Performer Biographies

The Chicago-based saxophonist Rob Haight attended Interlochen Arts Academy and Western Michigan University, and he completed his degree in music at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.

He has studied saxophone, improvisation, and composition with Bill Sears, Trent Kynaston, Rick Holland, Jerry DiMuzio, David Bloom, Scott Mason, Mike Smith, Tom Garling, and Mark Colby. Mr. Haight has performed with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra's Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, featuring Patti Austin and Doc Severinsen; Chuchito Valdez; Michael Feinstein; Umphreys McGee; Ann Hampton Callaway; John Fedchock; Ron Hawking; the Elgin Symphony; and the Sabertooth Organ Quartet, led by Cameron Pfiffner and Pat Mallinger. Mr. Haight is a member of Cameron Pfiffner's Marco Polo and Ian Torres Big Band, appears as guest saxophonist with Spare Parts, and performs frequently with Jeff Lindberg's Chicago Jazz Orchestra.

He has appeared not only at various venues in Chicago but also at the 2009 Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C. Mr. Haight is an Artist Diploma candidate at The Juilliard School, where he studies with Steve Wilson.

Australian Mat Jodrell is one of the outstanding fresh new voices in jazz today. He is based in New York City, where he completed his Master of Music degree at The Juilliard School in 2010, and is in his final year of the Artist Diploma in Jazz Studies program. Before he relocated to the United States, he was one of the most in-demand trumpet  players in Australia. Mr. Jodrell is featured on numerous albums and has toured extensively internationally. In addition he released and toured his debut recording, Blues in the Night, throughout Australia. His awards include the Clifford Brown–Stan Getz Fellowship from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts (five finalists chosen worldwide), Young Australian of the Year, the James Morrison Scholarship for Most Outstanding Young Australian Jazz Instrumentalist, and the Bob Wyllie Scholarship for best graduating student at the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts.

He has performed with artists such as Benny Golson, Ron Carter, Frank Foster, Branford Marsalis, Carl Allen, Carmen Lundy, Terri-Lyn Carrington, James Williams, Josh Roseman, Bill Watrous, Gary Bartz, Andy Milne, Terence Blanchard, and Terell Stafford, and he toured the world with James Morrison for many years with his On the Edge project.

As a jazz drummer and world percussionist, Jeremy Noller regards New York City as a musical smorgasbord, and he has taken full advantage of the city's diverse music scene, performing with many of the finest jazz musicians, contemporary percussionists, and West African drummers.

He grew up in Libertyville, Illinois, where he began studying percussion at the age of nine. He graduated with honors from the University of North Florida and went on to complete his Master in Jazz Studies degree at the Manhattan School of Music. His teachers and mentors include Bunky Green, Kevin Bales, and John Riley. Mr. Noller has performed at many of New York City's top jazz venues and has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe.

In 2010 he released his debut album as a bandleader, Music Notes, which features his original compositions that combine contemporary jazz and traditional West African rhythms. He is a member of the faculty at the Bloomingdale School of Music in Manhattan. Mr. Noller is continuing his studies as a candidate for an Artist Diploma in Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School.

John Tate has performed with Matt Wilson, Bill Carrothers, Von Freeman, Victor Goines, Vincent Herring, Scott Wendholt, and Sean Jones, among many others.

Mr. Tate is a member of the Josh Moshier/Mike Lebrun Collective (2010 recipient of Chamber Music America's New Works Grant), among other ensembles, and is working toward an Artist Diploma in Jazz Studies at The Juilliard School.

The bassist, who lives in Brooklyn, holds a Bachelor in Jazz Performance degree from Northern Illinois University and has studied with noted performers and teachers such as Larry Grenadier, Reid Anderson, John Clayton, Rodney Whitaker, Kelly Sill, Marlene Rosenberg, and John Floeter.

The award-winning saxophonist and composer Michael Thomas began piano studies at the age of five and saxophone at age ten. In high school, his focus shifted to jazz and he was awarded a full scholarship to the University of Miami as a studio music and jazz major. While at UM, he was a member of the school's top ensembles, including the Studio and Concert Jazz Bands, and the Frost Jazz Sextet.

After graduating with his Bachelor of Music degree in 2008, he moved to Boston to pursue a Master of Music in Jazz Performance degree at the New England Conservatory, where he received the jazz department's Presidential Scholarship. His career has taken him to venues throughout North and Central America, as well as Europe. In 2008 he participated in Betty Carter's "Jazz Ahead" Workshop, and in 2010 he was recognized by DownBeat Magazine in the 33rd Annual Student Music Awards as the winner of best original song for his composition "Refract."

From 2009 to 2011, Mr. Thomas performed weekly at Wally's Jazz Café in Boston with the trumpeter Jason Palmer, and he is featured on Mr. Palmer's SteepleChase release, Nothing to Hide. In April 2011 Mr. Thomas released his debut album, The Long Way. He is enrolled in the Artist Diploma program at The Juilliard School where he studies with Steve Wilson.

Christopher Ziemba, the winner of the 2011 Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition, is a twenty-four-year-old pianist, composer, and arranger who already is receiving widespread critical acclaim. After he made his debut in March 2009 as a guest artist on Marian McPartland's famed radio broadcast, Piano Jazz, David Lyon of National Public Radio reported: "Knowledgeable beyond his years, Ziemba has developed the keen sensibilities and musical awareness of a great musician."

More recently, in March 2011 Mr. Ziemba was chosen to participate in a master class given at Carnegie Hall by the jazz icon Brad Mehldau. Mr. Ziemba was the only pianist, from the seven selected nationally, to perform in both the solo piano and trio classes in New York City. In May 2008 he was one of three jazz pianists chosen by the Eastman School to perform an unusual side-by-side concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

In March 2008 he was one of four pianists selected internationally to participate in the Fred Hersch Workshop for Improvising Musicians, which culminated in a performance at Carnegie Hall.

In 2011 Mr. Ziemba graduated from the Eastman School of Music with his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. He also has studied jazz piano with Harold Danko, Bill Dobbins, and Paul Hofmann. Mr. Ziemba is currently enrolled in the Artist Diploma program at The Juilliard School, where he studies with Frank Kimbrough.