NEA Jazz Master Sheila Jordan is truly one of the living legends of jazz, having sung with a long list of jazz greats since the early 1950’s. Charlie Parker called her “the singer with the million-dollar ears”. We are honored to have her perform at the Festival two weeks before her 95th birthday!
Jazz guitarist Roni Ben-Hur has earned a sterling reputation as a musician and educator, renowned for his golden tone, improvisational brilliance, compositional lyricism and ability to charm peers, students and listeners alike. Eminent jazz critic Gary Giddins wrote in the Village Voice: “A limber and inventive guitarist, Ben-Hur keeps the flame alive and pure, burning in every note… He’s a guitarist who knows the changes and his own mind.” Roni — born in Israel in 1962 but a longtime American citizen, based in the New York City area — has recorded a dozen-plus albums as leader or co-leader, with The New York Times praising his “crisp, fluid style” and Time Out New York calling him “a formidable and consummately lyrical guitarist.” He has developed a rare facility in both straight-ahead jazz and samba/bossa-nova styles, underscored by his work with masters in each field, from bebop piano sage Barry Harris and winds ace Frank Wess to beloved Brazilian vocalist Leny Andrade and composer Marcus Valle. https://ronibenhur.com/
Harvie S, award winning bassist, educator, composer, arranger, and producer, is continually challenging himself and his peers, expanding the borders of musical direction.
A legendary bassist, he has performed and recorded with Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Dexter Gordon, Tony Bennett, Ray Baretto, Michael Brecker, Jean Pierre Rampal, Paquito D’Rivera, Gil Evans, Art Farmer, Mark Turner, Jim Hall, Billy Hart, Lee Konitz, Yusef Lateef, Dave Leibman, Joe Lovano, Pat Metheny, Paul Motion, Chico O’Farrill, Danilo Perez, Maria Schneider, Zoot Sims, Toots Thielemans, Ray Vega, James Williams, Phil Woods, Louie Bellson James Brown, Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Tom Harrell, Sheila Jordan, Steve Kuhn, Pat Martino, Manhattan Transfer, Wycliff Gordon, David Mathews, Ingrid Jenson, James Weidman, Eddie Henderson, James Moody, Danilo Perez, Anat Cohen, James Weidman, Jim Hall, Mike Stern, Dave Leibman, John Scofield, Dr. Billy Taylor, Dave Liebman, Yusef Lateef and Grover Washington Jr. and countless others. He can be heard on twenty albums as a leader, fifteen as a co-leader, and over four hundred albums as a sideman.