Nicki Denner
piano
Composer, pianist and arranger Nicki Denner has released three critically acclaimed CDs under her own name. She is the Musical Director of the Jersey Tap Ensemble and is the Musical Director and co-founder of the band Cocomama. In addition to being a band leader, she has also performed with Sheila E., Michele Lee, Doc Severinsen and Savion Glover. She has performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the United Nations, Studio 54, the Apollo Theatre, Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York City Marathon, the Guatemala City International Jazz Festival and as a musical ambassador for the State Department in Central America. As a composer, she has written music for award-winning animation. As an educator, she has served on the faculty of the Stanford University Summer Jazz Workshop, Campamento Internacional de Jazz in Guatemala, the JazzCabaret Festival in Ketchikan Alaska, Jazzhouse Kids, the New York City Tap Festival and the New Jersey Tap Festival. She is also a contributor to Keyboard Magazine.
Anton Denner
saxophones and flutes
Anton Denner has performed with entertainment luminaries like Ray Charles, Rosemary Clooney, Rita Moreno, Carol Channing, and an A-list of jazz artists including Clifford Jordan, Mel Lewis, Al Foster, Terrel Stafford, Bill Stewart, and Rufus Reid. He has been a featured soloist at the Napa Valley, Istanbul, and LaVillette (Paris) jazz festivals as well as NYC venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland and The Blue Note. Anton also can be heard annually in Ann Phillips’ “Bending Toward the Light, a Jazz Nativity”. His recent recorded work includes Matt King’s "Monk In Brazil", and Diane Moser's critically acclaimed "Birdsongs". As an educator, he has taught at Seton Hall University, The Stanford Jazz Workshop, Temple University and Jazz House Kids, an organization devoted to teaching and mentoring young people through music.
Mayra Casales
percussion
Mayra Casales is considered to be one of the most versatile percussionists of her generation. Born in Havana, Cuba and raised in Miami, Mayra studied with Carlos "Patato" Valdez. Before long she was performing with some of the biggest names in Latin music such as Celia Cruz, Machito, Joe Cuba, Miguelito Valdez and Tito Puente. Mayra moved to New York City where she worked with such legendary artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Wayne Shorter, Ray Barretto, Angela Bofil, Walter Bishop Jr., Jon Lucien, Phyllis Hyman, Carmen Lundy, Tania Maria, David Amram, Regina Carter and Grady Tate. She has also toured with Sophie B. Hawkins, Phyllis Hyman, Regina Carter, Carmen Lundy, Women of the Calabash, Mauricio Smith, Tania Maria and The Ojays. "Woman on Fire/Mujer Ardiente", Mayra’s first album as a leader, made it to #19 on the World Charts on the Afrasia Label.
Jennifer Vincent
bass and cello
Jennifer Vincent has been an active force on the jazz and Latin scenes in NYC for the past two decades. She plays, tours, and records with the likes of Betty Carter, Abbey Lincoln, KD Lang, Fantasia, Vanessa Williams, and Patti LaBelle. From 2003 to 2011, she held the bass chair for the Duke Ellington Orchestra, touring the world over while carrying on the tradition of the longest-running and most legendary band in American history. Jennifer is the bassist of Wynton Marsalis' Jazz At Lincoln center All-Stars which was featured in the hit musical revue "After Midnight" on Broadway and is currently on Broadway playing in Girl from the North Country.