Buster Williams: Bass
Mark Gross: Sax
Patrice Rushen: Piano
Cindy Blackman: Drums
Buster Williams is a prodigious artist whose playing knows no limits. He has played, recorded and collaborated with jazz giants such as Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Chet Baker, Chick Corea, Dexter Gordon, Jimmy Heath, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt, Herbie Hancock, Larry Coryell, Lee Konitz, McCoy Tyner, Illinois Jacquet, Nancy Wilson, Elvin Jones, Miles Davis, the Jazz Crusaders, Ron Garter, Woody Shaw, Sarah Vaughan, Benny Golson, Mary Lou Williams, Hank Jones, Lee Morgan, Jimmy Rowles, Hampton Hawes, Cedar Walton, Bobby Hutcherson, Billy Taylor, Sonny Rollins, Count Basie, Errol Garner, Kenny Barron, Charlie Rouse, Dakota Staton, Kenny Dorham, Freddie Hubbard, etc. to name a few.
Patrice Rushen
Considered as one of the world's top jazz pianists, Rushen has recorded and performed with for such esteemed artists as Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Prince, Wayne Shorter, Quincy Jones, George Benson, Michael Jackson, Carlos Santana, Dianne Reeves, Lionel Hampton, Boys II Men, Al Jarreau, Jean Luc Ponty, Tom Jones, Nancy Wilson, Sheena Easton, Stanley Turentine, Joshua Redman Flora Purim, Stanley Clarke, Bobby Caldwell, The Temptations, Kevin Eubanks, Chaka Khan, Terri Lyne Carrington, Lonette McKee, Eddie Murphy, Kenny Burrell, Alex Acuna, Teena Marie and on and on. She has played at some of the world's most prestigious jazz festivals and events.
Rushen has performed with Philharmonic Orchestras and has even written an award-winning symphony. She has served as Composer in Residence with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for the 2000 & 2001 concert season. She has composed several symphonic works since 2000, each a commissioned assignment by a major orchestra and the World Premiere of each one of the symphonic works has been performed to rave reviews. She has 14 solo albums to her credit and a greatest hits anthology released on Rhino Records in 1997. She has also recorded two albums with The Meeting, the world- renowned jazz super-group, which includes Rushen, Ndugu Chancler and Ernie Watts.
In April 2008, Rushen accepted a professorship at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, in Boston…
Mark Gross swings and sings with soul and rhythm along today's jazz vanguard. He constantly pushes the music forward, while staying true to the elements of the classic sound. Mark Gross has recorded on over 40 notable jazz recording, including 2 GRAMMY winning projects by the Dave Holland Big Band - 'What Goes Around' on ECM Records, and 'Overtime' on Dare 2 Records. Mark has recorded 2 cd's under his own name to date 'Preach Daddy' on King Records and 'Riddle of the Sphinx' on J Curve Records.
His consistently professional musicianship has led to live and recorded efforts with many of his fellow pacesetters in jazz music. Mark has toured the world with the Mark Gross Quartet, Philip Harper, Nat Adderley, Dave Holland, Mulgrew Miller, Nicholas Payton, Delfeayo Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Dizzy Gillespie, Nancy Wilson, Jimmy Heath, Dizzy Gillespie Alumni Big Band, Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Tom Harrell Big Band, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Frank Foster and the Loud Minority, Charles Mingus Big Band, Freddie Hubbard, Donald Harrison, Mark Whitfield, Joe Dukes, Captain Jack McDuff, Joe Chambers, Neal Smith, Cyrus Chestnut, Regina Carter, Lionel Hampton, Stephon Harris, Walter Booker, Jimmy Cobb, Don Braden, Vincent Gardner, Lenora 'Zenzalai' Helm, Marlon Saunders, SEPIA, Jann Parker to name a few. His professional relationships with these musicians and others have been long lasting and far-reaching.
Cindy Blackman
Born in Ohio and raised in Connecticut, Cindy began her musical career as a New York street performer. She spent three semesters at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts and also studied with legendary teacher Alan Dawson. Cindy moved to New York City in the 80's and since that time, she has been seen and heard by millions of people all over the world performing with her own group and during her 11 year stint with retro funk rocker Lenny Kravitz, since 1993. In 1998, Cindy released her first drumming instructional video entitled, "Multiplicity" through Warner Brothers publications.Cindy has been touted as "one of the hottest drummers in the business, by the Star- Gazette and is re arded as one of the top drummers in the world. She is a solid, dependable drummer who can easily move from straight-ahead jazz to rock to funk and back again. She's upheld the backbeat and created texture for a veritable "Who's Who" in jazz: Jackie McLean, Joe Henderson, Don Pullen, Hugh Masekela, Pharaoh Sanders, Sam Rivers, Cassandra Wilson, Ron Carter, Gary Bartz, Kenny Barron, Buster Williams, Kenny Garrett, Wallace Roney, Lonnie Plaxico, Larry Willis, Steve Coleman, Ravi Coltrane, J.D. Allen, Gorge Mitchell, Angela Bofill, Bill Laswell, Buckethead. In early 2000, Cindy released the latest of her several acclaimed solo albums entitled "Works on Canvas." She released her seventh solo release "Someday" in 2004.
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