Andrew Cyrille – percussion
Bob Stewart - tuba
Roy Campbell - trumpet

Andrew Cyrille was born in Brooklyn, NY. As well as studying privately, he attended the Juilliard and Hartnett schools of music. He has performed with Jazz artists ranging from Coleman Hawkins, Illinois Jacquet and Mary Lou Williams to Kenny Dorham, Muhal Richard Abrams, Horace Tapscott, John Carter, Mal Waldron and David Murray. In 1964 he formed an association with pianist Cecil Taylor that would last for 11 years. He played drums for many notable dancer-choreographers from the mid to late 1960’s. Cyrille was artist-in-residence and teacher at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio from 1971 to 1973. Cyrille has also taught at the Graham Windham Home for Children in New York. He is currently a faculty member at the New School University (formally The New School for Social Research) in New York City. His sterling work has earned him a number of grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and Meet the Composer, including a commission to create a new work for the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Company in 1990. In 1999, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship for composition. Starting in 1969, Cyrille began to organize the first of several percussion groups, including Dialogue of the Drums, Pieces of Time, and Weights and Measures. Some of the distinguished artists who played in these groups were Kenny Clark, Milford Graves, Famoudou Don Moye, Michael Carvin and Obo Addy. Starting in 1988 through the present time, he has toured and performed here and abroad with the renowned Russian percussionist, Vladimir Tarasov. In 1975, Cyrille formed a band called Maono (feelings) featuring various instrumental voices determined by his compositions. He is a member of Trio 3 featuring alto saxophonist, Oliver Lake and bassist, Reggie Workman. Also from time to time, he leads another group called Haitian Fascination, playing music inspired by the musical tradition from Haiti. Within the past several years, he has been collaborating and working with musicians such as saxophonist, Archie Shepp, trombonist, Roswell Rudd, trumpeter, Dave Douglas, bassists, Henry Grimes and William Parker, pianists Dave Burrell and Marilyn Crispell, and vibraphonist, Karl Berger. He continues to record and perform with duo, trio, quartet, quintet and big band formations.

Bob Stewart is a freelance concert artist, educator, and studio musician. Stewart has received his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts and his Masters in Education at Lehman College Graduate School. He also teaches privately and has been involved with public education for over twenty years. He is now teaching at the Juilliard School and is a “Distinguished Lecturer” at Lehman College. Stewart has toured and recorded with such artists as Charles Mingus, Gil Evans, Carla Bley, David Murray, Taj Mahal, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, Arthur Blythe, Freddie Hubbard, Don Cherry, Nicholas Payton, Wynton Marsalis, Charlie Haden and many others both in the United States, Europe and the Far East. “The Tuba, as you know, was phased out of most ensembles around 1923 with the introduction of the “walking” upright bass. Since then it has only been in the last 20 years that composers and arrangers have begun hearing the instrument. As a result, there are more instances in which the Tuba appears in ensemble work.” Stewart is bridging the gap between 1923 and the present by bringing the Tuba back into the modern ensemble as the bass in the rhythm section and as a horn available for melodic lines and soloing.

Roy Campbell’s composing, arranging, and playing embrace a wide range of roots and styles, including jazz, funk, rock, rhythm & blues, hip-hop, rap, classical, reggae, and more. Whether performing, writing, arranging, or producing, Roy Campbell’s abilities burst forth in an electrifying stream of talent and originality. His virtuoso instrumental performances have been praised by fans, critics, and fellow musicians alike. All of the bands he leads have inspired and uplifted audiences to spiritual heights, and each band is unique and highly acclaimed by all. Robert Innapollo, in a review from Cadence Magazine (January, ‘9O), stated, “Campbell is a monster trumpeter. He’s the latest in a long line that has extended from Navarro through Brownie through Booker Little and beyond.” Program notes from the 1998 Fire in the Valley Festival praise his “approach and technique, taking the influences of both Lee Morgan and Booker Little and hauling them into the future.” A few of the leading innovators among contemporary musicians Campbell has worked with include: Rashied Ali, Billy Bang, Evelyn Blakey, Dave Douglas, Carlos Garnett, Henry Grimes, Eddie Harris, Makanda Ken McIntyre, Jemeel Moondoc, David Murray, Sunny Murray, William Parker, Hannibal Marvin Peterson, Sun Ra, Woody Shaw, Cecil Taylor, Charles Tyler, Wilbur Ware, Frank Wright, John Zorn, and a countless host of other bands and ensembles. Roy and his contemporary bands play virtually constantly in concerts, on tour, and in festivals all over the world. In the year 2OO1, JazzTimes designated Roy Campbell’s CD Ethnic Stew and Brew (Delmark 528) number 3 of the top 5O jazz CD’s of the year. Roy was also nominated trumpeter of the year by the Jazz Journalists’ Association in 2OO2, and he will receive an award as a Harlem Unsung Hero of Afrikan~Amerikan Classical Music at the Lenox Lounge in November, 2OO3. Roy Campbell’s life experience reflects his belief that music is the voice of universal truth. His music has continued to grow throughout the ‘9O’s and into the new millennium. His sound combines ancestral voices, modern artistry, and futuristic vision. He is a master trumpeter, musician, and being, and a universal force to be reckoned with.