Joseph Arthur Chambers was born June 25, 1942 in Stoneacre, Virginia. Chambers studied music theory at the Philadelphia Conservatory and the American University in Washington while drumming with the JFK Quintet. In 1964 he moved to New York to play with Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard and Andrew Hill, doyens of the Blue Note Records label, while also attending Hall Overton’s composition classes. Chambers shone on vibist Bobby Hutcherson’s records as both drummer and composer, contributing the title tracks to Dialogue and Oblique and a masterful, side long suite to Components that pursued Hall Overton’s Third Stream inclinations between Thelonious Monk and Igor Stravinsky. Since the early 70s he has also appeared with and composed for Max Roach’s percussion ensemble M’Boom. In 1974 his “The Almoravid” was played at Carnegie Hall. In the late 90s he produced some fine contemporary work with Mulgrew Miller and Eddie Henderson. This ferociously accurate drummer is equally adept on vibraphone, with a feel both for swing and space, his compositional imagination informs every nuance of his art.

Joe Chambers is an extremely versatile and tasteful master of all post-bop idioms. Chambers drives an ensemble with a light hand; his time is excellent and his grasp of dynamics superb. He’s not a flashy drummer by any means, but he’s a generous collaborator who makes any group of which he’s a part as good as it can possibly be. Chambers worked around Washington, D.C., in his late teens. After moving to New York in 1963, he played with Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Jimmy Giuffre, and Andrew Hill. In the mid-’60s, Chambers played with a number of the more progressively inclined musicians associated with the Blue Note label, such as vibist Bobby Hutcherson and saxophonists Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, and Sam Rivers. In 1970, Chambers joined Max Roach’s percussion ensemble, M’Boom, as an original member. During the ’70s, Chambers played with a great many of jazz’s most prominent elder statesmen, including Sonny Rollins, Tommy Flanagan, Charles Mingus, and Art Farmer. With Flanagan and bassist Reggie Workman, Chambers formed the Super Jazz Trio.

In the late ’70s, he co-led a band with organist Larry Young. Chambers recorded with bands led by trumpeter Chet Baker and percussionist Ray Mantilla in the early ’80s. He’s maintained his association with Roach into the ’90s. Chambers has recorded infrequently as a leader; his output as a sideman, however, continues to be sizable. At age 63, Joe Chambers ranks as one of the most notable drummers and percussionists of his generation, and a staple of the venerable (and once-independent) Blue Note label. Not only have his highly imaginative compositions been covered by the likes of Freddie Hubbard and Bobby Hutcherson (with whom he’s also performed), but he has gone on to write the scores for several Spike Lee films, including She’s Gotta Have It (1986) and Mo’ Better Blues (1990). Chambers has continued to tour and record over the years, blending various rhythms and sonic textures into his music, which is not limited to just jazz. Instead he brings in inspiration from the sounds he grew up around in Philadelphia, including R&B, gospel, and rock, mixing them in with his conservatory-trained technique.

his eclectic approach is telling on his new release, The Outlaw (Savant), in which he presents original material and new arrangements of a handful of covers (including Duke Ellington’s “In A Sentimental Mood”), stepping away from the drum kit to concentrate — for the first time in his career — on the vibraphone and other instruments. The CD cycles seamlessly through modern jazz, samba, soft, synth-laden melodies, and even Afro-Cuban sounds, revisiting the past but also keeping a keen eye on what lies ahead.

Born in Oakland, CA, on July 24, 1953, Jon Faddis began playing trumpet at age eight, inspired by an appearance of Louis Armstrong on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” Three years later, his trumpet teacher Bill Catalano, an alumnus of the Stan Kenton band, turned the jazz- struck youngster on to Dizzy Gillespie. By his mid-teens, Jon had not only met Dizzy, he’d even sat in with his hero’s combo at the famed Jazz Workshop in San Francisco.

Upon graduating high school in 1971, Jon joined Lionel Hampton’s band as a featured soloist and moved to New York. That same year, responding to an invitation from Mel Lewis to drop by the Village Vanguard whenever he got to New York, Jon sat in with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band on one of their regular Monday night sessions. That sit-in turned into four years of Monday nights playing with the band, as well as a tour of the Soviet Union with the highly acclaimed unit. Jan also toured with Charles Mingus and recorded on the Pablo label with Dizzy and Oscar Peterson.

Other highlights included filling in (at age of 18) for an ailing Roy Eldridge in an all-star concert led by Charles Mingus at New York’s Philharmonic Hall; a Carnegie Hall gig with Sarah Vaughan; two years in attendance at the Dick Gibson~s Annual Colorado Jazz Party where he was featured in a historic duet with Eubie Blake; performances with Gil Evans’ and Count Basie’s big bands; appearances at Radio City Music Hall and festivals here and abroad; and sitting in with Dizzy whenever possible.

However, those studio years ultimately proved significant in his artistic development. Exposure to a diverse spectrum of music helped shape him into the broad-based interpreter and (creator in) African-American idioms that he is today. Jon’s distinctive trumpet voice would be heard on albums by performers as disparate as Duke Ellington, the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra, Kool and the Gang, Luther Vandross, Quincy Jones, Billy Joel and Stanley Clarke, to name a few. His horn was heard on the theme of “The Cosby Show,” on the soundtrack of Clint Eastwood’s films “The Gauntlet” and “Bird,” and on many commercials. Jon Faddis had become one of the most in-demand session musicians in New York.

A turning point was the invitation from Dizzy to accompany him on a visit to the White House in 1982. The occasion was an “In Performance” ceremony in which Dizzy and several other major American artists showcased young colleagues they believed to be “on the verge of exceptional careers.” Jon’s participation in the event was apparently enough to convince him he had a lot more to offer than horn section lead on jingles, or the occasional solo on a lavish studio production of a pop star.

Within a year, he left studio life and was out on the club scene with a working group that included saxophonist Greg Osby and pianist James Williams. In 1987, Jon played the major role in organizing and rehearsing Dizzy’s big band, the one that would celebrate the legendary bebopper’s 70th birthday on tour here and abroad. Jon was a featured soloist and later assumed the same position as musical director of Dizzy’s United Nation Orchestra, another international touring all-star group formed in 1989.

Faddis served as musical director for the Carnegie Hall Centennial Jazz Band, which paved the way to an ongoing gig with the world- renown music hall. He is the musical director of the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, an 18-piece all-star orchestra which serves as a vehicle for some of the greatest names in jazz to present concerts that are not part of their regular repertoire. Praised for its swinging sound and tight ensemble work, the Band has paid tributes to Miles Davis, Erroll Garner, Benny Goodman and Tito Puente.

Frequently tapped for his conducting prowess, Faddis is also music director of the 1995 Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra “The Majesty of Louis Armstrong Tour” and the “Newport Jazz Festival 40th Anniversary Tour.”

Lou Donaldson, alto saxophonist, recording star and entertainer extraordinaire was born in Badin, North Carolina on November 1, 1926. He is the child of parents, Lucy Wallace Donaldson, mother, and Louis Andrew Donaldson, Sr., father. His mother was a first grade teacher at Badin High School, Musical Director at the school, and a concert pianist who was a graduate of Cheney University. His father was a graduate of Livingstone College, an AME Zion minister, and insurance agent. Lou is the second of 4 children, between older sister Margaret and younger sister Elizabeth and brother William, all of whom ended up involved with music. Lou never studied piano because his mother had a switch that she would crack across the fingers when students missed a note. That turned him completely away from being a pianist. When he was about 9 years old, she heard him singing or humming and she took him aside and told him that he had more musical talent than anyone in the family and that he needed to play some type of instrument. She got a clarinet from the Band Director, Leo Gabriel, at the Alcoa Aluminum Plant Band. Although she knew nothing about the clarinet, she taught him basic music and they used the clarinet book to learn the fingerings and how to play the clarinet. Lou mastered the instrument and this ignited his pursuit of a career in music.

At age 15, Lou matriculated to North Carolina A& T College where he received a Bachelor’s of Science degree and joined the marching band playing clarinet. After being drafted into the US Navy in 1945, he played in the Great Lakes Navy Band where, when playing for dances, he would also play the alto saxophone. After going into Chicago several times, he heard of Charlie Parker and he decided that this was the style of playing he would make his own. Returning from the military back to North Carolina A& T College, he played in the dance band led by Billy Tolles, who was a great saxophonist who played with several groups.

Lou went to New York in 1950. Being a GI and a Veteran he enrolled in the Darrow Institute of Music, which was a GI school, and was paid a monthly stipend so that he could survive. While at the school, he played many small clubs in Harlem where he lived at 127th Street and 8th Avenue with his new wife, Maker. Maker was his longtime sweetheart from North Carolina and remained his wife and business partner for 56 years until her death in 2006. Together they raised two children — Lydia, deceased, who was a nurse and educational recruiter, and Dr. E. Carol Webster, clinical psychologist and author who resides in Fort Lauderdale and who, along with husband Charles, founded the African American Success Foundation that Lou very happily supports each year by doing a Jazz Benefit.

Once he moved to New York, Lou worked weekends in Jersey with Dud Bascomb’s band. One night while working at Minton’s Playhouse — the famous jazz club, he was approached by Alfred Lyons of Blue Note Records to make a recording and he suggested that Lou make a Charlie Parker-type recording which he did with the Milt Jackson Quartet. At that time, it was Milt Jackson, Percy Heath, John Lewis, and Kenny Clark. Later on this group would be called the Modern Jazz Quartet. The record was successful and the company asked him to make a record on his own and this is why he’s most proud of his time at Blue Note Records– because this date started a career for him that actually made him bring several musicians to Blue Note Records.

In the mid 60’s, Lou furthered his success as a musician and businessman. He set up his own tour of clubs — which was no easy feat in those days. Beginning in Rochester, NY, then to Buffalo, NY, and on to Pittsburgh, Pa. — where he worked two great clubs.

During these memorable years, Lou had four distinct groups that he would use for the organ sound: one group was John Patton on organ, Bill Hardman on trumpet, Grant Green on guitar, and Ben Dixon on drums. Another group was Lonnie Smith on organ, Billy Kaye on drums, Mark Elf on guitar — and sometimes Melvin Sparks on guitar, and Joe Dukes on drums — the greatest organ drummer of all times. Later he had another group with Caesar Frazier on organ, Eric Johnson on guitar, and Billy Kaye on drums with Sweet Lou on alto. Another of Lou’s groups had Charles Earland on organ, Jimmy Ponder on guitar, Blue Mitchell on trumpet, and Idris Muhammad on drums. These groups played mostly the so-called “ghetto clubs” where the fans really got into their music and sometimes they were booked even for dancing. It was a very successful set up and several other people like Hank Crawford, Jack McDuff, Groove Holmes, Sonny Stitt, and even Dizzy found out about these clubs and had a good run following this idea. Later in the ‘80’s,

Lou was awarded the honorary Doctorate of Letters by North Carolina A& T University and a scholarship was established in his name that is awarded to the most gifted jazz musician at North Carolina A&T University each year. He was inducted into the International Jazz Hall of Fame and is the recipient of countless other honors and awards for his outstanding contributions to jazz.