Contemporary jazz saxophonist/composer Andy Snitzer was born and raised in Philadelphia; although his first instrument was the clarinet, he turned to the sax at age 15, going on to study music at the University of Miami. There he was discovered by Bob James, touring behind the keyboardist and appearing on a series of albums beginning with 1987's... [+] Read More

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Smooth jazz guitarist/composer Doc Powell discovered his musical talent early: by the age of 6, the New York native already played guitar, and by his teens he was recording and performing live. These early performances captured the attention of many prominent musicians, including Wilson Pickett, who chose the barely-into-his 20s Powell as his... [+] Read More

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On-and-off for over 15 years, Boston's ten-piece Either/Orchestra has performed engagingly idiosyncratic large-ensemble jazz while serving as a formative workshop for musicians who have received significant popular and critical recognition in their post-E/O careers. Since the band's inception in 1985, the guiding force behind Either/Orchestra... [+] Read More

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One of the most significant arrangers in jazz history, Gil Evans' three album-length collaborations with Miles Davis (Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain) are all considered classics. Evans had a lengthy and wide-ranging career that sometimes ran parallel to the trumpeter. Like Davis, Gil became involved in utilizing electronics in... [+] Read More

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Leon Parker consistently shows that less is more by making a great deal of music on a greatly reduced drum set sometimes consisting only of a snare drum, bass drum, and a cymbal. Parker started playing drums when he was three and became serious when he was around 11. At 15, he playing in a local youth jazz band, and two years later, he started... [+] Read More

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A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, trumpeter Rick Braun first surfaced as a member of the jazz-fusion outfit Auracle, formed while he was a student at the prestigious Eastman School of Music. After two LPs the group disbanded, and Braun turned to songwriting, scoring a hit with REO Speedwagon's "Here with Me; " in time he directed his focus to... [+] Read More

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Steve Beresford is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist in jazz and avant-garde music. In addition to his work as a composer and arranger, Beresford plays piano, trumpet, euphonium, low-grade electronics, bass guitar, and more. He began playing piano and studying classical music when he was seven years old, and at the age of 15 started studying... [+] Read More

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The featured artist originally filled-in for a celebrity male vocalist. This artist stayed behind-the-scenes as a producer-writer. His curse and blessing lie in stylist vocal approach, but has a range of styles from rock to country. He began his recording career at age 14 and wrote the leads to a "Best R&B Instrumental" by age 22. Versatile... [+] Read More

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Tommy Emmanuel, four-time winner of Australia's Best Guitarist award, has helped bring the art of rock guitar down under to a higher awareness over his two-decade-long career by bringing a sense of jazz improvisation into a mix which also includes blues, country, rock, classical, and Spanish music. After years as a popular sideman and ace... [+] Read More

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