release, Made in Brazil marks a musical homecoming for her.  In her three-decade long career as a solo artist, Made In Brazil results from the first time she’s recorded a disc in her native Brazil since moving to the United States in 1981. Elias wears many hats on this project as producer, composer, lyricist, arranger, pianist and vocalist.

Antonio Faraò of Rome, Italy is a pianist of uncommon skill and unbridled creativity. With a career extending over 35 years, Faraò has established himself as one of the most respected jazz pianists on the international scene. His style is unique, displaying flawless technical proficiency and remarkable rhythmic skills. Faraò received the first-place award in the Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition in Paris and has collaborated with world-class musicians including Joe Lovano, Wayne Shorter, Al Jarreau, Marcus Miller, Charles Tolliver, Toots Thielemans and Christian McBride. Faraò is currently part of the “McCoy Tyner Legends” project, where he pays a tribute to the legendary pianist and shares the stage with world-class jazz musicians including Chico Freeman, Steve Turre, Avery Sharpe and Ronnie Burrage.

James Genus is one of the top bass players on the jazz scene and one of the rare few who can apply his masterful artistry to both the upright and the electric bass. Born in Hampton, Virginia, Genus began playing guitar at age six and switched to bass at age 13. His first professional experience was with the Blue Note band, Out of the Blue. Since then, Genus has performed and recorded with dozens of major jazz artists including Herbie Hancock, Anita Baker, Chick Corea, Horace Silver, Branford Marsalis, Greg Osby and Vanessa Williams. Genus presents bass clinics around the world and is a member of the Saturday Night Live Band. He can be heard on the GRAMMY Award-winning Daft Punk album Random Access Memories.

World-renowned pianist and composer Herbie Hancock is one of the most innovative and influential musicians of our time. A modern music icon, he has shaped the direction of jazz, fusion, funk and hip-hop for more than six decades. From his recordings with the legendary Miles Davis Quintet to his solo jazz albums and pioneering music incorporating multiple genres, Hancock has always been on the cutting edge. He has earned 14 GRAMMY Awards including Album of the Year for River: The Joni Letters, and an Academy Award for his score for the film Round Midnight. A Kennedy Center honoree, Hancock serves as Creative Director for the Los Angeles Philharmonic and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Intercultural Dialogue. He is the Chairman of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz and a Distinguished Professor at the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz Performance at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

Al Jarreau has captivated a worldwide audience with his blend of jazz and soul music, amazing vocal skills, and scat techniques. With seven GRAMMY Awards and scores of international jazz and pop music awards, he has established himself as a legend in the music industry. Jarreau began his career as a rehabilitation counselor in San Francisco. Although he had been singing since age 4, it wasn’t until his early 20s when he began singing in local clubs with George Duke that he decided music would become his career. Jarreau relocated to Los Angeles and performed around the city. After several national television appearances, he was signed to Warner Bros. in 1975 and released his first album, We Got By, which received massive critical acclaim. In 1977, Jarreau won his first GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Performance and topped many readers and critics polls. His 1981 album Breakin’ Away, which included the hit “We’re in This Love Together,” sold a million copies and made him one of the most recognized singers in music. Since that time, Jarreau has continued to release chart-topping albums that blend jazz and R&B, and tour the world performing with his sextet and with symphony orchestras. Jarreau was awarded a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star, commemorating his spectacular career.

Acclaimed saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Femi Kuti is dedicated to raising awareness of critical social and political issues through his music. The son of famed Afro-beat pioneer Fela Kuti, he grew up in Lagos, Nigeria. At age 15, Kuti began playing saxophone in his father’s band, Egypt 80. He went on to form his own band, Positive Force, and in 1995 released his first self-titled album, which showcased his percussive blend of jazz and funk. Kuti’s second album, Shoki Shoki, garnered widespread acclaim and won him legions of fans worldwide. Kuti has collaborated with Common and Mos Def, and toured Europe with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. His 10 solo releases have garnered six GRAMMY nominations. Kuti’s latest release is Stop the Hate, a double album with his son, Made Kuti.

Recognized as one of the most outstanding voices of our time, Annie Lennox’s award-winning career spans nearly four decades. Lennox grew up in Aberdeen, Scotland, and studied flute, harpsichord and piano at London’s Royal Academy of Music. She went on to experience worldwide success, performing in the duo Eurythmics with Dave Stewart. With a total of eight Brit awards, four GRAMMYs, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award, Lennox is also a recipient of the Billboard Century Award, the highest accolade from Billboard Magazine. In addition to her musical accomplishments, she is known for her work as a dedicated activist and human rights campaigner, most notably as a passionate advocate for women and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Among her many activities and associations, Lennox is a UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, and an Ambassador for Oxfam, Amnesty International and the British Red Cross. In 2011, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for her tireless charity campaigns and championing of humanitarian causes. Lennox’s latest album, the GRAMMY-nominated Nostalgia, is a collection of classic jazz songs from the Great American Songbook.

Grégoire Maret is one of the most sought-after harmonica players in the world. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, the son of a Harlem-born, African-American mother and a Swiss father, Maret grew up surrounded by diverse musical influences. Upon graduating from the prestigious Conservatoire Supérieur de Musique de Genève, he moved to New York City to pursue jazz studies at New School University. Maret soon developed a remarkably versatile sound that led him to perform with such artists as Herbie Hancock, Marcus Miller, Prince, Sting, Elton John, Jimmy Scott, Dianne Reeves, Toots Thielemans, Raul Midón, Richard Bona, Terri Lyne Carrington, Tito Puente, Kurt Elling, Mike Stern and many others. He also collaborated with Pat Metheny, with whom he shared a GRAMMY win in 2005 for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Maret was asked to assist in the design of a signature line of Suzuki harmonicas, leading to the creation of the Grégoire Maret G-48 and G-48W Signature Chromatic Harmonica series. His latest album is Americana with Romain Collin, Bill Frisell and Clarence Penn.

Legendary trumpeter Hugh Masekela has been a defining force in world music and human rights in Africa and around the globe. The iconic performer, composer, producer and activist is best known for his 1968 GRAMMY-nominated hit single, “Grazing in the Grass,” which sold more than 4 million copies and made him an international star. Born in Witbank, South Africa, Masekela began playing piano as a child and later took up the trumpet. He escaped South Africa’s Apartheid oppression and attended London’s Guildhall School of Music. Masekela later studied at the Manhattan School of Music. On his first night in New York, he visited three different jazz clubs to hear John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk and Max Roach. Masekela has collaborated with numerous artists including Miriam Makeba, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Belafonte, Herb Alpert, U2 and Fela Kuti. He played an integral role in Paul Simon’s tour behind the classic album Graceland, one of the first pop records to introduce world music to a broader public. In the 1980s, Masekela’s hit song “Bring Him Back Home” became an anthem for the Free Nelson Mandela movement. His latest release, Playing @ Work, is a dynamic, genre-defying exploration of mbaqanga funk, jazz, and rhythm and blues, all cloaked in his indefatigable spirit and social consciousness.

Marcus Miller is one of the most influential artists of our time, appearing on more than 500 albums during his decades on the scene as a performer, composer, producer, arranger and humanitarian. A virtuoso on multiple instruments, Miller is best known for his unmistakable style on the electric bass. He has brought his distinctive sound to collaborations with Herbie Hancock, Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, LL Cool J and Frank Sinatra, among many others. As a member of the Miles Davis group following the jazz legend’s return from retirement, Miller’s contributions as a bassist, composer and producer defined Davis’ style throughout the 1980s. A two-time GRAMMY Award winner, Miller works tirelessly as a UNESCO Artist for Peace to raise awareness of global impacts of the transatlantic slave trade.

Rudy Pérez is an international songwriter, producer and vocalist with more than 1,000 songs to his credit. He has written and produced tracks for artists including Beyoncé, Julio Iglesias, Christina Aguilera, Il Divo, Michael Bolton, Luis Miguel, Jose Feliciano, Marc Anthony, Jon Secada, Cyndi Lauper, Los Temerarios, Juan Gabriel and Natalie Cole, among many others. Pérez is the first Latin record producer to be named Billboard’s Hot Latin Tracks Producer of the Year four consecutive years. He also has been honored with ASCAP’s Songwriter of the Year award five times. In 2010, Billboard named Pérez “Latin Producer of the Decade” for having more number one and Top Ten hits chart over the previous ten years than any other Latin producer in history. Pérez has received more than 400 gold and platinum album awards, and his works have been nominated for 19 GRAMMY Awards. After three decades of writing hit songs and being the artist behind the scenes, he recently released Lo Mejor de Mi, a compilation of some of his greatest hit songs, this time sung by him.

Guillaume Perret is an inventive saxophonist and composer whose prodigious output defies classification. Born in Annecy, France, he earned conservatory degrees in both jazz and classical saxophone and went on to perform with an array of French and international artists, including Damion Reid, Miles Okazaki, Ibrahim Maalouf, François Jeanneau, Daniel Humair, Ira Coleman, Nguyên Lê and many others. Perret has appeared on more than 30 albums as both a leader and a sideman, and regularly composes works for orchestra and contemporary ballet. His current group, Guillaume Perret & the Electric Epic, mixes jazz, rock, heavy metal and other influences. Its 2012 debut album on the Tzadik label under the auspices of famed avant-garde composer John Zorn features Perret’s characteristic set-up, which includes a wah pedal and a suite of electronic effects. Perret maintains a busy performing and teaching schedule, appearing at festivals and workshops around the world. His band’s latest release is Open Me.

Five-time GRAMMY Award winner Dianne Reeves is one of the premier vocalists on the worldwide music scene. A native of Denver, she began her career touring with Sergio Mendes and Harry Belafonte, then signed to Blue Note in 1987. Her self-titled debut, featuring Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard and Tony Williams, was nominated for a GRAMMY. Featured in George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck, Reeves won the Best Jazz Vocal GRAMMY for the film’s soundtrack. In recent years, she has toured the world and collaborated with Lizz Wright and Angelique Kidjo for “Sing the Truth,” a musical celebration of Nina Simone. Reeves has performed at the White House on multiple occasions, including President Obama’s State Dinner for the President of China. In 2018, she was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master – the highest honor the United States bestows on jazz artists.

GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist Lee Ritenour has appeared on more than 3,000 sessions in virtually all styles of music. Ritenour played one of his first sessions at age 16 for The Mamas and the Papas. His albums in the ’70s, spanning jazz, pop and Brazilian music, were met with chart-topping success. In the ’90s, Ritenour was a founding member of the jazz group Fourplay, whose first album spent an unprecedented 22 weeks at number one on the Billboard contemporary jazz charts. Ritenour has appeared on albums by Dizzy Gillespie and Pink Floyd and received the top spot in numerous guitar polls. His most recent record is A Twist of Rit and includes John Beasley, Dave Grusin, Patrice Rushen, Makoto Ozone, Bob Sheppard and Rashawn Ross, among others.

Claudio Roditi’s versatility and powerful sound have made him one of the leading jazz trumpeters in modern jazz. Integrating post-bop elements with Brazilian rhythmic concepts, the GRAMMY nominee is in demand as a performer, recording artist and teacher. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Roditi began his musical studies at age 6. By the time he was 12, he had already become a serious jazz listener and committed himself to the music. In 1966, Roditi was named a finalist at the International Jazz Competition in Vienna, Austria. While in Vienna, he met Art Farmer, one of his idols, and the friendship inspired the younger trumpeter to follow a career in jazz. Roditi has since performed and recorded with jazz greats including Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Mann, Joe Henderson, Horace Silver, McCoy Tyner, Tito Puente and Paquito D’Rivera. With 24 critically acclaimed albums to his credit, Roditi continually develops his playing and compositions through new recording projects. His last release, Bons Amigos, features several originals along with compositions written by Brazilian masters including Antonio Carlos Jobim and Eliane Elias. Roditi currently leads his own band and travels as a member of the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band.

Wayne Shorter is one of the greatest jazz artists of all time. As a composer and improviser, he has profoundly impacted the sound of modern music for the last half century. Dozens of his more than 200 compositions are standards performed by artists around the world. Shorter grew up in Newark, New Jersey and graduated from Arts High School. He attended New York University and then served in the Army while playing saxophone in groups with Horace Silver and Maynard Ferguson. In 1959, Shorter joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, where he soon became musical director. In 1964, the same year Shorter recorded Speak No Evil – his first record as a leader for Blue Note – Miles Davis invited him to join a quartet with Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Shorter recorded 12 albums with Davis and provided much of the material for the group’s musical explorations. In 1970, Shorter and Joe Zawinul formed Weather Report, which became one of the most influential forces of the fusion era. In 2005, he won a GRAMMY Award for Beyond the Sound Barrier. Shorter currently performs with his dynamic quartet, which includes Danilo Pérez, John Patitucci and Brian Blade. Without a Net, the group’s latest release, documents this exceptional ensemble performing live with the Imani Winds. The album garnered Shorter the 2014 GRAMMY Award for Best Improvised Jazz Solo, taking his total to 10 plus a Lifetime Achievement Award over the past 25 years.

For more than a decade, Ben Williams has steadily become one of the most acclaimed and versatile bassists in modern jazz. In 2009, he won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition which helped to launch his career and gave him the opportunity to record for the Concord label. He has performed and recorded with such giants as Pat Metheny, George Benson, Stefon Harris, David Sanborn, Lauryn Hill, Wynton Marsalis, Robert Glasper, Maxwell, and Nicholas Payton. Williams has received the DownBeat Magazine Critics Poll Rising Star Award for Bass on two occasions. He recorded and released his critically acclaimed debut album State of Art and his follow-up Coming of Age with his band, Sound Effect. His latest release is I AM A MAN, features Williams reaching beyond his jazz roots to incorporate elements of R&B and hip-hop into his politically-themed compositions.

Dhafer Youssef is an acclaimed Oud player and vocalist whose music connects jazz with the traditional sounds of the Mediterranean and his North African home. Born in Telbouba, Tunisia, Youssef comes from a long line of muezzins and began singing at an early age. After moving to Tunis and then Austria in pursuit of his conservatory studies, he began exploring jazz and Indian and Scandinavian music, eventually forming his own band and releasing his debut album Musafer in 1996. Youssef has performed for audiences across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, working with a wide variety of international artists including Tigran Hamasyan, Nguyên Lê, Markus Stockhausen, Will Calhoun, Omar Sosa and many others. He has released seven albums as a leader and has been noted both for his mastery of the traditional Oud and for his evocative vocals, which have been described as “achingly beautiful.” Youssef’s latest album is titled Diwan of Beauty and Odd and features the oudist alongside drummer Mark Giuliana, bassist Ben Williams, trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and pianist Aaron Parks.