2019 Performers

Instrumentalist, Vocalist, Composer, Arranger, Lyricist, Actress, & Teacher

Fostina Dixon is a composer, vocalist and jazz soloist who plays soprano, alto and baritone saxes; flute; and clarinet. Ms. Dixon has been guest soloist with Abbey Lincoln, Barry Harris, Earl May and the Big Apple Jazzwomen. She has also played with Gil Evans, Roy Ayers, Tom Browne, Charlie Persip, Melba Liston, Cab Calloway, Slide Hampton, Frank Foster, Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, Bobby Vinton, Sammy Davis, Jr., Prince, and Marvin Gaye, with whom she toured for four years. She was a member of the Gerald Wilson, Jimmy Cleveland and Leslie Drayton big bands.

She is a native of Wilmington, Delaware where she studied with the late Robert “Boysie” Lowery. As a young woodwind insrumentalist she played for the Delaware All-State Band and was selected for the American Young Symphonic Orchestra which toured Europe. She went on to study with such great musicians as Frank Foster, Buddy Colltet, Vic Morosco, Joe Viola, Andy McGhee and William Bowie.

As a professional musician, she has performed at numerous clubs, colleges, libraries, churches, community art centers, New York’s Jazzmobile concert series, theaters and toured abroad. Some of the festivals which her band “Winds of Change” has appeared at are New York’s Annual Afrikan Street Carnival, the Annual New York Women’s Jazz Festival, the Annual Black Women’s History Conference, the Kool Jazz Festival, Greenwich Village Jazz Festival, and the Annual Jackie Robinson Festival in Norwalk, CT. She has also toured Germany, Austria, Italy, Belgium, France and the Netherlands several times.

Also, Ms. Dixon has worked with and made television appearances for shows such as the popular “NY Undercover Cop” series, WNYC Channel 31s “Perspective in Jazz,” NBCs “Today in New York” with Dr. Billy Taylor and a special TV presentation “Salute to Bobby Vinton.” Fostina’s extensive career has carried her into theatrical performances of the Musical Theatre Works production of “All Girl Band” and Playwrights Horizon production of “Jazz is a Lady.” She has performed at the Women’s International Film Festival in New York City and “Sisterfire,” a festival in celebration of women artists sponsored by the Flamboyant Ladies Theatre Company.

Fostina founded the Wilmington Youth Jazz Band, a non- profit organization for youths, in 2004.

She received a Christi Award for her contributions to promoting the arts in the community, an Outstanding Arts Educator award from the Delaware Board of Education, and an Outstanding Contributor award from the Council of Jazz Advocates for her work as an arts educator and the Founder and longtime Executive Director of the Wilmington Youth Jazz Band.

Euge Groove — a pseudonym for saxophone journeyman Steven Eugene Grove — began playing piano in the second grade and turned to the saxophone at the age of nine or ten. His teacher gave him a classical education on the instrument, which he continued at the University of Miami’s School of Music, where he became interested in jazz. Upon graduation, he initially remained in Miami doing sessions and playing in bands such as Expose, where he can be heard on the group’s 1987 number one single “Seasons Change.”

He then moved to Los Angeles and joined Tower of Power, remaining with the group for about four years. Following this experience, he freelanced, doing sessions and working in backup bands, his clients included Joe Cocker, Eurythmics, the Gap Band, Huey Lewis & the News, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Aaron Neville, Eros Ramazotti, and Richard Marx. His saxophone appeared on Marx’s Top 20 pop and number one AC hit “Keep Coming Back” in 1991.

At the end of the ’90s, Grove developed the persona of Euge Groove, a reworking of his real name, and recorded a demo that attracted the attention of various labels. This demo soon landed him with Warner Bros. Euge Groove, his debut album, was released in May 2000. At the time, the saxophonist was touring in Tina Turner’s backup band. He followed up with 2002’s Play Date, featuring the singles “Slam Dunk” and “Rewind.” In 2004, Grove moved to Narada for the ’70s pop-soul-inflected Livin’ Large. Grove stuck with the ’70s vibe for 2005’s Just Feels Right, and then incorporated a more gospel approach for 2007’s Born 2 Groove.

He moved to Shanachie for 2009’s Sunday Morning. In 2011, Grove returned with his seventh studio effort, the fittingly titled Seven Large on Shanachie, with two more releases following for the label, 2012’s House of Groove and 2014’s Got 2 B Groovin. In 2016 he delivered Still Euge, featuring guest appearances from Chuck Loeb, Peter White, and others. The similarly funky Groove On! followed on Shanachie in 2017.

Biography by William Rulmann, www.allmusic.com

The earthy, charismatic and beautiful Lindsey Webster is a surprising and welcomed anomaly in the contemporary jazz world. The sultry and soulful young singer/composer, who has scored two Billboard #1’s on the Contemporary Jazz Chart, making her the first vocalist in the format to garner a #1 since the iconic Sade, is still amazed by her own success. “It is unbelievable that it is really happening” says Webster. “But now that it has, I feel like my world and career have opened up and that it is only the beginning!” Blessed with a honey-toned voice and enviable range, Webster’s uniquely identifiable sound is fueled by potent messages of love that are timely for today’s climate. Webster is holding her own in a largely male dominated genre comprised of artists who are much older than her and she is quickly becoming a favorite on the charts and international touring circuit. Her sophomore Shanachie recording, Love Inside, is about realizing the power that each of us possess as individuals.  “So frequently, we are looking outside of ourselves for the answers, when most of the time, we need to address what is within, first” states Webster. “I thought it to be an appropriate title for this album with all of the negativity and animosity that runs rampant in today’s world.” Through a tapestry of twelve evocative originals that fuse the best elements of R&B, jazz, pop and soul, Webster, along with her pianist and husband Keith Slattery, explore the world of love and loss in relationships as well as the love needed to unite and honor one another’s humanity.

Love Inside opens with the album’s title track and catchy first single. Webster sings and reminds us to “Take a moment to count your blessings…” The singer knows a thing or two about taking stock of all of the good that life has to offer. “The new songs are uplifting and positive which is just how I feel!” exclaims the singer. The pulsating “A Love Before” chronicles the trials and tribulations of finding true love. Webster confesses it is one of her favorite songs on the recording. “Bad Grammar (Me & You”) finds Lindsey pleading for another chance at love as she sings, “think about it for a minute more, before you walk out the door. Take a second just think it through, is this the end of me and you?” Slattery’s elegant and pirouetting solo adds a beautiful touch to this heart tugging last appeal for love.

The funk-fueled “Free To Be Me” touches on a topic that Lindsey Webster is passionate about. “This song is an anthem for anyone who is facing injustice in this world today,” states the singer/songwriter. “It was inspired by the subject of immigration that has been an issue at the forefront of our country, but the lyrics kind of morphed the song into something more. It states three things: the problem (people judging each other), how we all unwittingly can be a part of the problem (ignorance), and then offers what I believe will be a solution (our strength as a human race).

Another gem on Love Inside is the wistful bluesy ballad “Dream,” inspired by Dr. King’s infamous 1963 speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial.   “I, too, share Dr. King’s dream,” states Lindsey. “This song is about how I will try to live my own life today in order to make this dream a reality tomorrow.”

Love Inside also features “Don’t Give Up On Me,” which speaks to the fear of losing someone you love when you are at your weakest point, while the Latin-tinged “One Last Time” is about two people in love who must part ways in order to honor commitments in their lives. The interlude “Even If He Lied” shows what some people will put up with in order to be in a relationship and the blues ballad “Walk Away” is somewhat of an answer to “Even If He Lied,” offering a different alternative. We have all heard someone say “It’s Not You, It’s Me” but Webster in her typical clever fashion puts a new spin on the saying on her song of the same title. “Typically, a person says this to another during a breakup as a kind of consolation, not wanting the other person to think it is their own fault,” she shares. “In this song, the person who is being left is saying, ‘I know I’ve been acting crazy and I don’t blame you for leaving.’”

A highlight on Love Inside is the insatiable groove and positivity on “Opportunity” as Lindsey sings, “I feel things about to turn around for me cause I’ve been working for a long time ….Just when you think you had enough and you feel you’re gonna give up, that’s when life will turn around and you’ll see, in the problem is the opportunity.” The album closes with “By My Side,” which shines light on the strength gained by having the right person by your side.

“You know you are extra lucky when you find your true love and are then able to share not only your lives with one another, but your passion as well.” Lindsey and Keith married in 2016. “Keith is a blessing for me,” beams Lindsey. “We are always striving to become stronger and better songwriters, and as a team, I really think we have crafted some powerful and beautiful music.”

Webster concludes, “I hope our fans can hear the passion and hard work that went into writing these songs.  Although the times are changing and albums are becoming less popular than buying a single, we still like to think of the music we write as a collection. We arranged the songs in a specific order, as to tell a story and bring the listener on a journey.”

Growing up in an artist community, the daughter of loving hippie parents, in Woodstock NY, the allure of music was never far from Lindsey Webster. The singer grew up listening to her parent’s Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles and Elvis Costello LPs and later the Supremes and Aretha Franklin. Influenced by everyone from Mariah Carey and Gwen Stefani to Steely Dan and Earth Wind and Fire, Webster once pursued medical school before finally settling on music. Webster made history in 2016 with her original “Fool Me Once”, which was the first vocally driven song to top the Billboard Contemporary Jazz charts since Sade’s Soldier of Love in 2010, beating Sade’s three-week run at #1 with a four-week stay at the top of the chart with “Fool Me Once”. November 2016, Webster made her Shanachie debut with Back To Your Heart, which spawned three songs to make the Top 3 on Billboard (Back To Your Heart, Next To Me, and Where Do You Want To Go), with “Where Do You Want To Go” reaching #1, her second #1 in a year.

The Jenkins Project is an ensemble of established lead vocalists and veteran instrumentalists. This Wilmington-based collection of musicians has performed with each other in various groups over the past four decades. Together they create a jazz-oriented blend of instruments and voices that delivering a multi-genre repertoire of music wrapped around the distinct styling of the five seasoned soloists.

The members of The Jenkins Project are:

Michael Jenkins, Voice – Baritone/Tenor (Group Lead & Founder)
Donna Tucker Jones, Voice – Alto
Robin Carney Victor, Voice – Soprano
Pat Mercer, Voice – Soprano
Barry Lewis, Voice – Bass
Dennis Fortune, Piano & Keyboards (Musical Director)
Michael Cruse, Bass
Harry “Butch” Reed, Drums
Lynn Riley, Saxophones & Flute
Josh Robinson, Percussions

Grammy Award-winning Contemporary Jazz/R&B superstar Norman Brown has sold close to two million albums in his extraordinary career and virtually lives at the top of the Billboard Contemporary Jazz sales and radio charts. Having shared the stage with virtually every Contemporary Jazz superstar from Boney James to Dave Koz to Gerald Albright.

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Norman Brown first picked up a guitar at the age of 8. First inspired by Jimi Hendrix, it was his father’s preference for the sound of Wes Montgomery that set Brown on his stylistic journey.

After high school, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his musical career, attending the Musician’s Institute, where he also taught for a short time. While playing with his own group in local clubs, and drawing comparisons to George Benson, Brown was discovered and signed to the fledgling MoJazz label, a division of Motown. He delivered his debut album, Just Between Us, and followed with the gold-certified After The Storm and Better Days Ahead.

With the critical acclaim and sales behind him, the talented musician made the leap to Warner Bros. and released Celebration, which first teamed him with producer Paul Brown. The follow-up, Just Chillin’, earned Brown much-deserved Grammy recognition in the best pop instrumental category. That project was followed by his release West Coast Cooin’, where Brown tested out his skills as a vocalist, a move that was embraced by the urban AC radio market and found him topping the charts.

In 2002, Brown debuted his smooth jazz supergroup with saxophonist Kirk Whalum and trumpeter Rick Braun, BWB, with the album Groovin’. He then returned to his solo work with 2004’s West Coast Coolin’, followed two years later by Stay with Me on the Peak label.
Brown’s audience has been expanding over the years. His compilation The Very Best Of Norman Brown was one of the best-selling smooth jazz albums of 2005 and 2006. Armed with the knowledge of who he is as an artist, Brown says he spent just four months in the studio making Stay With Me – his shortest recording time on a project ever.

Brown then signed with longtime jazz label Concord and released 2010’s Sending My Love. Two years later, he paired with saxophonist Gerald Albright for the Concord release 24/7. Also in 2013, he rejoined BWB for Human Nature. In 2016, Brown continued to split his time, releasing his third album with BWB.

Let It Go, Norman’s inspired debut album for Shanachie Records has something for everyone, whether an R&B fan or a jazz aficionado. From “Holding You,” his sensuous collaboration with R&B great Chante? Moore and Norman’s re-imagining of the Five Stairsteps classic “Ooh Child” to the smoothly grooving “Remember Who You Are” and the serenely inspired “Let It Go,” Norman also features his daughter’s group Sisters of Unbreakable Love on the insightful “Conversations” and uplifting “Living Your Destiny”. Let It Go is Norman Brown at his best.

Real artists are originals who have a calling. Many people in the music world are often mere marketing confections or showcase acts, but not real artists. Acts can have hits, but usually, their time in the spotlight is short-lived. Real artists have a vision and follow it for the long term, creatively expressing themselves in abundance.

Witness Terence Blanchard who early on made a name for himself as a top-tier jazz trumpeter from New Orleans and who has gone on to enjoy a multifaceted career both in the jazz camp and beyond. He’s not only a five-time Grammy Award winner, but he’s also a renowned film-score and soundtrack composer (most recently for George Lucas’s 2012 Red Tails film about the Tuskegee Airmen).

Add to those achievements Blanchard’s recent success composing for Broadway (including the score for the world premiere of playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis’s The Motherf**ker With a Hat starring Chris Rock and the Emily Mann-directed revival of Tennessee Williams’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire); an opera commissioned by Opera St. Louis (a poignant tale of welterweight boxing champion Emile Griffith with librettist Michael Cristofer); a speaking role as the musical voice of Louis the Alligator in the animated feature The Princess and the Frog; becoming the artistic director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s jazz series; and after serving as the artistic director of the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz for a decade since 2000, being named in 2011 the artistic director of the Henri Mancini Institute, the program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. In addition, Blanchard serves as the artist in residence at the Detroit Jazz Festival over the Labor Day long weekend in 2012.

Blanchard concedes that he’s very busy these days, but adds, “I’m blessed.”

Blanchard is renowned in jazz circles as a remarkable trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. Vanity Fair writes, “He plays the most coolly expressive trumpet in jazz, transmuting the instrument’s repertoire of smears, growls, peeps, and blasts into an astonishingly fluid language both luxurious and controlled.”

A veteran of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers (recommended by Wynton Marsalis as his replacement in 1983), Blanchard began his own recording career in a band co-led with saxophonist Donald Harrison, delivering two albums for Concord and three more for Columbia before launching his solo career with his eponymous 1991 album, also for Columbia. He delivered nine albums for Columbia and Sony Classical.

Between is the sophomore release from Raye Jones Avery. A native of Philadelphia, Raye grew up in Wilmington, Delaware where she has been a staple in the U.S. art world. As Executive Director of the Christina Cultural Arts Center, Raye has been one of the driving forces in the continued flourishing of creative arts in the Mid Atlantic region. Now, Raye is stepping out to make a more personal statement on her 2nd CD, produced by Dennis Fortune. Fortune also produced Raye’s debut recording project, Sistah Girl’s Lament. E. Shawn Qaissaunee produced and arranged selections as well.

Raye’s multi-genre influenced style brings new life to standards such as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Where Were You” by Stevie Wonder, John Legend’s “Ordinary People” and the Beatles’ “She’s Leaving Home”. “Between” also includes an original spoken word tribute to Clifford Brown. I was independently produced and recorded at Reeds Refuge Studio 505.

Raye will share the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival stage with the finest musicians including Dennis Fortune (piano), Jeff Johnson (drums), Cliff Kellum (bass),  E. Shawn Qaissaunee (guitar), Gerald Chavis (trumpet), and Lynn Riley (woodwinds).

Between is an eclectic collection of selections that convey the miraculous ability to feel joy even in the presence of life’s tribulations. Raye describes her work as a “personal artistic statement about living. It’s about the transcendence from blue adversity to triumph without losing my song.”

Photo courtesy Delaware Today

The Little Dream, the title track of Cuban pianist and composer Alfredo Rodríguez’s fourth studio album (Mack Avenue Records), gently builds into an uplifting statement – one that reflects the hope children hold in building a brighter future, where tiny dreams manifest into grandiose realities.

There is no better example of this than Rodríguez’s own personal journey: from his humble beginnings in Cuba to being discovered by Quincy Jones, ultimately leaving his family behind to immigrate to the United States and pursue his own dream. Over the past decade, Rodríguez has gone from a young local Cuban artist to a globally recognized Grammy^®-nominee with three critically acclaimed releases on Mack Avenue Records: Sounds of Space (2011), The Invasion Parade (2014), and Tocororo (2016).

Over the years, Rodríguez’s worldwide tours have shaped his diverse global point of view. “I believe people are more similar than different. We live in a time where we have so many ways to inform ourselves, and yet some places – and people – choose to remain isolated. As a result, the world can lack peace and empathy, instead of showing unity and tolerance.”

In a time where governments want to build walls instead of bridges, and uplifting programs like DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) are being rescinded, Rodríguez understands how important “dreams” are, especially for today’s youth – and the immigrant children known as “DREAMers” – for shaping a more unified future. He expresses, “the title of my new album, The Little Dream, is my response to our current world climate. The title comes from my fascination with the dream world, which is a beautiful manifestation of our reality. My greatest dream is one where all humans live happily and in peace. Children are the hope and the answer to creating a world of love, peace, unity, and understanding.”

The Little Dream was recorded in just two days, with a majority of the songs being done impressively in one take. Rodríguez explains, “I don’t like perfection in the common sense of the word. For me, perfection is how we react to something initially, and that makes my music better and more honest. The most beautiful thing to me is when I play and the opposite of what I had intended happens, so I have to find a solution while I am playing! Music is like life, it’s about adaption and transformation in the moment.” Rodríguez’s commitment to improvisation is evident in his popular cover song videos, which have racked up millions of views on his social media channels.

Two musicians who join Rodríguez on The Little Dream and helped shape the album’s sound are Michael Olivera and Munir Hossn. “I’ve been touring and playing with Michael and Munir for the last several years, so The Little Dream is a testimony to the sound we have developed.”

Quincy Jones continues to serve as producer, and Rodríguez never stops learning from his teacher. “Quincy always impresses me, and for a young musician, it’s such an incredible opportunity to get to be around a legend. Quincy has affected my life in so many positive ways; he is my mentor, and the most open-minded musician I know. His influence has made me a better person as well as a better musician.”

As jazz music sees a resurgence in younger audiences, Rodríguez is leading the way for the new wave of Cuban musicians, including past collaborators Ibeyi and Pedrito Martinez. The rich musical history of Cuba is finally being exposed to a wider audience, which has always been a hope for many upcoming artists.

Rodríguez circles back on the title The Little Dream, which he concludes “is about the child that is within us all, and how imagination and creativity are messages for hope. No one knows better than me that a little dream can become a big dream, and big dreams can become reality.”

After four decades in the international spotlight, the achievements of saxophonist Branford Marsalis continue to grow. From his initial recognition as a young jazz lion, he has expanded his vision as an instrumentalist, composer, bandleader, and educator, crossing stylistic boundaries while maintaining unwavering creative integrity. In the process, he has become an avatar of contemporary artistic excellence.

The Branford Marsalis Quartet, first formed in 1986, remains Branford’s primary means of expression. In its virtually uninterrupted three-plus decades of existence, the Quartet has established a rare breadth of stylistic range and a continuity of personnel. The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, recorded in Melbourne, Australia in the midst of an international tour in the Spring of 2018, contains the mix of challenging original and classic compositions, and the range of moods from the tender to the explosive, that has defined the group. With its focus on melodic strength and extrasensory interaction, the album confirms that the Branford Marsalis Quartet remains a paragon of uncompromising jazz excellence.

While the Quartet thrives, Branford continues to expand his status as a musical collaborator that dates back to his early experiences as a sideman with Clark Terry, Art Blakey and his brother Wynton Marsalis and extends through encounters with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, and Harry Connick, Jr.

As always, Branford also remains eager to join in musical ventures with artists in other musical realms. His relationship with Sting, which began with the pop icon’s first solo album The Dream of the Blue Turtles in 1985, was resumed when Branford contributed solos to Sting’s collaboration with reggae star Shaggy, 44/876. And Branford’s status among Deadheads, dating back to 1990 as the ultimate guest artist with the Grateful Dead, moved the spinoff band Dead and Co. to break precedent for the first time and announce Branford as a guest artist at the band’s August 26, 2018 concert in Arrington, Virginia.

Classical music also continues to play a growing role in Branford’s musical life. Sally Beamish reconceived her composition “Under the Wing of the Rock” to feature him after hearing Branford interpret another of her works, and Gabriel Prokofiev wrote “The Saxophone Concerto” for Branford on a joint commission from the Naples Philharmonic and the Detroit Symphony. Branford and the Ural Philharmonic performed and recorded the Prokofiev piece during August 2018 in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Branford has performed these and other works by Copland, Debussy, Glazunov, Ibert, Mahler, Milhaud, Rorem, Vaughan Williams and Villa-Lobos with leading orchestras in the United States and Europe, and served as Creative Director for the Cincinnati Symphony’s Ascent Series in 2012-13.

The role of Branford’s contributions to the Broadway stage expanded in 2018 when he scored acclaimed director Kenny Leon’s revival of “Children of a Lesser God.” His previous efforts included music for the revival of “Fences,” which garnered him a Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination, “The Mountaintop” starring Angela Bassett and Samuel L. Jackson, and the revival of “A Raisin in the Sun.”

All of these achievements have been supplemented by Branford’s efforts beyond the realms of performance and composition. After directing Columbia Record’s jazz program, he founded the Marsalis Music label in 2002. He has held workshops on campuses around the world while establishing extended teaching relationships with Michigan State, San Francisco State, and North Carolina Central Universities. After the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, Branford joined his friend Harry Connick, Jr. and New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity in the creation of the Musicians’ Village, a community in New Orleans’ Upper Ninth Ward that provides homes to displaced families of musicians and other local residents. The Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, honoring Branford’s father and Connick’s teacher, provides state-of-the-art performance, instruction and recording spaces at the heart of the Village. For these and other efforts, Branford received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Tulane University in 2017, adding to a series of awards including three Grammys and his citation (together with his father and brothers) as a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Branford continues to spread the message of his music around the world, including Russia, where he appeared in St. Petersburg’s host-city celebration of International Jazz Day 2018, and China, where he headlined Shanghai’s JZ Jazz Festival the following September. Regardless of context or location, Branford Marsalis remains steadfast in his quest for musical excellence.

Mwenso and the Shakes are a unique troupe of global artists who present music that merges the highest form of entertainment and artistry while commanding a formidable timeline of jazz and blues expression through African and Afro American music. Immigrating from Sierra Leone, London, South Africa, Greenwich Village, Madagascar, France, Jamaica, and Hawaii the Shakes all now call Harlem their home.  Taking from the stylings of Fats Waller, Muddy Waters, James Brown and many other American musical legends – Michael Mwenso leads an electrifying show the New York Times calls “intense, prowling, and ebullient.”