U.S. - Tunisian Music Connections
Project Artists
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Greg Knowles
Greg Knowles holds a doctorate in music and is a professor of music at the Juilliard School in New York City. He is a record producer and co-owns Bimperl Entertainment & Media which is a multi-platinum artist development company and extreme state of the art recording studio. He spent 20 years on the Board of Governors, National Trustee, and 3 terms as Los Angeles President of the Recording Academy (Grammy Awards). Starting as a studio and touring drummer in Los Angeles, Greg continues to perform with Aegean Chamber Percussion, a classical ensemble based in New York. He is the author of 3 music theory text books used at many universities across the country. In 2012, the Heredity Knights of Britannia awarded “Sir Gregory” a knighthood for his philanthropic work with young musicians.
https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/knowles-greg
https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/knowles-greg
Lydia Liebman
Lydia Liebman is a New York City-based music industry professional with experience as a publicist, radio host, promoter, journalist and musicians. She is the founder and president of Lydia Liebman Promotions, a leading PR agency based in NYC, with additional operations in London. While she grew up with jazz, she got her professional start while a student at Emerson College and Berklee College of Music as a radio host. She began her PR company in 2011. Since then, LLP has grown to become one of the most active and sough after PR firms in jazz today. LLP’s impressive roster includes artists from all spectrums of jazz including Lakecia Benjamin, Ralph Peterson, Regina Carter, Brandee Younger, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and the late Wallace Roney, among others. She has spearheaded GRAMMY campaigns for The Baylor Project, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Brian Lynch, Catherine Russell, and Randy Brecker, all of which have led to nominations and wins.
https://lydialiebman.com/
https://lydialiebman.com/
Jamie Baum
NYC jazz flutist/composer/producer/educator and Sunnyside Records artist Jamie Baum has toured the US and over 35 countries performing at major festivals and concert halls and has worked with artists as renowned and diverse as Paul Motian, Randy Brecker, Dave Douglas, Fred Hersch, Louis Cole, Anthony Braxton and Wadada Leo Smith. Her many awards and honors include a 2014 Guggenheim Fellowship, ten nominations by the Jazz Journalists Association for 'Flutist of the Year', appearing in the DownBeat Critics Polls annually since 1998, and making the short list in the JazzTimes 2018 Readers’Poll for both Best Flutist and Best New Release (for Bridges). She's received critical praise for six CDs as a leader, including four with her Septet+, a band she’s led for 20 years. Through a highly competitive auditioning process, Jamie was chosen to tour for the US State Department as a Kennedy Center Jazz Ambassador (’99-’03) and has since been frequently sponsored by the State Department while on her own tours in Europe and South Asia. Though focusing primarily on jazz, Ms. Baum has been involved in projects and tours performing classical, new music, jazz-funk/rock, Brazilian and Latin music. Baum teaches at the Manhattan School of Music, and is a clinician for Altus Flutes/KHS America.
https://jamiebaum.com/
https://jamiebaum.com/
Rodney Jones
Rodney Jones started playing the guitar at age 6. He has recorded two records for the Blue Note label, “The Undiscovered Few” and “Soul Manifesto”. He has toured worldwide, performed and recorded with a who’s who of music including Dizzy Gillespie, James Brown, Lena Horne, Quincy Jones, Christian McBride, Stevie Wonder, Elvin Jones, Kenny Burrell, Stan Getz, and countless others. He was the house guitarist for the Apollo Theatre for 9 years, and the staff guitarist for the Rosie O’Donnell Show for 6 years. He has written commercials and has more than 125 compositions recorded. He recently scored a documentary film for PBS about African American GIs in WW2. He served as Musical Director/Producer for Lena Horne, Ruth Brown, Gloria Lynne, Ernestine Anderson and others.. He has been a professor of Jazz Guitar Studies at The Juilliard School for 12 years and at The Manhattan School of Music for more than 20 years and has conducted clinics and workshops worldwide.
https://rodneyjones.com/
https://rodneyjones.com/
Ben Allison
Bassist/composer/bandleader Ben Allison has developed an international reputation as a performer, composer and producer and is a leading voice in contemporary jazz. He performs worldwide with his groups Think Free, The Trio, and the Ben Allison Band.
Ben has released 13 albums of original music, 7 of which reached #1 on the national jazz radio charts, garnering him 9 SESAC Performance Awards. His most recent album, Quiet Revolution is the 3rd to be released on his own Sonic Camera Records label. At the age of 25, Ben formed the Jazz Composers Collective, a non-profit organization that fostered and presented new music. He acted as the Collective’s Artistic Director from 1992 until 2005. Ben served two terms as President of the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy and currently chairs the Advocacy Committee. He testified in front of Congress in 2012 in support of performing rights.
He is on the faculty of The New School’s College of Contemporary and Performing Arts, where he teaches classes on music business/entrepreneurship, audio engineering and production, socially engaged artistry, as well as individual lessons in bass and composition.
https://benallison.com/
Ben has released 13 albums of original music, 7 of which reached #1 on the national jazz radio charts, garnering him 9 SESAC Performance Awards. His most recent album, Quiet Revolution is the 3rd to be released on his own Sonic Camera Records label. At the age of 25, Ben formed the Jazz Composers Collective, a non-profit organization that fostered and presented new music. He acted as the Collective’s Artistic Director from 1992 until 2005. Ben served two terms as President of the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy and currently chairs the Advocacy Committee. He testified in front of Congress in 2012 in support of performing rights.
He is on the faculty of The New School’s College of Contemporary and Performing Arts, where he teaches classes on music business/entrepreneurship, audio engineering and production, socially engaged artistry, as well as individual lessons in bass and composition.
https://benallison.com/
Renee Rosnes
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 a charter member of the all-star ensemble, the SFJAZZ Collective, with whom she toured for six years. Renee has produced concerts at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Renee is also the music director for ARTEMIS, a new allstar international band featuring the vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, clarinetist Anat Cohen, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana, bassist Noriko Ueda and drummer Allison Miller.
The self-titled debut album by ARTEMIS is out on vinyl! “A killer lineup of players, composer and performers who hail from all over the world… they all converge on this extremely cosmopolitan, sleek, rhythm-forward, modern sound.” - NPR
https://reneerosnes.com/
The self-titled debut album by ARTEMIS is out on vinyl! “A killer lineup of players, composer and performers who hail from all over the world… they all converge on this extremely cosmopolitan, sleek, rhythm-forward, modern sound.” - NPR
https://reneerosnes.com/
Fawzi Chekili
Fawzi Chekili has been leading several jazz projects over the last thirty five years in his home country and abroad, not only performing as a fine guitarist and composer but also creating several events featuring world renowned jazz artists. Over the past thirty five years, Fawzi Chekili has earned a reputation as one of Tunisia's international musicians. Born in 1950 in Kelibia (Tunisia), the guitarist grew up listening to local folk music before opening to the music of the world and jazz. After studying English literature in high school, Fawzi became a professional musician playing through several countries including US, Russia, Canada and more. Fawzi Chekili returned to Tunisia to become a highly sought- after side musician, arranger and composer, by the most revered artists in his home country
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawzi_Chekili
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fawzi_Chekili
Douglas Purviance
With a “big” sound that is unmatched in the big band jazz industry today, Douglas Purviance established his professional career in 1975 with a two-year engagement with the highly acclaimed Stan Kenton Orchestra. Douglas moved to New York in 1977 and soon became a member of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, now the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra. He was also a charter member of the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band. He has toured extensively with the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band, Carnegie Hall Jazz Band; Slide Hampton’s World of Trombones, Steve Turre, the Mingus Big Band, and many others. Currently he is the most wanted bass trombone player in the New York jazz scene and is playing with the Jimmy Heath Big Band; Christian McBride Big Band, Ron Carter’s Great Big Band and Jon Faddis’ New York Jazz Orchestra. Douglas is an active jazz educator and clinician and has conducted masterclasses throughout the world
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Purviance
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Purviance
Brandon Lee
Brandon Lee made his first connection with Wynton Marsalis through Essential Ellington. In 2001, Lee was 1 of 18 students chosen in the inaugural class of the jazz studies program at The Juilliard School. From 2009-12, Lee was on the jazz studies faculty as one of the youngest faculty to ever teach at The Juilliard School. Lee has performed with Christian McBride Big Band, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Birdland Big Band, David Berger Big Band, EyalVilner Big Band, Aaron Diehl featuring Cecile McLorin Salvant, Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, and the Kenny Barron Quintet, Fat Cat Big Band and many others. In February 2018, Lee was awarded his first Grammy as a sideman on Christian McBride’s big band album, “Bringin’ It”. As a leader, Lee has recorded three albums: “From Within” (2007), “Absolute-Lee” (2010), and his latest, “Common Thread” (2017). He also co-leads a 10-piece group called the Uptown Jazz Tentet (UJT). In March 2017, UJT released its first album titled, “There It Is.” Lee moved to North Carolina from 2013- 18 to pursue a college teaching position for the Miles Davis Studies program at University of North Carolina, Greensboro (UNCG). Brandon holds both a Bachelors and Masters of Music Degree from The Juilliard School’s jazz studies program.
https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/bleejazz
https://musicians.allaboutjazz.com/bleejazz
Al Pryor
Al Pryor, of Pryor Productions LLC, is a veteran of Mack Avenue Records where he was Executive Vice President for Artists & Repertoire for 15 years, Sony Music, Gramavision Records, Harry Belafonte Enterprises, Blue Jackel Entertainment, and arts advocate organizations like Chamber Music America, as well as various commercial and public broadcasting operations. Pryor was awarded Grammys as the producer for vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant in 2016 and 2018. 2016 was also the year that Pryor was appointed by the Librarian of Congress to the National Sound Preservation Board. Pryor has served as producer with Mr. Belafonte and his son David on the multiple Grammy nominated, The Long Road To Freedom: An Anthology of Black Music and contributed to the production of the multiple Grammy nominated box set Cuba: I Am Time. Pryor’s work as an A&R executive and producer has included collaborations with Gerald Wilson, and Oscar Castro Neves, Stanley Jordan, Danilo Perez, pianist Aaron Diehl, and Ms. Salvant. But many musicians and jazz fans in greater metropolitan New York remember Pryor from his days as a broadcaster and pioneer of the all-jazz public radio format in America, Newark’s WBGO. There he produced live concert broadcasts from New York City that were distributed throughout the nation and the world. Pryor is a graduate of Ithaca College and Western New England College School of Law.
A partial list of credits -
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/al-pryor-mn0000512165
A partial list of credits -
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/al-pryor-mn0000512165
Fela Davis
Fela Davis is a 2019 Hall of Fame inductee at Full Sail University and has over 17 years of experience in audio engineering. She is the founder and director of 23dB Productions and One of One Productions Studio that specializes in podcasting, video, and music production with clients Holding Court with Eboni K. Williams Podcast, SiriusXM, 23dB Productions has mixed for the likes of Swiss Chris, Ron Carter, Brian Blade, Jose Feliciano, Meshell Ndegeocello, Bilal and 6-time Grammy Award winner Christian McBride at various world wide tours including sold out shows in Asia, Europe, Canada, and across America. The 23dB crew has begun archiving The Jazz Museum in Harlem's oral history initiative Harlem Speaks, an interview series with musicians, authors, and other individuals who reflect on Harlem's rich history of jazz.
https://soundgirls.org/the-road-to-23dbproductions-fela-davis/
https://soundgirls.org/the-road-to-23dbproductions-fela-davis/
Alexa Tarantino
“[Alexa is] a one-woman wrecking crew, […] an indomitable force for expression, education, and absolute excellence.” - Wynton Marsalis, Managing and Artist Director, Jazz at Lincoln Center
Alexa Tarantino is an award-winning, vibrant, young jazz saxophonist, woodwind doubler, composer, and educator. Alexa’s “lovely, ardent way of improvising,” and “sharply plotted but gracefully unencumbered straight-ahead jazz [compositions]” (The New York Times) establish her individual voice which shines through as a dynamic performer and educator. Tarantino was recently named one of the “Top 5 Alto Saxophonists of 2019” by the JazzTimes Critics’ Poll. Her debut album, Winds of Change, peaked at #15 on the JazzWeek Charts and landed at #79 for JazzWeek’s Top 100 records of 2019. Tarantino is currently on faculty for Jazz at Lincoln Center's Youth Programs (High School Jazz Academy, Let Freedom Swing/Jazz for Young People) and represents the organization as a Clinician and Educator for various schools, festivals, and workshops.
https://alexatarantino.com/
Alexa Tarantino is an award-winning, vibrant, young jazz saxophonist, woodwind doubler, composer, and educator. Alexa’s “lovely, ardent way of improvising,” and “sharply plotted but gracefully unencumbered straight-ahead jazz [compositions]” (The New York Times) establish her individual voice which shines through as a dynamic performer and educator. Tarantino was recently named one of the “Top 5 Alto Saxophonists of 2019” by the JazzTimes Critics’ Poll. Her debut album, Winds of Change, peaked at #15 on the JazzWeek Charts and landed at #79 for JazzWeek’s Top 100 records of 2019. Tarantino is currently on faculty for Jazz at Lincoln Center's Youth Programs (High School Jazz Academy, Let Freedom Swing/Jazz for Young People) and represents the organization as a Clinician and Educator for various schools, festivals, and workshops.
https://alexatarantino.com/
Rich Falco
Rich Falco continues to share much with the jazz world. He is a performing guitarist, a university professor on the WPI faculty as Director of Jazz Studies, a jazz concert producer who presented more than 60 jazz concerts and workshops, a frequent high school clinician and presenter at regional, national and international jazz education conferences, a popular jazz festival adjudicator, Jazz Worcester Festival founder and executive director, a jazz historian and private guitar instructor.
Ensembles under Professor Falco’s direction have performed in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Russia, Romania, the Czech Republic, Austria, Egypt, Spain, Greece, Canada, Italy, Poland and the United States. He has produced and presented over 50 internationally acclaimed artists on the WPI campus for clinics, workshops and concerts, including such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Lovano, Clark Terry, Sun Ra, Cyrus Chestnut, Marcus Roberts and many more.
http://www.richfalco.com/
Ensembles under Professor Falco’s direction have performed in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Russia, Romania, the Czech Republic, Austria, Egypt, Spain, Greece, Canada, Italy, Poland and the United States. He has produced and presented over 50 internationally acclaimed artists on the WPI campus for clinics, workshops and concerts, including such luminaries as Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Lovano, Clark Terry, Sun Ra, Cyrus Chestnut, Marcus Roberts and many more.
http://www.richfalco.com/
Mehdi Azaiez
Guitarist, composer, Mehdi Azaiez was born and raised in Tunis, he started the guitar as a self-taught at 15, playing blues and Rock. Curious, versatile, he became more and more interested in Jazz, until a chance meeting with John Abercrombie at the Tabarka Festival in 2000 made him turn resolutely to music. . In 2002, he joined Paris, traveled to Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium and worked hard, from masterclass conservatories where he had the chance to learn from Frédéric Favarel, Michel Perez, Misja Fitzgerald Michel, then Peter Bernstein, Ben Monder, Roberto Cecchetto and Lage Lund among others. From concerts to projects, He now sails between France and Tunisia where he also develops masterclasses and workshops for the emerging generation of jazz musicians.
https://global.jazzhistorydatabase.com/mehdi-azaiez/
https://global.jazzhistorydatabase.com/mehdi-azaiez/
Michael Benedict
Michael Benedict is a percussionist and has a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from the Mason School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He has been a professional musician for over forty years. Michael has performed across the United States extensively and has done tours in Austria and Tunisia. He has recorded five albums as a leader and his latest release, “Circulation: The Music of Gary McFarland” was listed as one of the Best Jazz Albums of 2015 by National Public Radio. Michael is a highly regarded educator and taught high school band, jazz band and music theory in the Northern Catskill Region of New York State for twenty-five years. He has an extensive history as a clinician and guest conductor for high school honor jazz ensembles. Michael is an Artist Endorser for One Vibe by Marimba One, Grover Pro Percussion, Soultone Cymbals and Regal Tip Drumsticks.
https://michaelbenedict.com/
https://michaelbenedict.com/