Tom Gullion is a vibrant and innovative jazz saxophonist and flautist, whose adventurous improvisations have earned him a global reputation as a creative jazz musician. His mastery of the saxophone and flute, combined with his passion for experimenting with musical genres and styles, have made him a sought-after performer and collaborator.
Tom has recorded and performed with some of the world’s most renowned jazz musicians including J.J. Johnson, Cedar Walton, Rufus Reid, David N. Baker, Ernie Adams, Paul Wertico and more. His live performances, both solo and with his band, have left audiences in awe, as he takes them on a journey of musical exploration.
Tom’s love of music has led him to develop several music apps for mobile devices, allowing musicians to use some of his electronic effects and practice techniques. He also enjoys teaching and passing on his knowledge and passion to the next generation of jazz musicians. Tom Gullion is an inspiring and influential musician, who continues to push the boundaries of jazz music and challenge the status quo. His adventurous sound is sure to captivate audiences for years to come.
John Moulder is a guitarist and composer whose music has evolved from an assimilation of various musical traditions. His most recent release entitled Metamorphosis (Origin 2022) features Richie Beirach, Steve Rodby, Paul Wertico and new compositions penned by Moulder and described by Raul da Gama as, “an album of music to die for.” Decade: Memoirs (2018) was named one of Chicago Tribune’s 10 best new jazz recordings of the year in 2018 and features Gwilym Simcock, Tim Garland, Paul Wertico, Steve Rodby and Ernie Adams. Earthborn Tales of Soul and Spirit (Origin 2016) features Donny McCaslin, Marquis Hill, Paul Wertico, and many other longtime musical companions. Inspired by soulful individuals, it has been described as a contemporary musical narrative. Earthborn Tales was a featured performance for the 2014 "Made in Chicago" concert series in Millennium Park. John’s compositions and playing are featured on his CDs entitled Awakening (Mo-Tonal Records 1993), Through the Open Door (Igmod/Mo-Tonal Records 1997), Spirit Talk (NAIM 2003), and Trinity (Origin 2006) and Bifrost (Origin 2009), both named one of the ten best jazz CDs of 2006 and 2009, respectively, by the Chicago Tribune. On The Eleventh Hour: Live at the Green Mill (Origin 2012), John collaborates with his long time musical companions, Paul Wertico, Larry Gray, Jim Trompeter and Geof Bradfield.
John has been a member of the Paul Wertico Trio for fifteen years. Recordings with Paul include Live in Warsaw (Igmod Records 1998), Don’t Be Scared Anymore (Premonition Records 2000), Stereonucleosis (A440 2004) and The Other Side (NAIM 2006) and is on Impressions of a City (Chicago Sessions 2009) by Paul Wertico’s Mid East and Mid West Alliance. John is also a member of the Larry Gray Trio and is featured on his recordings on the Chicago Sessions label entitled 1,2,3 and Three Equals One. In addition he has played on recordings by vocalist Jackie Allen such as The Men in My Life (Blue Note 2003), Love is Blue (Blue Note 2004), Tangled (Blue Note 2006), as well as her most recent release with orchestra entitled Starry Night.
Televised feature stories on John and his work have aired on Artbeat (WTTW) and Chicago Tonight (WTTW).He has played nationally and internationally at numerous festivals, clubs and concert halls, and has performed with artists such as Eddie Harris, Bob Mintzer, Paul McCandless, Lyle Mays, Paul Wertico, Gary Burton, Niels Orsted Pederson, Arild Anderson, Bendik Hofseth, Kurt Elling and Terry Callier.
John received his Masters degree in music from Northwestern University. As an educator, he is currently a faculty member at Northwestern University, Benedictine University, and the College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He has lectured, taught master classes, and conducted clinics at universities, high schools, music institutes, and other settings.
Jamey Haddad is of Lebanese ancestry. From the age of four, he began playing Lebanese percussion instruments, such as the goblet drum. He later studied music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He lived in New York City for over 20 years. In 2002, he and his family moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio. He teaches at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio. He is also artistic director of the "Friday's at 7" series at Cleveland's Severance Hall. This series features the Cleveland Orchestra and a secondary performance of folk artists from around the world.
For five years, Haddad studied Carnatic music, a form of Indian classical music, with Ramnad Raghavan. He received a Fulbright Fellowship, which allowed him to study South Indian Carnatic music, including the mridangam, kanjira and ghatam in South India for one more year. Haddad is the 2010 recipient of the Cleveland Arts Prize and a Legends of Jazz Award. He has received four National Endowment for the Arts fellowships to pursue jazz and international studies and collaborations. Haddad has lived and had extended study of music in North Africa, Brazil, Venezuela and the Middle East.
Jamey Haddad started performing with Paul Simon as his percussionist from 1998 till 2019. Paul Simon was the first recipient in 2007 of the Gershwin Prize. Haddad has collaborated and performed with Simon since 1998. He has also worked with the Paul Winter Consort, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Allen Farnham,[2] Carly Simon, Betty Buckley, Rabih Abou-Khalil, Simon Shaheen, Marbin, Trichy Sankaran, Osvaldo Golijov, Nguyên Lê, Badi Assad, Steve Shehan, Esperanza Spalding, Elliot Goldenthal, Sergio and Odair Assad, Daniel Schnyder, Nancy Wilson, the Wayfaring Strangers, Steve Gadd, and Laszlo Gardony. He appears on more than 225 audio recordings and movie soundtracks.
Haddad was a full-time professor at the Berklee College of Music from 1992 to 2010. Since 2011, he is currently a full-time professor of "Performance and Improvisation" and of percussion studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. He was made a faculty member at the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2005.
David Cooper is currently leading the jazz quartets QUAD and Drift, and released their first album in 2020.
His performing affiliations also include the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Isthmus Brass, The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. Ensemble affiliations have included the Wisconsin Brass Quintet, the Milwaukee, Fox Valley, Canton and La Crosse Symphony Orchestras, The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, The Dallas Brass, Walt Disney World, and the Aspen Jazz Ensemble.
As an educator, Dr. Cooper is an associate professor of trumpet and jazz studies at the University of Wisconsin – Platteville. He has performed in Beijing, Foshan, Macau, New York, Munich, Vienna, Stockholm, International Trumpet Guild Conference, New York Brass Conference, and is a very active soloist/clinician with regional schools, jazz festivals and community ensembles. He is the host and author of the educational blog www.AllThingsTrumpet.com.
Mark Urness is a versatile bassist, composer, and educator. His diverse performance experience encompasses orchestral, chamber, solo, jazz playing. He is an associate professor of music at Lawrence University in Appleton Wisconsin and the principal bassist of the Weidner Center Philharmonic Orchestra. His playing on the unaccompanied jazz album, Foreground, was described by Bass World magazine as “completely in command of the instrument and the tunes, rife with good ideas, melodic instinct, and groove.” Recent performances include Chamber music broadcasts on Wisconsin Public Radio, Concerto performances as guest soloist with the Fox Valley Youth Orchestra, a Solo Recital at the 2018 ISB convention, and jazz performances with Bill Carrothers, Danilo Perez, Peter Erskine, and Joe Locke.
Prior to his appointment to the faculty of Lawrence University, Mr. Urness taught at the University of Iowa, Coe College, and the University of Northern Iowa, and was principal bassist of the Cedar Rapids Symphony. In 1999 he was awarded first prize in the ISB Jazz Bass competition. He received a Master of Music in double bass performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, a Bachelor of Arts in music from the University of Northern Iowa, and studied music and computer science at the University of Iowa.
Dane Maxim Richeson marked his 39th year as Director of Percussion Studies at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin in the 2022-23 academic year. Richeson received Lawrence University’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2015. The Lawrence University Percussion Ensemble (LUPÉ), directed by Richeson, won the 2014 PAS World Percussion Ensemble Competition and presented a spectacular performance of Ghanaian, Brazilian, and Afro-Cuban music at PASIC 2014. LUPÉ was recognized by the Wisconsin Music Educators Association, received a DOWNBEAT Outstanding Performance Award for best undergraduate Afro-Cuban group, and released two CDs. Richeson was awarded the Percussive Arts Society Lifetime Achievement Award in Education, 2022.
One of the most versatile performers in the percussive arts, Dane Richeson has performed around the world in varied roles including jazz drummer, world percussion specialist, solo percussionist and marimbist, and contemporary chamber ensemble percussionist — with such diverse artists as Bobby McFerrin, Joe Lovano, Roscoe Mitchell, Danilo Perez, Lyle Mays, NDR Big Band (Germany), Gunther Schuller, Gordon Stout, Nancy Zeltsman. He’s performed at the Ravinia, North Sea, and Montreux Jazz Festivals. Richeson has been a guest artist/teacher at Central Conservatory Chamber Music Festival in Beijing, the Ivana Bilić Marimba/Percussion Week in Croatia, and Zeltsman Marimba Festivals. Recordings include releases on Blue Note, Naxos, CRI, and Albany Records.