A respected jazz pianist, composer and educator, Lori, along with her husband Roger Spencer, has lived in the Nashville area since 1988. In addition to directing production shows and conducting musical theatre, she has performed with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Red Holloway, Jimmy Smith, Cal Collins, Roy McCurdy, Terry Gibbs, Pete Christlieb, Edie Gorme, Read More

Originally from Terre Haute, Indiana, Roger has had an extensive musical career. He has performed, traveled and recorded with such artists as Les Brown and His Band of Renown, Harry James, Rosemary Clooney, Sam Butera, Tony Bennett, Ray Conniff, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco and Carl Fontana. He and his wife Lori Mechem Read More

Jazz Vocalist, Sandra Dudley is a versatile singer that has entertained audiences for more than three decades.  An educator as well as performer, Sandra has been on the faculty at several universities including St. Francis Xavier University in Canada and University of Houston.   She has been Assistant Professor of Commercial Voice at Belmont University in Read More

Connye Florance is an award-winning vocalist (BET Jazz Vocalist Of The Year, 2000) and dynamic actress who has career credits which include stage, studio and screen performances. She has headlined regional and area jazz festivals with her award winning ensemble, performing alongside such notables as Randy Brecker, Maynard Ferguson and Beegie Adair. She has toured Read More

Vali is the producing artistic director of the Actors Bridge Ensemble, which she co-founded with Bill Feehely in 1996. She has produced over 60 productions for the company, has acted over 20, directed more than a dozen, and authored four. Vali holds a Master of Arts degree in Performance Studies. Her thesis work in the Read More

From his first role at ten years old as the lead character, Tom, in his elementary school’s production of “Tom Sawyer,” vocalist Joe Freel progressed to significant performances while earning a Bachelor of Music degree from Boston’s esteemed Berklee College of Music. Between Tom Sawyer and Berklee were musical theatre, wedding and rock bands, madrigal Read More

Carolyn has been a professional theater artist for over 35 years, with credits that span from Off-Broadway to cruise ships, from edge-y black-box spaces to large regional-theatre houses. She has performed in over 25 projects with the Tennessee Repertory Theater, where her favorites include Val in “A Chorus Line”, and Aunt Gert in “Lost in Read More

Cecilia grew up in the interior of São Paulo state, Brazil, later migrating with her family to the state of Paraná. She earned a BA in psychology from Catholic University of Paraná (PUC) in Curitiba, and has studied Japanese, French, Italian, Spanish and English. Cecilia has lived in Nashville since 1989, where she has taught Read More

Liz Johnson is a vocologist and voice teacher based in Nashville, TN.  She practices voice habilitation with people from all over the world, and blends her training in psychology, jazz, and voice science to offer clients a balanced and holistic approach to vocal health. An Illinois native, Liz began her musical study at age 6 Read More

Arranger/Background Vocalist on Gold and Platinum CD’s B.M., Fisk University Arranger/background vocalist on gold and platinum releases “Why Haven’t I Heard From You?” by Reba McIntyre; “We Shall Be Free” by Garth Brooks, “Addictive Love” by BeBe and CeCe Winans, and “House of Love” by Amy Grant Recipient of Grammy nomination for Bigger World (WB), Read More

Margaret Rose received a full scholarship and graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in Performance-Classical Voice. She studied with Clifford Balshaw most recently with Ron Browning, using the Speech Level Singing method. Margaret Rose teaches The Voice Lab at the Nashville Jazz Workshop, a popular course and one that can be taken as many times Read More

Annie Sellick is a poster child for hard work and determination. She got her start at formal training right here at the Nashville Jazz Workshop, after finding initial success singing in clubs while in college. She mastered the repertoire of vocal classes at NJW and never looked back. She stepped up her music studies, taking Read More

Vocalist and songwriter Dara Tucker is making her mark in the world of organic, heartfelt music by blending the melodic and lyrical richness of the central plains with the soulful strains of the African American experience. She has recently relocated to New York, NY after living in Nashville, Tennessee for several years. Dara co-wrote the Read More

Originally from southeastern Kentucky, Christina moved to Nashville in 2001 after graduating Magna Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Since her arrival in Music City, her versatile voice of 3+ octaves and love of all cultures have gained her entry into a wide array of musical situations, including appearances at various Read More

Greg Bryant is a longtime contributor to the music scene in Nashville, as a bassist, a bandleader (Concurrence, The Greg Bryant Expansion)  and as a broadcaster. That last role, which goes back to his early teenage years, has now brought him to the greater New York area and WBGO-FM, as the host of Jazz After Read More

Originally from Terre Haute, Indiana, Roger has had an extensive musical career. He has performed, traveled and recorded with such artists as Les Brown and His Band of Renown, Harry James, Rosemary Clooney, Sam Butera, Tony Bennett, Ray Conniff, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Terry Gibbs, Buddy DeFranco and Carl Fontana. He and his wife Lori Mechem Read More

Jonathan A. Wires is jazz performer, composer, and educator. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Memphis and a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from Middle Tennessee State University. He has studied bass with Tim Goodwin, John Chiego, Michael Formanek, and Denis Irwin. Wires has been recorded on numerous records Read More

After arriving from New York in 1992, Chris has been one of the most sought-after jazz drummers in the South. He has recorded and played with many great musicians while in Nashville. Chris’s first professional big band gig was with the Maynard Ferguson Band, and he has also played with Don Grolnick. A native of Read More

As a Memphis native and Nashville resident, Marcus has Toured with Kirk Whalum, keb Mo, Taj Mahal, Lady Antebellum, Larry Carlton, Donna Summer, India Arie, Billy Preston, Earl Klugh and many others. Marcus has also recorded with Grammy and Stellar Award nominated and winning artists’ Kirk Whalum, Keb mo & Taj Mahal, India Arie, Michael Read More

Drummer Josh Hunt is one of the newest additions to the Nashville Jazz Workshop faculty. He studied Percussion at Western Kentucky University, where he received a Bachelor’s degree before going on to obtain a Master’s degree in Percussion Performance from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Since moving to Nashville in 2009 Josh has been one Read More

Jordan Perlson was born in the suburbs of Philadelphia, where he began drumming at the age of 10. Jordan studied privately with numerous teachers throughout his childhood, but it was not until he began studying with famed drummer Joe Morello, at the age of 17, did he really begin to develop his technique and sound. Read More

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Derrek Phillips was heavily indoctrinated by the sounds of Tower of Power, Journey, Sly and the Family Stone, Metallica, Tony! Toni! Tone! and Digital Underground. Thanks to his parents and older brothers, Derrek developed an early obsession for music. This obsession led to years in local bands, Read More

Giovanni Rodriguez is a Nashville based Grammy Award-winning multi-instrumentalist, born in Italy to Dominican parents. Growing up in Europe, and through the diversity of his parent’s music, Giovanni showed an interest in music at an early age and learned to appreciate and respect all genres of music.​ Giovanni is a composer, producer, arranger, educator, and Read More

In 1995, Chester and his family moved from L.A. to Nashville. He is known for a very successful playing and recording career with such diverse artists as Weather Report, Frank Zappa, George Duke, Phil Collins, Santana, The Pointer Sisters, The Bee Gees, Jack McDuff, and many more. Chester is on the faculty at Belmont University Read More

Guitarist and harmonica player Pat Bergeson has written, toured, and recorded with many of his musical heroes. Beginning at the University of Illinois in his home state, he moved on to New York City and picked up a Jazz Studies degree at William Paterson University. After playing in New York for ten years, he moved Read More

Mel Deal has over forty years experience as a professional instrumentalist and has worked in venues ranging from solo jazz guitar to The Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Because of his versatility, he has also performed with many pop and country music stars. In addition to a playing career, he is part of the faculty at The Read More

Chip Henderson is a jazz guitarist, composer, arranger and educator. Besides teaching at NJW, Chip is on the faculty of Middle Tennessee State University where he teaches jazz and commercial guitar. Chip has spent time on stage with many notable musicians like Ernie Watts, Bill Mobley, Mulgrew Miller, Alvin Fielder, George Cartwright, Ron Eschete and Read More

Lindsey Miller is a Nashville based touring and session guitarist whose skills span an array of musical styles and genres. Her list of credits include tours with Grammy winning artists Kevin Max (DC Talk/Audio Adrenaline) and Lauren Daigle, performances with the Nashville Symphony, and TV appearances on ABC/CMT’s Nashville and CBS’ Tell Me a Story. Read More

Andy Reiss grew up in San Francisco, Calif., playing in a wide variety of bands all through high school. Finding himself in a starving rock and roll band after high school, when given the opportunity of joining a showband and going on the road, he jumped on it. It was the beginning of a dozen Read More

Dann is one of the south’s most sought after percussionists, and is a Latin Jazz and Contemporary Rhythm and Blues percussionist and drummer. He is an expert in Afro-Cuban and Brazilian drumming, and has an encyclopedic knowledge of these styles. He has performed with Michael English, Mel Tillis, Armando Perazza, Mose Allison and Arturo Sandoval. Read More

Beegie Adair grew up in Cave City, Kentucky, where she began taking piano lessons at age five. She continued to study piano throughout college, earning a B.S. in Music Education at Western State University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. During and after college, she played in jazz bands, and spent three years teaching music to children Read More

Pat is an accomplished pianist, composer, producer, arranger, teacher, and highly respected studio musician. His credits span the musical spectrum of jazz, R&B, pop, country and gospel. Touring Europe, Japan, South America, Australia, Canada and the United States with exceptional artists; Pat is privileged to tour with Michael McDonald, and has previously toured with Carmen Read More

A native of Rochester New York, Bruce and his family have found a home in Nashville. Bruce studied jazz and classical music at New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, New York University (B.S.), Eastman School of Music (M.M.), and has a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Colorado – Boulder.  Bruce Read More

Matt Endahl is a pianist, composer and educator working in Nashville. He has performed in groups led by Jeff Coffin, Rahsaan Barber, Duffy Jackson, Christina Watson, Marcus Finnie, Dara Tucker, and many others. He has also shared the stage with legendary figures such as Jimmy Heath, Arthur Blythe, Marcus Belgrave, Jane Ira Bloom, and Dave Read More

A respected jazz pianist, composer and educator, Lori, along with her husband Roger Spencer, has lived in the Nashville area since 1988. In addition to directing production shows and conducting musical theatre, she has performed with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Red Holloway, Jimmy Smith, Cal Collins, Roy McCurdy, Terry Gibbs, Pete Christlieb, Edie Gorme, Read More

Born and raised in New Jersey, studying and performing since the age of three, it was in junior high school, when studying with jazz pianist/educator, Keith MacDonald that Jody began his life long love affair with jazz.  Nardone attended William Paterson University of NJ, earning a Bachelor of Music degree in Jazz Studies and Performance. Read More

California native David Rodgers is one of the most exciting talents in Nashville’s jazz scene today. Currently an active member of Keb’ Mo’s band as keyboardist, he has also recorded on numerous records including Keb’s Grammy-winning Oklahoma (2019). He has toured and performed worldwide at the Montreux Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, and the Read More

In thirty-plus years as a composer, arranger, instrumentalist and producer, Jeff Steinberg has been active in all areas of the music industry: jazz, pop, R&B and classical recordings, film, television, theater, advertising, corporate communications, publishing, and music education. After graduating from the Berklee School in 1969, he joined The Glenn Miller Orchestra under the direction Read More

Saxophonist Don Aliquo has been described as a musician with a “fluid and articulate flow of always surprising ideas, sophisticated with a dexterous technique and an incredibly smooth tenor sound that seduces rather than shouts.” His career began in jazz-rich Pittsburgh, where he grew up listening to and learning from the city’s jazz legends while Read More

Since earning a Master’s Degree in Jazz Performance from Manhattan School of Music in 2005, Rahsaan Barber has set out on a singular path of musical excellence in performance, composition and education. Residing proudly in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, Barber enjoys a career that encompasses an ever-expanding range of musical styles including his first Read More

Multi-instrumentalist Evan Cobb is a leading force in Nashville’s vibrant musical scene. Known foremost for his tenor saxophone playing, Cobb is in demand as a jazz player, session player, and horn section member. He has performed with a wide array of artists including Steven Tyler, Chris Stapleton w Maren Morris & Mavis Staples, Aretha Franklin, Read More

Jeff moved to Nashville in 1991 after graduating from North Texas State and has been recording, playing, touring, writing and teaching ever since. Jeff records and tours with Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, and also performs and records with his own group, the “Mu’tet”. He has played and recorded with such artists as the Dave Read More

Performer, recording artist, teacher For more than 30 years, Joel Frahm  lived in New York City, working in jazz clubs, collaborating with other musicians, and honing his craft. He now lives in Nashville, where he continues to play the music he loves. His bold, inventive tenor sound has won fans in the U.S. and across Read More

Ryan Middagh is the Director of Jazz Studies at the Blair School. Middagh is an innovative educator, composer, arranger, saxophonist, band leader and clinician who has traveled the globe sharing his unique blend of talents and musical influences with audiences and music students. A passionate advocate for jazz education at all levels, he pursues creative Read More

Multi-reed player/saxophonist Denis Solee has lived in Nashville since 1974. Interested and skilled in all types of music, he has played in military bands, symphony orchestras, Broadway shows, big bands, and small groups. He has appeared on radio, TV, films, and recordings for artists from Ray Stevens to Ray Charles; Mel Tillis to Mel Torme; Read More

Based out of Nashville TN, Chris West has been performing, composing/arranging, and teaching since 1998. An accomplished saxophonist/woodwindist, West has been working as a freelance musician, as well as touring internationally with several groups for over 20 years. West holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commercial Music Performance/Composition, and a Master’s degree in Jazz Studies. His Read More

Nashville, TN based trombone player Roy Agee is a musical phenom – an absolute powerhouse from the word GO! Trombonist for the late musical genius Prince from 2012 until his tragic death in 2016, Roy Agee continues to stun audiences with his raw power and ability to connect on a deeply emotional musical level. Two-time Read More

Trained at Indiana University and the Manhattan School of Music, Roland Barber has performed with an impressively diverse list of artists including Chaka Khan, Duke Ellington Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center, Kirk Whalum, the Wooten Brothers, the Chico O’Farill Orchestra, Robin Thicke, the Temptations, Manny Oquendo y Libre, and the Saturday Night Read More

John Hinchey is an experienced arranger, orchestrator and music prep professional. His list of clients include Sting’s Rainforest Benefit Foundation concerts, Royal Caribbean Cruise lines, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Earl Klugh, Lee Ann Womack, BJ Thomas, Broadway vocalist Rob Evan, and others. John also serves as a consultant to music industry clients in the fields of Read More

Raised in the “Windy City”, Rod’s incredible jazz trumpet playing has taken him through all of the major U.S. cities and many cities over seas. He has performed with such artists as Lou Rawls, The O’Jays, Bebe and Cece Winans, Take 6, Kirk Whalum, and Max Roach and his Brass Quintet. Rod studied music at Read More

Jonathon Neal is a professional musician and educator who serves as the Musical Director of Brassville, a local Nashville brass band in the New Orleans tradition. Brassville performed at 2021’s “Black on Buchanan” Juneteenth celebration and has performed at many of Nashville’s historical venues, including ACME Feed & Seed, 3rd and Lindsley, and Exit/In. A native Read More

Arranger, composer, trumpeter, and educator Jamey Simmons grew up in Wisconsin and knew early on that music was his unique gift. He earned his Bachelors of Music at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and his Master of Music in Jazz and Contemporary Media at the Eastman School of Music where he studied under Read More