Litchfield Jazzfest Presents The Caili Doherty Quintet. A native of Portland, Oregon, Caili O’Doherty has received national awards for jazz piano performance and composition from Downbeat Magazine as well as an ASCAP Foundation Young Jazz Composer award. Caili has performed with various jazz groups at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Kimmel Center (opening for pianist Martial Solal), Toronto Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival (opening for the Wayne Shorter Quartet), Mt. Hood Jazz Festival (as pianist for Terrell Stafford), Portland Jazz Festival, Guinness Cork Jazz Festival in Ireland, Dominican Republic Jazz Festival, MICI International Film Festival in Mexico, Stanford Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, and UNESCO First International Jazz Day in Paris, as well as two US State Dept. supported tours to Colombia and Togo and Benin in West Africa. In 2010, Caili was one of five female jazz pianists invited to participate in the inaugural Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Emerging Artists Workshop held at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and to perform at a showcase concert at the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival. Caili attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA on a full scholarship and graduated with a degree in jazz piano performance. Caili has had the opportunity to work closely with some of the leading musicians in the jazz world, including Joe Lovano, John Patitucci, Dave Liebman, Adam Cruz, Terri Lyne Carrington and Danilo Perez. Since graduating from Berklee and relocating to New York City, Caili has embarked on a career to satisfy her equal passions for composing, performing, educating, and humanitarian work. She works for the WeBop early childhood jazz education program at Jazz at Lincoln Center, performs frequently throughout the country and teaches private piano students in the New York City area.

www.CailiODoherty.Bandcamp.com

Sarah Jane Cion is a 1st Place Winner of the internationally acclaimed 17th Annual Great American Jazz Piano Competition. The judges were Horace Silver, Kenny Barron, Ellis Marsalis, Benny Green and Bill Charlap. Ms. Cion’s trio has performed in Japan at the prestigious Fukuoka Blue Note and Sarah appeared on the Nationally syndicated NPR radio show “Piano Jazz“ with Marian McPartland. Most recently, her songs “Cat in the Hat” and “Golden Song” were featured respectively in Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Mule in 2018 and Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Golden Song in Thor: The Dark World. Sarah has performed with young and older jazz legends such as Clark Terry, Etta Jones, Anita O’Day, Della Griffin, Ralph Lalama, Alan Harris, Carmen Leggio, Dr. Lyn Christie, Bucky Pizzarelli, Don Braden, and many others. She is often found performing with New York City mainstay big bands such as the Lew Anderson Big Band at Birdland and is currently performing with bestselling author and tenor man James McBride. Her debut CD, Indeed! features alto saxophonist Antonio Hart, drummer Tony Reedus and other young jazz giants. Her second CD Moon Song was released internationally on the Naxos Jazz label featuring Phil Palombi, Chris Potter and Billy Hart. Moon Song was the 4th best selling Modern Jazz album in Japan in April 2000, and reached Number 15 on the U.S. Gavin Reports on June 22nd, 2000.

www.SaraJaneCion.com

Always innovative and pushing the limit, Kristina Koller is making her mark in the music world. As an evolving jazz-centric artist, Kristina has developed into a highly individual songwriter, arranger & vocalist. Koller creates music that crosses generations, while still embracing the history and mood of traditional jazz. She arranges tunes in unique ways, pushing the boundaries of vocal jazz. Kristina revamps classic material while retaining their essence, putting her own winning personality and fresh ideas into the music & lyrics that she interprets. Her diverse & unconventional approach is exemplified on her first two albums ‘Perception’ and ‘Stronger’. In her debut album ‘Perception’, Koller breaks through the standard vocal jazz mold and delivers a compilation of deftly composed originals and reimagined gems, carefully selected with the thematic focus of love and relationships at the forefront of each. On ‘Stronger’ she takes a deep, risky dive and combines art rock with jazz & indie-pop in an array of original music. The thematic & powerful songs radiate mental strength, projecting empowerment through self-discovery & awareness. On her latest album ‘Get Out of Town’, Koller celebrates the music of Cole Porter in her own distinct way. She mixes R&B, neo-soul, traditional swing and acoustic jazz sounds in a tight 8 song compendium of Porter’s music. The music was debuted during her 2021 ‘Cole Porter Re-Imagined’ Midwest Tour funded by the South Arts Organization.

www.KristinaKoller.net

Born in Oklahoma, Champian is considered one of the most gifted pure Jazz musicians of her generation. She grew up with music in the home; her mother and father (Jazz trumpeter and educator Stephen Fulton) recognized her fascination with music at an early age. The presence of her father’s musician friends, including Clark Terry and Major Holley, inspired her focus on Jazz. Her first paid musical engagement was with her own band at Clark Terry’s 75th Birthday Party; she was 10 years old. Since then, her piano and voice skills have been recognized by peers and critics as distinctive and sophisticated. This young woman from Oklahoma captivates audiences in New York’s finest Jazz rooms and in concert halls around the world. A mainstay on the vibrant New York Jazz scene, she has performed with musical royalty such as Lou Donaldson, Frank Wess, Scott Hamilton, Buster Williams, and Louis Hayes. From New York to Barcelona, Champian’s swinging style and charismatic performances have made her a guardian of the legacy of Jazz. Champian’s heroes include Bud Powell, Red Garland, Erroll Garner, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington.

www.Champian.net

Joined by Ken Peplowski and Anton Kot

Atlanta native Joe Alterman expresses a certain upbeat naivete, with a broad smile and bright eyes that make you feel welcome. One would not guess that this is a man hailed by greats; Ramsey Lewis describes his piano playing as ‘a joy to behold’, Les McCann states ‘As a man and musician he is already a giant’. Journalist Nat Hentoff championed three of Alterman’s albums, as well as his writing (Joe wrote liner notes to three Wynton Marsalis/JALC albums), calling one of Joe’s columns “one of the very best pieces on the essence of jazz, the spirit of jazz, that I’ve ever read, and I’m not exaggerating.” Joe Alterman began at NYU with a BA and Masters in Jazz Piano, followed by performances with Houston Person, Les McCann, Dick Gregory, and Ramsey Lewis. Downbeat describes his sound as “rooted in the blues, and with a touch reminiscent of the great pianists of the 1950s—Red Garland, Ahmad Jamal, Bill Evans.” It is clear Joe hits all of the necessary points for Jazz critics and fans alike. But there is more to the story, of course. The twenty-first century has thus far seen yet another transition for this thing called Jazz. In one moment we see the push and pull between tradition and progression, and in another we see Pop and Hip-Hop musicians emulating and sampling. In Joe Alterman we find none of this struggle; the music just sounds good. Our conscious faculties are instantly disabled as we tap our feet, feeling the intent and joy of his playing. An old classic is new when you feel good in the moment.

www.JoeAltermanMusic.com