Tyler Blanton:

As a leader, Blanton has toured the US, Europe, and Asia and received press from many major publications such as the New York Times, Village Voice, Time Out New York, and Downbeat magazine. Blanton’s third album will be released in April for Destiny records. It finds him in the company of bassist Drew Gress, drummer Johnathan Blake, and pianist Jon Cowherd for a program of original tunes and standards which are treated with a sense of adventure,  virtuosity, and sincerity.

Gary Versace:

Since basing himself in New York City in June of 2002, jazz organist, pianist, and accordionist Gary Versace has quickly become one of the busiest and most versatile musicians on the scene, often featured in bands led by musicians such as John Scofield, John Abercrombie, Maria Schneider, Matt Wilson, Lee Konitz, Eliot Zigmund, Scott Wendholt, Joe Magnarelli, Danny Gottlieb, Seamus Blake, John Hollenbeck, Andy LaVerne, Adam Nussbaum, Brad Shepik, Ingrid Jensen, Tim Ries and many others.

Matt Penman:

Originally from New Zealand, Matt Penman moved to the U.S in 1994 to attend Berklee College of Music, and in 1995 to New York, where he maintains an international performing, recording and teaching schedule as one of jazz music’s most in-demand bassists. He is an established member of the SFJazz Collective, an 8-piece composers’ collective devoted to presenting the original works of its members as well as arrangements of the jazz greats' oeuvre. The Collective features some of the finest composer/improvisers on the scene, including David Sanchez, Warren Wolf and Miguel Zenon. In 2009, Matt founded a collaborative quartet with Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks and Eric Harland called James Farm. The band released their debut album in 2011 on Nonesuch Records. In addition to his main projects, Matt performs regularly in Nils Wogram’s Root 70, and in trio with Aaron Goldberg.  Other notable collaborators have included John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Wayne Shorter, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Kenny Werner, Dave Douglas, Chris Cheek, Seamus Blake, Wolfgang Muthspiel, Guillermo Klein, Rebecca Martin, Nicholas Payton, Fred Hersch and Madeleine Peyroux.

Rudy Royston:

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, and raised in Denver, Colorado, Royston has been a professional teacher, drummer and percussionist for almost twenty years. He studied classical percussion at University of Denver where earned undergraduate degrees in Music and English, and accomplished teacher certification credentials from Metropolitan State College of Denver. Rudy grew up playing drums in church, and found his voice under the auspices of Colorado’s celebrated trumpeter Ron Miles, whom Royston deems his greatest influence, and with whom Rudy has played since 1991. He has taught, recorded and performed all styles of music from Jazz to marching percussion. Since moving to Piscataway, New Jersey in 2006, Royston has completed a Masters in Music degree from Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and performed with many of today’s finest Jazz musicians. Javon Jackson, Bill Frisell, Les McCann, David Gilmore, Ben Allison, Jason Moran, JD Allen, Sean Jones, Jeremy Pelt, Greg Osby, Jennifer Holiday, Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Bowen, Bruce Barth, George Colligan, Don Byron, Stanley Cowell, Tom Harrell, John Ellis, Jenny Scheinmenn and The Mingus Big Band, to name a few. A lover of all genres of music, Rudy continues to pursue music and expand his music horizons.