Jazz trumpeter and composer Randy Brecker has shaped the sound of jazz, R&B and rock for more than four decades. His trumpet and flugelhorn performances have graced hundreds of albums by a wide range of artists from James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen to Frank Sinatra, Steely Dan, Jaco Pastorius and Frank Zappa. His 19 Grammy® nominations […]

Christian McBride is an 8-time Grammy® Award winning bassist/composer and the host of NPR’s Jazz Night in America. Since the early 1990’s Christian McBride has recorded on over 300 dates as a sideman, as well as being a leader from his debut recording in 1995. Aside from various stints with Sting, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, […]

Renowned for his singular combination of robust swing and poetic insight, two-time Grammy® winner Kurt Elling has secured his place among the world’s foremost jazz vocalists. Declared “the standout male vocalist of our time” by The New York Times, Elling has garnered unprecedented accolades, including a fourteen-year run atop the DownBeat Critics Poll, a dozen […]

In a career spanning more than 60 years, both as a solo artist and bandleader, Mr. Valdés has distilled elements of the Afro-Cuban music tradition, jazz, classical music, rock, and more, into a deeply personal style. Winner of seven GRAMMY® and four Latin GRAMMY® Awards, Mr. Valdés, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Latin […]

Drummer Billy Hart was recently named an NEA Jazz Master and with his long and impressive resume, it was surprising that he wasn’t named one before. A first-call sideman for many years, he’s performed and recorded with just about every major figure in the history of jazz (including Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Smith, Wes Montgomery, Pharoah […]

Drummer Jeff Hamilton has been honing his big band skills since the tender age of 8, earning him a presence on the stage with legends like Ella Fitzgerald, the Count Basie Orchestra, Rosemary Clooney, Monty Alexander, and Diana Krall. Featured in nearly 200 recordings – including 16 Grammy® Award-winning titles – with the likes of Natalie Cole, […]

One of the pillars of The Jazz Cruise for 20+ years, Bassist, Composer, Arranger and Producer, John Clayton, is a busy man. With a Grammy on his shelf and nine additional nominations, artists such as Diana Krall, Paul McCartney, Regina Carter, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gladys Knight, Queen Latifah, and Charles Aznavour have had spots on […]

Lewis Nash is one of jazz’s most recorded musicians, appearing on over 500 recordings including 10 Grammy® winners and numerous Grammy® nominees. Nash has the distinction of being the only musician in jazz history featured on the winners in both the “Best Jazz Vocal” and “Best Jazz Instrumental” album categories in two separate years: the […]

Paquito D’Rivera has won a combined 11 Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards (5 Grammy and 9 Latin Grammys). He is celebrated both for his artistry in Latin jazz and his achievements as a classical composer.  He is the recipient of the NEA Jazz Masters Award 2005 and the National Medal of the Arts 2005, as […]

Houston Person is a legend in jazz. After years as producer and house tenor for HighNote Records and touring with the late Etta Jones, Person is now known as a master of popular songs played in a relaxed, highly accessible style reminiscent of the great Ben Webster. Houston’s appearances as sideman are legion, and include […]

Since coming of age in the nurturing environment of a very musical family and a distinguished bloodline of drummers, New Orleans native Herlin Riley emerged from that most creative era of all things rhythmic in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, to enliven the ensembles of such influential and demanding improvisers as pianist Ahmad Jamal […]

Honored by The National Endowment for the Arts as a 2010 Jazz Master, Kenny Barron has an unmatched ability to mesmerize audiences with his elegant playing, sensitive melodies and infectious rhythms. The Los Angeles Times named him “one of the top jazz pianists in the world” and Jazz Weekly calls him “The most lyrical piano […]

Drummer, composer, arranger Allison Miller is descended from a long line of musicians on the maternal side of her family. Her grandmother was a professional organist in Oklahoma, whose sister was a professional singer. Her mother is a classical pianist and choral director. Miller has a cousin who she described as “a very famous opera singer”. […]

Renee Rosnes is one of the premier jazz pianists and composers of her generation. Upon moving to New York City from Vancouver, Canada, she quickly established a reputation of high regard, touring and recording with such masters as Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Hutcherson, J.J. Johnson, James Moody, and legendary bassist Ron Carter. She was […]

GRAMMY® Award-winning pianist and composer Taylor Eigsti started playing the piano when he was four years old. Growing up in Menlo Park, CA, Eigsti was quickly labeled a prodigy, and has since released 8 albums as a bandleader, in addition to appearing on over 60 albums as a sideman.  One of Eigsti’s first professional performances […]

Shelly Berg is the dynamic Music Director of The Jazz Cruise and has once again curated 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 Grammy®-nominated arranger and orchestrator, Shelly has performed and recorded with a wide range […]

Peter Martin is an acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, arranger, educator and entrepreneur. Peter Martin performed on and arranged Dianne Reeves’ Grammy®-winning release A Little Moonlight and appeared in George Clooney’s 2005 film Good Night, and Good Luck, as well as being the featured pianist and an arranger on the Grammy®-winning soundtrack. Peter has also performed, […]

As leader of his own trio, and as a long-time member of the Jeff Hamilton Trio and the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, pianist-composer Tamir Hendelman is known for his dynamic and sensitive touch, and his imaginative arranging. He has performed with Benny Golson, Eddie Henderson, Houston Person, James Moody, and Sean Jones, recorded and arranged for […]