Lafayette Harris Jr. Known as a “go to” pianist by many musicians, Lafayette Harris Jr. currently performs and records with legendary saxophonist Houston Person where he has recorded on three of Mr. Person’s CDs. Lafayette has toured with some of the greatest musicians of all time including the four-time GRAMMY® nominee – the late, great, Ernestine Anderson. Lafayette […] Read more »
Julius Rodriguez Julius Rodriguez, also known as “Orange Julius,” is an American pianist, drummer and composer. Rodriguez grew up in White Plains, New York and is of Haitian descent. He began to study classical piano at an early age. He was exposed to jazz through his father, an avid jazz aficionado. He later studied at The Juilliard […] Read more »
Isaiah J. Thompson Pianist and composer Isaiah J. Thompson is originally from West Orange, New Jersey. He began studying with pianist Alla Epelbaum at The Calderone School of Music and Bob Mikula from an early age and soon after enrolled in Jazz House Kids and NJPAC Jazz For Teens. He later was admitted to The Juilliard School where […] Read more »
Vitor Goncalves Vitor Gonçalves is a pianist, accordionist, composer and arranger from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After an illustrious career as an in demand musician in Brazil, playing with such icons as Hermeto Pascoal, Maria Bethânia, Itiberê Zwarg, and many others, he made the move to New York City, where he currently resides. Since arriving here in […] Read more »
Tadataka Unno Tadataka Unno started playing piano at the age of 4, and Jazz piano at the age of 9. He began his career as a musician at the age of 18 while a student at Tokyo University of the Arts. He has performed with leading jazz artists in Japan including Yoshio Suzuki, Kimiko Ito, Masahiko Osaka […] Read more »
Matthew Whitaker Matthew Whitaker‘s musical journey began at age 3 with a keyboard gift from his grandfather. He’s now an artist, captivating audiences globally and appearing on notable TV shows like Showtime at the Apollo, The Today Show, Ellen and a feature on 60 Minutes. Matthew is a versatile artist, starring, producing, and scoring the All-Arts Emmy-nominated documentary […] Read more »
Renee Rosnes Renee Rosnes is enjoying an illustrious career as one of the premier pianists and composers of her generation, having performed and recorded with some of the most iconic figures in jazz including Joe Henderson, JJ Johnson, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson and James Moody. She has released 18 albums as a leader, which showcase her virtuosity, […] Read more »
Shelly Berg Shelly Berg is the dynamic Artistic Director of The Jazz Cruise and has once again helped to curate an amazing line-up of performances for the cruise, as well as being a gifted member of our All Stars. A Steinway piano artist and a five-time GRAMMMY®-nominated arranger and orchestrator, Shelly has performed and recorded with a […] Read more »
Benny Green Benny Green is a hard bop jazz pianist who was a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He has been compared to Bud Powell and Oscar Peterson in style and counts them as influences. Green was born in New York City. He grew up in Berkeley, California, and studied classical piano from the age of seven. He was also interested in jazz from an […] Read more »
Mathis Picard Mathis Picard is a pianist, composer and producer in the international music scene. Based in New York City and from France & Madagascar, Mathis honors his multi-cultural background by merging musical influences and elevating sonic synchronicity. Named a “rising star” by The Scotsmen paper, Mathis is an ASCAP Next Generation of Songwriters Recipient, a member […] Read more »