Lucianne Evans

Born: July 22, 1969

Lucianne Evans | Biography

Lucianne Evans is a Pittsburgh-born jazz vocalist and songwriter whose career has taken her through Montreal, New York, Asheville, and back to Pittsburgh.

In her twenties, a summer seminar in Colorado with Oregon, the recording group associated with the groundbreaking ECM label, led her to Montreal, where she appeared with her band at the early Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. There she worked with leading musicians including Sari Dajani, James Gelfand and Reg Wilson, and appeared on Canadian television. Those years helped shape a musical identity that reached beyond traditional vocal jazz.

Marisa Balistreri

Born: July 26, 1972

Marisa Balistreri is a Madison, Wisconsin-based vocalist. A former professional Italian opera singer with an international career, Marisa currently collaborates with her songwriter-guitarist husband, Stefan Hall on original jazz tunes inspired by music from around the world. Marisa's group performs as a duo, trio or quartet and plays jazz standards, Latin jazz and originals in several languages. They play music to make people feel hopeful about humanity.

In the Madison Area, The Marisa Balistreri Quartet recently played at Festa Italia and for a Jazz at Five fundraiser. Additionally, The Marisa Balistreri Trio has had a months-long residency at Cafe Coda, and have played as either a duo, trio or quartet at The Cave of the Mounds, Harmony Bar and Grill, North Street Cabaret, Pyramid Event Venue and many other great venues. Marisa and Stefan have also played at the Weidner Center 6:30 Concert Series, Art Street and Blue Opus in Green Bay, DeJaVu and Gibson Music Hall in Appleton and the Bremen Cafe in Milwaukee with various jazz ensembles. The Marisa Balistreri Duo was recently featured on Channel 3000, Neon Jazz, and Live in the Lair on Max Inc, Radio

Floriaan Wempe

Born: December 4, 1989

With a unique sound and signature Floriaan Wempe (1989) is known as an adventurous, swinging and elegant saxophonist and improviser. In his quest for touching melodies and the magic of the moment he captivates listeners with a story that flows from the tradition but that is unmistakably his own.

That he was taken under the wing by the late, great Roy Hargrove speaks to his potential and musical affections. He grew up hearing bebop and hardbop and soaked up the entire jazz history during his studies at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague and trips to New York City. He deeply immersed himself into the music and lyrics of the great American songwriters and vocalists but also found inspiration in the versatility of artists like Joe Henderson, David ‘Fathead’ Newman, Cedar Walton, Ahmad Jamal, Freddie Hubbard, Tom Harrell, Michael Brecker and Kenny Garrett.

Sébastien Hugue

Born: November 4, 1996

Sébastien Hugue is both an electric and an upright bass player. Born in France in 1996, he started to play the bass at the age of thirteen.

He first practiced rock n’ roll music in Dijon, his hometown in France where he met Michel Thévenard in 2011. Michel is a bass teacher that taught him an excellent technique to play the electric bass. Within this program of three years, he discovered Jaco Pastorius, Mark King, Richard Bona, Cliff Burton (first bass player of Metallica) and his taste was of course mainly orientated into rock and metal music.

In the meantime in high-school, he started a rock/fusion jazz band called Muphin. During this period he played in a brass band called Ze Tribu Brass Band that was managed by Zutique Production in Dijon. Their first and unique album came out on 1st October 2017.

Sorin Zlat

Born: May 7, 1990

Sorin Zlat (Piano)

Sorin Zlat is an internationally acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, Yamaha Artist, and professor of jazz piano at the National University of Music Bucharest. Described by the EFG London Jazz Festival and NCPA Mumbai as “one of the leading jazz musicians of his generation,” and praised by London Jazz News as a “virtuoso pianist,” Sorin has established himself as one of the distinctive voices of contemporary European jazz. With more than 30 national and international awards, his career brings together virtuosity, expressive improvisation and a deeply personal compositional language.

Dale Fielder

Born: July 27, 1956

Dale Fielder is an American jazz saxophonist, composer and bandleader. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays all four saxophones: soprano, alto, tenor and baritone with equal authority. He is known for his original compositions and choice of performing rare, obscure jazz classics as well as his varied group concepts and variety of presentations. Fielder has recorded over 20 CDs as a leader for various labels since he first appeared on the national jazz scene in 1993 with his first CD Free Flow.

He grew up in Midland, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh where he studied oboe, bassoon and tuba in the school system and clarinet, saxophone, composition and arranging privately with noted Pittsburgh area tenor saxophonist Phillip Celli. Fielder is also a product of the University of Pittsburgh Jazz Studies Program, where he studied as an ethnomusicology major under Dr. Nathan Davis. Fielder's debut jazz performance was as a member of the Joe Harris Quartet, former drummer of the Charlie Parker Quintet and Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra. After relocating to NYC, he was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1984, studying with trumpeter/composer Frank Gordon and completed his first large work, "The Aquarian "for alto saxophone and chamber orchestra. While in NYC, he also performed with a host of current jazz stars such as pianist/composer Geri Allen and trombonist Robin Eubanks among many others.

Aaron Summerfield

Born: November 21, 1985

Aaron Summerfield is a Denver-based jazz guitarist, composer, and educator whose work blends improvisation, narrative form, and contemporary spiritual themes. His music centers on strong melodic writing and collective interplay, with recent projects exploring what he describes as “pagan jazz”—a synthesis of ritual, texture, and modern improvisation.

Carlos Meneses

Born: January 9, 1979

Carlos Meneses is a double bassist, composer, and bandleader from the Canary Islands. He leads Carlos Meneses’ Hip Quartet, a creative project where contemporary jazz, original composition, and artistic collaboration converge into a distinctive and evolving musical language.

Since 2020, Meneses has released five albums — Sharp Jazz (2020), Jazz a.m. (2021), Like One (2022), [collabs] (2024), and Archinautas (2025) — establishing a coherent artistic path rooted in both tradition and innovation.

Oscar Evans

Born: June 29

Oscar Evans is a jazz composer and multi-instrumentalist from Kingston, Ontario specializing in upright bass and trumpet. Blinded in his adolescence, Oscar has gravitated toward learning multiple instruments as a medium for understanding music theory and musicianship, and specializes in bass, drums, and trumpet.

Oscar pursued his passion for jazz at Humber College where he majored in trumpet. In 2025, Oscar released two albums of jazz standards—one featuring him on trumpet, titled Library Sessions, and the other featuring him on bass, titled Live at the Hotel Wolfe Island. His Gotta Start Somewhere EP featuring four original compositions was released in December 2025. Oscar consistently pushes his own boundaries to create interesting new music. His 2026 album Sound Permutations is a solo free jazz project on which Oscar plays bass, drums and trumpet. Forthcoming in 2027 is a full length album of original compositions titled Vibration Society which was recorded at the Bathouse Studio in Bath, Ontario with the support of a project recording grant from the Ontario Arts Council.

Adam Meckler

Born: August 8, 1984

Adam is a trumpet player, composer, songwriter, educator, and entrepreneur living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He is an Edwards Instrument Co. Performing Artist and Clinician and leads the Adam Meckler Orchestra (AMO), an 18-piece big band that plays his original compositions. The AMO's release 'When the Clouds Look Like This' was listed as one of the best jazz releases of 2014 by iTunes. Their 'Magnificent Madness' album was released to critical acclaim on the legendary alt-jazz label Ropeadope Records in 2018.

Meckler's 2025 release "Sampled" is available on all streaming platforms. "Sampled" is a highly collaborative record in which Meckler commissioned seven producers to sample 10 Adam Meckler Orchestra songs and turn them into 10 new songs via collaborations with artists from all over the world.