By age 33, Emmy-nominated Trumpeter and Vocalist Benny Benack III has already become a leading voice in Jazz for his generation, headlining clubs and festivals around the world on the heels of his latest critically acclaimed album “Third Time’s the Charm” which ascended to #2 on the JazzWeek International Radio Charts in 2023. He is the rare talent who is just as formidable as a fiery trumpeter ranging from Freddie Hubbard to Louis Armstrong and everyone in between, while as a singer he delivers sly, mature, naturally expressive post-Sinatra vocal stylings.

His sophomore album “A Lot of Livin’ to Do” (2020) featured the likes of bass luminary Christian McBride, achieving viral online fame w/his vocalese rendition of "Social Call" ft. Veronica Swift that's been transcribed and covered by singers around the world. He has crooned his way to millions of more listeners alongside groups such as the Grammy-winning “8-Bit Big Band” and YouTube sensation “Postmodern Jukebox”.

His double-threat credentials were first apparent when he was a finalist in the 2014 Thelonius Monk Competition on trumpet, and then won Third Place in the 2021 Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competition. His resume for both was recently bolstered in Downbeat Magazine’s Critics Poll for 2023, where he appeared in two categories: The #2 Rising Star Male Vocalist and #15 Rising Star Trumpet.

His global recognition has been bolstered by the recent advent of live-streaming concerts, both through his ongoing residency at Smalls Jazz Club, as well as frequent appearances at fellow young lion Emmet Cohen’s “Emmet’s Place” online series. He has emerged from the pandemic as one of the most in-demand touring artists in the Jazz world, with a never-ending intercontinental schedule that reflects his indefatigable love for the music, with his smile and panache on full-display wherever it takes him next.

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Helen Sung is an acclaimed jazz pianist and composer and a Guggenheim Fellow. A graduate of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance (renamed the Herbie Hancock Institute in 2019), she won the Kennedy Center’s Mary Lou Williams Jazz Piano Competition and has performed and toured with such luminaries as Clark Terry, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Regina Carter, Terri Lyne Carrington, Cecile McLorin Salvant, and the Mingus Big Band. In addition to her band, activities of note include her large ensemble project “Oracles”; a digital streaming series “Re-Orientation: Asian American Artists Out Loud” (made possible by a Chamber Music America Digital Residency grant); and partnering with the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, the Zuckerman Institute’s Public Programs Department, and Arts & Minds to present programs examining the neuroscience behind making/hearing music to engage those living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. She is currently visiting faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and an Associate Professor at Columbia University, where she also was the inaugural jazz artist-in-residence at its Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute exploring analogies between jazz and neuroscience. A Steinway artist, “Sung plays with crisp swing and elegant invention, her rhythms drawing from the music’s deepest blues roots – and setting listeners’ heads bobbing – while she explores her own fresh ideas, often inspired from her classical training.” (New York Times)

Originally hailing from Nottingham, England, New York City based bassist Mark Lewandowski musical journey began with him leaving home to study at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music in London. It was during these years at the Guildhall School that Mark began rapidly producing a strong name for himself as a fixture of the London jazz scene; playing regularly at the world famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, by only his second year in the capital. After graduating with a first class honours degree from the Guildhall School, Mark had the great honour of being awarded the Yamaha Jazz Award, which was presented to him by the UK Government at the Houses of Parliament. During this period he began a period of intense study with American master-bassist, the great Henry Grimes (Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk, John Coltrane). During this period in London, Mark had the opportunity to perform at many of the major concert halls and festivals in the United Kingdom including The Barbican, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, The Queen Elizabeth Hall, Pizza Express Jazz Club with a diverse range of musicians both established and up- and-coming, including mainstays of the British jazz scene such as Sir John Dankworth, Julian Joseph, Alan Skidmore, Bobby Wellins, Peter King, Christine Tobin, Liam Noble, Jean Toussaint, Mark Lockheart, Julian Siegel, John Warren, Mark Sanders, Soweto Kinch and Paul Dunmall.

2017 saw the release of Mark’s debut release ‘Waller’ on Whirlwind Recordings label. This album solidified his reputation as a stellar bandleader and received rave reviews internationally. Featuring two of the most respected musicians on the European jazz circuit, pianist Liam Noble and drummer Paul Clarvis, Waller is an exploration of the music of one of the early innovators of the jazz genre, Thomas ‘Fats’ Waller. The album featured highly in critical polls ranking at Number 3 in Chris Phillips’ Jazz FM Charts.

This same year saw a seismic change, as Mark was accepted into the world famous Juilliard School’s highly prized Artist Diploma Ensemble. It was this that facilitated his move to New York City in August of 2017. Having only been in the United States for a little over 2 years, Mark’s career has taken off in the same rapid way that it had back home in the United Kingdom. He has been fortunate to work with such luminaries as Wynton Marsalis, John Surman, Joe Chambers, Johnny O’Neal, Steve Wilson, Javon Jackson, JD Allen, Sheila Jordan, Billy Drummond, Grant Stewart, Vic Juris, Dave Kikoski and many more.

Mark Lewandowski’s multiple recording credits occupy all areas of the jazz genre including such major artists as American cult composer and saxophonist John Zorn with whom Mark is featured on his Tzadik release ‘The Book of Beriah’ and closer to home with the Leo Richardson Quartet, who’s record ‘The Chase’ was selected as one of the Sunday Times ‘Best 100 Albums of the Year’ in all genres.

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Virginia MacDonald

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Benny Benack Quintet