Sunday,
September 13
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Melba Joyce, Texas-born jazz and blues vocalist and songwriter now living in New York, has been a part of the international music scene since she began her professional career with David Newman at the age of 17 and performed with Louis Armstrong at 19. Since then she has appeared with such greats as Louis Jordan, Lionel Hampton, Gerald Wilson, and recorded with John Carter, Ellis Marsalis, and Dizzy Gillespie, to name a few.

Geary Moore, sensational Pittsburgh-born guitarist now living and working in the New York metropolitan area, recently appeared in a benefit concert with Jon Faddis, Jackie McLean, Phil Woods, Slide Hampton, Mulgrew Miller, Billy Drummond, T.S. Monk, Don Braden, John Lee, and Ronnell Bey.

Monday,
September 14
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Lenora Zenzalai Helm, vocalist from New York, was born in Chicago. She has appeared throughout the United States in concert and clubs-New York's Village Vanguard and Sweet Basil, Chicago's The Jazz Showcase-in various venues and on recordings with such artists as Junior Mance, Stanley Cowell, Branford Marsalis, Dane Liebman, Antonio Hart and others. The internationally syndicated radio program "Jazz from the City, selected her as the Best New Jazz Artist of 1994.

Brandon W. McCune, a 23-year-old pianist from Newark, New Jersey, a Jackie Robinson scholarship major in jazz studies at Rutgers University, received his Bachelor of Music degree in June 1998. He was playing jazz professionally by the age of 15 and has performed in Chicago at the Civic Opera House and the Ravinia Jazz Festival. He has studied piano with Kenny Barron. In New York, Mr. McCune has performed at clubs including the Blue Note and the Iridium. In addition to performances with Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead, he has played with Terence Blanchard, Von Freeman, Slide Hampton, and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble. He has also recorded with the Chicago Jazz Ensemble.

Tuesday,
September 15
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Steve Homan, a native of Akron, Ohio, was raised in Northern California where he began to teach himself to play guitar at the age of 12. Influenced by recordings of such guitarists as Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, and others, he performed with dance bands at resorts and clubs in the Midwest and Northwest. Now based in Sacramento, he has performed steadily with local groups and visiting notables including Howard Alden, Joey Calderazo, Herb Ellis, Pete Jolly, Abe Most, Anita O'Day, Dianne Schuur, Jimmy Smith, Ed Thigpen, Joe Williams, and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra.

Joe Gilman, pianist and arranger, is music director of the Capital Jazz Project, which preserves and performs jazz masterworks in the Sacramento, California region. As a performer he performed at the Detroit and Montreus Jazz Festivals with the Tom Peron/Bud Spangler Quartet, and has played or recorded with such artists as with Henry Robinette, David Baker, Slide Hampton, Woody Shaw, Joe Henderson, Eddie Harris, Joan Rivers, Henry Mancini, Diahann Carroll, and Jerry Vale.

Wednesday,
September 16
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Rick Condit, a saxophonist based in Lake Charles, Louisiana,, is a native of Oakland, California. Discovered by Stan Kenton as a member of the first all-star high school band at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Mr. Condit became his tenor sax soloist and for a year toured with Kenton's band. He has played with such astists as Louis Belson, Clark Terry, Oliver Nelson, Ray Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, and Bob Hope. Mr. Condit toured and recorded with "Truth," and other bands. A freelance musician and bandleader since 1981, he is also a teacher, clinician, and administrator.

Tom Wolfe, guitarist born in Cincinnati, is the director of jazz studies at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. As a performer he has appeared with Bob Hope, Chita Rivera, Englebert Humperdink, and others. He performed with the Guy Lombardo and Lawrence Welk orchestras and has played for theatrical productions, in regional jazz clubs, and in concerts at numerous colleges and festivals.

Angela Hagenbach and Joseph Cartwright

Joseph Cartwright, pianist and co-leader (with Angela Hagenbach) of Musa Nova Latin Jazz Ensemble in Kansas City, has been a professional musician for nearly 25 years. Currently musical director at Trumpets Restaurant and Jazz Club, he has been house pianist and musical director for several other Kansas City establishments. Mr. Cartwright has performed with such notables as Max Roach, Eddie Harrris, Clark Terry, David Samuels, Claude "Fiddler" Williams, Richie Cole, Jimmy Witherspoon, Sheila Jordan, and Mel Torme. A jazz clinician, he is also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Makanda Ken McIntyre, improvisational musician on flute and reed instruments living in New York, has been performing and teaching for more than 40 years. This acclaimed performer/composer and teacher in African inspired American and Caribbean music styles has participated in several recordings on various labels with artists including Nat Adderly, Carla Bley, Jaki Byard, Bill Dixon, Charlie Haden, Beaver Harris, Craig Harris, Michael Mantler, and Cecil Taylor. He continues to appear in various New York clubs and has been heard in concert and at festivals throughout the world.

Steven J. Smith, guitarist living in Flushing, New York, appears in various New York clubs as leader of his About Time duo and trio, and with the Makanda Ken McIntyre Orchestra. He performed weekly at the Lickety Split in Harlem during 1997, and has appeared in the past in his home town of San Diego with various groups, and throughout the East Coast with the jazz fusion group, Messiah.

Matthew Lewis, trumpet & vocals, is a 1997 graduate of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. He performs with as lead vocalist and jazz trumpeter in the retro jazz band Swing Shift, and sings lead vocals with the Georgia Frances Orchestra in Chicago. He has been a member of back-up orchestras for Steve Allen, Diahann Carroll, Vic Damone, Theresa Brewer, and the McGuire Sisters, and has performed with noted artists Bob Mintzer, Byron Stripling, the New York Voices, Marlena Shaw, and Nancy Wilson. You can contact Matthew at his web site.

Dan Zemelman, a jazz pianist/composer raised in Evanston, Illinois, currently resides in Madison, Wisconsin. A jazz musician and teacher known throughout the state via a live, call-in weekly radio program broadcast by Wisconsin Public Radio, he has appeared in person in cities including Madison, Milwaukee, and the Chicago area .