Jon Cleary’s love and affinity for New Orleans music goes back to the rural British village of Cranbrook, Kent, where he was raised in a musical family.  Cleary’s maternal grandparents performed in London in the 1940s, under the respective stage names Sweet Dolly Daydream and Frank Neville, The Little Fellow With The Educated Feet  – she as a singer, and he as a crooner and tap dancer.   As a teen Cleary grew increasingly interested in funk-infused music and discovered that three such songs that he particularly admired – LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade,” Robert Palmer’s version of “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley,” and Frankie Miller’s rendition of “Brickyard Blues”  – were attributed to Allen Toussaint as either the songwriter, the producer, or both. Cleary’s knowledge of Toussaint’s work expanded significantly when his uncle returned home to the U.K., after a two-year sojourn in New Orleans, with a copy of a Toussaint LP and two suitcases full of New Orleans R&B 45s. In 1981 Cleary flew to New Orleans for an initial pilgrimage and took a cab straight from the airport to the Maple Leaf Bar, a storied venue which then featured such great blues-rooted eclectic pianists as Roosevelt Sykes and James Booker.  Cleary first worked at the Maple Leaf as a painter, but soon graduated to playing piano there – even though his first instrument was the guitar, which he still plays and has recently reintroduced into his live performances.  As word of Cleary’s burgeoning talent began to spread around town, he was hired by such New Orleans R&B legends as Snooks Eaglin, Earl “Trick Bag” King, Johnny Adams, and Jessie “Ooh Poo Pah Doo” Hill, while also gaining the respect of the great Crescent City pianists Dr. John and the late Allen Toussaint. Years later, in 2012, Cleary recorded a critically acclaimed album of all-Toussaint songs entitled Occapella. Today, Cleary’s work pays obvious homage to the classic Crescent City keyboard repertoire created by such icons as Jelly Roll Morton, Fats Domino, Professor Longhair, Art Neville, Dr. John, and James Booker – while also using it as a launching pad for a style that incorporates such other diverse influences as ’70s soul and R&B, gospel music, funk, Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Cuban rhythms, and much more. Deciding to stay in New Orleans, Cleary recorded his first album of nine, to date, in 1989.  His ever-elevating profile led to global touring work in the bands of Taj Mahal, John Scofield, Dr. John, and Bonnie Raitt.  Cleary has led his own group, the Absolute Monster Gentlemen, for over two decades now, but he still collaborates frequently with these old friends.  At the 2018 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, for instance, Cleary performed alongside Raitt in a heartfelt tribute to Fats Domino.

River Eckert (b. Oct. 9, 2009) is a 14 year old piano player born and raised in New Orleans, LA. From a very young age, River has been surrounded by music. Immersed in the styles of Professor Longhair, James Booker, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, Art Neville among others, River is passionate and dedicated to “carrying the torch” of the New Orleans Piano tradition. Coming from a musical family, River started playing piano at the age of 3 years old. He began studying classical music and his teachers urged him to start playing blues and jazz based on his natural ability to quickly grasp those styles. Now at the young age of 14, he sings and plays both in a solo piano and full band setting. He is quickly gaining local and national popularity. River recently began recording his first studio album, he is joined by George Porter Jr.,Terence Higgins and John Fohl in the rhythm section and it is expected to be released in early 2025. Recently, he was also a featured artist on three upcoming “Playing for Change” video recordings.  River has been fortunate enough to have performed with George Porter Jr., Stanton Moore, Luther Dickinson, Terence Higgins, Roger Lewis, Fred Wesley, Kirk Joseph, Donald Harrison Jr., David Torkanowsky, Brad Walker, and many others. He has had the honor of performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Tipitina’s, Maple Leaf Bar, Chickie Wah Wah, French Quarter Festival, NOLA Funk Fest, Oak St. PoBoy Festival, WWL Morning Show, WWOZ Radio, and Fox 8 News…

Tony Hall is an American bassist, guitarist and vocalist from New Orleans. He is a founding member of Dumpstaphunk. His work includes affiliation with New Orleans artists Harry Connick Jr., Dr. John, the Neville Brothers, Aaron Neville, Jean Knight, June Yamagishi, Shannon McNally and the Meters.

From neworleans.com:Anjelika "Jelly" Joseph is one of the more versatile, powerful singers and entertainers on the scene today, particularly after the smash success of her hit song “Fya” along with HaSizzle. Joseph came late to the table, but has made a meal out of the entertainment business in just a few short years. She grew up in New Orleans with artists like Irma Thomas as role models. After making her performance debut with “O Holy Night” in 12th grade, she soon jumped to Bourbon Street clubs to cut her chops, appeared on “American Idol,” then partnered with friend Tarriona “Tank” Ball in the eclectic, Grammy-nominated upstart band Tank and the Bangas as backing vocalist. Joseph is now commanding audiences around the world as a solo artist, in partnership with HaSizzle and other bounce artists, and, most notably, as lead singer with the funk jazz jam band Galactic. And to celebrate her genre-bending skills, Joseph can also be found singing with the Original Pinettes, the all-female New Orleans brass band. Lately Joseph has been focusing on her solo career, collaborating with on hits like “Getcha Sum” and “Fya” with HaSizzle. Other collaborators include G-Eazy, with whom she co-penned “Get Right or Get Left,” and Cha Wa, with whom she performs the charming, bouncy “Love in Your Heart.”

Gabrielle Cavassa is a New Orleans-based, California-born, vocalist-composer of Italian descent who continues to garner attention for her distinctive voice and intimate expression. In 2021, Cavassa was crowned co-winner of the 2021 International Sarah Vaughan Jazz Vocal Competition, joining the ranks of previous winners such as Cyrille Aimée, Jazzmeia Horn, and Samara Joy. “Cavassa wield[s] her light, supple voice like a paintbrush as she colorfully play[s] with time, lyrics, phrasing and melody.” — DownBeat  Cavassa became acquainted with the music at a young age, when she began collecting, cataloguing and “obsessively listening” to records. Her expression reflects influences ranging from Billie Holiday and Amy Winehouse to Slum Village and Italian opera. As a songwriter, she confronts challenging topics as though she’s sharing stark, intimate diary entries with the world. Her 2020 critically-acclaimed recording debut, Gabrielle Cavassa, co-produced by GRAMMY-nominated artist and collaborator Jamison Ross, includes features from fellow genre bending artists Braxton Cook and Ashlin Parker.

Brad Walker is one of the most active and sought-after performers in the city of New Orleans. Perhaps best known for his “soaring” (Rolling Stone), “energetic” (NPR), and “tasteful” (Relix) solos on Saturday Night Live, the Grammys, and the Tonight Show with Nashville mega-star Sturgill Simpson, Brad Walker is an active and compelling artist in his own right, with five full-length releases under his own name and a decade of music- making in the Crescent City under his belt. His 2014 debut, ‘Quintet’, received a 4-**** review in DownBeat magazine, and his playing has received praise in Variety, OffBeat Magazine, Gambit Weekly, Dig!, and many others. Since 2009 Walker has performed or recorded with such luminaries as Bernard Purdie, Peter Erskine, John Riley, George Porter, Jr., Zigaboo Modeliste, Anders Osborne, Marcia Ball, Rickie Lee Jones, Valerie June, Better than Ezra, and countless others, and has led the horn sections for Grammy-winner Sturgille Simpson, Blues Award-winner Ana Popovic and OffBeat Award winners Eric Lindell, Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes, Honey Island Swamp Band, and Colin Lake. In 2019/2020, Walker was nominated for two ‘Best of the Beat’ Awards (OffBeat Magazine), in the ‘Contemporary Jazz’ category as ‘Best Artist’ and for ‘Best Record’, alongside such international stars as Nicholas Payton, Jon Batiste, Herlin Riley, Christian Scott, and Terence Blanchard. He was also nominated by the ‘Big Easy Awards’ (Gambit Magazine) for ‘Best Contemporary Jazz Artist’. These two award ceremonies are considered among the highest achievements in the New Orleans music community. Brad holds a Bachelor of Music degree in classical saxophone performance (2006) and Master of Music degree in jazz studies (2011), both from Louisiana State University.

Jeff Albert is a musician, music technologist, and educator. He was named a Rising Star Trombonist in the Downbeat Critics Polls each year from 2011-2019, and performs regularly in the New Orleans area, and throughout the US and Europe. Jeff wrote the horn parts and played trombone on Bobby Rush’s album Porcupine Meat, which won the 2017 Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album, and was the horn arranger and trombonist for The Meters from 2015 until their final performance in 2017. Albert performed on Pretty Lights Grammy Nominated 2013 album Color Map of The Sun. In 2013, the Paris based record label Rogue Art released his CD, The Tree on the Mound, which features Kidd Jordan, Hamid Drake, and Joshua Abrams. In addition to leading his band Unanimous Sources, Jeff is a member of Hamid Drake’s Bindu-Reggaeology band, and co-led the Lucky 7s with fellow trombonist Jeb Bishop. In addition to his work with world renowned improvisers, he has been a member of the bands of New Orleans greats George Porter and Wardell Querzergue, backed artists like Stevie Wonder and Bonnie Raitt, and performed with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New Orleans Opera. Jeff is an Associate Professor, and Director of the School of Music Industry and the School of Music & Theatre Arts, in the College of Music and Media at Loyola University New Orleans, and in May of 2013, he became the first graduate of the PhD program in Experimental Music and Digital Media at Louisiana State University, where his teachers included Stephen David Beck and Jesse Allison. He also holds degrees from Loyola University – New Orleans, and the University of New Orleans, and has served on the faculty of Xavier University of Louisiana and the University of New Orleans. Jeff’s areas of research include improvisation, performance paradigms for live computer music, and audio pedagogy. Jeff has given presentations at the conferences of the Society for ElectroAcoustic Music in the United States, the Symposium for Laptop Ensembles and Orchestras, the International Society for Improvised Music, the Guelph Jazz Festival Colloquium, and the inaugural Symposium on Integrated Composition Improvisation and Technology. His article “Improvisation as Tool and Intention: Organizational Approaches in Laptop Orchestras and Their Effect on Personal Musical Practices” was published December of 2012 in Critical Studies in Improvisation/Études critiques en improvisation.