RON CARTER

Ron Carter is among the most original, prolific, and influential bassists in jazz. With more than 2,000 albums to his credit, he has recorded with many of music's greats: Tommy Flanagan, Gil Evans, Lena Horne, Bill Evans, B.B. King, the Kronos Quartet, Dexter Gordon, Wes Montgomery, and Bobby Timmons. In the early 1960s he performed throughout the United States in concert halls and nightclubs with Jaki Byard and Eric Dolphy.

He later toured Europe with Cannonball Adderley. From 1963 to 1968, he was a member of the classic and acclaimed Miles Davis Quintet. He was named Outstanding Bassist of the Decade by the Detroit News, Jazz Bassist of the Year by Downbeat magazine, and Most Valuable Player by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In 1993 Ron Carter earned a Grammy award for Best Jazz Instrumental Group, the Miles Davis Tribute Band and another Grammy in 1998 for Call 'Sheet Blues', an instrumental composition from the film 'Round Midnight.

Carter has lectured, conducted, and performed at clinics and master classes, instructing jazz ensembles and teaching the business of music at numerous universities. He was Artistic Director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Studies while it was located in Boston and, after 18 years on the faculty of the Music Department of The City College of New York, he is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus although, as a performer, he remains as active as ever.

RENEE ROSNES

Canadian born, Renee Rosnes is one of the premier pianists and composers of her generation. Shortly after relocating from Vancouver to New York in 1986, Rosnes quickly established a reputation as a major talent. She has recorded and toured with a veritable "who's who" of jazz, being the pianist of choice for such legendary musicians as Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, JJ Johnson, Buster Williams and Bobby Hutcherson. In 1989, James Moody hired Renee for his quartet, and she remained a member of his band until his passing in 2010.

In 2012, she was the musical director for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center's For Love of Moody: A Jazz Celebration, a show that included performances by George Benson, the Manhattan Transfer and Jimmy Heath. Also in 2012, she produced Joe Henderson's 75th Birthday Celebration for Jazz at Lincoln Center's Allen Room, which featured Bobby Hutcherson, Chris Potter and Robert Hurst among others. From 2004-2009, Rosnes was a member of the all-star octet, the SFJAZZ Collective. From 2008-2010, Rosnes enjoyed her role as the radio host of The Jazz Profiles, an interview series produced by Canada's CBC. Also in the role of jazz journalist, Renee has contributed two major cover story interviews for JazzTimes magazine, one with Wayne Shorter and his quartet (April 2013) and the other with pianist Geri Allen (September 2013).

Aside from leading her own bands, Rosnes is currently a member of bassist Ron Carter's Quartet. Rosnes also often performs with her husband, acclaimed pianist Bill Charlap, and the couple released their first duo recording in 2010, Double Portrait (Blue Note). Downbeat wrote: "The counterpoint and compatibilities are so perfectly balanced, the selections and arrangements so handsome, that 'Double Portrait' is a prize."

BILL CHARLAP

One of the world’s premiere jazz pianists, Bill Charlap has performed with many leading artists of our time, ranging from Phil Woods and Tony Bennett to Gerry Mulligan and Wynton Marsalis. He is known for his interpretations of American popular songs and has recorded albums featuring the music of Hoagy Carmichael, Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin. Time magazine wrote, “Bill Charlap approaches a song the way a lover approaches his beloved…no matter how imaginative or surprising his take on a song is, he invariably zeroes in on its essence.”

In 1997, Charlap formed the Bill Charlap Trio with bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington (no relation), now recognized as one of the leading groups in jazz. In 2000, he was signed to Blue Note Records and has since received two Grammy Award nominations, for Somewhere: The Songs of Leonard Bernstein and most recently The Bill Charlap Trio: Live at the Village Vanguard. In 2009, Charlap was pianist and musical director for The Blue Note 7, an all-star jazz septet celebrating the legacy of Blue Note Records on its 70th anniversary. The septet performed a 50-city tour and released the CD, Mosaic: A Celebration of Blue Note Records.

Charlap is the artistic director of New York City’s Jazz in July Festival at the 92nd Street Y. He has produced several concerts for Jazz at Lincoln Center and an evening of George Gershwin’s music at the Hollywood Bowl.

Charlap is married to renowned jazz pianist Renee Rosnes. The two artists often collaborate in a duo piano setting. In 2010 Charlap and Rosnes released Double Portrait (Blue Note).

MARIA SCHNEIDER

Composer and Conductor Maria Schneider is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of our time. Her music has been commissioned by a wide range of musicians and groups, from Jazz at Lincoln Center to The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and David Bowie. In addition to the eighteen GRAMMY nominations, five GRAMMY awards and numerous Jazz Journalists Association awards, Ms. Schneider has distinguished herself for utilizing unique and innovative funding and business techniques to realize her projects, including becoming the first composer to win a GRAMMY for a record sold solely on the internet. Ms. Schneider has also established herself as a strong advocate of the music industry, testifying before the United States Congressional Subcommittee on Intellectual Property about digital rights and appearing in national media outlets regarding intellectual property and artist rights.