Chris Bullock

Chris Bullock is a modern-day musical wanderer. After living in NYC for fourteen years, he can now be found chasing music and creativity all over the world.

For much of his career, he has been identified as a saxophonist who also specializes in flutes, clarinets, and keyboards. Over the years, he has added composer and producer to his musical identity, exploring recording and production to find an ever-evolving, unique, and personal sound.

Chris has been a member/composer of the band Snarky Puppy since 2005. With this genre-bending ensemble, he has received five Grammy Awards and frequently travels to perform at major concert halls and music festivals around the globe.

Chris’s musical journey started as a child when he discovered the Beach Boys, hip-hop, and four-track cassette recorders. This journey has led him to perform and record with a variety of artists, including David Crosby, Michael McDonald, Lalah Hathaway, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Charlie Hunter, Chris Thile, Robertinho Silva, Metropole Orkest, Phish, and Soulive.

In 2018, he released his debut solo album, “Boomtown,” which is a hybrid of improvisation, jazz, chamber music, electronic music, and hip-hop production elements. With his Boomtown band, he has toured across the US and Canada, bringing a groovy, synth-heavy ensemble that includes some of the musical leaders of his generation. Currently, he endorses Yamaha Saxophones and Boston Sax Shop reeds and accessories.

Jay Jennings

Jay Jennings is a multi Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter with Snarky Puppy. He grew up in the small town of Grapevine, TX. He was lucky to have a piano in the house growing up, which he considers his introduction to music education. Jennings started playing trumpet at age 11, and by 15, he was already playing professionally. In high school, he was selected to the Texas All-State Jazz Ensemble both sophomore and senior years, and he was selected for the High School Grammy Jazz Ensemble, which performed at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, CA. Jennings auditioned as a college freshman and was selected for a jazz soloist chair in the world-renowned One O’clock Lab Band at UNT.

When he was 22, Jennings joined the Dallas-based, symphonic rock band The Polyphonic Spree. He recorded and toured with them until moving to Brooklyn, NY in 2009. He eventually began touring with Capitol Records artist Eli “Paperboy” Reed in 2010.

Over the course of his career, Jennings has backed up some of the world’s finest artists such as Aretha Franklin, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, The O’Jays, Jimmy Buffet, James Taylor, Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Joel, The Four Tops, Broken Social Scene, Toby Keith and many more. Jennings lives in Los Angeles, CA.

Michael League

Michael League is a 5-time Grammy Award-winning musician based in Catalonia, Spain. He is the creator and bandleader of instrumental music ensemble Snarky Puppy and blues/world group Bokanté, founder of the record label and music curation source GroundUP Music, and co-founder/artistic director of the GroundUP Music Festival.

Michael attended the University of North Texas’ jazz studies program for 4 years, then moved to nearby Dallas for another 3 years, where he worked with some of the most influential figures in modern gospel, R&B, and soul music, and was mentored by legendary keyboardist Bernard Wright (Miles Davis, Chaka Khan) before moving to Brooklyn, New York, in 2009, where he spent 9 years before relocating to his current home of Catalonia, Spain. As an instrumentalist and producer, he has worked with a diverse range of artists in gospel (Kirk Franklin, Walter Hawkins, Marvin Sapp, Israel Houghton), jazz (Terence Blanchard, Esperanza Spalding, Joshua Redman, Eric Harland, Chris Potter), pop (Silvana Estrada, Julian Lennon, Laura Mvula, Joe Walsh, Michael McDonald), folk (David Crosby, Chris Thile, Becca Stevens, Lau Noah, Silvia Pérez-Cruz), and world music (Youssou Ndour, Gilberto Gil, Eliades Ochoa of the Buena Vista Social Club, Fatoumata Diawara, Bassekou Kouyate, Kardeş Türküler), earning Grammy and Latin Grammy nominations for his work with Afro-Peruvian legend, Susana Baca, on Palabras Urgentes and the Venezuelan group, C4 Trio, on Back to Four.

As a sophomore in college, Michael formed the instrumental ensemble Snarky Puppy. As producer, primary composer and bandleader for the group over the last two decades, he has earned five Grammy awards and played over 1500 concerts on six continents. In 2016, he formed the band Bokanté, receiving three Grammy nominations for their second and third albums, What Heat and History, respectively. In 2021, Michael released his debut solo album, So Many Me, acting as sole composer, arranger, and performer. In 2023, he and English pianist Bill Laurance released their first duo album, Where You Wish You Were, which was followed in 2024 by the release of their second album, Keeping Company, on which Michael plays oud and acoustic guitar bass. In 2024, he formally launched the collaborative project, Elipsis, with co-leaders Pedrito Martinez and Antonio Sánchez, and joined by guest keyboardist and vocalist, Glenda Del E, with the objective of creating a fresh and explorative context for Cuba’s musical Yoruba tradition.

GroundUP Music, formed in 2013, has expanded from independent record label (home to albums by David Crosby, Charlie Hunter, Becca Stevens, Cory Henry, Taylor Eigsti, Varijashree Venugopal, Brian Blade, and many more) to live event curation, launching the annual GroundUP Music Festival in 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida. It has played host to artists like Béla Fleck, Lalah Hathaway, Andrew Bird, The Wood Brothers, Robert Glasper, Concha Buika, Terence Blanchard, Joshua Redman, Jacob Collier, Madison Cunningham, Tank and the Bangas, Chris Thile, Louis Cole’s Huge Band, and Michael McDonald, among many others.

Michael is passionately committed to music education and outreach, having given clinics and masterclasses at over 200 schools around the world. In 2020, Michael and GroundUP Music Festival director Paul Lehr launched the GroundUP Music Foundation, dedicated to community enrichment through the arts.

Mark Lettieri

Mark Lettieri is a five-time GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist, composer, producer, and instructor based in Fort Worth, TX. He creates acclaimed guitar-based instrumental music, and is a member of leading instrumental bands Snarky Puppy and The Fearless Flyers. As a session musician proficient in a multitude of styles, he has recorded and performed in virtually every genre of popular music with both independent and major-label artists.

Lettieri has released nine albums as a leader: Knows (2011), Futurefun (2013), Spark and Echo (2016) Deep: The Baritone Sessions in (2019), Things of That Nature (2019),  Deep: The Baritone Sessions, Vol. 2 (2021), Fly Through It (EP, 2022), Out by Midnight: Live at the Iridium (2023) and most recently, Can I Tell You Something? (2024). Deep: The Baritone Sessions, Vol. 2 earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, giving Lettieri his first nomination as a solo artist. He tours this material around the globe with his quartet, the Mark Lettieri Group.

Playing in the vibrant Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex gospel and R&B scene led Lettieri to join Snarky Puppy in 2008, and he remains active with the band as a writer, arranger, session player, and touring member. His work with the group has resulted in five GRAMMY Awards: Best R&B Performance for “Something” feat. Lalah Hathaway in 2014, and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album (Sylva in 2016, Culcha Vulcha in 2017, Live at the Royal Albert Hall in 2021, and Empire Central in 2023).

In 2018, Lettieri helped form The Fearless Flyers, with Cory Wong, Nate Smith, and Joe Dart. The Vulfpeck-adjacent quartet has five releases to date: The Fearless Flyers (2018), The Fearless Flyers II (2019), Tailwinds (2020), Live at Madison Square Garden (2021), The Fearless Flyers III (2022), and The Fearless Flyers IV (2024). The band is a regular presence on the jazz and jam-band festival scene.

As a sideman, Lettieri has performed and/or recorded with a myriad of artists including Erykah Badu, David Crosby, Kirk Franklin, The Jacksons, Fred Hammond, Tori Kelly, 50 Cent, Ledisi, Tamela Mann, Lecrae, Lupe Fiasco, Keyshia Cole, Xzibit, Anthony Evans, Phillip Phillips, Nelly, Chrisette Michele, Myron Butler, and even alongside comedians Dave Chappelle and Harry Shearer. For a sizable sampling of Lettieri’s session work, visit this Spotify playlist.

In addition to his recording and performing career, Lettieri is involved with the development and demonstration of various musical equipment with a number of brands. In recent years, he has teamed up with Paul Reed Smith Guitars to create his signature model Fiore electric guitar, the MeLody overdrive pedal with J. Rockett Audio Designs, and the NewWave chorus pedal with Jackson Audio. Lettieri has also collaborated with Apple, Inc. to create a package of downloadable guitar loops for the digital audio workstations Logic Pro and Garageband.

As an instructor, Lettieri has released online guitar instructional courses through outlets such as JamPlay, Brett Papa, Guitareo, and Soundslice, as well as print lessons available from Premier Guitar Magazine.

On a personal note, Lettieri was born in the San Francisco Bay Area, and came to Texas via Texas Christian University (TCU). There, he matriculated in advertising and public relations, competed in track and field, and began dipping his toes in the local music scene. A passionate guitarist since middle school, he began his music career upon graduating from TCU. An avid lover of food, travel, and doing his best to keep an active lifestyle, he resides with his wife, daughter, three cats, and a hamster.

Bob Reynolds

Los Angeles-based saxophonist Bob Reynolds is a Grammy-winning member of the instrumental group Snarky Puppy, an award-winning composer, and a prolific recording artist with 10 top-selling solo albums to his credit.

Widely known for his work with both Snarky and John Mayer, he’s been a featured soloist with Grammy-winning instrumentalists like Larry Carlton, Chris Botti, and Jeff Lorber and worked with a host of pop artists including Michael Bublé, Idina Menzel, Josh Groban, The 1975, and USHER.

The New York Times called him “a self-assured saxophonist and an unassuming yet effective composer,” and his solo albums showcase his melodic improvisational style, tuneful songwriting, and, as the LA Times put it: “hip-swiveling” grooves. His Guitar Band album, filmed live in concert, has over 4 million views on YouTube.

A pioneer in online education, Bob has coached thousands of musicians since 2010 through his innovative Virtual Studio, and more than 76,000 people subscribe to Bob’s YouTube channel where he shares behind-the-scenes videos of what it’s like balancing his music career with raising a family.

Born in Morristown, New Jersey in 1977, Reynolds grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, where he started playing saxophone at age 13. Although he listened to a range of music as a kid, by his late teens he was a dedicated jazz student. After high school he honed his skills at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, where he mentored with George Garzone, Hal Crook, and others. Bob is a passionate educator and in-demand clinician. He co-founded an annual retreat for saxophonists and, through his Virtual Studio, he helps musicians become confident improvisers. Bob lives in Los Angeles and shares insights on balancing a music career with raising a family through his popular YouTube vlog.

Justin Stanton

From Tennessee to Texas to New York, Justin Stanton has allowed the infinite opportunities found in the world of music to lead him across the globe. As a trumpet player, keyboardist, and composer, Justin has developed a reputation as a multi-faceted musician who can serve an essential role to whichever artist he is contributing, both onstage and in the studio.

Justin attended the prestigious University of North Texas, where he performed for two years in the One O’Clock Lab Band, recording three albums as well as performing at major festivals throughout Europe. While at North Texas, Justin joined Snarky Puppy and, since then, has recorded eight albums with the group and has appeared on the majority of their numerous live recordings.

In addition to maintaining a very active schedule with Snarky Puppy, Justin maintains an active schedule performing, recording, and writing with a variety of original artists and groups, including Banda Magda, whose debut album, “Amour T’es La,” was featured in NPR’s top ten list of “World Music” albums of 2013. Justin appears on recordings with artists as diverse as David Crosby, Donald Fagen, Harry Shearer/Derek Smalls, Larry Carlton, Robert Glasper, Trombone Shorty, Musiq Soulchild, Kirk Franklin, Laura Mvula, and Salif Keita. He has also shared the stage with Joe Walsh, Derek Trucks, Terence Blanchard, Chris Potter, Eric Harland, and Fatoumata Diawara, to name a few.

Justin resides in Brooklyn, New York, and is in constant demand for his ability as a multi-instrumentalist, knowledge of synthesis and sound design, familiarity with a broad spectrum of musical realms, and abundant creative energy. He is slated to release a debut solo record of all new original material in early 2019.

Justin endorses Sequential (formerly Dave Smith Instruments), Yamaha trumpets, and Donat mouthpieces.

JT Thomas

JT is a multi- Grammy Award winning drummer hailing from Weatherford Tx. Known for his ability to authentically adapt to whatever genre/style of music he’s put in, JT has become highly sought after by an array of different artists such as Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor, Fred Hammond, CeCe Winans, Marcus Miller, Mark Lettieri, FORQ, & Phillip Phillips to name a few. His high level of preparation for each artist he works with, along with being a consummate professional on and off stage, is what continues to keep him busy performing on stages and in studios all over the world. JT is proudly endorsed/sponsored by Yamaha Drums, Meinl Cymbals and Percussion, Vic Firth Drumsticks, Evans Drumheads, and MatTea Inc. Vocal Luxury.

Nate Werth

Kimbra

New Zealand-born experimental-pop artist and two-time Grammy Award-winning tour de force Kimbra has released her 5th studio album Idols & Vices (Vol. 1), out everywhere via Inertia/PIAS.

In 2023, Kimbra released A Reckoning, produced in tandem with Son Lux’s Ryan Lott. The 10-track record channeled heartbreak amidst a global pandemic into bold new sonic territory. Earning praise from outlets such as Billboard, Consequence, PAPER, and others, the album marked a distinctive new era for Kimbra.

Kimbra’s career started with her 2011 debut, Vows, which reached No. 14 on the Billboard Top 200 and was certified platinum in Australia and New Zealand. She received Best Female Artist two years in a row at the ARIA Music Awards and won five New Zealand Tui Awards, including Album of the Year in 2012.

That same year, she gained worldwide recognition with Somebody That I Used to Know, a duet with Gotye that earned her two Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. The song topped the charts in 23 countries and sold over 13 million copies.

Her 2014 sophomore album, The Golden Echo, showcased her eclectic style with collaborations from Thundercat, Omar-Rodriguez Lopez of The Mars Volta, Bilal, and John Legend. Her third album, Primal Heart (2018), saw her opening for legendary artists Beck and David Byrne.

Kimbra has performed on TV shows such as Saturday Night Live, Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Last Call with Carson Daly, as well as festivals like Coachella and Austin City Limits.

Most recently, Kimbra concluded a U.S. tour as the special guest for musical prodigy Jacob Collier.

Her latest album, Idols & Vices (Vol. 1), explores the complexities of digital existence, touching on identity invention, toxic celebrity worship, and the allure of online personas. Executive produced by Kimbra and Taylor Graves, with contributions from Dan Edinburg, Tommy Raps, Skrillex, and more, the album is a tribute to her musical influences and love for collaboration, featuring genre-bending artists like BANKS, Dawn Richard, and DRAM.

Kimbra also writes on Substack and hosts a podcast called Playing With Fire, which explores the theme of transcendence—a recurring motif in her music and artistic evolution.

Magdalini Giannikou

Composer, arranger, producer and vocalist Magdalini Giannikou may very well be mostly known as the leader of the world music group “Banda Magda”. She has toured in 5 continents and 22 countries, performing in discerning venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall, WOMAD, Atlanta Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, L’Olympia, Jazz à Vienne, Canarias Jazz, Apollo Hammersmith, The Kennedy Center, Kathmandu Jazz Festival, Harare Festival of the Arts and many more. Magda has also collaborated on several projects with two-time Grammy Award winning group Snarky Puppy. She has produced and arranged for Banda Magda’s first three albums (Amour, t’es là?, Yerakina, Tigre) and currently working on the fourth one: A tetralogy of music and visual arts dedicated to the preservation of nature and the seasons.

As an arranger / orchestrator, she works regularly with the Metropole Orchestra, writing for artists such as Arooj Aftab, Jose James, Jacob Collier, Nai Barghouti, Snarky Puppy and Roberto Fonseca under the baton of Jules Buckley, Vince Mendoza, Simon Dobson among others. Other arranging credits include works for artists Fatoumata Diawara, Rita Indiana, Visitante, Vicente Garcia and Ziggy Marley,

Noted collaborations include her work as composer for the New York-based podcast “Live from Mount Olympus”, her commissioned piece “Strophe and Antistrophe” by Kronos Quartet for the 60th anniversary of Lincoln Center as well as her commissioned piece “Khonsu” performed by Nu Deco at New World Symphony in Miami.

Magdalini Giannikou is also committed to music education with her work as Artistic Director at Berklee Valencia as well as artist residencies at various institutions such as Carnegie Hall (New York, US), Oberlin College (Oberlin, US), Artez (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), Kathmandu School of Music (Kathmandu, Nepal), Syddansk Folkemusik Talentskole (Odense, Denmark), Escuela Fernando Sor (Bogota, Colombia), and EMC (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

Stanley Jordan

In a career that took flight in 1985 with commercial and critical acclaim, guitar virtuoso Stanley Jordan has consistently displayed a chameleonic musical persona of openness, imagination, versatility and maverick daring. Be it bold reinventions of classical masterpieces or soulful explorations through pop-rock hits, to blazing straight ahead jazz forays and ultramodern improvisational works-solo or with a group-Jordan can always be counted on to take listeners on breathless journeys into the unexpected.

Key to Jordan’s fast-track acclaim was his mastery of a special technique on the guitar’s fretboard. Instead of conventional strumming and picking, Jordan’s innovative “touch technique” is an advanced form of two-handed tapping. While a handful of other players were using similar techniques, Stanley’s fluid, multi-layered textures and sheer virtuosity raised the bar for excellence. But his technique, though impressive, is always a means to a musical end. His music is imbued with a warmth and sensitivity that has captured the imagination of listeners worldwide. A classically trained pianist before playing guitar, Jordan wanted greater freedom in voicing chords on his guitar, so he applied piano principles to do so. Jordan’s touch technique allows the guitarist to play melody and chords simultaneously with an unprecedented level of independence. It also allows Jordan to play simultaneously on two different guitars, or even on guitar and piano. He says that “I think of it as a single instrument, but one with a wide range of tonal colors-that’s why I do it.”

To date Jordan has performed in over 60 countries on 6 continents. He has performed at many festivals, including the Kool Jazz Festival, the Concord Jazz Festival, and the Montreaux International Jazz Festival. During the 1980s he collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including performances with Art Blakey and Richie Cole and recordings with Stanley Clarke and Kenny Rogers. The track with Rogers, “Morning Desire”, became America’s #1 country song in 1986. Later Jordan became a frequent guest with Les Paul during Paul’s legendary Monday nights at Iridium in New York. Today Jordan performs frequently as a soloist and with his band, as well as collaborating with other guitarists such as Kevin Eubanks, Sharon Isbin and Muriel Anderson. He’s also a frequent guest with jam bands such as the Dave Matthews Band, the String Cheese Incident, Phil Lesh, Moe and Umphrey’s McGee.

Jordan has received four Grammy nominations. His most recent album “Friends” was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Los Angeles Times jazz critic Leonard Feather wrote, “Genius is a word often tossed around in musical circles, but it has been rightfully applied to Stanley Jordan.”
Stanley Jordan was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He began his music career at age six studying piano, then shifting his focus to guitar at age eleven. He then began playing in rock and soul bands. In 1976, while still in high school, Jordan performed with Quincy Jones and tied for first place as a soloist at the Reno International Jazz Festival. In 1981 he earned a BA in music from Princeton University, where he studied theory and composition with composer Milton Babbitt and computer music with composer Paul Lansky. While still at Princeton, Jordan performed with Benny Carter and Dizzy Gillespie.

Jordan came to prominence with the release of his 1985 album Magic Touch, a revolutionary project that placed him at the forefront of re-launching legendary Blue Note Records into a contemporary entity in jazz and beyond, as also established the then-twenty-something Jordan as among the most distinctive and refreshing new voices of the electric guitar. Jordan had begun applying his unique technique to his already exemplary traditional playing ten years prior to the Magic Touch album. Though Jordan showcased the technique in a variety of musical styles from swing to rock, it was smooth jazz radio support for his singular versions of “The Lady in My Life” (first recorded by Michael Jackson) and the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” that sent Magic Touch to the top of Billboard’s jazz chart for a stunning and record-breaking 51 weeks. The album became a gold-seller (over 500,000 sold in the U.S. alone) – outstanding for any jazz or instrumental CD.

Subsequent albums found Jordan ushering his audience into deeper levels of his artistry and stretching his music beyond stylistic boundaries. These projects included a solo guitar album titled Standards Volume 1 (1986) where Stanley made the bold statement that songs by the likes of Stevie Wonder and Jimi Hendrix deserved recognition as standards just as much as older chestnuts like Hoagy Charmichael’s “Georgia On My Mind.” He followed that with the dance-pop album Flying Home (1988) and the especially edgy Cornucopia (1990), which spanned the gamut from straight-ahead jazz recorded live to multi-dimensional originals recorded in the studio. Still later in 1994 after a move to Arista Records (then helmed by pop music maverick Clive Davis), he recorded the bracingly eclectic Bolero album, featuring covers of Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Drifting,” his original “Plato’s Blues” and the CD’s centerpiece, a 17-minute arrangement of Ravel’s “Bolero”, which flowed seamlessly between rock, African, Latin, “groove” and “industrial” sections. During this era, Jordan also made history by creating the seminal “startup” sound for the first generation of Power Macintosh computers.

In 2002, Stanley released the album Dreams of Peace with the Italian band Novecento. It was remixed and re-released in the USA in 2004 on Steve Vai’s Favored Nations label. Independently, he recorded two CDs: Ragas (a collaboration with musicians from India featuring Jay Kishor on sitar) and Relaxing Music for Difficult Situations Volume 1, an audio extension of his interest in music therapy. In 2007 Jordan signed with Mack Avenue Records and released State of Nature in 2008 and Friends in 2011. For Friends, he invited musical guests including guitarists Bucky Pizzarelli, Mike Stern, Russell Malone and Charlie Hunter; violinist Regina Carter; saxophonists Kenny Garrett and Ronnie Laws; trumpeter Nicholas Payton; bassists Christian McBride and Charnett Moffett; and drummer Kenwood Dennard. The results proved truly outstanding on numbers ranging from a Bela Bartok piece to a Katy Perry pop smash, a heady original blues and three jazz classics spanning swing, cool, samba and modern.

Jordan has been known to TV and film audiences as well. In 1987 he made a cameo appearance in the Blake Edwards movie Blind Date, starring Bruce Willis and Kim Basinger. In the tribute film, Les Paul: He Changed the Music Jordan performed with a guitar supergroup including Les Paul himself, Eddie Van Halen, BB King, Steve Miller, David Gilmour, and Brian Setzer. In 1995 Jordan created the score for the short film One Red Rose, starring Hill Harper and Victoria Rowell, directed by Charlie Jordan. In 1996 he created the score for an ABC afternoon TV special Daddy’s Girl, directed by Diane Wynter. Since the mid 80s he has performed on numerous television shows, including The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The David Letterman Show and the Grammy Awards. One notable appearance was a duet on the Tonight Show with the late rock superstar Robert Palmer.

Stanley is committed to music as an artistic, spiritual, and even health-promoting endeavor. He has been immersed for more than a decade in music therapy, towards which he is now working for a master’s degree at Arizona State University. His involvement with music therapy leads him to do outreach in schools, hospitals and other venues wherever he tours. He is an artist-spokesperson for the American Music Therapy Association, and he has done numerous lectures and demonstrations on the healing applications of music.

Jordan has maintained an extensive and consistent international touring schedule. In between tour stops he is now at work on his next highly anticipated album from Mack Avenue Records, for release next year.

Jordan is currently a resident of Sedona, Arizona. He has one daughter, Julia. Julia Jordan is a singer/songwriter living in Lancaster, Pennsylvania who sometimes collaborates with her dad.

Tim Lefebvre

Throughout his wide-ranging career, Tim Lefebvre has amassed a reputation for being one of the world’s most innovative bassists. The Foxboro-native’s creative playing style is an addictive blend of vintage rock, improvisation, soundtrack undertones, and electronic grooves that can be heard on his appearances on over 150 recordings, ranging from Grammy award-winning albums such as David Bowie’s Blackstar to the soundtracks of classic films such as The Departed and Ocean’s 12.  From 2013 to 2018, Lefebvre was the bassist of the dynamic blues rock ensemble Tedeschi Trucks Band, and he can be heard on their three most recent releases, Let Me Get By (2016), Live From The Fox Oakland (2017), and Signs (2019).

Before joining the group, he worked with artists such as Wayne Krantz, Boomish, Uri Caine, Chris Botti, and Leni Stern and was the sub bassist in Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008.

Now based in Los Angeles, Lefebvre is currently the bassist for the award-winning Michael Wollny Trio, Italian pop star Tiziano Ferro, improvisational free-jazz group Whose Hat Is This?, his Blackstar bandmate Donny McCaslin and Grammy Nominated artist Rachel Eckroth. New projects in 2024  include Nate Smith’s “Leave it out”, Night Plow, Farmer, Cryptic Cadet Lillinger Stemseder Lefebvre, and Lefebvre Reinhart and Gardner.

He has recently performed and recorded with Empire of the Sun, Tiziano Ferro, Fink, Melissa Etheridge, Joy Denalane, Gavin De Graw, Chris Potter, Jon Batiste and Stay Human on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Jimmy Kimmel Show, Carole King, Ben Platt, Knower, and Matisyahu as well. Lefebvre is also the producer for a diverse range of projects, which includes singer-songwriter Rachel Eckroth’s When It Falls (2018), The Garden (2021), the forthcoming records by Modphonic , Burt Hussell, cryptic cadet, Grosh, Morgan Weidinger, and XXXX by Wollny Parisien Lefebvre Lillinger. He has also appeared in “Learning to Live Together”, “The Last Five Years”, and “20 Feet from Stardom”.

John Medeski

Famed keyboardist John Medeski is not easily contained to a single project or genre; he is credited on over 300 works to date, most notably as one third of the groundbreaking trio, Medeski Martin & Wood. Equally comfortable behind a Steinway grand piano, Hammond organ, or any number of vintage keyboards, Medeski is a highly sought-after improviser and bandleader whose projects range from work with MacArthur Fellow John Zorn, The Word (Robert Randolph, North Mississippi Allstars), Phil Lesh, Don Was, John Scofield, Coheed & Cambria, Susana Baca, Sean Lennon, Marc Ribot, Irma Thomas, Blind Boys of Alabama, and many more. Classically trained, Medeski grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, where as a teenager he played with Jaco Pastorius before heading north to attend the New England Conservatory. He released his first solo piano record, A Different Time, on Sony’s Okeh Records in 2013. In 2017 he made an album with Hudson, a collaboration with Jack DeJohnette, John Scofield, and Larry Grenadier, and in 2018 released an album with his band Mad Skillet (Terrence Higgins, Kirk Joseph, Will Bernard). More recently, in 2023, he composed and performed the original score for the television series The Curse, created by Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie, starring Emma Stone.

Becca Stevens

Twice GRAMMY-nominated singer/songwriter Becca Stevens has forged a unique career, blending pop, jazz, indie-rock, folk, and world music with her classical and Appalachian roots. Known for her versatile vocals and mastery of multiple string instruments, Stevens’ work transcends genres through intricate rhythms and harmonies.

Since founding the Becca Stevens Band in 2006, she has toured internationally and become a sought-after collaborator, working with David Crosby, Jacob Collier, Michael League of Snarky Puppy, and Taylor Eigsti. She’s also partnered with the Secret Trio and Attacca Quartet, earning a 2023 GRAMMY nomination with violist Nathan Schram. Her collaborations extend further, with artists like Brad Mehldau, Chris Thile, Laura Mvula, Michael McDonald, Antonio Sánchez, Gretchen Parlato, and Ambrose Akinmusire.

Her latest release, Maple to Paper (GroundUP, 2024), is a deeply personal work reflecting themes of grief and transcendence. Stripped to the essentials, the album showcases her guitar and vocal performance recorded live without overdubs, with mixing by longtime collaborator Nic Hard. The emotional force of Maple to Paper highlights her ability to connect deeply with listeners.

In Summer 2024, Stevens made her Broadway debut in ILLINOISE, a musical based on Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois. Currently, she is on tour, performing Maple to Paper across Asia, Europe, and the US, continuing her journey as a boundary-pushing artist and storyteller.