Chuck Redd is well known internationally as a performer on drums and vibraphone. Chuck began recording and touring the globe when he joined the Charlie Byrd Trio at the age of 21. He also became a member of the Great Guitars (Barney Kessel, Byrd, and Herb Ellis.) To his credit are 25 European tours and six tours of Japan, with the Barney Kessel Trio, Ken Peplowski and the Benny Goodman Tribute Orchestra, Terry Gibbs, and Conte Candoli. He served as Artist-In-Residence at The Smithsonian Jazz Café in Washington, DC from 2004-2008.

Chuck is the 2019 musical director of The Oregon Festival of American Music. He is a featured soloist, annually at The W.C. Handy Music Festival, The Newport Beach Jazz Party, The West Texas Jazz Party, The North Carolina Jazz Festival, and The Roswell Jazz Festival.

Chuck was featured vibraphonist with the Mel Torme All-Star Jazz Quintet from 1991 until 1996. While appearing in New York with Torme, Ira Gitler of Jazz Times said: “Redd’s vibes were equally notable for vigor and melodiousness.”

Jazz Times praised Redd’s playing describing his vibes work as, “Exquisite! “

The Washington Post admired his “melodic sparkle.”

For two consecutive years, Chuck was awarded “Best Vibist” in New York City’s Hot House Jazz Magazine 2015 and 2016 Fans Decision award.

In 2007 Chuck was featured with the prestigious “Milt Jackson Tribute Band”. Other recent engagements include jazz cruises, residencies with Bucky Pizzarelli and Ken Peplowski at Jazz at Lincoln Center and Birdland, headlining at Smalls, Mezzrow and The Kitano in New York City and leading groups around the US. He has toured and performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Mel Torme, Tommy Flanagan, Bill Mays, Ray Brown, Monty Alexander, Laurindo Almeida, Tal Farlow, Rebecca Kilgore, Nicki Parrott, Scott Hamilton, Mickey Roker and Houston Person.

Redd is featured on over 80 recordings. Releases include his Arbors CD, All This and Heaven Too, featuring Gene Bertoncini and George Mraz, Chopin Jazz with Rossano Sportiello You’re My Everything with Dick Hyman and Jay Leonhart, and Nice N’ Easy with Houston Person. He can also be heard on the soundtrack to the popular television series, “The Great Chefs” and the NPR broadcast “Jazz Smithsonian.”

Chuck’s career highlights include a concert with the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet in Africa for the Namibian Independence Celebration, a recital at the White House with the Barney Kessel Trio, four concerts at Carnegie Hall with the Mel Torme Quintet, The Great Guitars, and The Charlie Byrd Trio, and an appearance on The Tonight Show. In 2008, he was a featured soloist in the finale concert at The Lionel Hampton International Jazz festival with The Lionel Hampton Big Band and the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra. In February 2013, Chuck performed with the Dream Band co-leading with Jeff Hamilton in a salute to vibes legend Terry Gibbs. Chuck was the 2014 honoree at The Roswell Jazz Festival and the 2013 Los Angeles Jazz Society’s Vibes Summit honoree.

In addition to leading his own groups, Chuck was a member of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra for 15 years. He frequently performs in New York City and is touring nationally at festivals and clubs. Chuck is on the faculty at The University of Maryland School of Music and presents master classes, workshops, and lectures around the country.

His Arbors CD Happy All The Time, is a critically acclaimed tribute to his mentor, Barney Kessel, and features Monty Alexander and Jeff Hamilton. Chuck’s Noteworthy Jazz CD, When Redd is Blue, is a collaboration with his brother, pianist Robert Redd, featuring saxophonist Harry Allen. Chuck’s Arbors release, The Common Thread features Mickey Roker, Bob Cranshaw, Houston Person, and Rossano Sportiello. Chuck produced and is featured on the brand new recording,
For George, Cole, and Duke, led by Harry Allen for Blue Heron Records. Chuck’s 2019 release is Groove City on Dalphine Records, featuring John Di Martino, Nicki Parrott, Lewis Nash and Jerry Weldon.

Known as a forward-thinking musician with a passion for the jazz tradition, guitarist Randy Napoleon is an Associate Professor at Michigan State University. He is currently touring as a leader after twenty years of road apprenticeship with some of the most celebrated musicians and groups of our time. 

Napoleon cut his teeth touring with pianist Benny Green, The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, Michael Bublé, and a thirteen-year tenure with Freddy Cole. He has also performed with artists across the jazz spectrum such as Bill Charlap, Natalie Cole, Monty Alexander, Rodney Whitaker, and John Pizzarelli. 

Napoleon has performed or arranged on over seventy records. He arranged as well as performed on Freddy Cole’s seven most recent records including the Grammy-nominated releases, Freddy Cole Sings Mr. B and My Mood Is You. He performed on The Clayton Hamilton Orchestra: Live at MCG. Napoleon is featured on Bublé’s Grammy-nominated CD/DVD Caught in the Act.

Napoleon has played on The Tonight Show, Late Night With David Letterman, The View, The Today Show, and The Ellen DeGeneres show as well as TV shows in South America, Europe, and Asia. He has performed across the globe at notable venues including Royal Albert Hall, The Sydney Opera House, The Hollywood Bowl, and Lincoln Center. 

Guitarist George Benson calls Napoleon “sensational.” Detroit Free Press critic Mark Stryker says Napoleon “plays with a gentle, purring tone that makes you lean in close to hear its range of color and articulation.” Washington Post critic Mike Joyce praises his “exceptionally nimble finger-style technique.” Comparing him to Wes Montgomery, music critic Michael G. Nastos says, “he displays an even balance of swing, soul, and single-line or chord elements that mark an emerging voice dedicated to tradition and universally accessible jazz values.”

Napoleon has four records as a band leader with a fifth, Common Tones, released Oct 4, 2019 on the Detroit Music Factory label. 

Since 1989, string bassist Paul Keller has led his 15-piece big band Paul Keller Orchestra to critical and popular acclaim. The PKO’s American Music Research Foundation Big Band Boogie Woogie concert was broadcast nationally on PBS throughout 2009 and 2010. The PKO’s Jazz Student Outreach Program hosted 30 school bands and over 700 student musicians in 2010.

Paul is a prolific composer. In October 2010, the Ypsilanti Symphony Orchestra premiered Paul’s five-movement symphonic composition The Ypsilanti Orchestral Jazz Suite. This major piece, written for jazz band and full symphony orchestra, celebrates Paul’s hometown of Ypsilanti, MI. The suite was received enthusiastically and was praised by community leaders as an important work of art with historical significance.

Paul’s magnum opus The Michigan Jazz Suite is a collection of 15 Keller compositions inspired by people, places, and icons of the great state of Michigan. Featuring the Paul Keller Ensemble with titles like “Big Mac,” and “Soo’s Blues,” The Michigan Jazz Suite won the Detroit Music Award for Best Jazz Recording of 2008.

In 2007, Keller created 15 original orchestra charts for clarinetist Dave Bennett’s symphonic Pops show A Salute to Benny Goodman. This show, composed for jazz band and full symphony orchestra has been performed by over 25 major US orchestras. Keller also wrote Bennett’s second orchestra Pops show Clarinet Is King, featuring 10 new original Keller arrangements of songs from Artie Shaw, Pete Fountain, and Jimmy Dorsey.

In 1989, Keller formed PKO Records to feature various southeast Michigan jazz artists. Paul’s newest CD is We Like to Riff – A Toast to the Nat “King” Cole Trio. 

Paul is well known for his associations with pianist/vocalist Diana Krall and guitarist Russell Malone. Paul has performed with jazz greats Joe Williams, Cab Calloway, Marian McPartland, Barry Harris, Jeff Hamilton, Benny Golson, Benny Green, Jon Hendricks, Wycliff Gordon, Mulgrew Miller, Jay McShann, and James Moody. He has played on over 50 CDs with artists such as Larry Vuckovich, Eddie Higgins, and Marcus Belgrave.

Paul was honored by the West Michigan Jazz Society as their 2001 Jazz Musician of the Year and by the Detroit Music Awards as the 2002 Outstanding Jazz Instrumentalist. Keller is on the faculty of the Wayne State University jazz department in Detroit. He travels frequently, giving jazz concerts, workshops and clinics, and is well-respected as an innovative and enthusiastic jazz educator.

David Alvarez III is a jazz drummer, composer, arranger, and music educator in Detroit, Michigan. He was introduced to the drum set at age five where he grew up playing in church. At age nine, he began his jazz education through a summer program called The Arts League of Michigan. For eight years, he was part of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Youth Ensemble jazz program where he was mentored by professors and students from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. During his undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, he was selected to be a member of the 2015 Disney All-American College Band; through this opportunity, he gained professional performance experience and participated in music entrepreneurship masterclasses. In 2017, he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Arts in Jazz Studies with Teacher Certification. Since then, he toured nationally with the Benny Green Trio and is currently a member of the Clayton Brothers Quintet. For the past three years, he has performed with both of these groups on The Jazz Cruise. David freelances and teaches music in Southeast Michigan.