Suzzette Ortiz Latin Jazz Ensemble
A passionate pianist/composer/educator, Suzette has been serving her communities with the gift of music form her humble beginnings in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, to her many recent success as a Pennsauken, New Jersey native.

Suzzette has studied piano with the likes of Cesar “Pupi” Pedroso; former piano of Cuban Group Los Van-Van, Elio Villafranca and Jimmy Amadei. Suzzette has also taken vocal master classes in creative improvisation with Bobby McFerrin and innovative singer Rhiannon. Suzzette has shared the stage with artists such as, Tito Puente, Nestor Torres, and Eddie Palmieri. The Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Compay Segundo, Brenda K. Starr and the late Hilton Ruiz. MySpace

The Helen Sung Group
Pianist Helen Sung has been called “one of the brightest emerging stars in jazz today.”  She is described as “marvelously imaginative,” “astonishing;” and her CD Helenistique (Fresh Sound Records) was praised as “…one of the year’s most exciting listens.” (JazzTimes).  With a recent appearance on Marian McPartland’s acclaimed NPR PIANO JAZZ show, a new CD (Sungbird, after Albéniz) on Sunnyside Records, and winning the Kennedy Center’s 2007 Mary Lou Williams Piano Competition, good things are happening!

Originally an aspiring classical pianist, Helen was bitten by the jazz bug while pursuing undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin.  She decided to switch to jazz after being accepted into the inaugural class of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance (at New England Conservatory of Music). Official Website

The Maria Schneider Orchestra
Maria Schneider’s music has been described as evocative, majestic, magical, heart-stoppingly gorgeous, and beyond categorization. Born in Windom, Minnesota, Schneider arrived in New York City in 1985 after studies at the University of Minnesota, the University of Miami and the Eastman School of Music. She immediately sought out Bob Brookmeyer to study composition, and at the same time became an assistant to Gil Evans, working on various projects with him.

The Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra came into being in 1993, appearing at Visiones in Greenwich Village every Monday night for a stretch of five years. Her newest fan-funded ArtistShare® recording, Sky Blue, was released in July 2007 and since its release, the album has received unanimous praise. It was nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning one in the category of “Best Instrumental Composition” (Cerulean Skies). The album received the honor of “Jazz Album of the Year” from the VILLAGE VOICE Critics Poll as well as a Choc Award in France and was one of only two albums to receive a five-star review from DOWNBEAT in 2007. Official Website

Critt’s Juke Joint
Sheraton Hotel Monday - Thursday (after the main stage shows)
Featuring:
Eric Crittenden: Sax/keys and vox
Terrance Higgins of The Dirty Dozen Brass Band: Drums
Ron Davis: Organ
Special guests from this years’ main stage acts
And local artists

Barbara Walker
Her career is rich and varied, marked by performances and recordings with the finest artist and musicians, Pieces Of a Dream, Grover Washington, Patti Labelle, Lionel Hampton, Natalie Cole and the list continues.

Barbara has the unique ability to vocally blend her experience in R & B, Jazz, Pop and inspiration into a powerful vocal style that cannot be put into a box. She continues touring, teaming up with hot Jazz pianist Uri kane and in 2001-2002 the two of them embarked on a European tour. In addition in 2001 Barbara's voice shared the screen with the legendary Robert DeNiro on the song Here Comes The Morning featured in the blockbuster film The Score. Be on the lookout for Ms. Barbara Walker because bringing down the house is her specialty!

Bonerama
When Bonerama struts onstage with its four-trombone frontline, you can guess it's not quite like any rock 'n' roll band you’ve seen. When they tear into some vintage New Orleans funk, there's no questioning from which city these guys hail. And when those ’bones start ripping into Hendrix and Led Zeppelin licks, all stylistic bets are off.

Even in a city that doesn't play by the rules, New Orleans’ Bonerama is something different. They're not a traditional brass band, but they've got brass to spare-even with no trumpets or saxes in sight. They can evoke vintage funk, classic rock and free improvisation in the same set; maybe even the same song. Bonerama has been repeatedly recognized by Rolling Stone, hailed as “the ultimate in brass balls” (2005) and praised for their "…crushing ensemble riffing, human-feedback shrieks and wah-wah growls" (2007). Official Website | MySpace

Dirty Dozen Brass Band
In a world of war, poverty, ecological disasters, dissent and conflict in the social fabric of society, Marvin Gaye found himself looking to the heavens in 1971 and asking the heartfelt question What’s Going On? And with that Gaye created the unqualified masterpiece of his astounding career, an album addressing these questions of an uncertain world.

In 2006, with the same questions looming even larger, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band has borrowed on Gaye’s inspiration to create a crowning achievement in their own career, which spans more than three decades of innovation and leadership in New Orleans music and beyond. Offcial Website | MySpace

Dr. Guy's MusIQologY
Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr. is associate professor of music history and Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He specializes in African-American and American music, jazz, cultural studies, popular music, film studies, and historiography. His book, Race Music: Black Cultures from Bebop to Hip-Hop. His current projects include a book about jazz pianist Bud Powell. He has published widely and has held visiting professorships at Harvard University and Princeton University.

Dr. Guy's MusiQologY plays accessible jazz music infused with the sounds of R&B, funk, soul, Latin, and hip hop. Guthrie Ramsey, who composes and arranges all of the band's music, stylishly crafts the deep grooves, funky melodies and bluesy harmonies that make MusiQologY's sound so appealing. Official Website

TRIO 3
This all-star trio of OLIVER LAKE (alto), REGGIE WORKMAN (bass), & ANDREW CYRILLE (drums), reunited reunited several years ago for a major fall tour out West (16 gigs in 16 days!) that got over-the-top reviews, and in 2008 they're ready to hit the road again for a 20th Anniversary Tour! This band appeals to a broad spectrum without watering anything down, mainly because they have uncanny communication with one another. Oliver Lake's Site | Reggie Workman's MySpace | Andrew Cyrille's Site

The Mingus Big Band

One of the most important figures in twentieth century American music, Charles Mingus was a virtuoso bass player, accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer. The Mingus Big Band celebrates the music of the composer and bassist, Charles Mingus, who died in 1979. Under the artistic direction of Sue Mingus, this 14-piece band performed Thursday nights from 1991 to 2004 at the Fez under Time Cafe in New York City, occasionally alternating with the Charles Mingus Orchestra. In November 2004, the big band began its Tuesday night residency at Iridium Jazz Club. The Mingus Big Band tours extensively in the United States and abroad, and has eight recordings to its credit, six of which have been nominated for Grammys. Official Website

UD Jazz Camp Graduates
The students, ranging from 8th to 12th grade spend one week learning jazz theory and performance skills. Last year, they put together a big band playing arrangements ranging from Ellington and Basie to more contemporary funk.

Crittenden
Eric Crittenden is currently backed by Rick James' Stone City Band. His debut release, "Blu," is a jazz, rock and soul tour de force, featuring collaborations with Soulive's Eric Krasno and Rob Wasserman, as well as his own stellar ensemble.

With proactive lyrics, soulful vocals and blazing sax leads, Blu is as progressive as it is classic. Crittenden has a unique way of taking progressive new steps in music all the while keeping it in the vein of the old school. "I see myself as a medium of sorts," says Crittenden. "I play the instruments and write the lyrics, but the music plays me it's that simple."

From the time of his birth in Buffalo NY, Crittenden was immersed in the funk and feel-good soul sound of Motown - after-all his father played with James Brown for 13 years. Official Website | Myspace

Steve Turre and Sanctified Shells
13 piece ensemble comprised of world music with 6 brass players also doubling on shells with 5 piece rhythm section - piano, bass, drums, congas and african percussion and saxophone soloist. The scope of the music is jazz, Latin, traditional African and other world music. This is not a traditional big band,

In 1972 Steve Turre's career picked up momentum when Ray Charles hired him to go on tour. A year later Turre's mentor Woody Shaw brought him into Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. After his tenure with Blakey, Turre went on to work with a diverse list of musicians from the jazz, Latin, and pop worlds, including Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, J.J. Johnson, Herbie Hancock, Lester Bowie, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Van Morrison, Pharoah Sanders, Horace Silver, Max Roach, and Rahsaan Roland Kirk. The latter introduced hum to the seashell as an instrument. Soon after that, while touring in Mexico City with Woody Shaw, Turre's relatives informed him that his ancestors similarly played the shells. Since then, Turre has incorporated seashells into his diverse musical style. Official Website | Youtube

Jumpin' Off a Clef
A year ago, the members of Jumpin’ Off a Clef came together at the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and have been performing at many events in the Delaware Valley. The group is made up of Ben Sutin –15 yrs old (violin, keyboard), Demetrius "DJ" Turner II-15 yrs old (saxophone, flute), Erik Kramer-17 yrs old (electric bass, double bass), James Santangelo, II –16 yrs old (keyboard, saxophone) and Justin Faulkner –16 yrs old(drums). Youtube clips: Oleo | DJ Turner at the Obama rally in Rodney Square

Point Blank
Point Blank is a group of Philadelphia area musicians specializing in the contemporary style of jazz. It's members have toured the world with such artists as Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, The Manhattans, The Ray Charles Orchestra, BB King and the US Army Jazz Band. When not performing live, the members continue to work as studio musicians as well as private instructors. Official Website

The George Duke Quartet
When he was just four years old, his mother took him to see Duke Ellington in concert. "I don't remember it too well," says George, "but my mother told me I went crazy. I ran around saying 'Get me a piano, get me a piano!'" He began his piano studies at age seven, absorbing the roots of Black music in his local Baptist church. "That's where I first began to play funky. I really learned a lot about music from the church. I saw how music could trigger emotions in a cause-and-effect relationship."

Through the 70s, George played with the likes of Al Jarreau, Sonny Rollins, Jean-Luc Ponty, Frank Zappa, Stanley Clarke, Billy Cobham and many more. Official Website | Youtube

Atiba's Dream
The Wilmington, Delaware based jazz ensemble is a unique blend of noted local musicians who have come together to explore jazz in a distinctive way. The ensemble is named after Thomas Atiba Johnson, a well-known Wilmington percussionist who passed away in 2005 shortly after the group was formed. The group, made up of soloists who have individually made names for themselves, was formed with the idea of exploring the deeper, more creative side of the music instead of performing the standard jazz repertoire.

The ensemble features compositions and arrangements by band members, as well as those by other local jazz musicians. The repertoire includes traditional jazz and blues styles, free jazz, music of the Caribbean, and African-influenced pieces. Official Website

Huáscar Barradas
With over 100 concerts worldwide every year, and more than 100,000 copies sold in his native Venezuela, Huascar is revolutionizing the global musical space, with a vanguard approach. He is one of the creators of the new Venezuelan sound called Neo-folklore. Intelligent music, full of heart!! (Los CIBERNETICOS) will love him, he is definitely here to stay!!

A world class artist, Huascar Barradas was the principal flutist in the Venezuelan National Philharmonic, and he has arrived to cyberspace to seduce music lovers, with his marvelous and unique style. Mr. Barradas' appearance is sponsored by Chevron and the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela's Venezuelan Sounds '08 performance series. Official Website | Youtube

The Clifford Brown Tribute band featuring Terell Stafford
This year at the 20th anniversary of the CBJF it is fitting that we honor Clifford Brown and the wonderfully rich legacy that he leaves behind. The Clifford Brown- Max Roach Quartet was one of the most remarkable groups in the history of modern jazz. The Clifford Brown Tribute band, a group consisting of some of Philadelphia’s finest musicians. led by John DiGiovanni and directed by Terell Stafford  presents a set of Mr. Brown’s authentic songs and arrangements.

Terell Stafford has been hailed as "one of the great players of our time, a fabulous trumpet player" by piano legend McCoy Tyner. John DiGiovanni studied with Boysie Lowrey, who taught Clifford Brown. Very much in demand, JD is currently playing with no fewer than six bands, engineering and producing recordings at his own studio, and teaching drumming at music schools in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

This band will be playing a warm-up show at Gallucio's, 1709 Lovering Ave on Thursday, June 12 at 8:00.

Rashied Ali
His quintet consists of Jumaane Smith or Josh Evans (Trumpet), Lawrence Clark (Tenor Sax), Greg Murphy (Piano), Joris Teepe (Bass).

A student of Philly Joe Jones and an admirer of Art Blakey, Ali developed the style known as "free jazz" drumming, which liberates the percussionist from the role of human metronome. The drummer interfaces both rhythmically and melodically with the music, utilizing meter and sound in a unique fashion. This allows the percussionist to participate in the music in a harmonic sense, coloring both the rhythm and tonality with his personal perception. By adding his voice to the ensemble, the percussionist becomes an equal in the melodics of collective musical creation rather than a "pot banger" who keeps the others all playing at the same speed. Considered radical in the 1960s and scorned by the mediocre, multidirectional rhythms, polytonal drumming is now the landmark of the jazz percussionist. In 2003 Rashied formed his current working group, simply called The Rashied Ali Quintet. In 2005 they released two CDs – Judgment Day Vol. 1 and Judgment Day Vol. 2, both of which received significant national airplay and volumes of critical acclaim. This group, which Jazz Times critic Bill Milkowski calls “…one of the more potent working quintets in jazz today,” is playing a style that combines modern post-bop with Ali's trademark free jazz. Myspace

Hiromi's Sonic Bloom
Hiromi Uehara first mesmerized the jazz community with her 2003 Telarc debut, Another Mind. The buzz started by her first album spread all the way back to her native Japan, where Another Mind shipped gold (100,000 units) and received the Recording Industry Association of Japan's (RIAJ) Jazz Album of the Year Award. The keyboardist/ composer's second release, Brain, won the Horizon Award at the 2004 Surround Music Awards, Swing Journal's New Star Award, Jazz Life's Gold Album, HMV Japan's Best Japanese Jazz Album, and the Japan Music Pen Club's Japanese Artist Award (the JMPC is a classical/jazz journalists club). Brain was also named Album of the Year in Swing Journal's 2005 Readers Poll. In 2006, Hiromi won Best Jazz Act at the Boston Music Awards and the Guinness Jazz Festival's Rising Star Award. She also claimed Jazzman of the Year, Pianist of the Year and Album of the Year in Swing Journal Japan's Readers Poll for her 2006 release, Spiral. Hiromi continues her winning streak with the 2007 release of Time Control. Official Website | MySpace

The David Sanborn Group
Rrenowned and revered the world over as one of the greatest saxophone players of all-time, David Sanborn is an artist whose music has inspired countless other musicians while creating a body of work that spans the genres of rock ‘n’ roll, R&B, pop and jazz. A naturally gifted performer, David has helped defined the saxophone’s modern sound while influencing a generation.

Born July 30, 1945 in Tampa, Florida, David William Sanborn contracted polio when he was only 3 years old. As a part of his rehabilitative therapy, David was introduced to the saxophone. It was an introduction with consequences quite beyond the imagination of his parents, doctors – or anyone else. The selection of the alto sax – a favourite from David’s days spent listening to the radio – would prove to be a pivotal moment in the development of his sound. Official Website | Youtube