Sara Gazarek

Sara Gazarek, voice Larry Koonse, guitar Richard Giddens, bass Mark Ferber, drums “…she may well turn out to be the next important jazz singer.” – DON HECKMAN, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES GRAMMY Award® winning jazz vocalist Sara Gazarek reigns as one of the most creative voices of her generation. Collaborating with jazz legends Fred Hersch, Billy Childs, Kurt Elling, and more,and with 6 critically-acclaimed albums under her belt at the age of 40, Gazarek often tours internationally as a soloist/band leader, and as a co-founder of the vocal collective, säje, whose debut album earned a GRAMMY Award® for Best Arrangement Instruments and Vocals. Richard Lloyd Giddens Jr. hails from Fresno, CA. He moved to New York City at the age of 17 after receiving a full scholarship to the Jazz and Contemporary Music Program at The New School for Social Research. In 2000, he went on tour Off-Broadway show STOMP. Giddens has recorded and performed with such artists as Charlie Haden, Wadada Leo Smith, Robert Glasper, Oscar Hernandez, Mary Halvorson, Ravi Coltrane, Larry Goldings, Walter Smith III, Ralph Alessi, Gilbert Castellanos, Ideal Bread, Taylor Ho Bynum, Ben Wendel, and many others. Born into a musical family, Larry Koonse has been playing the guitar since he was seven years old.After graduating from USC Larry toured extensively for six years as a member of the John Dankworth quartet. He is a member of Billy Child's landmark chamber sextet. He has received multiple Grammy nominations over the years and has been a featured player on more than 400 albums. Drummer Mark Ferber can be heard on over 200 recordings. Ongoing projects include ECM recording artist Ralph Alessi’s ‘This Against That’, the Marc Copland Quartet, the Brad Shepik Organ Trio, and his twin brother, Alan Ferber’s Grammy nominated big band and nonet. He has worked as a faculty member for the California Institute of the Arts, the Tavira Jazz Workshop in Portugal, the School of Improvisational Music (SIM), the City College of New York, The Maine Jazz Camp and The Lafayette Summer Music Jazz Workshop.