Big Band Holidays
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

Featuring Vocalists
Ekep Nkwelle and Robbie Lee

Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 8pm

Artist Sponsor
James McGaugh

This performance is presented without an intermission.

Program will be announced from the stage.

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CHRIS CRENSHAW: Music Director, Trombone, The Golkin Family Chair

RYAN KISOR: Trumpet

KENNY RAMPTON: Trumpet

MARCUS PRINTUP: Trumpet 

MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ: Trumpet

ELLIOT MASON: Trombone

DION TUCKER: Trombone

SHERMAN IRBY: Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Flute, Clarinet

ALEXA TARANTINO: Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Flute, Clarinet

CHRIS LEWIS: Tenor and Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet

ABDIAS ARMENTEROS: Tenor and Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet, The Zou Family Chair in Saxophone

PAUL NEDZELA: Baritone and Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet

DAN NIMMER: Piano, The Zou Family Chair in Piano

CARLOS HENRIQUEZ: Bass, The Mandel Family Chair in honor of Kathleen B. Mandel

OBED CALVAIRE: Drums

EKEP NKWELLE: Vocals

ROBBIE LEE: Vocals

Artists subject to change

With the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and guest artists spanning genres and generations, Jazz at Lincoln Center produces thousands of performances, education, and broadcast events each season in its home in New York City (Frederick P. Rose Hall, “The House of Swing”) and around the world, for people of all ages. Jazz at Lincoln Center is led by Chairman Clarence Otis, Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, and Executive Director Greg Scholl. Please visit us at jazz.org.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO), comprising 15 of the finest jazz soloists and ensemble players today, has been the Jazz at Lincoln Center resident orchestra since 1988 and spends over a third of the year on tour across the world. Featured in all aspects of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s programming, this remarkably versatile orchestra performs and leads educational events in New York, across the U.S. and around the globe; in concert halls; dance venues; jazz clubs; public parks; and with symphony orchestras; ballet troupes; local students; and an ever-expanding roster of guest artists. Under Music Director Wynton Marsalis, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra performs a vast repertoire, from rare historic compositions to Jazz at Lincoln Center-commissioned works, including compositions and arrangements by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Fletcher Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Mary Lou Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Charles Mingus, and current and former Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra members Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Ted Nash, Victor Goines, Sherman Irby, Chris Crenshaw, and Carlos Henriquez.

Throughout the last decade, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra has performed with many of the world’s leading symphony orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic; Cleveland Orchestra; Philadelphia Orchestra; Czech Philharmonic; Berlin Philharmonic; Boston Symphony Orchestra; Chicago Symphony Orchestra; London Symphony Orchestra; Sydney Symphony Orchestra; Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; Los Angeles Philharmonic and many others. Marsalis’ three major works for full symphony orchestra and jazz orchestra, All Rise - Symphony No. 1 (1999), Swing Symphony – Symphony No. 3 (2010), and The Jungle – Symphony No. 4 (2016), continue to be the focal point of Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s symphonic collaborations.

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra has also been featured in several education and performance residencies in the last few years, including those in Melbourne, Australia; Sydney, Australia; Chautauqua, New York; Prague, Czech Republic; Vienna, Austria; London, England; São Paulo, Brazil; and many others.

Education is a major part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s mission; its educational activities are coordinated with concert and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra tour programming. These programs, many of which feature Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra members, include the celebrated Jazz for Young People™ family concert series; the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival; the Jazz for Young People™ Curriculum; Let Freedom Swing, educational residencies; workshops; and concerts for students and adults worldwide. Jazz at Lincoln Center educational programs reach over 110,000 students, teachers and general audience members.

Jazz at Lincoln Center, NPR Music and WBGO have partnered to create the next generation of jazz programming in public radio: Jazz Night in America. The series showcases today’s vital jazz scene while also underscoring the genre’s storied history. Hosted by bassist Christian McBride, the program features hand-picked performances from across the country, woven with the colorful stories of the artists behind them. Jazz Night in America and Jazz at Lincoln Center’s radio archive can be found at jazz.org/radio.

In 2015, Jazz at Lincoln Center launched Blue Engine Records (www. jazz.org/blueengine), a new platform to make its vast archive of recorded concerts available to jazz audiences everywhere. The label is dedicated to releasing new studio and live recordings as well as archival recordings from past Jazz at Lincoln Center performances, and its first record— Live in Cuba, recorded on a historic 2010 trip to Havana by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis—was released in October 2015. Big Band Holidays was released in December 2015, The Abyssinian Mass came out in March 2016, The Music of John Lewis was released in March 2017, and the JLCO’s Handful of Keys came out in September 2017. Blue Engine’s United We Swing: Best of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Galas features the Wynton Marsalis Septet and an array of special guests, with all proceeds going toward Jazz at Lincoln Center’s education initiatives. Blue Engine’s most recent album releases include 2020’s A Swingin’ Sesame Street Celebration and 2021’s The Democracy Suite featuring the JLCO Septet with Wynton Marsalis.

For more information on Jazz at Lincoln Center, please visit www.jazz.org.

CHRIS CRENSHAW

Chris Crenshaw (Music Director, Trombone, JLCO) was born in Thomson, Georgia on December 20, 1982. Since birth, he has been driven by and surrounded by music. Playing piano since age three, his love for piano led to his first gig with Echoes of Joy, his father Casper’s gospel quartet group. He started playing the trombone at 11 eventually studying with Steve Pruitt, Dr. Douglas Farwell, and Wycliffe Gordon. He attended Thomson High School, Valdosta State University, and the Juilliard School earning a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies in 2007. In 2006 after a year at Juilliard, Crenshaw joined the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and has contributed to the JLCO as a trombonist, composer, arranger, transcriber, and conductor. He has appeared as a sideman on fellow JLCO trumpeter Marcus Printup’s Ballads All Night. In 2012 he composed God’s Trombones, a spiritually focused work which was premiered by the orchestra at Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 2017, Crenshaw was commissioned to write an original suite called “The Fifties: A Prism” based on jazz in the 1950s. Along with “The Fifties…,” he also has an album with his own group The Georgia Horns entitled “Live at Dizzy’s Club.”

ROBBIE LEE

Robbie Lee (Vocals) is a New York City based pianist, vocalist, composer and educator whose spectacular ability to merge his equal talents make him one of the most exciting emerging artists to date. Growing up in Tucson, AZ Lee was encouraged by his mother to find music he enjoyed. Falling in love with earlier blues and rock and roll music, Robbie eventually found jazz as a new way to express himself. Through joining the Tucson Jazz Institute, Lee was exposed to a broad range of jazz from Traditional to Post-Bop styles. Eagerly gathering information from the plethora of this music, Lee was encouraged to develop his own voice and keep an open mind. 

A graduate of both The Juilliard School (AD ‘21) and The Manhattan School of Music (BM ‘18), at 27 he has already shared the stage with his mentors, such as world renown jazz icons Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Herlin Riley, Bruce Barth, Matt Wilson, and Brice Winston. As both a leader and a sideman, Robbie has graced several world class stages, including Dizzy’s Club, Smalls Jazz Club, Birdland, Frederick P. Rose Hall, and Joe’s Pub. He has also played in numerous jazz festivals across the globe including the Monterey Jazz Festival, The Umbria Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival, and the Bern Jazz Festival. Throughout his career, Lee has earned recognition for both his performance and composition skills, receiving awards from Downbeat Magazine, YoungArts, The Essentially Ellington Festival and Competition, and The Next Generation Jazz Festival. 

Commonly regarded as a first-rate pianist/vocalist, Robbie draws musical inspiration from Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, and many others. While he mostly performs songs of the Great American Songbook and Jazz Idiom, showcasing his versatility and deep understanding of the genre, Lee also enjoys composing new works that feature his peers and himself. 

As a writer, Lee has arranged/composed works ranging in ensemble size from solo piano to full orchestra. He credits world-class musicians such as Scott Black, Doug Tidaback, Brice Winston, Ted Rosenthal, Jeremy Manasia, Phil Markowitz, Frank Kimbrough, Charenee Wade, and Geoffery Keezer as mentors who have played a crucial role in shaping his skills and artistic vision. 

Just as his mentors did for him, Robbie believes in giving back to the community and teaches regularly in the NYC metropolitan area, passing on his knowledge and inspiring the next generation of musicians. With a growing collection of awards and accolades to his name, Robbie continues to inspire, uplift and warm the hearts of audiences and his peers alike. 

EKEP NKWELLE

Ekep Nkwelle (Vocals), a 25-year-old Cameroonian-American jazz vocalist, has carved her musical path from the vibrant streets of Washington, DC, to the heart of New York City's jazz scene. Her journey through the esteemed Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Howard University, and The Juilliard School has been extraordinary.

The power of her voice has resonated with jazz luminaries such as Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Russell Malone, Cyrus Chestnut, and Peter Washington, along with young stars like Emmet Cohen and Endea Owens, leading to countless collaborations. Her performances have graced iconic, internationally renowned venues, from the illustrious Radio City Music Hall, where she shared the stage with classical virtuoso Lang Lang in collaboration with Disney, to The Library of Congress, Marian’s Jazzroom, The Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center. Her presence has also illuminated major festivals, including Newport, Montclair, Hudson, and DC jazz festivals.

The year 2023 marked a pinnacle in Ekep's career as she was honored with the prestigious Juilliard Career Advancement Grant, a testament to her artistry and character, nominated by none other than jazz master trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. This recognition followed her enchanting performance on NPR's "Tiny Desk," showcasing her unique arrangement of Geri Allen's "Timeless Portraits & Dreams" in 2022. Continuing her ascent, Ekep collaborated with the illustrious 3x GRAMMY and Tony award-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater during the fourth year of her exclusive, all-women artistic residency, The Woodshed Network.

As Jazz at Lincoln Center's latest rising star, Ekep Nkwelle is poised to shape the future of jazz. With a burning passion for music, her artistry knows no bounds as she endeavors to share her voice with audiences worldwide.

ABDIAS ARMENTEROS

Abdias Armenteros (Tenor and Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet, JLCO) is a native of Miami, Florida, where he attended New World School of the Arts High School. He began to play the saxophone at the age of 8 and began to play jazz in the 9th grade. After getting into New World, he was able to travel to places like New York City to compete in events like Essentially Ellington with the jazz band (which the school won in 2016), and Kagoshima, Japan, representing the city of Miami and the United States by being the only non-Asian group to perform in the Kagoshima Asian Arts Youth Festival. He has also done various summer programs such as the Brubeck. Summer Jazz Colony and the Summer Jazz Academy with Jazz at Lincoln Center. Abdias is currently in his 1^st year of his master’s degree at Juilliard as a Jazz Studies Major after completing his undergraduate degree at the prestigious school. Since being in New York, he has shared the bandstand with world-renowned artists like Wynton Marsalis, Ben Vereen, Aloe Blacc, Victor Lewis, Arlo Parks, and performs regularly at different clubs and venues in the city with other well-known musicians in the city while continuing his studies at school. Abdias is a firm believer that music is healing, and we’re living in a time where we need healing the most.

OBED CALVAIRE

Obed Calvaire (Drums, JLCO), a native of Miami and of Haitian descent, is a graduate with both a
master and bachelor’s degree of music from one of America’s premiere private music conservatories in the nation, Manhattan School of Music. He received his bachelor’s degree in 2003, completing the undergraduate degree requirements in three years and receiving his master’s in 2005. Calvaire has performed and recorded with artists such as
Wynton Marsalis, Seal, Eddie Palmieri, Vanessa Williams, Richard Bona, SFJazz Collective, David Foster, Mary J. Blige, Stefon Harris, The Clayton Brothers Quintet, Mike Stern, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Peter Cincotti, Monty Alexander, Music Soulchild, Nellie McKay, Yellow Jackets, Joshua Redman, Steve Turre, and Lizz Wright. He has also performed with large ensembles such as the Village Vanguard Orchestra, Metropole Orchestra, the Mingus Big Band, Maria Schneider, Roy Hargrove big band, and the Bob Mintzer Big Band. Currently, Obed Calvaire can be found playing with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Dave Holland, Sean Jones, Yosvany Terry, among others.

CARLOS HENRIQUEZ

Carlos Henriquez (Bass, JLCO) was born in 1979 in the Bronx, New York. He studied music at a young age, played guitar through junior high school and took up the bass while enrolled in The Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program. He entered LaGuardia High School of Music & Arts and Performing Arts and was involved with the LaGuardia Concert Jazz Ensemble which went on to win first place in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival in 1996. In 1998, swiftly after high school, Henriquez joined the Wynton Marsalis Septet and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, touring the world and featured on more than 25 albums. Henriquez has performed with artists including Chucho Valdés, Paco De Lucía, Tito Puente, the Marsalis Family, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, Lenny Kravitz, Marc Anthony, and many others. He has been a member of the music faculty at Northwestern University School of Music since 2008 and was music director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra’s cultural exchange with the Cuban Institute of Music with Chucho Valdés in 2010. His debut album as a bandleader, The Bronx Pyramid, came out in September 2015 on Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Blue Engine Records and his most recent album, The South Bronx Story, was nominated for a Grammy.

SHERMAN IRBY 

Sherman Irby (Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Flute, Clarinet, JLCO) was born and raised in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Sherman began playing music at the age of 12, almost immediately recognizing that it was his life’s calling. Upon graduating high school – during which he had the opportunity to play and record with Gospel immortal James Cleveland – Sherman attended Clark Atlanta University, graduating with a B.A. in Music Education. He joined Atlanta-based piano legend Johnny O’Neal’s quintet in 1991. After moving to New York in 1994, Sherman quickly connected with the fertile and vital scene at Smalls, where he was a regular until 1997. Here Sherman caught the attention of Blue Note Records, for which he recorded his first two albums, Full Circle and Big Mama’s Biscuits, released in 1996 and 1998 respectively. During the Smalls period, Sherman also toured the U.S. and the Caribbean with the Boys Choir of Harlem in 1995; was a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra from 1995 to 1997 and then rejoined again; recorded and toured with Marcus Roberts and participated in the incomparable Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead Program during those same years; and began his four-year stint with Roy Hargrove in 1997. After departing Roy Hargrove’s ensemble, Sherman shifted his primary focus to his own group. Although this was his primary commitment, Irby took the opportunity to join the final ensemble of the peerless Elvin Jones in 2004, and after Elvin’s passing, joined Papo Vazquez’s Pirates Troubadours. From 2003-2011, Sherman was the regional director for JazzMasters Workshop, a mentoring program for young children. He has served as Artist-in-Residence for Jazz Camp West, and an instructor for the Monterey Jazz Festival Band Camp. He is also a former board member for CubaNOLA Collective. Recognizing the shift in economics of the record industry, Sherman left Blue Note to form Black Warrior Records, releasing Black Warrior, Faith, Organ Starter, Live at The Otto Club, Cerulean Canvas and Andy Farber’s, This Could Be the Start of Something Big. Sherman, along with most members of the JLCO, has arranged much of the vast library of music that they have performed over the past 16 years. He has also been commissioned to compose new works, including Twilight Sounds, his Dante-inspired ballet, Inferno and Musings of Cosmic Stuff. Even with the orchestra’s busy schedule, Sherman was a regular member of the McCoy Tyner Quartet, and continues to perform with his own group, Momentum.

RYAN KISOR

Ryan Kisor (Trumpet, JLCO) was born on April 12, 1973 in Sioux City, Iowa, and began playing trumpet at age four. In 1990, he won first prize at the Thelonious Monk Institute’s first annual Louis Armstrong Trumpet Competition. Kisor enrolled in Manhattan School of Music in 1991 where he studied with trumpeter Lew Soloff. He has performed and/ or recorded with the Mingus Big Band, the Gil Evans Orchestra, Horace Silver, Gerry Mulligan and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, the Philip Morris Jazz All-Stars, and others. In addition to being an active sideman, Kisor has recorded several albums as a leader, including Battle Cry (1997), The Usual Suspects (1998), and Point of Arrival (2000). He has been a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra since 1994.

CHRIS LEWIS

Chris Lewis (Tenor and Soprano Saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet) has quickly established himself as an in-demand saxophonist and educator on both coasts of the United States. Lewis has played and worked with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Michael Buble, Eric Reed, Terell Stafford, The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, John Beasley’s MONK’estra, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and the Count Basie Orchestra & has worked on soundtracks

and can be seen on camera with shows on Amazon Prime and HBO/CNN Films. In addition, Lewis has taught clinics on small and large ensemble playing, as well as harmony and improvisation at

numerous camps, festivals and universities including the University of Melbourne, the UCLA Summer Jazz Intensive Workshop and has served as a guest clinician for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Regional Essentially Ellington Festival. Lewis currently resides in New York City where he maintains a busy playing and teaching schedule.

ELLIOT MASON

Elliot Mason (Trombone, JLCO) was born in England into a family of jazz musicians. Mr. Mason began studying trumpet at age four with his father, who was a trumpet and trombone player/educator. At age seven, struck with an overwhelming curiosity in his father’s trombone, young Mason soon switched his focus from the trumpet. Mr. Mason received a full tuition scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music at age sixteen. After graduating from Berklee at nineteen, Mr. Mason moved to New York City where he distinguished himself as a respected and highly in demand trombone/bass trumpet player. In 2007, Elliot Mason was invited to become a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, directed by Wynton Marsalis. While continuing to perform with the JLCO, Mr. Mason co-leads the Mason Brothers Quintet with his brother Brad, and leads his own band, Cre8tion. Since 2016, Mr. Mason has been a faculty member at the Juilliard School of Music. He also runs his own private music studio in NYC. Mr. Mason is endorsed by B.A.C. musical instruments, and currently plays on his own signature series line of custom trombones that he co-designed.

PAUL NEDZELA 

Paul Nedezela (Baritone and Soprano Saxophones, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, JLCO) was born and raised in New York City.  He joined the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in 2014 and has also played with many renowned artists and ensembles, including (in alphabetical order) Ruben Blades, Bill Charlap, Chick Corea, Paquito D'Rivera, Kenny Garrett, Benny Golson, Branford Marsalis, Christian McBride, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Wayne Shorter, Frank Sinatra Jr., and The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. Paul released his debut album, INTRODUCING PAUL NEDZELA, in 2019.  He has performed in Twyla Tharp's Broadway show, Come Fly Away, as well as in major festivals around the world, including but not limited to, The Monterey Jazz Festival, The Newport Jazz Festival, The Detroit Jazz Festival, The Banff Music Festival, The International Montreal Jazz Festival, The iLove Jazz Festival in Brazil, The Valencia Jazz Festival in Spain, The Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy, and The American Festival of the Arts in Doha, Qatar. While still pursuing music, Paul graduated with honors in 2006 from McGill University in Montreal with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics. A recipient of the Samuel L. Jackson scholarship award, he continued his musical education at The Juilliard School and graduated with a Master of Music degree in 2008.

DAN NIMMER

Dan Nimmer (Piano, JLCO) was born in 1982 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a young man, Nimmer’s family inherited a piano and he started playing by ear. He studied classical piano and eventually became interested in jazz. At the same time, he began playing gigs around Milwaukee. Upon graduation from high school, Nimmer left Milwaukee to study music at Northern Illinois University. It didn’t take him long to become one of Chicago’s busiest piano players. Working a lot in the Chicago scene, Nimmer decided to leave school and make the big move to New York City where he immediately emerged in the New York scene. In 2005, a year after moving to New York City, he became a member of both the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Wynton Marsalis Quintet. Nimmer has performed and recorded with Jimmy Cobb, Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, Renée Fleming, Houston Person, Fareed Haque, George Benson, Lewis Nash, and many more. He has released six of his own trio albums on the Venus label (Japan).

MARCUS PRINTUP

Marcus Printup (Trumpet, JLCO) was born and raised in Conyers, Georgia. His first musical experiences were hearing the sanctified and soulful Gospel music his parents (Ann and Bobby), grandparents (J.C.) and older sister (Angela) sang in church. While attending the University of North Florida on a music scholarship, he won the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Trumpet competition. In 1991, Printup’s life changed when he met his mentor, the great pianist Marcus Roberts, who introduced him to Wynton Marsalis. He subsequently joined Roberts as his road manager/understudy for 2 years. 1993 was a banner year for Printup. He performed for the first time with Marsalis in the latter’s collaboration with the New York City Ballet, “Jazz in Six Syncopated Movements” which led to Printup’s induction into the then Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra. Also, during this time, Printup was noticed by jazz legend, Betty Carter. Ms. Carter invited Printup to be in her inaugural and prestigious “Betty Carter Jazz Ahead” group, performing in a series of concerts at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Printup has performed and or recorded with Marcus Roberts, Betty Carter, Dianne Reeves, Guru, Madeline Peyroux, Ted Nash, Dianne Schuur, Cyrus Chestnut, and Wycliffe Gordon, among many others. He has recorded over 15 records as a leader, including his most recent “Gentle Rain” (2020) featuring his wife, Riza Printup, on the Harp. He made a big screen appearance in the 1999 movie Playing by Heart and recorded on the film’s soundtrack. Education is extremely important to Printup, as he is an in-demand clinician teaching middle schools, high schools, and colleges across the U.S. and abroad. He also holds the position of Adjunct Professor of Music at Montclair State University. August 22nd has been declared “Marcus Printup Day” in his hometown of Conyers, Georgia.

KENNY RAMPTON

Kenny Rampton (Trumpet, JLCO) is a New York City-based trumpet player, arranger, and composer, a full-time member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and is the man behind the sound of the trumpet on the iconic television show Sesame Street. With over three decades of experience as a successful recording and performing artist, Rampton is deeply committed to sharing his passion and knowledge of music with students from around the world. In addition to his role as an education instructor for Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rampton is the founder and artistic director of his own nonprofit educational organization Jazz Outreach Initiative, based in his hometown of Las Vegas, NV. Throughout his long and illustrious career, his signature style and versatility has led to many prestigious engagements, including touring as a member of the Ray Charles Orchestra, performing with notable jazz artists and ensembles such as Illinois Jacquet, Lionel Hampton, Gunther Schuller, The Christian McBride Big Band, The Chico O’Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra, Bebo Valdes’ Afro-Cuban All-Stars, and The Mingus Big Band, and playing in a multitude of Broadway shows, including Anything Goes, Finian’s Rainbow, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Wiz, Young Frankenstein, The Color Purple, Spamalot, The Producers, In the Heights, and Chicago. Rampton has also worked with several pop artists and groups, including Katy Perry, Matchbox Twenty, and Chaka Khan. In addition to his trumpet playing, Rampton is an accomplished composer and bandleader in his own right. “Until Next Time,” an original composition from his first solo album, Moon Over Babylon, was featured in the 2017 Broadway revival of Six Degrees of Separation. In 2015, Rampton collaborated with NYC Blues Hall of Fame artist Bill Sims, Jr. on the music for Paradise Blue, a play written by award-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. In 2018, Rampton expanded his music for the play into “The Paradise Blue Suite,” which he premiered with the Kenny Rampton Octet at Dizzy’s Club at JALC. He enjoys teaching private students from all over the world and has taught trumpet as an adjunct faculty member at The New School in New York City.

MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ

Michael Rodriguez (Trumpet) is a Grammy Award-winning artist born in Queens, New York and raised in Miami. Inspired to pursue music by his father Roberto Rodriguez, he studied at the Univer­sity of Miami, soon transferring to The New School in New York, where he received his bachelor of arts. Rodriguez has performed and toured with Clark Terry, Bobby Watson, Quincy Jones, Joe Lovano, Toshiko Akiyoshi Orchestra, Jes­sica Simpson, Chico O’Farrill Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis and the JLCO, and the Lincoln Center Afro-Latin Jazz Orches­tra. A member of Charlie Haden’s Libera­tion Music Orchestra, Rodriguez has also performed and traveled with Jon Faddis, Carla Bley, Kenny Barron, Conrad Herwig, Clayton Brothers Quintet, Harry Connick, Jr., Bob Mintzer, Eddie Palmieri, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Smithsonian Jazz Orchestra. He and his brother Robert have issued four albums together: Intro­ducing The Rodriguez Brothers, Conversa­tions, Mood Swing, and Impromptu, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album. Rodriguez performed on Haden’s Grammy Award-winning album Land Of The Sun and the Liberation Music Orchestra’s Not in Our Name, among other critical works. In 2008, Rodriguez joined the Gonzalo Rubalcaba Quintet; in 2019, Corea’s Grammy Award-winning Spanish Heart Band. He issued his recent release Pathways on Rodbrosmusic, the label he co-owns with Robert.

ALEXA TARANTINO

Alexa Tarantino (Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Flute, Clarinet, JLCO), in the words of Wynton Marsalis, is a “one-woman wrecking crew, […] an indomitable force for expression, education, and absolute excellence.” The vibrant and versatile jazz saxophone & woodwind artist has been triple-nominated as a Rising Star Alto Saxophonist by Downbeat Magazine’s Critics’ Poll from 2020-2022, was named one of the Top 5 Alto Saxophonists of 2019 by the JazzTimes Critics’ Poll, and was one of 100 alumni to receive The Centennial Award from the Eastman School of Music (2022). Alexa “lights up rooms when she [plays]” (JazzTimes). Her radiant spirit and artistry uplift and inspire her audiences one performance at a time. Alexa tours worldwide with Cécile McLorin Salvant, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and the Alexa Tarantino Quartet. Her records (Firefly, Clarity, Winds of Change) and compositions have consistently topped jazz radio charts, and her discography includes 25+ released recordings as a leader and sidewoman. Tarantino is in-demand internationally as an energetic and impactful clinician, mentor, and coach and also represents Jazz at Lincoln Center as a visiting educator for various programs with students of all ages and levels. She holds a master’s degree in Jazz Studies from The Juilliard School and bachelor’s degrees in Jazz Saxophone Performance and Music Education with a certificate in Arts Leadership from the Eastman School of Music. Alexa is Founder and Artistic Director of the Cape Ann Jazz Workshop in Rockport, Massachusetts (est. 2014). Alexa Tarantino is a Vandoren Artist, a Yamaha Performing Artist, and endorses BAM Instrument Cases.

DION TUCKER

Dion Tucker (Trombone) is an accomplished trombonist, composer, and music educator with an oeuvre that defies genre. Boston-born and Miami-bred, Dion moved to New York in 1998 to study at The New School under the tutelage of pioneering trombonists Benny Powell and Steve Turre, among others. Throughout his career, Dion has shared the stage with many jazz, soul and gospel greats including The Duke Ellington Orchestra, where he played lead trombone for 12 years; Ray Charles, The Count Basie Band, Aretha Franklin, The Maria Schneider Orchestra, John Hendricks, The Lionel Hampton Band, Frank Foster’s Loud Minority, Clark Terry & the Young Titans of Jazz, Christian McBride, Mike Longo, The Rufus Reid Big Band, and The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, where he is currently the lead trombonist. Dion has been a member of the Harry Connick Jr. Band since 2007. He was the trombonist on the daytime Emmy Award winning talk show HARRY, performing with artists like Michael McDonald, Gladys Knight, Keith Urban, Gloria Estefan, Sheila E. and many others. As an educator, Dion has taught in over 20 New York City public schools through the Jazz for Young People program and is currently an adjunct faculty member at New York University.